Online Learning: Reflections
Artifact: Curation Assignment: Asynchronous & Synchronous Learning EDUC 5199G Special Topics in Ed & Dig. Tech: Computer Assisted Language Learning
Key ideas: curation, computer mediated communication (CMC)
My interest in online learning began when I realized I needed to continue completing courses even after graduating from the faculty of Education. Keeping current and modelling lifelong learning is important for educators at any level, and once I was out in the professional world, online courses were the only option for me because of the flexibility they afforded. When researching Masters programs, completing the degree entirely online was the only method that interested me, even though at the time I lived minutes from Western University. Beside the convenient delivery method, the UOIT program offered an M.Ed in Technology which fascinated me. As someone with plenty of online learning and teaching experience, I wanted to experience post-graduate level synchronous courses, and learn how to improve online learning. I think that my program and this portfolio demonstrate my interest in this area.
My artifact for Special Topic represents my final course in M.Ed program. The format of the curation assignment in particular points to the power of the internet and the academic requirements of learners today. There is an overwhelming amount of information on the web that must be critically analysed and carefully considered. I was shocked by the sheer number of articles I could find by Googling my topic, but more so by the pages suggested by Scoop It that apparently matched my search criteria and topic. Indeed, initially curation seemed a simple task. However, when the time came to sort through the articles I had haphazardly collected based on titles and brief reviews, I understood why curation is an extremely valuable skill. Firstly, to source articles for a specific topic is difficult and time consuming. Searching the internet is a skill. Secondly, reading critically and making connections is essential.
In a “Scoop” from my curation assignment, “Is Content Curation in Your Skill Set? It Should Be”, an article for Learning Solutions Magazine by David Kelly, the author notes the social and popular nature of curation on today’s internet. He likens it to photography, an analogy that spoke to me: With the power of the internet everyone has access to the same information source in the same way that technology has become more readily available and affordable allowing the average person to take photos that are the same quality as a professional photographer. This fact does not negate the need for expertise in the field of photography.
To me this means that teachers are not obsolete, but also that there is great value in the ability to organize and explain information, above and beyond the ability to create it. What I mean is that, regardless of the consequences of technology on language or education, a new skill has emerged that has great value. I see curation as a tool that I will bring to my professional practice (as a professional and personal tool, as well as a tool for students) and a skill I hope impart to my students, along with acknowledgement of its value.
Artifact: Online Learning Literature Review EDUC 5002G Research Methods in Education
In this course I learned about the portfolio and project options of the M.Ed Program, and began thinking about my final project. Though my portfolio ended up a lot different from the portfolio proposal I completed in the course, I came away with valuable knowledge, especially about critical research. Seminar presentations in this course we focused on the research methods employed therein rather than on the content of the articles. It is surprising how easily we could doubt the research findings when we set out to do so considering we rely on research so heavily to prove our own ideas.
Artifact: Analysis and Synthesis paper EDUC 5001G Principles of Learning
Artifact: Technology Integration paper EDUC 5303G Technology and the Curriculum
Key ideas: Web affordances, How People Learn, online learning environment
I have often reflected on the organization and effectiveness of online learning environments, usually due to my own frustration in my experience of them. In my Online Learning Literature Review, I begin my discussion with assertion that, because learning online is still learning, the same principles apply to online environments as to in-class learning. The research, at least framed as thus, suggests that learning online is the same as learning in-class, just better or worse, to some degree, in certain areas (i.e. I note that online learning can “ offer extended and ‘hands-on’ opportunity for engagement and interaction with knowledge resources”). Reading this paper now, at the end of my M.Ed I think I realize that there is a difference between how people learn, and the learning environment, that I didn’t acknowledge then. I set out to describe what learning online should look like (and continued in this attempt in my Analysis and Synthesis Paper, and Technology Integration Paper Artifacts), and though I do believe I learned a lot about the nature of learning and potential of online delivery methods, I never achieved this goal. This miscarriage (failure is too strong a word) leads me to yearn for opportunities to implement my M.Ed learning in a problem-based application, like a job in e-learning and course design. I really feel like I have a strong theoretical background in the area of online learning, and experience participating in its application, but little experience in its design. I believe this is the next step for my learning in this area. With more experience I would move toward transformational use of technology in online learning, enabling it is achieve something beyond “campus-based” learning.
The general reaction from people when I describe the delivery method of UOIT’s M.Ed is a negative one. No one doubts the quality or value of the designation, but most lament the delivery method as tedious and frustrating. This is a perception I wish to change.
