Stephanie's Pedagogy First!

My review of Weeks 1-24:

Week 1: Introduction: Welcome to my blog! This week I was able to create my first blog using Edublogs (I switched to WordPress later on). I remember exploring blog templates to give my blog more of a personality.

Week 2: Teaching and Learning Online: This was the first week I started reading Ko & Rossen, and finished reading Ch.1 , “Teaching Online: An Overview.” I reflected on Alec Couros’ video and the chapter read.  I spent a lot of time exploring and checking out other teaching Blogs. I also shared a web tool used for student collaboration.

Week 3:  Pedagogy and Course Design: I took the beginner’s questionnaire and explored the POT’s Getting Started chart. I wrote about my teachings reflections, my pedagogical goals and objectives for my students.

Week 4:  Materials for Online: I practiced writing HTML, explored Prezi,  and created a sample that I could use in my classroom.

Week 5:  The Online Syllabus:  I viewed the Elluminate video on how to create an Interactive Syllabus and posted on my reflection.

Week 6: Creating Presentations : This week was exciting for me! I learned how to use Jing. I created a Jing video to introduce my online Counseling class.

Week 7:  The Online Classroom : I joined the POT Facebook group. I posted a discussion on my blog  regarding the positive uses of Facebook in the classroom environment.

Week 8: Creating Community:  I explored Elluminate, posted an audio thread on Pilar’s voice thread, explored Google +, and read Jonathon’s Mott’s article, Envisioning the post-LMS Era.

Week 9: Student Activities : I explored Second Life and discussed how the software program could be useful in education.

Week 10: Open Platforms for Teaching and Learning : I discussed the advantages and disadvantages of using a class blog.

Week 11: Class Resources and Intellectual Property: I learned more about Web Accessibility and Assistive Technology. I explored the following programs to help with Web Accessibility: Dragon Naturally Speaking, Windows 7 Speech Recognition, Kurzweil, and Natural Reader.

Week 12: Resources Online / Mid-year Self-Assessment Check: I finished reading Ch.8 about copyright and intellectual property via Open Educational Resources. I reviewed MiraCosta’s wonderful library resources. I also completed my mid-year progress report!

Week 13: Creating Class Elements Part 1: Images and screenshots: I explored Flickr and uploaded an image on Flickr. I annotated my image through Flickr, but had trouble when I embedded my image when my annotations disappeared!

Week 14: Creating Class Elements Part 2: Audio and video: I am back after I took a “leave of absence.” I re-introduced myself to the POT community.  This was the week I switched to using WordPress.  I explored many cool tools~ Youtube, Audacity, and Soundcloud.  I also created a SlideCast of a PowerPoint Learning Style presentation.

Week 15: Creating Class Elements Part 3: Screencasting and multimedia: Even though I did not create a Prezi yet, I explored this application/software tool and thought it provided a great way to give presentations. I created a mind-map of my online class using PersonalBrain and Jing. I had a lot of fun exploring these tools this week. I know I will be using all of these tools in my classrooms!!!

Week 16: Our Students Online: The FAQ activity was fun, and something I can definitely use in my online class! I discovered  a distance education quiz that is currently on the MiraCosta Website.

Week 17: Classroom Management: I learned more about online classroom management. I enjoyed reading “Ten Time Saving Tips For Online Teaching” and “7 things I’d Want To Know.”

Week 18: The Course (or Learning) Management System: I am wanting to use more tools in my posts instead of writing a reflection. So this week, I created a Jing post to give a tour of my online Blackboard course.

Week 19: Web-Enhanced, Hybrid and Open Classes: I found Picasion and created a gif as part of my post this week. I connected to the readings this week as I always love to learn new strategies for online teaching and reflected on what I learned in my post.

Week 20: Introduction to Educational Technology and Instructional Design: I loved listening to Rick Schwier video on, History of Educational Technology.  I enjoyed learning how educational technology has evolved and what it has done for education.  I read about the contrasting point of view of Jaron Lanier by reading his article: “Does the Digital Classroom Enfeeble the Mind?” I also explored Wordclouds as a decorative tool or a way for students to express their feelings.

Week 21: Introduction to Online Education Theory: This week was the first week I used Soundcloud and Audicity! I discussed the 3 teaching theories : Instructivism, Constructivism, and Connectivism from Jim Sullivan and Lisa Lane’s video about Adventures in Online Pedagogy.

