Synthesis
Précis of Flight Plan
At the beginning of this course, I set a lofty goal to learn about LMS design and methodology. In particular, I wanted to become more literate with technology tools in order to “model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008) for my students.
I also hoped to learn more about wikis and Moodle since I have not worked with either one before this course. The main reason for wanting to know more about this technology, other than curiosity, was to have a “range of learner activities available” (Bates & Poole, 2003, p. 86) to use with my students.
eLearning Toolkit Experience
I appreciated the variety of activities offered in the toolkit and had an opportunity to complete a number of them.
DVD Authoring
The DVD authoring activity provided me with valuable insight into what was involved in creating and finalizing a DVD, as well as the time commitment required. I used this knowledge when contributing to discussions in weeks 5 (DVD authoring) and week 12 (Kwikwetlem Project).
Wikis
The wiki activity was also useful as it allowed me to practice my HTML coding skills which were needed in this course, as well as the other one I’m taking this term. Practicing my HTML coding skills also made me a more confident contributor to the week 9 discussion which took place in a wiki. I also appreciated the HTML quiz which I completed a few times throughout the course. I remember being completely overwhelmed when I took the quiz the first time as I was unfamiliar with HTML. I feel much more comfortable with it now after using it to create (and troubleshoot) the HTML pages for my Moodle site, and the week 9 discussion in the wiki. I also try to use HTML with as many of my weekly discussion postings as possible to get extra practice.
Social Software
I completed an activity where I reviewed the terms of service (TOS) for four social software sites, namely LinkedIn, Flickr, Facebook and Delicious. It was amazing to note how much control these sites have over the content that users post to them. The number of adjectives used to describe this control ranged from perpetual and worldwide, to royalty-free, non-exclusive and transferable. While I’m one of those people who reads every clause before clicking the “I Agree” button (it must be the auditor in me), I’m not sure that my students do. I plan to use some of the information I gathered during this activity to educate my students about these agreements and to ensure they’re aware of what they’re agreeing to when they click the accept button.
Weblogs
I am still a newbie to blogging and I had plenty of opportunity to become more familiar with this form of communication throughout the tem. I am now much more confident creating new posts and editing them when needed. I also learned how to embed a video into one of my posts for the digital story assignment.
My ETEC565 Experience
Icebreaker
I enjoyed the icebreaker that I completed at the start of the course using Wimba Voice. This is the first time I have been able to hear my classmates in an MET course. It was a great way to get to know everyone and I enjoyed revisiting the introductions toward the end of the course.
SECTIONS Framework
Bates and Poole’s SECTIONS framework was an invaluable resource that I kept coming back to throughout the course. From the group project developing the online delivery platform rubric to the Kwikwetlem Project response in week 12, I keep revisiting the framework. I know I will refer to it throughout my MET experience and beyond. I envision using the model to help with decisions at the “strategic and the tactical level and also to help decide within a particular technology the most appropriate balance between different media” (Bates & Poole, 2003, p. 80). Based on my experience in the corporate world, I appreciate having a framework to guide my decision-making process.
Wiki Activity
The sum total of my wiki experience prior to this course consisted of reading Wikipedia entries. In week nine, our course discussion took place in a wiki environment. I’ll admit there was a learning curve as I tried to figure out the HTML coding so I could post my thoughts and respond to the posts of others. It was a fun and interactive way to learn more about wikis.
Digital Story
I really enjoyed this assignment and was pleased to create something that I can use with my students when I return to the classroom in September. It was fun to look at the different options to create my story, and I appreciated the flexibility to select my own tool to tell my story. I learned a great deal about Xtranormal during this activity including how to direct a movie, and how to fix some incorrect pronunciations that my story characters were using.
Case Studies
The use of case studies throughout the course was an effective way to apply the content I was learning. I use case studies with my Business students to provide them with opportunities to apply their knowledge to real-world situations. Ontario curriculum documents for Business Studies suggest that teachers should incorporate “real-world learning activities that combine the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 5) to assist students with the transition to the work world. For me, the opportunity to apply the knowledge I learned through the weekly readings was invaluable. I find that concepts “stick” if I can actually apply them.
Moodle
This was a very challenging assignment for me and really pushed me out of my comfort zone. I had no experience with Moodle before starting this course and when I first read the requirements for the assignment, I felt completely overwhelmed. I have some project management experience from my corporate life (albeit in a financial capacity) and I used this methodology to determine and scope the required tasks. After I sorted out which course and which modules I wanted to work with, I had to find a tool to help with the HTML coding. I downloaded and starting learning to use Amaya. While Amaya was fairly user-friendly, I did find some limitations such as only being able to use three font styles and I had some difficulty getting the text to be Arial as it preferred Times New Roman. With each HTML page I created, I learned more about how to code (and debug!) and the process became a bit faster.
Another part of the assignment that I found challenging included developing the customized GUI with the navigational components for the front page of my course. I couldn’t find any graphics that I liked, so I decided to create my own. Uploading the graphics into Moodle was easy, but getting them properly placed in the table I created was not. An online search helped with the coding necessary to link the navigational components with their individual web pages.
I also struggled with the selective release functionality. I spent many hours researching this functionality only to find that this capability does not exist in Moodle 1.9. Other potential workarounds would have required administrator privileges (which I didn’t have) or a change in my course layout. In the end, I decided the best way to address this requirement was to hide the credit module from students with the intention of releasing it when they had completed the banking module.
I am pleased with how my course site turned out (for a first attempt) and I’m sure the process will be much faster next time as the learning curve will be much less steep!
Next Steps
My confidence with educational technology has certainly increased this term as I was pushed outside of my comfort zone on a number of occasions. While this is always frightening at the outset, seeing the end results and how much I’ve learned makes it worthwhile.
I have set several goals for myself including continuing to use HTML as much as possible so I don’t lose all that I have learned, and I want to continue to explore more of the tools on the CogDogRoo site (http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/StoryTools). Having an opportunity to view everyone’s digital stories encouraged me to explore some of the tools in more detail. When I have some time in August, I plan to play around with some of the tools to determine how I can incorporate some of them into my lessons, as well as providing students with the opportunity to use some of the tools to complete course assignments (a form of differentiated assessment).
I also find that I am paying much more attention to how online courses are organized since creating my own. My daughter has taken three online courses this year and I think she finds my requests to “look at” her sites a bit odd. I have learned and will continue to learn more about the elements of a good online course from ease of navigation to consistency in font size and colour, and overall site organization. I’ve started a list of kewl things I’ve seen in other online courses so I can attempt to incorporate them into my own site design in the future. I hope to have an opportunity to teach online courses with my Board in the near future. It would be great to be able to incorporate some of the concepts I’ve learned regarding site design, activities, and the nature and frequency of interaction between student and teacher.
I really enjoyed the hands-on nature of this course (even though it scared me at times) as well as the fantastic collaboration with my peers. I appreciated the honest, thorough and timely feedback I received from my classmates on assignments as well as weekly discussions.
References
Bates A. W. & Poole, G. (2003). A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In A.W. Bates & G. Poole, Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education (pp. 75-108). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for-teachers-2008.aspx
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2006). The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Business Studies, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/business.html