E-Learning reflection 1

Early in the course, you were introduced to the ELC, structure of an online course, various communication tools and strategies, the concepts of community and professional development, and working in teams. You also discussed some of the essential elements of online learning and design. Based on what you have learned and experienced what have you found engaging and helpful to your learning?

Throughout the course it has been interesting to compare what we have learned about e-learning environments to what I currently do in my face to face classroom environment. I have found that some course concepts such as the importance of building community and the value of teamwork are the same, but the strategies and tool used to accomplish these tasks differ from one environment to the next. I think it is definitely more challenging in an online environment, but I like how in this course we had different "get to know you" activities that were both whole group and team based.

 I have realized not only how beneficial, but how necessary collaboration and teamwork is to enhance learning. While I have found working as part of a team so consistently each week overwhelming, it has definitely forced me to think more deeply about course concepts. I have even found myself looking for more ways to integreate teamwork into my own classroom.

 I have enjoyed learning more about all of the different tools that are out there. Through my team I have been able to explore the benefits and disadvantages of Wiki.  Prezi is now one of my favorite tools. I couldn't believe how easy and fun it was to use!  I can only imagine the possibilities! I also think that evaluating the E learning modules was valuable. It was interesting to see all of the different platforms that were out there. In this past week I discovered new web 2.0 applications such as twurdy and qwiki that I am excited to try out in my classroom.  I am also eager to give blabberize a try. I think this will be such an engaging way to present material.

How do the e-learning opportunities in your own school/school system compare with what you saw in the videos, read in the articles, or found in your research?

My school system is just beginning to step into the world of E-Learning for both students and staff. In regards to student learning we are beginning to explore the use of blogs and other web 2.0 tools. Luckily our school district seems to be on the less extreme end of the "block and bust" movement Richardson disucsses. Social Networking sites such as Facebook and Skype and youtube are blocked, but we still have access to many online tools and resources. After reading the discussion from last week, I feel fortunate to have access to so many resources. Most of the learning sites I find for my students are accessable.  We've been exploring uses for audacity that could be used for podcasting for a couple of years now. While I think our school and our teachers have a lot to learn using web 2.0 resources in the classroom and just becoming comfortable with using technology in general, we have come a long way in the past few years.

For staff, some MSDE courses that Frederick County offers, are beginning to be available either as hybrid classes or as full online courses. I wish there was an easy way for teachers from other schools to connect and collaborate online. It would be fascinating to see what other schools are doing and to be able to learn from each other.

How might what you learned so far about Web 2.0 tools or virtual schooling (if you read any articles on the latter) help you with your final project? What tools or strategies could you apply to the initiative you are curently developing?

I think there are definitely web 2.0 tools that I can utilize for my final project. I am using Wiki as my platform. I will also have participants use Google Docs for collaboration. For this week's discussion on screencasting I am going to create a JING video on how to edit a wiki to hopefully help teachers feel comfortable with the main platform we are using.  I can see using wordle as a way to summarize a discussion. Since the most frequent words are larger, this would be a good way to summarize teachers' fears and challeges they are facing while implementing the new Common Core Curriculum. On the flipside it could also be used to share the positives that teachers share. I think this would be a good community building exercise because teachers will be able to visually see that their colleagues face the same challenges they do (or share the same successes).  I think it will be  a balance of exposing teachers to new tools and helping teachers feel comfortable so they will participate and "buy into" the initiative. As a tech savvy person, I tend to want to share all of the new websites and tools that I discover, but this can be overwhelming for a lot of people.  I don't want to leave teachers behind because they don't feel comfortable using the tools.


What areas, if any, do you need additional support?
Right now I don't feel like I need additional support. I am lucky to have an outstanding team that works well together. While I feel like I had a bit of a rocky start (I bit off more than I can chew in commitments in Jan & February), some of my other commitments are ending and I'm getting into a rhythm between teaching and my two courses.  Overall, I look forward to learning about new tools and strategies as we move forward through the rest of the course.