Evidence and Reflection Learning #1:
Learner-led Seminar
OLTD Learning Outcomes Addressed:
Learner-led Seminar
OLTD Learning Outcomes Addressed:
- Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of online learning environments and tools
- Plan learning opportunities most suitable to the strengths and challenges of a variety of environments
- Develop and design intentional learning activities suitable for the appropriate environment and the learner
- Select strategies and resources appropriate for environment, learners and learning outcomes
- Design inclusive learning environments
- Share engagement strategies and tips
- Moderation and mediation
- Understand how to build rapport and manage groups
- Engage in building learning communities and communities of practice
- Consider responsibility, accountability and civility in online environments
Reflection to support evidence:
My first evidence of learning is the Weebly website created by Brad and Stefanie and myself for teaching Seminar #4, Building Virtual Communities. For this assignment we were required to work with our group to develop and facilitate a 7-day learning seminar on our chosen topic. Our challenge was to come up with learning activities that would teach, provide personal experience and reflection on how to build community. As a guide, we used Salmon’s (2003) 5 Stage framework model to support building the course. To achieve this, we worked collaboratively on a google doc and met weekly on Collaborate for a synchronous discussion to develop our course before creating the website that become our student link for the intended seminar.
This experience of being “at the helm” of teaching online for one week was enlightening. I came to appreciate what I could only surmise through being a student. In some aspects it is far more challenging to teach online than face-to-face. Being clear and concise is imperative when creating intended outcomes, activities, and instructions. Planning and troubleshooting possible technical problems can make the course run more smoothly. I found guiding a synchronous class challenging with the absence of facial feedback. I appreciated the opportunity to reflect and discuss this issue with other cohort members to create a list of ideas to help become a more effective moderator. We had a group consensus that our video profile activity was the most challenging and rewarding activity. Feedback and reflection from that process revealed, that although the activity was a struggle for students, the learning and growth both personally and as a community, made it well worth the effort.
This activity, from our first group discussion, to our final reflection was practical and valuable. Everything I learned and experienced I will take and apply to future online and blended courses. I appreciated working with two partners that were willing to share my excitement and enthusiasm and to provide new perspectives and ideas to my own. I chose the topic building virtual communities because feeling connected to a community is vital to my learning journey. This experience provided the opportunity to see online learning from both the teacher and student perspectives. Although an aware teacher will create a course incorporating teacher and social presence, I also recognized my responsibility as the learner to participate during class and reach out to my community to aid in that connection.
My first evidence of learning is the Weebly website created by Brad and Stefanie and myself for teaching Seminar #4, Building Virtual Communities. For this assignment we were required to work with our group to develop and facilitate a 7-day learning seminar on our chosen topic. Our challenge was to come up with learning activities that would teach, provide personal experience and reflection on how to build community. As a guide, we used Salmon’s (2003) 5 Stage framework model to support building the course. To achieve this, we worked collaboratively on a google doc and met weekly on Collaborate for a synchronous discussion to develop our course before creating the website that become our student link for the intended seminar.
This experience of being “at the helm” of teaching online for one week was enlightening. I came to appreciate what I could only surmise through being a student. In some aspects it is far more challenging to teach online than face-to-face. Being clear and concise is imperative when creating intended outcomes, activities, and instructions. Planning and troubleshooting possible technical problems can make the course run more smoothly. I found guiding a synchronous class challenging with the absence of facial feedback. I appreciated the opportunity to reflect and discuss this issue with other cohort members to create a list of ideas to help become a more effective moderator. We had a group consensus that our video profile activity was the most challenging and rewarding activity. Feedback and reflection from that process revealed, that although the activity was a struggle for students, the learning and growth both personally and as a community, made it well worth the effort.
This activity, from our first group discussion, to our final reflection was practical and valuable. Everything I learned and experienced I will take and apply to future online and blended courses. I appreciated working with two partners that were willing to share my excitement and enthusiasm and to provide new perspectives and ideas to my own. I chose the topic building virtual communities because feeling connected to a community is vital to my learning journey. This experience provided the opportunity to see online learning from both the teacher and student perspectives. Although an aware teacher will create a course incorporating teacher and social presence, I also recognized my responsibility as the learner to participate during class and reach out to my community to aid in that connection.