Week 22: Personal Learning Networks: I was very excited about creating my first Prezi, that I created a Prezi to present this week’s topics. I embedded YouTube videos, used the zoom feature, inserted pictures, and explored the many templates that Prezi has available for free use.

Week 23: Presentations: WOW! The semester has flown by and I am very excited to have learned as much as I have and showcase my Prezi Presentation to focus on Week 15- Screencasting and Multimedia. I am so excited to use Prezi in my upcoming online class!

Week 24: Summarize, assess and contribute:

I am very happy with the ending results this online learning certificate has provided me. I feel more capable to  explore more about Online Teaching. Some activities I feel I could have done better on was to have participated in the POT Facebook group and more conversations on blog posts.

This course was an amazing experience for me! I had a hard time keeping up at first and actually had to take a “leave of absence” for a semester. But, when I returned I was even more motivated to continue learning.

Our POT course has been an adventure for me. I am so happy to have met you through all of your posts and comments. I have learned from all of you! I truly appreciate our sharing of ideas, thoughts, and feelings about this new era of Online Education.

Please accept my many thank yous to all the mentors, coaches, and people who contributed to our learning.

I was so excited about using Prezi for the first time, that I created another Prezi Presentation for Week 22 🙂

WoooHooo for Presentations! I created a Prezi Presentation focusing on Week 15- Screencasting and Multimedia. Even though I explored Prezi during Week 15, this is my first time creating a Prezi Presentation…..sooooo cool !

Hello POT Community! This week, I used Soundcloud to embed Audacity for my post to discuss the 3 teaching theories : Instructivism, Constructivism, and Connectivism from Jim Sullivan and Lisa Lane’s video about Adventures in Online Pedagogy.

http://soundcloud.com/stephiedecker/week-21-intro-to-online

I recently discovered Word Clouds from a fellow Counselor colleague. And thought I would share since it relates to instructional design and educational technology.

To create the above Word Cloud, I used , ABCYA.  

You can use Word Clouds for flyers, PowerPoints, or just print out by themselves, etc. You can choose the words and colors. As a counselor, I feel word clouds can be helpful for students to create their own word cloud affirmation. Or for career development, a word cloud can be created that represents your top 3 values, interests, and skills. For goals/dreams:, students can create a word cloud that represents their top goals/dreams. The first word you list will be the anchor and then other words get designed around it.

Don’t get thrown off by the “for kids” vibe – it’s a great tool!!  I’d be very interested in seeing your word clouds! 🙂

 Read: Ko & Rossen, Chapter 13: Teaching Web Enhanced and Blended Classes, pp. 371-end (blended courses).

I have not yet taught a Blended course, but learned some helpful tips for when I do in the future. I paid close attention to the 2 most common errors made by those teaching a Blended course: overloading students with more work than they would normally have in a completely face-to face or online class and not giving clear instructions about what to accomplish in each mode of learning.

I also watched Rick Schwier’s video about the History of Educational Technology.  I enjoyed learning how educational technology has evolved and what it has done for education.  I like that he explained in detail about the rapid growth of technology in our society as learners.

I read Jaron Lanier, Does the Digital Classroom Enfeeble the Mind (2010). Lanier brings out some interesting points. Lanier states, “The human element is a magical connection, is at the heart of successful education, and you can’t bottle it.” As a counselor, I completely agree that human connection in the classroom is important, but I also think that our students are evolving.  If our generation of students are requiring to be taught through technology, then I think as educators, we should find a way to evolve and to use technology to enhance learning. The example of his father teaching his students to learn math by designing their own spaceships is a wonderful story and an example how educational technology can be put to excellent use!

you can create a gif here

After reading, chapter 13: Teaching Web Enhanced and Blended Classes, some important points stood out to me:

• Tips for Teaching Web-Enhanced Courses, pg. 359– Currently, I am using a web enhanced system for my live in person classes. I post my syllabus, all my PowerPoint lectures, handouts, video links, assignments and due dates, daily motivators, and grades in Blackboard. The book discusses the argument if students would come to class if lectures were posted online. I believe by posting lectures definitely can help students~even if a student learns better by listening and taking notes, having access to the PowerPoint point later can be a benefit in understanding the material. Also, I have found it very helpful to post all grades on Blackboard. In this way, students can view them at anytime , and can be aware of their standing in the class. I also wanted to mention email. Students can email me or each other or the whole class through Blackboard. I have found this so helpful. Students have emailed classmates if they missed a class to receive class notes and have created study groups by using the email tool through Blackboard! So cool!

