WEEK 12 – POTCERT – END OF FALL SEMESTER

Hello POTCERT Scholars,

This has been a very educational semester. I have learned so much and have been able to update my classes webpages due to all that I have learned. Thanks again for such a wonderful experience.  Attached are my blogs and recollections.

 Week 1  – Introduction and Start Blogging.  I  did not complete the course last year and had a great start on this year’s work. I already had my blog site and was able to update more easily.

Week 2 –  Teaching and Learning Online.    I took the Beginner’s Questionnaire.  Updated my Blackboard site with new Discussion Board information.  Also worked with Diigo and updated some sites.  Also had the chance to review old posts on Diigolet.

Week 3 – Pedagogy and Course Design I.    I posted a link to a medical terminology site that I found useful.  Also added images to this post.  Had a lot of fun finding appropriate images to post in this site and on my Blackboard site.  Spent time reviewing Youtube videos to add to my blog site also.

Week 4 –  Pedagogy and Course Design II.  I spent days, literally, watching Youtube videos and adding them to the Resources section in my Blackboard site.  Found the tours of other online classes very helpful.  Also really liked the advise to improve your site as you learn as opposed to having a perfect site immediately.  This freed me up to just keep on improving my site.

Week 5 –  The Online Syllabus.  I attached my interactive syllabus to this post.  I really like the idea of having the students check off when they have read the syllabus before they can move on.  I will be adding this feature to future syllabi.  Had fun also attaching interactive brain teasers to the blog.

Week 6 –  Internet Skills, Critical Thinking and Tools.  I do not know why I had such a difficult time last year embedding video.  But this year I have had a great time embedding videos.  I attached a TED talk to the site along with a great image.  I really enjoy the TED talks and embed them quiet often on my Blackboard site.  I also embed On Course materials to give students pep talks and inspirational comments.  I also really like the mashup option in Blackboard and the video capabilities.

Week 7 –  The Online Classroom.  Signed up for the POTCERT Twitter site.  Posted a great image of internet tools on my site.  Also posted a Youtube video that I found very interesting.  Spent a lot of time exploring more internet tools.

Week 8 –  Creating Community.  Really enjoyed the VoiceThread.  I have been working more with Blackboard in my class. I still really like making short videos throughout the week when students have problems with course content.

Week 9 – Student Activities and Open Platforms.  Really enjoyed using Diigo and posting sticky notes.  Now when I read text, I keep looking for a way to post my thoughts on the text.  I also like posting inspirational thoughts in Blackboard and on announcements.

Week 10 – Class Resources and Intellectual Property.  This was a really exciting week for great information.  The whole idea of the California Community College Consortium is just amazing.  To be able to leave an educational legacy is mind blowing.  Really thought the talk by Lawrence Lessig was eye opening and reminds us older teachers how students talk and communicate now.  There is so much free interne information to share.  The only problem I have is I get so entranced with all of the info that I forget what I was looking for.

Week 11 – Presentation.  Had a QUITE  bit of trouble this week with creating something truly engaging.  I utilized Plotagon and created a video.  However, when I attempted to upload to Youtube it was not able to complete this task.  I then had to shift gears and make something else.  After several days of exploring animation sites, that I could never get to work for me, I shifted to just making a video. That started on Saturday morning and I am now finishing at 10:15 pm Sunday night.   This is done and uploaded to Youtube. In the future I will take into consideration the time involved in uploading this type of video.  Whew.

I feel that I have worked hard this semester, learned a lot and participated fully in all class assignments.  I do, however, spend much more than five hours a week on these assignments.  I usually spend more like 20 hours each week.

Thanks again for a wonderful semester.  I look forward to the next semester.  We will be talking during the break.  Have a wonderful holiday season.