The Light at the End of the Tunnel
July 8, 2008
Just when I thought I was incapable of creating an online course, as I played around with the different features and read through different tutorials, it began to come to me. With a little bit of exploration, I found the light at the end of my tunnel.
I’m sure students have felt this way about topics that I have taught in the classroom as well. That is the beauty of inquiry. In a classroom, whether it be face to face or online, it is important to guide students through their thought process, engage them in constructive questioning and problem solving. These are life long traits that they will take with them in their academic career as well as in their personal lives.
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tombaria | July 8th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Amy,
I really appreciated your post. When I first looked at Moodle, I was a little scared – okay, really scared! Ha ha! It looks very overwhelming, but if you take the time to look around and explore as you said, it becomes manageable. Thank god for Alex’s tutorials online. Those have been definite life savers for me.
I liked how you related this to the lessons you teach your students. I can imagine that sometimes when I am teaching the macro model, elasticity, or the cost structure of the typical firm my kids are thinking… what the heck is going on? (Sometimes the faces they make are quite entertaining). I think the important thing for our students and for us to take from this is that we need to keep an open mind and work through every situation we encounter with patience and the perseverance to get through it!
I wish you luck as you continue to navigate through!
Amanda
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amyvarano | July 9th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Hi Amanda,
I’m glad to see we share similar feelings about Moodle and designing an online course. Over the past few weeks after viewing our classmates course progress, I have felt quite intimidated and as though I am doing something wrong. I think being part of the “millennial generation” I expect to catch onto things quickly, multitask, and easily construct an online course, however that is not the case. As you mentioned it takes patience and perseverance to get though it (as well as Professor Pickett’s tutorials).
~Amy
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parkerk1 | July 16th, 2008 at 10:32 am
amy… i am hoping that this course has given you or added to your inherent “heutagogy.” There is a freedom and confidence that comes from knowing that you are in charge of your own learning and that you can do it.
Your (our) conquering of moodle is evidence of that!
: ) me
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parkerk1 | July 16th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Amy:
your blog posts have improved consistenty since the course start. I love how you have added liknks to your classmates blogs! Add a link to mine if you like (etap687.edublogs.org) and get rid of the wordpress default links in your blog roll. You have a nice about page and i am very glad to see how you have personalized your blog.
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amyvarano | July 16th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Hello Alex,
Thank you for your positive feedback. I feel a sense of accomplishment when I look at my blog as well. In the beginning of the course, I have to admit it was a boring blank slate. As I experiment with the different features, add more reflections, and view my colleagues comments, putting this blog together has been an enriching educational and personal reflecting experience.
On a personal note, I have even used some of the features I experimented with in this course on a personal level. This past weekend I visited some friends in Hershey PA, and saw Billy Joel in concert. Of course I took a ton of pictures and compiled an awesome slide show through Rock You to share them with my friends. I would have never known about this tool if it wasn’t for my exposure to it in this class. On another note, I found myself consistently talking about this course with some of my friends. I was very excited and proud to show them my Moodle course in progress as well as discussing my vision for the course that I hope to accomplish by the end of this semester. Having the knowledge and capability to create an online course is an amazing experience and a great tool to add to my toolbox as a teacher.
This course has definitely added to my heutagogy and has inspired me to push myself beyond a traditional hierarchy learning experience and move into a learning network where I can embrace learning and experimenting with the countless number of resources around me. Thank you for opening my eyes to this notion and pushing me out of my traditional way of learning comfort zone.
I have had the opportunity to view the video A Portal to Media Literacy. This was actually my second explore to the information in this video. I had actually previewed the short youtube video with the complied research Michael Wesch presented in A Portal to Media Literacy. However this video that you recommended watching was very informative and was interesting to view considering that Michael Wesch addressed in detail the information he compiled in the shorter video I saw last semester: A Vision of Students Today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o
I plan to elaborate more on my response to this youtube video within my next blog entry.
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