OLTD 501 - introduction to online learning
Pecha Kucha Presentation
Learning outcome covered: Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of online learning environments and tools
In the fourth week of our course, we were asked to create a short presentation set to music that described our vision for online learning.
Despite having numerous setbacks during the creation of this project I was very pleased with the end result. The setbacks however are what make this an ideal piece of evidence for my learning. Navigating through the images of Flikr was a first for me and I was surprised at the resources available. I have subsequently used Creative Commons images from the website in my classroom as writing prompts and here on this site.
Although I ultimately didn’t use the short url tool, in the course of the assignment I became aware of it, tried it and I certainly will be using it in the future.
While this wasn’t the first time that I had worked with PowerPoint , it was the first time I had inserted music into a presentation and used timed slides. It was a challenge to resize photos to fit the entire page without overly distorting the images.
In addition to giving me exposure to new tools and resources for online teaching and a chance to practice using them, this assignment made me aware of the challenges in preparing materials for online instruction. To be an effective online educator, I feel like a great deal of time must be spent on finding, evaluating and creating resources for my students. It requires more time than any working teacher has. This further highlighted the need for collaboration amongst online educators.
Finally, apart from all the technical aspects of working on the project, this assignment really got me to focus on what sets online learning apart from face to face education. It got me to think about my goals and ambitions going forward as an online educator.
Learning outcome covered: Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of online learning environments and tools
In the fourth week of our course, we were asked to create a short presentation set to music that described our vision for online learning.
Despite having numerous setbacks during the creation of this project I was very pleased with the end result. The setbacks however are what make this an ideal piece of evidence for my learning. Navigating through the images of Flikr was a first for me and I was surprised at the resources available. I have subsequently used Creative Commons images from the website in my classroom as writing prompts and here on this site.
Although I ultimately didn’t use the short url tool, in the course of the assignment I became aware of it, tried it and I certainly will be using it in the future.
While this wasn’t the first time that I had worked with PowerPoint , it was the first time I had inserted music into a presentation and used timed slides. It was a challenge to resize photos to fit the entire page without overly distorting the images.
In addition to giving me exposure to new tools and resources for online teaching and a chance to practice using them, this assignment made me aware of the challenges in preparing materials for online instruction. To be an effective online educator, I feel like a great deal of time must be spent on finding, evaluating and creating resources for my students. It requires more time than any working teacher has. This further highlighted the need for collaboration amongst online educators.
Finally, apart from all the technical aspects of working on the project, this assignment really got me to focus on what sets online learning apart from face to face education. It got me to think about my goals and ambitions going forward as an online educator.
Learning Design Model
Learning outcomes covered: Integrate current cognitive learning and brain-based learning theory and examine current research around best practices and emerging practices
In the second week of our program our cohort was asked to summarize the essential ideas of a number of educational theorists. Our summaries were put into a blog post and we gave a presentation of our learning during our third online collaboration session. This research formed the basis for our third assignment, creating a graphic representation of our learning design model.
This was the most academic of our assignments thus far and it introduced me to several theories of education and educational theorists that I was previously unfamiliar with such as Transactional Learning, SOLE and Otto Peeters. It furthermore advanced my understanding of academic vocabulary surrounding educational theory and online learning.
Creating a graphic model of my learning design forced me to examine my own beliefs in the broader context of established theories of learning. It got me to critically examine my current practice so as to better articulate my goals as an educator. It also made me aware of challenges faced by online educators such as how to address different styles of learning and the need for establishing a “community of learning”.
I feel that this was an extremely worthwhile activity. While I consider myself a reflective educator- I am always reviewing my lessons to see what can be improved, discarded or reinforced- this reflection invariably takes the form of practical improvements on individual lessons. This assignment got me to examine the bigger picture and emphasized the critical importance of planning in online learning.
Learning outcomes covered: Integrate current cognitive learning and brain-based learning theory and examine current research around best practices and emerging practices
In the second week of our program our cohort was asked to summarize the essential ideas of a number of educational theorists. Our summaries were put into a blog post and we gave a presentation of our learning during our third online collaboration session. This research formed the basis for our third assignment, creating a graphic representation of our learning design model.
This was the most academic of our assignments thus far and it introduced me to several theories of education and educational theorists that I was previously unfamiliar with such as Transactional Learning, SOLE and Otto Peeters. It furthermore advanced my understanding of academic vocabulary surrounding educational theory and online learning.
Creating a graphic model of my learning design forced me to examine my own beliefs in the broader context of established theories of learning. It got me to critically examine my current practice so as to better articulate my goals as an educator. It also made me aware of challenges faced by online educators such as how to address different styles of learning and the need for establishing a “community of learning”.
I feel that this was an extremely worthwhile activity. While I consider myself a reflective educator- I am always reviewing my lessons to see what can be improved, discarded or reinforced- this reflection invariably takes the form of practical improvements on individual lessons. This assignment got me to examine the bigger picture and emphasized the critical importance of planning in online learning.