Who am I?
I have been working as an IT application and programmer analyst for about 9 years while periodically providing IT training to customers. I also taught Korean language and literature for a year back in South Korea. Thus, with experience in technology and education, I believe I can contribute to the advancement of both.
I have been exposed to diverse technologies from different operating systems to programming languages, like Java, Python, and other web technology related languages. However, my interest is not limited to the world of technology. My interest in education was piqued when I was taking my first MOOC course from Coursera, which was Human Computer Interaction, offered by Stanford University. I was amazed with how the topic can be taught online and by the enthusiastic support of classmates from all over the world. It was an eye opening moment for me. The best part of being in MOOC courses was learning with people from all over the world for free. This unique experience has driven me to pursue further studies in the field of educational technology and finally join the MET.
I am taking the MET (Master of Educational Technology) to explore how technology can help people learn. I would like to be a part of a movement dedicated to making education affordable so that everyone who wants to learn can endeavor to succeed. I want to create an educational platform that can help individuals reach for their dreams . I know I am a big dreamer. However, I believe that providing people with the means to reach beyond their abilities and improve themselves through education is quite achievable. To me the simple reward of seeing it happen would be enough.
My Flight Destination
The three most important goals that I would like to achieve through ETEC 565A are learning effective ways to incorporate social media into online class activities so that teachers and learners can achieve more vibrant, quality communication, designing effective course content using learning management systems (LMS) or other web-based applications, and lastly, designing and assessment tools for effective evaluation in online classes.
The first area involves incorporating social media into online IT classes to improve the quality of real time collaboration and communication. I have gained collaborative experience in online communities such as Coursera and Udacity, which offer discussion forums and Q&A where students discuss topics that are difficult to understand and get feedback from classmates, community TA and teachers in a timely manner. However, discussions often lose momentum as time passes. Some questions are not answered at all or answered with some degree of uncertainty. In my experience with online classes, I often think that students would be able tackle such uncertainty more effectively if they had access to social media tools like Twitter or Google Hangout to facilitate real time discussions at least once per week. That would give them a chance to get to know classmates better and clarify answers by asking additional questions in real time. Thus, I would like to learn how other schools or educational facilities utilize Social media to manage class communication or learning activities and if there are any possible implications of implementing social media like Twitter or Reddit in online educational settings.
Secondly, I would like to learn effective ways to set up LMSs or other web-based systems to improve the quality of instruction a digital-age teaching professional delivers. Furthermore, I would like to explore the advantages and disadvantages of different LMSs or web-based instructional systems. Nowadays we are bombarded with many different digital learning and teaching technologies. Therefore, knowing how to select the most effective teaching platform and how to design appropriate courses for target audiences with various teaching-assistive tools will help me become an effective educational platform designer.
Lastly, I would like to learn about how to implement or design effective assessment tools in online classes. Hattie (2007) pointed out feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement, but this impact can be either positive or negative. It appears decisions around assessment predictably have as much to do with the management of student numbers. In particular, assessment is difficult when it comes down to MOOC because instructors cannot give feedback to each student. This offers a different assessment paradigm to massive-enrollment online classes such as peer assessment and multiple choice questions, or short answer questions. However, the paradigm is not suitable for classes that require written assignments. My goal is to select the right assessment tools or methods for different class sizes that would help instructors evaluate learning outcomes in creative ways.
My intent is to align my ideas about utilizing technology in online classes with the following references as the course moves along:
- Rebecca J. Griffiths. (2013) “MOOCs IN THE CLASSROOM”, ithaka.org
- Bates and Poole. (2003) “A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology.” In Effective Teaching with Technology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Pages 75-105
- Anderson, T. (2008). “Towards and Theory of Online Learning.” In Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca University
- Anderson, T. (2008). “Teaching in an Online Learning Context.” In: Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca University
- John Hattie and Helen Timperley. (2007) “The Power of Feedback”, University of Auckland