Entry #3: Perceptions about e-Learning

Early on in the course we discussed our perspectives on e-learning based on prior knowledge and experience. Before this course began, we all came with preconceived notions about online learning. Having gone through this course and the experience of developing your own initiative, how, if at all, has your perception about e-learning changed?


Prior to the completion of this course I had some MAJOR preconceived notions about online learning. I felt that there was no way students could be successful without face-to-face interactions, especially younger students. I was also a firm believer in the idea that I simply did not possess the qualities of a successful e-learning student. While I wouldn't say all of my feelings about e-learning have changed, I know that many have. With a dedicated instructor, engaging and thought provoking activities and a good community, a successful e-learning environment can be built. I think that one of the biggest worries I have about e-learning, is that it can be difficult to create a community and build relationships with the instructor and other learners. However, after having been exposed to a variety of successful e-learning environments (including this class!), I have seen that those factors really can be accomplished. I still feel that it is preferable for the majority of individuals to have a hybrid face-to-face and online learning environment, but that for some people that is just not possible.

Entry #2: Developing and Implementing e-Learning Initiatives

Do you plan to implement the initiative you developed? Be honest. If yes, what are some specific challenges that you foresee in implementing the initiative you developed? How do you plan to overcome them? If you do not plan on implementing your initiative, why not?

I actually do see the possibility of implementing the initiative I developed. I am in contact with the people who started SMART Inclusion and they have brought up the possibility of a collaborative international research project. If I participate in that project, I will have a huge amount of the necessary research to provide to a school board should I wish to step forward with the initiative. I think that SMART Inclusion is such an amazing project and I know that having thorough professional development is a key step in successful implementation. However, I know there will definitely be challenges. I think that the mindset of administrators and school personnel could be a major roadblock. I think that having a clear outline of exactly what I want to accomplish and how I will do so will go a long way towards helping get past those challenges.

What other thoughts and ideas do you have for developing future e-learning initiatives in your teaching and learning environment?

I think that in the future I will try to have a more clear future goal from the beginning. I think I wasted a lot of time and effort through this project by thinking I was going to go in one direction, then realizing I needed to shift 180 degrees and do something else. I made a lot of big changes towards the end of the project and I think next time I will sit down and come up with a clear goal and plan before making any major decisions. In the future, I would like to develop an e-learning initiative that directly involves the students. That is vastly different from what I did this time and I think it would be worthwhile and further my education.

Entry #1 - Team facilitation activity

To what extent did the team facilitation activity you and your team developed promote engagement? Promote higher order thinking? How do you know?

Our group decided on facilitating a debate for the Pros and Cons of Social Networking in the K-12 setting. Creating the activity was an interesting experience for us. We worked well together, which was very helpful in putting together an engaging activity. That said, we had to make many revisions and I sometimes felt as if we were going around in circles.

We felt that having our classmates simply answer discussion questions, was not the best method of promoting engagement. A debate would provide opportunities for the groups to become enmeshed in the conversation. By presenting ideas and rebuttal arguments, the teams were given the chance to utilize higher order thinking. I found it interesting that there wasn't much need for us to facilitate the discussion once it got started. The debate ran smoothly and the participants came up with some interesting points.

Which of the two activities developed by the other team was the most relevant and meaningful to you, and why?

I have not really had many opportunities to use podcasting or open source software, so they were both useful in expanding my knowledge base. That said, I felt that the activity on open source software was the most meaningful to me. I did not have that many resources to pull from during my first teaching experience, so I am always on the lookout for free opportunities! While I know not all open source programs are free, many are. I explored Edubuntu for their activity.

Edubuntu is based off of Ubuntu and is a Linux educational operating system. Edubuntu is a combination of all the best free education software and games as well as "desktop publishing applications, painting and 3D rendering software" You do not need to request a CD from the company anymore, the program can be downloaded from their website. I think this would be great in education because students love playing computer games and this way you are controlling what games they have access to and ensuring that they are all educational. If you don't want/can't download the program, Edubuntu now has a WebLive feature that allows users to log on for up to 2 hours at a time.

That activity was very useful!!

Reflections on Learning #1

Throughout this course I have had the opportunity to interact and collaborate with many new people, learn about the many aspects of online learning and am now better able to understand what type of learner I am. We have had the chances to interact with a variety of different tools that I think will prove useful as an education professional. I came into this class with a less than positive view about online learning. Now that we are halfway through the course, my outlook has changed. I truly see the value of a well organize e-learning environment. While I do not want all of my learning to take place online, I feel much more confident in my abilities as an online learner.

I feel that this course has really demonstrated the how to create a functioning community in an online setting. There have been a huge variety of activities of all type that I feel really contributed to my engagement in the course. I like that we have a mixture of different sources to learn from (movies, articles, classroom discussions, collaboration, journals, etc.). I have also really enjoyed learning about Web 2.0 tools and Social Networking in the K-12 setting. I am a firm believer that when we have so many great tools at our disposal, we should take full advantage of them in supporting student learning. It really is essential that we introduce these tools so that we can teach our students to utilize them properly and safely. They will learn about them, but without our help they might get into unsafe situations.

I find Web 2.0 tools to be incredibly useful. The collaborative features of Web 2.0 tools is one of the most important aspects that we can apply in the K-12 setting. I have chosen to use a combination of Wikispaces and a discussion forum for my final project. Wikispaces is free, easy to use and can be collaborated on by anyone you choose. Wait a minute, that describes numerous Web 2.0 tools! One of the tools I would like to use in my initiative is screencasting. Screencasting is an incredibly effective (and easy) way to provide professional development to teachers. An activity that will be a part of my initiative is to have my participants create a screencast related to assistive technology tools on the Internet.