Roberto Castaneda

Discussion Comment

Rubrics in the classroom help to motivate students

I've found that a good set of rubrics is to begin with the course objectives and each of the assignments. The flow should be course objectives to grading rubric to classroom student assignment. This way we can use this assessment to determine if students are getting out of the classroom what we expected them to and be able to circle back and improve the course curriculum. At the same time we can provide students with feedback to help them throughout the course.

Roberto Castaneda

Blog Comment

EL110 - Effective Use of Social Media in Online Courses is Very Informative and Current

Great overview of items I had taken for granted in the past.

Roberto Castaneda

Discussion Comment

Most important soft skill in the workplace

I've found the most important soft skill in the workplace today is listening. Many times we struggle to get out our ideas to others similar as others are trying to get their ideas out to us. Everyone is speaking, but no one is listening to each other. I've found good listeners typically repeat what others are telling them prior to responding. One of Steven Covey's 7-Habits of Effective People (5th Habit) was to "seek first to understand, then to be understood".

Roberto Castaneda

Discussion Comment

Important attributes for students

Students do come to class because they are self motivated. I've found the best way to start out is to ask students to relate their personal work experience and also ask them what they expect to get out of the course at the end. Also each week I post to the announcement board the objectives for that week/module to help students to focus on what they should be getting out of the course.

Roberto Castaneda

Discussion Comment

Motivating students online

I've found that one way to motivate students is to include examples at the beginning on how they can be successful in the classroom. Here are some tips I've used- 1) Outline the chapters from the text and take notes as if they were in a regular class room. This reinforces the material. 2) Do more than just the homework problems but attempt to do other problems in the text 3) Start early with the discussions and assignments so that way if they have questions they have time to ask them before they are due. 4) Try and do outside… >>>

Roberto Castaneda

Blog

This course has helped me to bring together all the tools I've used

This course has helped me to bring together all the tools I've used and helps to set parameters on what is in use today. Many times I hear of other technology tools to use but sometimes I don't know if they would work or what type of issues all users would be confronting. This course provides those boundries that need to be taken care of prior to using these tools.

Roberto Castaneda

Blog

The time and energy was well worth it

I've found the time and energy was well worth it for this course.

Roberto Castaneda

Discussion Comment

Why are rubric important to use

Why are rubrics important to use? 1) It shows students a guideline on what is expected of them. 2) It is transparent when you grade student's work 3) It helps complete the learning process for students as they know what they need to improve on their performance.

Roberto Castaneda

Discussion Comment

Generational differences may be a good thing

I've found in the classroom at the more experiences others bring to the classroom, the better off students are in the learning process. Taping into the generational differences and understanding them can bring a variety of responses and insight that can enrich the learning process for students.