So, we are to post from Weeks 1-23. Here I go.
Week 1 Proved to be challenging as I was intimidated. Other posts were looking very sophisticated, and I was somewhat scared not knowing how much I knew or didn’t know as compared to other potcerts people.
As for the quality of this post, I thought I did quite well. I introduced myself and added a picture that gives an idea of who I am – I think. I mean, I like green and serene. And, of course, because many of us were excited about kicking off the semester, I was getting some comments on my post. This I truly appreciated. Thank you for all your comments.
Week 2 This was the week where I was hesitant to jump in and swim. I always move with caution, and this week’s comments confirmed my hyper-cautious ways. I wanted to make sure I understood everything.
So, the quality of the post here is more reflective, pensive. I did not add links or any other elements to the posting; however, I was confident that I would learn to do these things as the weeks progress. And I also posted comments on others’ posts this week, and I received some comments on mine.
Week 3 I enjoyed this week’s assignments because it made me stop to think about my purpose for my courses. It is not to show off fancy, technological stuff.
And I learned how to link a video for the first time to my blog.
Week 4 Proved to be quite frustrating for me. I was struggling with WordPress, losing materials I have tried to post. Then I was watching and going over the videos and readings, and one video got on my nerves. I think it was just the last straw that broke the camel’s back. I made a note to myself that I do not want to ever bore my students with long-winded videos. By the time we got to the TED talk videos in the later weeks, I just knew that I needed to be concise and precise with my information online.
Week 5 For this week, I learned that there are substantial differences between the on-ground syllabus and the online syllabus. The online syllabus takes a lot more thought and preparation and DETAILS. This is excellent, new information for me as I have never taught online.
I exchanged some comments with some fellow potcerts this week. Thank you.
Week 6 How exciting! I, for the first time, learned how to embed a youtube video to my blog. This week was fun because I got to explore exciting stuff – youtube.
This week was very productive for me because I learned something new, and I got a chance to further exchange comments with my potcert fellows.
Week 7 Was on the topic of building rapport. And did we build rapport or what?! I continued to exchange comments with my potcert friends.
Week 8 Again was a reflection on how I could add other elements to the class. In the videos/demos, some people were doing Second Life for class projects, and I was thinking I should add such an element to my class, but you can’t do something just because it’s going to be fun. So, I came to the conclusion that I need to familiarize myself with the platform before I can use it. Also it needs to be user-friendly and accessible for my students.
Although I did not add any link or upload any video, I gained a better understanding of how I would proceed with my online course if I were ever to conduct one in the future.
Week 9 This week was another milestone for me. I learned Diigo. This tool will prove to be very useful for me and my students. I love learning new things – thanks to POT.
My post was very specific to how I can use this new tool. And I exchanged comments on our latest lessons with Ralene. Thanks, Ralene.
Week 10 I was overwhelmed by the amount of resources/platforms out there. And from the comments of my fellow potcerts there seemed to be a difference in opinion. Some were saying that perhaps a platform like Facebook shouldn’t be used, for it is too “personal”. However, Rachele tested out Facebook for her students, and she got a different reception from it. I think it’s how you present it. Rachele made hers into a Facebook group thing, where students were very clear that the group was set up for the specific class. I learned something new, again.
Week 11 This week was quite interesting. I enjoyed the TED talk tremendously. Then there was Ko and Rossen’s explanations of copyright, fair use, intellectual property, and open educational resources. This week’s learning or quality of my post was moderate.
Week 12 Was the week that gave me confidence. I finally was able to say that I can do this “online thing”. But I wanted more. So, I was anticipating the next half of the program.
I would have to say that I did a good job with the reflections for Weeks 1-12. I took my time to think it through and posted my comments with some forethought and insight.
Week 13 The first thing we did upon our return from BREAK was explore. I loved it. I was introduced to Flickr.
I had a technical difficulty in that I wasn’t able to embed the photo in WordPress, but after having learned the various ways of doing things, I got around it by adding a link.
Week 14 Notice that it says 14.2. Well, I was having such a time with eyejot and not being able to embed it to WordPress that I kept having to redo the posting again and again. This week really slowed me down. But I was not going to be easily defeated. So it took emailing Lisa and asking Rachele for help to be able to finally embed eyejot to WordPress. Yeah! This week Jim’s words were really helpful. And other potcert fellows’ comments egged me on. Thank you.
