E-portfolio Assignment 6: Portfolio Synthesis Reflection
My eLearning Toolkit Experience
My eLearning Toolkit experience was quite helpful. I did not seek help from each technology available, but the ones that I did, generally answered my questions. If not, I would seek advice via the Web, ask my peers, or if either of those failed, I would ask the teacher.
I visited the Web design and HTML authoring section of the toolkit various times throughout the course. The design questions and issues section was probably the most helpful because it provided me with ideas of to do and what not to do for my own Moodle site such as “Never embed an audio or video file that autoplays…”; “use lots of white space…” or “try to stay with black font on a white background for your text. I also visited the websites that suck link to get an idea of what I shouldn’t do. This section of the toolkit is also where I was able to find a free WYSISYG Web Design Software option. I chose NVu and have been very pleased. It is easy to use and fairly reliable. There were a couple times that it had some error and shut down or would not for some reason allow me to edit pages I had created. In these cases I would cut and paste the code I had into a new window and resave to be able to continue working. All problems set aside, I like the program – and I was able to work around the problems I had.
The Wiki portion of the toolkit was useful because I was enrolled in ETEC 510 simultaneously. In addition to this particular page, I frequently used the help: formatting page within the general UBC wiki because I was not familiar with wiki code. This page was also helpful when setting up the wiki within my own Moodle site because I chose to use the wiki formatting option as opposed to the html code formatting.
The mLearning page led me the Moodle page which was very helpful in getting me started with the LMS platform. Here, I tried the activities which were a great starting point for using Moodle. Here is my Reflection that I posted about my experience with this portion of the eLearning Toolkit.
Flight Path Précis
I had big intentions for my flight path. I was eager to learn and I still am. I originally set out to learn how to use various tools to create different learning experiences for my students. Many, if not most of my intentions, were unattained during the three month course, but will remain on my to-do list. I had stated that my main goal overall in the MET program was to learn how to integrate technologies that are going to last, that are not novel, into my classroom. This statement still holds true for me and I will continue to learn new technologies to improve student achievement, not student entertainment. I had specifically wanted to build an online component for my Spanish 12 class in order to extend the classroom to my students’ homes. This I can proudly say I feel I have partially accomplished (I only completed 2 of about 5 full modules that I teach in the f2f course).
In addition to wanting to build an online component for my Spanish 12 class, I learned how to create assessment tools for my students that provides them with instant feedback within Moodle using the Quiz feature as well as through Hot Potato (which I prefer). My other intentions, such as setting up modules that include text and oral/aural lessons, imbedding audio and/or audio visual components to assess my students speaking ability for larger projects that can be shared/viewed by others in the class, and how to podcast, are left on my to-do list. Some of these features are going to require getting approval from my own administration because there are costs involved in order to best achieve these goals. One of my intentions, having my students start e-portfolios, was attempted using the WordPress concept that this very synthesis is hosted. However, I ran into issues with my own students due to not having full WordPress capabilities.
My ETEC565A Experience
My experience with ETEC 565A has been incredible. To begin, the interactions and feedback received from my peers and the professor are a large part of why this course has been incredible. I learned a tremendous amount about various web 2.0 tools, Moodle, how to evaluate technology using the SECTIONS framework which I have brought into my own school for my colleagues, and how to better evaluate my own teaching through the various case studies we examined. The ideas that came forth during the discussions were very helpful and insightful.
The way in which this course is different from and more comprehensive than other courses is due to the fact that this course incorporated synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities from the professor. During the weekly discussions, I found it very helpful to be able to see the professional opinion of the professor on the various cases examined. It was encouraging to see that the professor too gained ideas from us, showing us that learning is a lifelong process. It was also great to see that the work and ideas that the students put into the discussions were actually viewed and expanded upon by the professor (Thank you John!).
My favourite assignment within this course was the Digital story using a web 2.0 tool. When I first explored the various tools that we could use, I was flooded with new ideas that I could do not only with my students, but for fun for myself. I was provided with a whole new sense of what is on the net and how there are millions of different things that people can do. And having the ability to choose which tool we wanted to use for our story was empowering. It allowed me to be in control of what I wanted to learn for this particular assignment which is something all teachers need to allow for their students. These web 2.0 tools that we were introduced to permitted the user to be able to communicate with others in so many ways. Teachers need to take advantage of tools that enable learners to communicate and learn is ways that are relevant to them.
My Next Steps
As soon as this course is over, I’m going to take a two week’s break. Then I have been asked to tutor a colleague in the basics of Moodle so that he can be on his way to creating his own site as well. I think that this initial step, right after the course will help to solidify that which I have learned so far. It will also give me the chance to tinker with the platform more in order to help answer any questions that he may have. In terms of expanding my knowledge in other areas, I am setting a small personal goal of learning at least one new Web 2.0 tool such as those listed Alan Levine’s site.
I also plan to continue to develop the course that I began for the ETEC 565 course site assignment. I purposefully chose to do a site that I would actually be able to use in the future to make my experience that much more meaningful. As of right now, the course has two full modules in addition to various course information and tools. I still need to develop three more modules that I use in my current face-to-face course. However, I plan to mainly create the various HTML pages in NVu, quizzes and tests in Hot Potatoes or SurveyMonkey (or other applications that I encounter), and later upload them into the platform that my school will be using starting September 2012 which is SharePoint. My hope is to be able to have the resources developed in order to offer an online and/or blended Spanish 12 course. I believe that this will provide a more modern learning environment for my students, which provides them with choices. Having my courses set up to be blended allows for my students to learn whether they are able to physically be in class or not (especially during flu season). This goal will enable me to reach my true goal of implementing a full “flipped” classroom concept that would be conducted via an LMS. For me, the LMS will be a guiding shell for my students. It will be their starting point and a safe, secure place for them to collaborate and build knowledge.
A long-term goal that I have for myself is to learn more about how to achieve an Education 3.0 learning environment that I feel will meet the needs of BC’s new education plan in conjunction with 21st Century Education. While I took ETEC 565, I also took ETEC 510 where at the end of the course we were introduced to this reading by Keats and Schmidt. I would like to take a closer look at this article as well as others that describe similar education shifts. I am a strong supporter of changing the current stigma that has thwarted the education system and I plan to try to make changes first in my own classroom, then in my school, and on to my district where I have already started to raise awareness of the future education paradigm shift. I think that the research and case studies that I have so far encountered in the MET program have changed my teaching philosophy slightly and I do not want to be alone in these changes. I have seen in my own classes when I have incorporated what I have learned into them, the increase of knowledge and active participation of my students.
I would like to be able to step away from the notion that I am the sole source of knowledge. I want to become the teacher that learns and creates alongside his/her students, while still being the guide or facilitator when needed. I am not sure what this will look like in my subject area, but I will learn and make the necessary changes. I am a lifelong learner.