“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it’s not all mixed up.”
Background, interest, and goals
For the last five years I have taught grade three in an international school setting. My interest in technology had been primarily related to this age group. When I started with MET, my overall goal was to be able to help our school grow in the area of technology and effective integration of that technology into learning. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, I ended my time at that school earlier this year and am now living back in Vancouver. My focus is starting to shift somewhat as I become involved with setting up some online, higher education programs for students in China. This will be a huge challenge for me firstly, because I have not done this before, and secondly because we have the added challenge of offering courses in Mandarin but having them associated with a school in North America.
Goals & Resources
My main goal for what I want to learn from MET has not changed. I want to learn how to effectively integrate technology into teaching and learning in an education 2.0/3.0 sense. If I critically assess myself, much of what I have done so far is more “old wine in new bottles” (Lankshear & Knobel, 2008) type teaching. To be effective I first need to have my thinking reshaped. The core courses in MET have helped begin that process. What I need most now is more practical training so that I can move from theory to practice. I have gleaned quite a bit of practical information along the way. Of particular value to me is learning about different tools that can be used for different types of learning opportunities.
I believe (and hope) that ETEC565A will
- Continue to reshape my thinking
- Help me learn how to assess the feasibility of various online tools in relation to specific cultural situations
- Become more aware/competent with social software for learning purposes
- Increase my comfort level using multimedia
- Learn/discover how to create assessments for education 2.0 learning
- Be scaffolded in the learning process through online help and course community of practice
- Learn how to set up a Moodle shell for learning purposes: become more competent in html; be confident in creating and using Moodle for online learning purposes
In addition to ETEC565A as a resource, I expect to enhance my learning by using Moodle help and other online resources. I also subscribe to several educational blogs focused on technology. Through these I keep up with current ideas, tools, and practices
As my focus is shifting, my secondary goal is to learn as much as I can about developing a well-planned online education program. This goal has help determine which courses I have chosen to take to maximize my learning opportunities.
- ETEC565A will give me some of the tools that I need to reach this goal. I am particularly interested in learning to set up an LMS and exploring the integration of social software and multimedia to facilitate effective community and learning. Already I have found the two frameworks (SECTIONS (Bates and Poole, 2003) and Seven Principles (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) and the NET standards to be of great value as I learn to think though the issues of online education
- ETEC520 will provide practical guidance for thinking through and setting up an online program
- ETEC565G will help me think through the cultural issues of an online learning environment, particularly as I am involved with students from China.
Knowing and doing must be connected (Situated Learning). I believe that because I have specific practical need for the information I am learning, it will be of interest and will transfer well to my own situation. My fellow students and instructors make up my community of practice. Some are farther along in expertise, while others are perhaps not as far along as I am. Together we will form a community that teaches/learns together. The practice is essential for me to become competent in the areas I am moving into.