This week’s obstacles proved to be an excellent learning curve for me. I learned that despite having technical issues, I was no longer afraid. I was no longer intimidated. I learned that I can be proficient at this if I do not give up. And there’s always a way out. And if it proves to be too complicated and time consuming, don’t use the tool/platform – like Jim said, “Don’t drive yourself crazy…move on…”
Week 15 I did not post until weeks later. I read the assignments, but I moved on. This is because I wasn’t able to successfully finish the last task with Screen-O-Matic. I wasn’t able to work with it for weeks because after trying to get it to work with 4-5 different computers – mine, my sister’s, the ones at the associate faculty offices, I wasn’t able to get screencast to run. So, finally, I tried again on a specific computer that a potcerter from last year used, and it worked. Why didn’t the idea occur to me before?! So, I finally finished the assignment.
Week 16 This week was about the needs of the online students. And it was so timely. This semester, I have my smartphone, and boy – it’s not only the phone that needs to be smart I need to be smarter. My students were emailing me at 10pm, and as soon as the phone beeped, I checked and had this urge to reply asap. Well, I learned really quick that it’s not wise because thereafter they will email you at any time of day or night with whatever trivial questions they may have. And some of the questions were addressed in the syllabus or posted on BlackBoard at that! What a nice lesson learned.
Week 17 For this week’s lesson, I appreciated the tips from Lisa and Louisa. Again, this week’s lesson came at the heel of what happened last week with my students and my smartphone dilemma.
It takes those that have gone ahead of us to guide us in ways that make our lives easier. Learning from others’ trials and errors is a sweeter lesson indeed.
Notice in the eyejot video how I still didn’t know where to look. I mean, I knew to look into the camera, but with the camera sitting so high up, it was just not comfortable. I am learning.
Week 18 This week was an awakening for me. I NOW want to be a digital native. So, I had better know my CMS well.I had better know other platforms as well. Thank you for introducing me to blogging!
This was a turning point for me. My short term objective was to get a POT Certificate. My current objective is to be a digital resident.
Week 19 “Digital Ethnography” was very insightful. This reminded me that I need to be aware that whatever I do online has an impact. Therefore, I need to make sure that I consider my students and appeal to all types of learners. To be effective, I need to be adept at using various tools online or otherwise available to me.
The lesson for me this week was that I need to be the master of my craft.
Week 20 Took some time for me to get to because I wasn’t able to get SoundCloud up and running. Again, I was having technical difficulty. But having learned from previous week’s activities, I just knew that it’s just a matter of me being willing to continue to explore and give it time. But I found that the sound quality wasn’t too clear. This I corrected the following weeks.
Week 21 To quote Larry Sanger: The merits of online communities have not at all been universally agreed-upon. This, I totally agree with. I cannot dismiss the learnings of the past and because being where we are in the stream of time technologically, we are quite advanced despite all the criticisms of the teaching methodologies/theories not being up-to-date. Since the digital world is so young, we cannot jump on the bandwagon too abruptly and throw out what we already know to work. If I have learned anything from POT is to take the good and use it to my advantage in the classroom.
Week 22 I got excited about PLN. I look forward to setting up my own in a way that works for me. Hopefully, if I ever start teaching online, I will be able to implement something for my students.
This week’s lesson was the impetus to move us into becoming digital natives. I want to.
Week 23 Was my assignment or presentation on a specific lesson from previous learning. So, I chose Our Students Online. This lesson gave me insight into our students and how we can best meet their needs. Also, because of my personal experience with my own students’ comments on how they not only learned writing from me but computer skills as well. Every semester I would get the same comments. Some do not know how to send an email with attachments. Others do not have the basic skill of typing. So I am glad that the Developmental Skills writing classes here in MiraCosta College provide students with the lab as well.
To win a war one must know one’s enemy. To be a successful instructor, one must know one’s students.
Here are my reflections for the POT Program. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Although the immensity of the digital world is making me feel that we have only touched the surface, I feel that this program has certainly more than accomplished its purpose. It has inspired, moved, and embolden me to explore the digital world. Or, you – the volunteer instructors behind the scene – have done this. Thank you, Jim, Lisa, Pilar, and the many others that contributed to my learning experience. To repeat myself, I am encouraged to further explore the digital world so as to become a resident or native. And, this is with the end of meeting the needs of my students and enriching myself. I feel so much richer. Thank you.