Bonnie Taylor

Communication and collaboration work together to deepen knowledge. I liked the use of rubrics and peer evaluation. I am left with a question (from my own personal experience) as to how are students prepared to deal with a member of their team who refuses to show up, or not follow through on their contribution to the project?  Peer evaluation may be one way to allow students to express their disappointment, and yet how is that communicated respectfully and positively? Also, if the project is graded, do all suffer for the lack of contribution by one?  

Effective communication skills are a dynamic part of online learning.  I learned how and why different generations communicate in various ways so I will take that into account when engaging with them online.  Also, students come to class with various skills, from experienced to no or low tech skills, so I will have to meet those challenges as I recognize these disadvantages and aid the student(s) as soon as possible.

It is important to set guidelines, rules, and a Code of Conduct from the beginning of the course.  The guidelines should help student communicate effectively with other students, with the teacher, and responding to the teacher throughout the course.  The institution where I teach provides a Code of Conduct regarding internet communication which students much sign on the first day/night of class (F2F). 

Using technology to communicate through emails, texting, and phone calls are used often with my F2F and now with my distance learning. My students are fond of WhatsApp.  These methods of communication keep students informed, connected, and interacting with each other. I find they often share assignments with each other, and send screen shots to absent students. 

This module emphased the “how” in phasing from F2F to online learning.  The 4 O’s helped me see what is needed:  consider the Origin (audience and suitability); Organization (how to deliver the content in an organized way); Orchestration (using latest technology develop/choose instructional and test materials); Outcomes Assessment (assess, evaluate and modify course)

Since my teaching philosophy has always been more of a constructivist with a focus on student centered learning, the role as a facilitator, happens to be my preferred style of teaching. That being said, I learned a lot about how to better implement, organize, and communicate to my students expectations and learning as their “guide on the side” as the course described.

I understand more fully the differences between synchronous and asynchronous delivery methods of teaching, each presenting their advantages and disadvantages.   As I adjust from F2F to virtual teaching, I will need to incorporate more asynchronous teaching methods, and decide when the advantages of using synchronous methods meets the needs of my students.

This module shows the importance of matching the technology to the learning process. In addition, I found it interesting to see how various teaching styles influence the choice of tools implemented in a course. Being a facilitator of learning seems to point to a more student-centered approach and, for most of my adult students, this style of teaching brings the best results. 

I have learned from this module that revisions to the course should occur and gathering multiple pieces of evidence and from multiple stakeholders is key in driving change for the course.  Student feedback and evaluations tell one part; pre- and post-tests inform more; teacher evaluations and comparing feedback from other professionals in the field provide yet another piece to consider when revising course all under the guidelines and requirements from the college itself. 

Assessments, both formative and summative, with detailed rubrics and various methods of feedback provide students with tools to improve their learning, correct mistakes, and increase their knowledge and skills.