Key ideas: curation, computer mediated communication (CMC)
My interest in online learning began when I realized I needed to continue completing courses even after graduating from the faculty of Education. Keeping current and modelling lifelong learning is important for educators at any level, and once I was out in the professional world, online courses were the only option for me because of the flexibility they afforded. When researching Masters programs, completing the degree entirely online was the only method that interested me, even though at the time I lived minutes from Western University. Beside the convenient delivery method, the UOIT program offered an M.Ed in Technology which fascinated me. As someone with plenty of online learning and teaching experience, I wanted to experience post-graduate level synchronous courses, and learn how to improve online learning. I think that my program and this portfolio demonstrate my interest in this area.
My artifact for Special Topic represents my final course in M.Ed program. The format of the curation assignment in particular points to the power of the internet and the academic requirements of learners today. There is an overwhelming amount of information on the web that must be critically analysed and carefully considered. I was shocked by the sheer number of articles I could find by Googling my topic, but more so by the pages suggested by Scoop It that apparently matched my search criteria and topic. Indeed, initially curation seemed a simple task. However, when the time came to sort through the articles I had haphazardly collected based on titles and brief reviews, I understood why curation is an extremely valuable skill. Firstly, to source articles for a specific topic is difficult and time consuming. Searching the internet is a skill. Secondly, reading critically and making connections is essential.
In a “Scoop” from my curation assignment, “Is Content Curation in Your Skill Set? It Should Be”, an article for Learning Solutions Magazine by David Kelly, the author notes the social and popular nature of curation on today’s internet. He likens it to photography, an analogy that spoke to me: With the power of the internet everyone has access to the same information source in the same way that technology has become more readily available and affordable allowing the average person to take photos that are the same quality as a professional photographer. This fact does not negate the need for expertise in the field of photography.
To me this means that teachers are not obsolete, but also that there is great value in the ability to organize and explain information, above and beyond the ability to create it. What I mean is that, regardless of the consequences of technology on language or education, a new skill has emerged that has great value. I see curation as a tool that I will bring to my professional practice (as a professional and personal tool, as well as a tool for students) and a skill I hope impart to my students, along with acknowledgement of its value.
Artifact: Online Learning Literature Review EDUC 5002G Research Methods in Education
In this course I learned about the portfolio and project options of the M.Ed Program, and began thinking about my final project. Though my portfolio ended up a lot different from the portfolio proposal I completed in the course, I came away with valuable knowledge, especially about critical research. Seminar presentations in this course we focused on the research methods employed therein rather than on the content of the articles. It is surprising how easily we could doubt the research findings when we set out to do so considering we rely on research so heavily to prove our own ideas.
Artifact: Analysis and Synthesis paper EDUC 5001G Principles of Learning
Artifact: Technology Integration paper EDUC 5303G Technology and the Curriculum
Key ideas: Web affordances, How People Learn, online learning environment
I have often reflected on the organization and effectiveness of online learning environments, usually due to my own frustration in my experience of them. In my Online Learning Literature Review, I begin my discussion with assertion that, because learning online is still learning, the same principles apply to online environments as to in-class learning. The research, at least framed as thus, suggests that learning online is the same as learning in-class, just better or worse, to some degree, in certain areas (i.e. I note that online learning can “ offer extended and ‘hands-on’ opportunity for engagement and interaction with knowledge resources”). Reading this paper now, at the end of my M.Ed I think I realize that there is a difference between how people learn, and the learning environment, that I didn’t acknowledge then. I set out to describe what learning online should look like (and continued in this attempt in my Analysis and Synthesis Paper, and Technology Integration Paper Artifacts), and though I do believe I learned a lot about the nature of learning and potential of online delivery methods, I never achieved this goal. This miscarriage (failure is too strong a word) leads me to yearn for opportunities to implement my M.Ed learning in a problem-based application, like a job in e-learning and course design. I really feel like I have a strong theoretical background in the area of online learning, and experience participating in its application, but little experience in its design. I believe this is the next step for my learning in this area. With more experience I would move toward transformational use of technology in online learning, enabling it is achieve something beyond “campus-based” learning.
The general reaction from people when I describe the delivery method of UOIT’s M.Ed is a negative one. No one doubts the quality or value of the designation, but most lament the delivery method as tedious and frustrating. This is a perception I wish to change.