• Establishing Virtual Office Hours, pg 367– Has anyone used an online chat software? If so, which one and how did it work? Having virtual office hours seems to be a great idea for a completely online class.

The article “Using Online Technologies to Extend a Classroom to Learners at a Distance” describes a study that was conducted by David Wiley from Brigham Young University who offered a class online free of charge where he encouraged students to participate and turn in assignments. Reading this article definitely reminded me of our POT Certification course. David Wiley used tools that we are familiar with such as WordPress, SecondLife, Elluminate, Mind Mapping, etc. The study was successful, however,  time had an impact on student’s opinion regarding open and hybrid classes. Some students kept going with the online course, and some quit. I did feel guilty while reading this part because I only finished half of the POT Certificate last year, and now I am back for more! 🙂

I am using a Jing video as my post! Here is a brief tour of my Blackboard summer (team-teaching) online course, and my brief thoughts regarding Moodle.

I thought this YouTube video was very helpful in contrasting Blackboard Vs. Moodle.

Does anyone have any thoughts regarding Blackboard Vs. Moodle? What are your preferences?

I found a lot of thought provoking ideas in the material this week from reading Chapter 11, Lisa’s blog post, and while listening to Louisa Moon’s recording. I definitely understand the importance of classroom management.   I can see a connection between online teaching, on-ground teaching, and even counseling.  In all teaching settings, it is important to save all documentation, setting  boundaries, creating rubrics, and share with others. There are so many excellent practices that can be incorporated into many educational situations.

Ten Time Saving Tips For Online Teaching

There is an abundance of tips presented in the audio recording. I can tell Louisa Moon has a lot of experience and dedication to her teaching. The most important tip I took away from this audio video was – tech support.  As a counselor, I often see students in my office that do not understand what to do for their online course.  Many times , I refer students to MiraCosta’s Student Success Workshops on such topics on “How to use Blackboard.” I have wondered if the school should offer some type of orientation for students interested in taking an online class? Another tip mentioned that I really like about what Louisa suggested is to provide to the students a list of links and references they can use for technical questions.

7  Things I’d Want to Know

I enjoyed reading all 7 tips. My personal favorite is knowing HTML.  I feel that I need to practice more with HTML, and feel that it can really benefit me as an online instructor.

Ko & Rossen, Chapter 11, Classroom Management and Facilitation

I love the tips for record keeping and file management.  I completely agree with creating folders of the components of your online course to stay organized. Also, by sorting email automatically in the online class folder has always helped me keep on top of my organization. In addition, asking students to use a standard format in the subject line when submitting work through email is another wonderful idea.

I also came across the following article this week related to Online Classroom Management that I thought is useful and provides even more great tips, entitled, Strategies for Effective Online Teaching. 

All the tips I learned this week will help my online classroom structure and management. Thank you for all the resources provided!

I enjoyed the reading this week especially Ko & Rossen, Chapter 10: Preparing Students for Online Learning. I feel it is very important to make my online class as interactive as possible that will favor verbal, visual, and kinesthetic learners. The reading discussed the problems related to Learning Style and online communication.  Using audio, videos, pictures, mind maps (what we learned last week:) are all excellent tools . It is key to prepare our students for what they are about to encounter in our online course. There is never too much preparation that we can provide students!  In the below frequently asked questions list, I included a link of a distance education quiz that is currently on the MiraCosta Website. THANK YOU to whoever created this useful quiz! 🙂

1.) What is my potential as an online student?

Take this Quiz to measure your potential for success as a CyberCosta student.

2.) Is tutoring available for online students?

Yes! MiraCosta offers online tutoring for a variety of subjects. Check out e-tutoring here.

3.) Where can I go to get help with Blackboard?

If this is your first time using Blackboard, or if you have any questions, click here to access Blackboard tutorials and instructions.

4.) How do I submit assignments?

Hello fellow Pedagogy members!

My name is Stephanie and I am an Associate Faculty Counselor at MiraCosta College. I started the POT Certificate Program during the 2011-2012 academic year and only completed the first half of the program in the fall. And now I am back to complete the second half this spring !

I teach online as well as live classes. I currently use Blackboard for my classes. I am very excited to learn new ways of teaching online. I am especially excited to learn from everyone’s posts!

Nice to meet everyone! ☺

Stephanie Decker
MiraCosta College
Counseling Associate Faculty