Evidence and Reflection Learning #2:
Reflective Practice in Action - Reflecting on your experience in OLTD 503
OLTD Learning Outcomes Addressed:
- Become familiar with common terms, definitions and elements related to online environments
- Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of online learning environments and tools
- Critically assess and evaluate resources for best practice in online learning
- Examine current research around best practices and emerging practices
503 Reflections - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;
Reflection to support evidence:
My second evidence of learning is the Haiku deck I created as my reflective practice in action. For the assignment we were asked to examine our experiences and learning during the past six weeks. This activity included revisiting our initial paper which defined our personal online communication teaching philosophy to reexamine our initial beliefs with our new experiences and understandings. To complete this assignment, I used a free app called Haiku Deck. Haiku deck is a simple, easy to use app, that allows the user to create presentations. To get a full understanding of all of the creating tools, I watched a beginner YouTube video. One of the benefits of using Haiku Deck is the choice and variety of free images available that are automatically referenced in the presentation.
As a result of creating this project I was able to synthesize the main points of learning for each week and compile those understandings to identify where my thoughts and beliefs had changed from the beginning of the course. As a result, I was able to define my learning theory in more detail to comprehend how I use it to support my teaching practice. The strength of using the Haiku Deck as a presentation tool is the ability to use pictures and titles to highlight concepts, thoughts and ideas. For visual learners like myself, being able to categorize text using a picture, helps to organize and clarify ideas that promotes opportunity for deeper meaning and understanding to transpire.
The culmination of this assignment provided me with more understanding of the complete picture of implementing and teaching an online course. It gave me the opportunity to apply everything I have learned so far relating it both theoretically and experientially. The outcomes from this emphasized where I feel confident, where I need to focus my attention and what I feel really passionate about. My strengths lay in the process of collaboratively building the course with objectives, appropriate learning activities, organizing the website, online interaction and student feedback and support. My weakness was in moderating the synchronous class due to lack of experience, level of understanding and confidence. My passion is communication, more specifically, how do we communicate both verbally and in text to support and foster the feeling level and information we are aiming to convey?
My second evidence of learning is the Haiku deck I created as my reflective practice in action. For the assignment we were asked to examine our experiences and learning during the past six weeks. This activity included revisiting our initial paper which defined our personal online communication teaching philosophy to reexamine our initial beliefs with our new experiences and understandings. To complete this assignment, I used a free app called Haiku Deck. Haiku deck is a simple, easy to use app, that allows the user to create presentations. To get a full understanding of all of the creating tools, I watched a beginner YouTube video. One of the benefits of using Haiku Deck is the choice and variety of free images available that are automatically referenced in the presentation.
As a result of creating this project I was able to synthesize the main points of learning for each week and compile those understandings to identify where my thoughts and beliefs had changed from the beginning of the course. As a result, I was able to define my learning theory in more detail to comprehend how I use it to support my teaching practice. The strength of using the Haiku Deck as a presentation tool is the ability to use pictures and titles to highlight concepts, thoughts and ideas. For visual learners like myself, being able to categorize text using a picture, helps to organize and clarify ideas that promotes opportunity for deeper meaning and understanding to transpire.
The culmination of this assignment provided me with more understanding of the complete picture of implementing and teaching an online course. It gave me the opportunity to apply everything I have learned so far relating it both theoretically and experientially. The outcomes from this emphasized where I feel confident, where I need to focus my attention and what I feel really passionate about. My strengths lay in the process of collaboratively building the course with objectives, appropriate learning activities, organizing the website, online interaction and student feedback and support. My weakness was in moderating the synchronous class due to lack of experience, level of understanding and confidence. My passion is communication, more specifically, how do we communicate both verbally and in text to support and foster the feeling level and information we are aiming to convey?