Hello everyone. . .I realize that I have been a bit behind keeping up with everything. I hope that I haven't caused anyone too much stress. Like I said when we met, the due dates for the assignments are not set in stone. . .you can be a few days late and you will not be penalized. I just put the dates out there to help you organize your workflow.
Speaking of workflow:
Assignments that should be completed: EdTechProfile, Intro Letter posted on blog with peer comments (and I finally updated Ashlee's blog address!), and the Excel assignment.
Assignments you should be working on: newsletter, PowerPoint, Social Bookmarking, and Journals 1-5. I will still try and get some better directions posted for the newsletter and Powerpoint. If you are waiting for the instructions, you can do the social bookmarking assignment as the directions are most recently updated. I promise to get the newsletter supplemental directions posted by Turkey Day!
Journal Articles: I believe I told everyone that you are more than welcome to go to the iste website and search L&L for any article that you might be interested in. However, if you are just too busy and want some suggestions, I'll give you some:
Journal 1 (your Intro letter ;-)
Journal 2: "The Threat of Security," by Robinson, Brown, and Green. From the Sept/Oct Issue of the 2007 L&L. (click on "past issues" in the column on the left.
Journal 3: "Nailing digital Jelly to a Virtual Tree," by Serim and Schrock
Journal 4: "Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society," by Mitchel Resnick
Journal 5: "Social Justice: Choice or Necessity?" by Swain, Edyburn. It's from Vol 34, Issue 6 (March 2007).
Please let me know if you need anything or there are any questions you might have about the course. I believe we have until Dec 12 to complete everything, right? Don't forget that I am on campus at least one day a week and would love to help anyone who needs it!!!! I am in University Hall, Room 271 from around 4:30 - 9:30 every Wednesday night (except this Wed, Turkey Eve). Tawn and Asha have been frequent welcome visitors!!
This week's question: How do you like online learning? Give me your pros and cons (what's good and what are the challenges). Click on comments and give your answer:-)
Check out this definition of argh from the urban dictionary (Definitely an adult reference tool)
8 comments:
Hello Jeff and Class,
This is the first online class I have taken, and I actually really like it. It's nice to be able to work on things at my own pace. Like most everyone else, I work full time, so it is really convenient to work on homework assignments at home in my pajamas, rather than spending the time and gas on driving to school. The only challenge I have had so far is that when I get stuck on something, I am really stuck!! For example, I am currently having trouble with the formatting for the newsletter. I can only play with it so much before I get frustrated with it, and need a break. I am looking forward to those revised directions :) On a more positive note, I notice that I am actually able to teach myself things that I would usually first ask about. When I was at a stand still with the Excel project, I simply went over every detail once again, and realized that all I was doing wrong was highlighting the incorrect rows for the chart. It felt great to figure something out all on my own!!
I feel that I am getting to know some of my classmates real well, as some of us have other intersession classes together. I know I would be able to call one of them, or Jeff, if I have problems with anything. And, I would also be more than willing to help if anyone else is having difficulties. It’s nice to figure things out together.
Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Talk with you all soon!
~Tammy Earnhardt~
Hi everyone-
I think online learning rocks! It is great to able to schedule working on this class into my life, rather than having to schedule everything around attending class!
I also have gotten stuck a few times, and have the best tech support in my 11 year old son, Zach. He is part of this new generation of incredibly tech savvy middle school kids, and he has helped me quite a bit! His ideas for the newsletter were really poppin! (I tink that's the 11 year old term of the moment!) Anyway, I don't currently have access to a scanner, but other than that, I had a blast making the newsletter. The drawback of online learning is not really knowing my classmates, but I'll see you all Dec 14 (right?)
Laura
I first experienced online learning when I was a student at Arizona State. I was discouraged by many outsiders, such as my parents and older siblings, because they thought it lacked the real education experience with there being no professor instruction. I started out with easy music classes, but found the timed testing to be nerve racking! I actually prefer going to class and getting the visual learning. But, I think that is because I enjoy school, and college was the best time of my life. I ended up taking several more classes online to complete my BA.
I found that, in general, you are expected to "sign up for more", such as the memberships to related organizations. I personally do not do as well, but mainly because of my own personal reasons with time management. I feel that if I had gone to a class every time, versus the time, and time of day, I was at my computer, I could have absorbed more knowledge. There are pros and cons with every person. Some people work well at midnight with the TV on in the background. Saving time by being in your own home is a pro, but can be a con when it is so easy to be distracted. Depending on your circumstances, online learning is a great benefit of technology! Many people can do homework while they are being paid at their job, and that is the way to go!
