Reflections on Part 1 of Intro to Online Learning

During the first part of the course, there are certain objectives that all students are expected to meet. These objectives measure our progression throughout the course. How have I met these objectives? Well that is a question that takes examining the objectives on a weekly basis then explaining how I’ve met the objectives per their respective weeks:

Week 1
1. Use the course tools to accomplish the learning activities in the unit.
2. Identify what you will need to do to finish the course successfully.
3. Contact other students and the instructor through email, discussion posts, and "Who's Online"
4. Adhere to appropriate 'netiquette' standards in course interactions.
5. Reflect on your current understanding of online teaching and learning and your expectations for this course.

Navigation through the WebCT is a learning experience in itself. I’ve been in many online courses. Learning how to navigate this individual course was rather difficult. I had troubles finding what assignments needed to be completed and what exactly the assignment needed to be completed. Posting to the discussion forums and e-mailing the instructor where among the assignments for Week 1. Also, creation of this blog was an assignment. Completing these tasks represent meeting the objective for Week 1 and the next 5 weeks to come.

Week 2
1. Discuss the issues involved in the High Tech High Touch dichotomy and how they can be resolved in the online environment.
2. Discuss characteristics of a constructivist course and why constructivism is a popular theoretical underpinning for many online courses.
3. Participate in a live (synchronous) discussion using the WebCT chat tool.

High Tech Touch was an interesting subject matter. We were asked to comment on High Tech High Touch and constructivism. I was confused on certain parts of this unit. At first, I didn’t address what the instructor wanted in the discussion posts. I used terms that I learned in other course and they didn’t seem to fit what the discussion was about. I also was not clear on how to attend a live discussion. This would be resolved in the weeks to come.

Week 3
1. Differentiate between web-enhanced, hybrid or blended, and fully-online courses.
2. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of Online Learning.
3. Suggest strategies for web-enhancing an existing course.

This is the unit where we explored the possibility of taking an on-the-ground course and making it a fully online course. The general consensus was that one must transition into making a traditional course fully online. For example, you take a calculus course and setup an online assistant page. The next semester, the instructor introduces math software called Mathematica to assist with graphing solutions in calculus. The next semester after that, calculus would then be taught in a computer lab with Mathematica as the center of the calculus course. Then finally, Mathematica is used full online and self-guided.

Week 4-Week 5
1. Distinguish between different learning styles.
2. Identify your own preferred learning style(s).
3. Apply learning theory concepts to a specific situation.
4. Utilize effective strategies for virtual group work.

These weeks were interesting as well as challenging. We did an aggregate composition of assignments that will cater to a chosen learning style. I chose tactile kinesthetic. We were then asked to complete a peer evaluation. I got confused because I thought it would be an online form. I also didn’t know when it was due. One must reference the calendar frequently in this course. I think that the assignments that are due should be on the calendar as a link. Usually, WebCT lets you know that there is assignment that is due immediately. I didn’t get that common alert and I therefore missed an assignment. Points in this course are hard to come by and I strive to be my best at all times. There were a lot of student withdrawals and thus the debriefing and feedback discussion was cancelled. This week shook my confidence in continuing this course.

Week 6
1. Distinguish between different teaching styles.
2. Identify your own preferred teaching style.
3. Discuss how different learning styles require different teaching strategies.

I found that my teaching style is similar to my learning style. My ‘hands off’ policy would make the course more student-centered instead of teacher-centered. I furthermore learned that in order to effectively assist students, you must consider the different learning styles of the students.

This is my reflection on Part 1 of ONTL650, Introduction to Online Teaching with instructor Engle at Governor’s State University, Summer 2008. The first half of the course is very rigorous and takes much dedication and thorough attention-to-detail to successfully complete Part 1.

More on tactile kinesthetic learning and facilitator/formal authority teaching

What caught my interest in the first part of the course were the different learning styles as it coincides with the teaching styles. I am a tactile kinesthetic learner and a facilitator/formal authority teacher. So what I did was Google some articles on my learning and teaching style. The following URLs I found to be most appealing are:

Learning Styles: Tactile
http://www.pesdirect.com/lsitactile.html

How to Teach the Tactile-Kinesthetic Learner
http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-to-teach-tactile-kinesthetic.html

Tactile-Kinesthetic Learners
http://studyingstyle.com/tactile-kinesthetic-learners.html

After reading these articles, I found that I learned alot about myself and the way I learn. I sometimes wish I had of learned this about myself earlier in life because I would have done alot better in my secondary and post-secondary education. These articles were strange because they made me realize small traits about myself. I tend to twirl a pen while in lecture or studying, even when riding in a car and I'm not driving. I didn't know that was linked to my learning style. I've done this for years.

The articles furthermore helped with ideas for teaching students similar to my learning styles. The techniques I learned that are effective for my learning styles, I could suggest for my students of the same learning style. I figured that I can't explicitly cater to the tactile-kinesthetic learner. However, finding a good 'balance' of techniques to suit most common learning styles would be ideal for me in teaching an online course.