I have made it to the end of the finish line of a
four part series to receive a Certificate in Online Teaching and it’s been a
journey. With all the biases I had toward online learning prior to taking this class;
really put me in a different state of mind as I progressed through the class. I
just knew with my learning challenges of needing face to face interaction that
I wouldn’t grasp onto the concepts. Also with it being totally online, I
struggled with dedicating the time needed to participate in some of the
discussion post and balancing my family demands. However each lesson built upon
each other and I learned more about myself then I ever could of hope for. The
lessons I’ve learned throughout this course I will use in my career and it will
help me become a better student, writer and educator.
In lesson 7 we
learned the following objectives:
- Discuss learning theories and
the impact that the selection of theory has on the design of online
courses.
- Evaluate models of instruction
in terms of their potential effectiveness in the online environment.
- Discuss the factors involved in
achieving the Seven Principles of Effective [Undergraduate] education in
the online environment.
Reflection: This lesson opened my eyes to different way of looking at the
instructional design model and tying together learning and teaching styles. The
combination of both theories can impact rather or not you’ve created an all-inclusive
lesson plan that will appeal to every student. A draw back to not knowing the
students individual learning style prior to creating the lesson does make the
plan not as solid as it could be. However with the use of surveys, games and
team building exercises the professor can make adjustments to the plan to accommodate
everyone’s learning style. The Seven Principles of Effectiveness, I began comparing
my personal success in the classes where I connected with the teachers’
personality and learning/ teaching styles to those professors where I didn't.
As a student the professors that followed the 7 Principles, I connected with
their personality, teaching and learning styles I performed at a higher level
than with professors I didn't.
Lesson
8 we learned the following objectives:
- Identify strategies for
addressing the 7 Principles in the online environment.
- Select technology-based
strategies for implementing the seven principles in an online course.
- Discuss
instructional strategies that are effective for distance education.
Reflection: In lesson 8 we took the 7 principles concept
a little deeper and we applied it to creating our own teaching strategies. I
have always been a fan of Case Studies, it allows the student to take in the
information and relate it to their personal experiences. The
new strategy I would use is self-directed learning, because I am a bit of a
control freak and this strategy allows for more structure in the design of the
lesson which appeals to visual learners and it helps set the time emphasis on
assigned tasked. This strategy also allows for independent learning and
self-paced which gives the student more control over "when" they learn.
The theory behind self-directed learning would be that students are more
motivated to learn when the constraint of when they take in the knowledge is on
their term as long as they meet the deadlines for completed work.
Lesson 9: We
were charged with creating a Wiki page as a group. I may have to say this until
I’m blue in the face that group work for school is totally different from
working collectively on project for work. Having my grade be dependent on
rather or not a group member does their part or not doesn’t sit well with me.
Yet the group I worked with on this project was tasked driven and my
group-mates were easy to communicate with, which made the overall experience a
good one.
Lesson 10: We
finalized and added the remaining content to our e-portfolios that we started
in lesson 6. Creating the e-portfolio was a good change of pace from the post
and discussions throughout the course. It allowed for me to be creative and
present what I learned in my own learning style.
Lesson 11: Asks
the big questions, “Is Online Teaching for me?” and the answer would be yes.
But not in the traditional sense or concept of online teaching but more as the
designer to the course is the path I’m leaning toward. Now that I have 2 months
under my belt as an instructional designer working for an online university it’s
totally changed my view on delivering the actual face to face. In terms of creating
the visual design of a course, the multimedia selection and coming up with assessments
to enforce the objectives appeals more to me than being an actual teacher.
Now
that this phase of the journey is over, I am very torn if I’ll continue with
the other 3 courses only because I question the value in having the certificate.
As a working instructional designer I get the opportunity every day to create
lessons, storyboards, assessments, e-learning tools, modules and etc. without
the certificate and I’m gaining real world hands on experience. I know there is
huge value in having the Online Teaching Certificate, but I’m not sure the
timing is right to continue on. I’ve learned so much about myself that this
class was worth taking.
Sanovia
