I was educated in a traditional educational system in which teachers were transmitting knowledge and students reproduced it. First time when I encountered a completely different educational concept, which resonates with Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) seven principles for good practice in education, was my learning experience in CARNet e-learning academy designed by experts from UBC. It was an eye-opening experience which revealed me a completely new world of education.
After that experience my life has substantially changed. CARNet educational centre has switched from f2f to completely online courses. I’ve been involved in promoting not only e-learning but also new approaches to teaching and learning. I’ve been giving presentations on e-learning projects in Croatian and in some international conferences, which was unthinkable for me before. Similarly, I couldn’t imagine that I would be a student in a university 5400 miles away from where I live.
As a head of CARNet educational centre I was first mainly involved in different aspects of e-learning management, such as planning, coordinating, monitoring etc. After some time I started to get involved in more practical activities, such as being online tutor, writing blog etc. It’s great because I like activities which I can perform by myself more than managing activities of other people.
My general goal for this course is to get hands-on experiences in using cutting-edge technology for achieving pedagogical gains. Although I appreciate tips and tricks I get about using technology in education, I prefer the MET approach, which gives me broader picture and theoretical assumptions and background for technology usage. On the other hand, MET also provides specific methods and tools that embody theory.
I think that I know pretty much about functionalities of LMS since CARNet has been using WebCT and Moodle. I was also involved in development of LMS performed by a Croatian company. Even though I’ve created some modules in Moodle, I still lack hands-on experience in using Moodle. I also would like to get to know new features in Moodle 2.0.
When I started to teach in CARNet e-learning academy, even though I liked the job in general, assessment was the worst part for me. I spent a lot of time comparing students works so I can be sure that every one of them was assessed according to the same criteria. Now I’m more confident but I need a systematic account of assessment and assessment tools.
In ETEC 510 I learned a great deal about social media including wiki and blogging, and I read a lot of great articles including Alexander’s (2006) article on Web 2.0. Since it’s been about one and a half year since I was enrolled in ETEC 510, I guess that now I can learn more about impacts of using social media in education and some new up-to-date tools and features.
I love to use video and I’m a big advocate of using YouTube in educational context, but I’ve never really learned to appreciate flash media. Maybe I will in ETEC 565.
References
Chickering, A.W. & Gamson, Z.F. (1987). Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39 (7), 3-7. Retreived 11 May 2011 from http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm.
Alexander, B. (2006) Web 2.0: A new wave of innovation for teaching and learning? Educause Review, 41(2), 34-44. Retreived 9 February 2010 from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0621.pdf.