Happy Holidays :o)
Where has the time gone? Is it really almost December? Tis The Season! :o) Well, I must say that Online learning has been a very good experience for me. As much as I enjoy going to class interacting with my classmates, I also enjoy working independently on projects hands on. By sitting in front of my computer completing projects, I am able to force myself to learn the material, and understand the steps I have to take to complete each project. Our discussion board is very helpful for me as well. When I have a question on a project, someone else usually has the same question, and by reading the responses my question is usually answered. Great Communication! Since we are all on different schedules living our lives, it is nice to complete each assignment on “my” time with fuzzy slippers on my feet, and my dog Pennelope in my lap :o) Happy Holidays!
HELLO EVERYONE……
I enjoy online learning like most of you. I have more positive things to say than negative. I will tell you why I prefer online classes.
I was born and raised in India. When I was in school there were no computers. Even the grades were typed on grade sheets with type writers by special office clerks. We had to go to classes and sit there for many hours taking notes by hand. We also had to handwrite our research papers to complete our classes. If we needed to research any information we had to go to the library and research from text books and journals and the libraries were not open all the time.
I feel that it is a luxury to have computers and the technology available today. I really enjoy working on my computer even though it takes me longer to complete my assignments .I like online learning very much because I can plan my time better and complete my assignments independently. I like to do work by myself and without pressure. I like following the tutorials my professor gives me and they are very informative. I can communicate , collaborate with other peers and my professors without leaving my home. I can be travelling and still do my work and submit my home work. I enjoyed spending my free time with my granddaughter this semester and it was fun. This was an excellent break for me before the spring semester starts.
The only negative thing I like to say about online learning is if we don’t organize our schedule and wait till the last minute it becomes a big disaster.
See you all soon.
Namaste (hello & bye)
Asha
This is my first experience taking a WEBCT class. The primary challenges that I have had using WEBCT are first understanding how to use it properly, and second the issue of compatibility between my home computer and the school computer which run on different platforms. Regarding the former, I think I now have a correct grasp of how to use WEBCT now. Regarding the later, I plan on purchasing a new laptop with Windows 2007. The sooner I become familiar with the dreaded 2007 format the more successful I will be in providing well prepared assignments. I am becoming more familiar with 2007 in the library and I think I am going to like using it in the future.
The concept of WEBCT is very attractive to me because it gives me the added freedom to complete assignments in a more timely fashion or to ask questions regarding the assignments. I like the fact that it facilitates collaboration between students and with the teacher. I really think this concept will become very common in the future and that it will expand the opportunity for non traditional students to participate in college coursework. The use of WEBCT does require motivation and discipline as in any formal classroom experience. The concept of paperless education goes hand in hand with the changes that are occurring in the business world I think that I will be seeing more classes this.
I see WEBCT as a new form of distance learning that allows for collaboration between teacher and students without having to be physically present in a classroom. I think this will serve those who have limited access to attend formal classes due to time constraints at work, distance from campus or limitations due to physical disabilities. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to participate in WEBCT and feel confident that it well serve as an enhancement to my learning experience.
-Tawn Kent-
I hate online learning. I took a Personal Finance class online this year. It's my first online class, and it's awful. I'm sure if I wasn't such a procrastinater it wouldn't be so bad, but I love to save everything to the very last minute. So, now in my class, it is the end of the semester and I'm rushing though everything. The worst part of it all, I only took the class for fun, just to learn a few things, not like I needed the course or anything. Well now I'm not learning anything cause I'm doing a half-ass job on everything, and I'm stressing because I don't want to do a bad job in the class. Argh!
Hi to every body:
I read some of the comments and the note from professor Heil. Like my other classmates I enjoy online classes a lot because it gives me opportunities like managing my time to do my other things beside my homeworks and I can return to the homepage to review the contents. Like Asha I grew up in a country which did not have that much technological facilities for the people and most of people could not afford to have a personal computer to work with. So I am enjoying on line classes because I have a computer at home and I can have access to online classes which are great and intresting. In future I am going to take more online classes to save time and energy and money(sometimes I am tired of driving). Of course it depend on the instructure too because if the teacher does not put good instructor online, some students ,like me, might get confused.I hope in future I can have good instructors like Mr. Heil to be able to learn the subjects through online classes.
Thank you
Maryam
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