Chapter 3 offered a “plethora” of course design elements and suggestions on how to use the design elements for building an online course. To be perfectly honest, the amount of information presented was a bit of overwhelming for me in a “one-time” read. As such, I suspect that I will be reading that chapter again many times in the months ahead.

Based on the information presented in Chapter 3, I am now thinking the Medical Terminology Course that I facilitate should be offered online, but at a regularly scheduled time every week. Why I am “leaning this way” is because of the available technology such as instant messaging, webcams, and white board that make the online course an F2F course from the comfort of your home. Although I realize that this type of scheduling does not allow a good deal of flexibility, it does save travel time for the students and the instructor, and “gas money.”

The online class tours were very informative. Among the many ideas that I found helpful were using the program audacity to provided audio feedback on course assignments, allowing students to take a quiz a second time, having consistent “due dates” for assignments, and how the use of a tablet PC can enhance the use of audiovisual presentations.

Two teaching/learning objectives of a Medical Terminology Course are for students to understand spoken medical terms and be able to pronounce medical terms. The pedagogy for an online Medical Terminology Course should therefore include methods to allow communication between students and the instructor and students. What I gleaned from Lisa’s presentation is that Wimba is a tool that could help me achieve this pedagogical goal.
On the Internet, I found an article entitled, Wimba Increases School’s Revenue and Student Productivity at Central Gippsland Institute in Australia, at the following link: http://www.wimba.com/customers/customer-spotlights/central_gippsland_institute_of_tafe_and_the_wimba_voice_tools_case_study. In the article, the use of Wimba in a Medical Terminology Course was discussed. One of the most important “take aways” from the article was that use of this technology in an on-line environment allows students time to practice before engaging in “medical speak.” Faculty also reported that voice board technologies were easy to use. Hooray!!!

This semester, I am teaching a Medical Terminology Course for the first time. As such, I have recently said, “Where the hell do I start?

The first thing that I considered in designing the “on ground” course was that I had to make the medical terms “come to life” for the students. In order to accomplish this goal, I have made the 3-hour sessions very interactive. Although I cannot say that all the students are thriving in this learning environment, I can report that I have received positive feedback from several students. Here is an e-mail that I recently received from one of the students that addresses the interactive approach of the sessions:

“Also, I have to say, that I thoroughly enjoy your teaching style.  I am not just saying that in hopes of any “brownie points.”  It’s very interactive and keeps us all thinking throughout the entire class.  I actually learn the material while in class.
I received my Bachelor’s back in 2007 and I remember going to my classes, jotting down tons of notes- of which I knew nothing about, and then trying to cram during test time. Your class and teaching style is a breath of fresh air.”

So, keeping this feedback in mind, I now need to consider how to teach this course online……

My score on the Beginners’ Questionnaire was 14. According to Lisa, my score indicates that my perspective of teaching is presentation-oriented. Therefore, in an online course, it makes sense that I would use more audio and video recordings to infuse passion and interest in the subject matter and ultimately bring the medical terms “to life.”

Although my score on the Beginner’s Questionnaire also suggests that I not inclined to promote learning through student interaction, this is actually not the case. In fact, small-group course work comprises 1/3 -1/2 of all course sessions that I facilitate.

In considering how best to teach Medical Terminology Course online, I am concerned that small-group work will not be practical. My concern stems from my own experiences with small-group work as on an online learner in a doctoral program.  I recall was that it was very difficult for students in different time zones to engage in “real time” discussions. I suspect that students who reside in the same time zone still find it difficult to meet as a group.

Well anyway, having completed week 2 “marching orders,” I will continue to thoughtfully consider ways to promote student interaction in a Medical Terminology Course.

Hi! My name is Darlene Burke. I am Associate Faculty in the Nursing & Allied Health Department at MiraCosta College (MCC). This semester, I am not teaching an online course. However, there is a very strong chance that I will teach a nursing course online within the next year.

Also, I am currently in the dissertation phase of an on-line doctoral program in education offered by Capella University. As such, I have had the benefit of being the recipient of online instruction.

I have “lots” to learn with regard to online teaching and am therefore interested in all aspects of the course. I look forward to learning from you and with you this semester.

This blog has been written from my home in Carlsbad, CA.

With this message, I have officially joined the “blogger ranks.” Darlene