Some insights from Week 2

I discovered in my reading and reflecting that there are at least 2 aspects of online classes that I do appreciate.
1. Their convenience makes them available to more people. This way, you can potentially have a greater impact on more students and as educators, we can help improve students' educational experiences. I know that online learning is more convenient for more people. We've discovered that in our grad program we can reach more teachers around the world who are interested in a Christian grad program in education. The online format makes it convenient as long as you have an internet connection and access to email and most types of technology.
2. I didn't realize it until this week that one of the features I appreciate is that students have to take initiative in order to be successful students in online programs. I have a sense that undergrad students in our program can sometimes just come to class, put forth minimal effort, and still learn enough to pass. Granted, they don't learn a lot but they can passively learn enough to pass many courses. A well-designed online class can really keep that from happening. And, of course, I want to build that well-designed class.

I enjoyed the slide show on how to design an effective and high quality online course. I mentioned in Today's Meet that it helped me realize the effective coaching I had from Tim, Pat, and Kathleen as I designed my summer 2013 course. It also told me again that I am a pragmatist in many ways. I like the down to earth, specific info in those slides. They seem to describe the experiences I've had and read/heard about. And they help me to have a sense of what I need to do in order to be successful. All that in just a few minutes. Wow!

One other thing to admit: As I worked on my course map, I got excited about how I can make round 2 more effective than round 1. And the idea that I will have things mostly planned by the time the summer starts THRILLS me!

First Post

"Alter your thinking to that of the students in your course and what they need in order to learn" as opposed to what you need to do in order to teach. This is an interesting shifts in paradigms, and it's one that the Education Department has been discussing for a few months now. As a Teacher Preparation Program, we obviously have to put some emphasis on what a teacher does and how a teacher thinks. At the same time, we have to help our students view the ultimate assessment as what the students are learning and what it's going to take to get them to learn. So the idea of taking the student perspective is crucial. I think that's why it's helpful to take an online or blended course before trying to teach one even if the greatest learning is what NOT to do.

I appreciated Smith's attention to anticipating what students need in order to learn. We also need to consider the content we need to teach, but that content won't have a great deal of effect if we organize and teach the course poorly. I am looking forward to hearing what many of our peers have learned from their experiences. That will help me a LOT!