Flight Path

LEARNING GOALS

Although I’m a lifelong learner and have used LMS as a student, as a career changer, the field of education is brand new to me and I have much that I would like to learn.  I’ve just started an internship with an instructional design company who uses Moodle, and so for this course and my internship, I hope to kill two birds with one stone by learning the Moodle platform.  Below I have listed my high-level goals for this course:

  • Evaluating and selecting appropriate digital learning tools for course development, particularly interactive tools that engages and supports constructivist learning.
  • Selecting and customizing Learning Management Systems (LMS) to accommodate learners’ and instructors’ needs.
  • Improve writing and graphic design to suit intended audience.
  • Analyzing best methods and tools to encourage participation, promote communication and generate meaningful discussions both synchronously and asynchronously in online classrooms.
  • Understanding user experience and how to best utilize it.

 

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EXPERIENCES WITH INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES/TOOLS

While the field of education may be new to me as a career, I find that a lot of tools that can be used here are ones where I can draw on my experience with them when I used them in other work fields, for pleasure, or even as a student.  I separated my experience by category below:

  • Learning Management Systems: As a student, I am familiar with Blackboard Connect and hope to learn to use it from the flip side of the coin as a course development tool.
  • Website Creation: I used to write HTML coding to build websites for fun when I was in high school and I now find myself brushing up on this skill set to update it to the HTML5 language, with the intention of also picking up CSS and Java. Regarding off-the-shelf site creators, I am familiar with Wix and Weebly and find that they are user-friendly tools to use. I have some experience with WordPress but am still fumbling through its settings. Proficiency is my goal by the end of this course.
  • Foundational Tools: I am well-versed with Microsoft Office which always provides a solid basis for any computer work to be done. I find that MS Powerpoint, though has its limitations, is a great tool for presentations both in the academic and corporate environments
  • Video Creators: I have used VideoScribe, Powtoon, and Camtasia before. All of which easily lends a polished feel to my videos. I find that Camtasia is an interesting instructional tool as you can record exactly what you do on your computer as a video to show learners.