Katie Penwell-Purdin

I learned it is important to save all chats.  This will help to ensure that the question was answered in a timely manner and also may be helpful in future online classes to ensure that any questions asked in previous years are in the FAQs section of your outline of the course.  This part of the class should be updated each time a new question is asked to help you make sure everyone is clear of expectations and all general questions are addressed/don't need to be reanswered so much.  I plan to update the FAQ section with real questions asked… >>>

I was reminded that students may have more than one learning style, and it is important to find out what that is so students can be reached/taught in a way that works for them.  I also found it important to teach students of netiquette.  It will be my job to identify the different learning styles of each student, and also to teach students the importance of netiquette so discussions are productive to the entire class.  

I learned that the most effective way to reach students is to post a short biography of myself through video, not just by writing one out and posting it.  I like the idea of everyone posting a short biography of themselves to "break the ice" and get us all really involved in our learning.  I also was reminded to be sure to monitor the discussions taking place so that I can address any questions quickly and that there isn't too much off topic discussions throughout the chat.  I liked the idea of sending personal emails to each student welcoming them… >>>

I did not know that these types of online classes had an abbreviation/term for them, CMS, I had not heard of this particular phrase before.  I was reminded that online learning is much more effective for students to willingly participate when they know that their teacher is consistently monitoring the questions/problems that may arise.  It is a much more pleasant experience for all involved when there are timely responses.  As a substitute teacher, if my classroom assignments this year require online assignments, I will be sure to tell students the time frame of which I am available, and stick closely… >>>