ETC647 Reflection

This semester has been long, with a lot of work, much of it only do-able with the excellent input of my group-mates. Thanks Michelle and Teri :-)
My students are at such low levels in reading and writing, and usually have few if any technological skills, that I didn't think that there would be anything from this course that I could apply. However, experimentation and dialogue with peers in the course has demonstrated that there are ways to integrate Connectivism with my students, and begin acclimatizing them to PLE and ONLE environments. Many of our students are with us 3 or more years, providing an opportunity to scaffold connectivist strategies within the construct of basic instruction. Conceivably, implementing these techniques in their education now, by the time they move on to College level courses they will be comfortable with online technologies, and have developed the kind of self direction online courses require, that taking online courses and pursuing PLE will not be problematic...and they will gain more from online instruction because, even in a traditional LMS, they will be habituated to working with their peers and less likely to feel the isolationism that is so daunting in traditional online courses.
Personally, I generally tend to be an anti-social over-achiever, and prefer working alone, yet I found the group work this semester to be rather satisfying. Considering the work load, it was often a relief to know that one of my group mates was taking a percentage of the work and could be relied upon to complete it--saving me the stress I have frequently experienced in group work in the past. Of course I have worked with Michelle in the past and was glad to work with her again because I already knew how well we work together. Teri was an unknown, and I am glad to have had the opportunity to work with her, and get to know her, as well. We make a great team!

Thanks again ladies :-)

LESSON 6 REFLECTION - COLLABORATE AND PERSONAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES

I see future leadership possibilities with the things I have learned in this class. Chih has been a wonderful instructor. I was so overwhelmed in the beginning of the course with the introduction of PLEs, ONLEs, Web 2.0 Tools, UGC, community-community learning, and so much more. It isn't until now as we near the end of the course that all the elements have begun to sink in and I can truly appreciate the dedication that our instructor took when he carefully designed this course. One step builds on another. Our discussion board interactions are now multi-dimensional. The various components that have been incorporated into our learning in this course: instructional strategies, Web 2.o tools, other technologies, widgets, gadgets, whozits, whatzits, a variety of community interactions with peers and even with classmates from other semesters. Wow! Who would have thought! Certainly not me. Here I am, someone quite deficient in technology knowledge at the beginning of this course, so fully immersed, who is now so ever grateful for this new learning. I can see how I can use this immediately and in the future in my learning and in my sharing. Learning how to use these new tools and community connections has broadened my horizons and I can see all kinds of opportunities. Thank you, Chih! Thank you Group 3! Without your help and guidance I would not have had such a heightened and exciting learning opportunity. You are all truly leaders and you all so beautifully lead by example.

In forever gratitude,

Teri

Reflection on Lessons 4 & 5

This last month has been extremely hectic with all the discussions, preparing our Network Training, and writing our Unit plans...busy enough that I am just now finding time for reflection. The critical issues that we addressed for creating, maintaining, and supporting an ONLE in an organization (ranging from stakeholder expectations, budgetary issues, and technological savvy) was very enlightening. Where I had thought the biggest issues to be faced were design issues, I have learned that the Networking architecture, and organization have a large impact on successful Networked Learning Environments.

As we explore more of the social networking tools and strategies for using these tools, I feel rather overwhelmed with the options available....How can any one person wade through all the possible tools?!? This is another area where having a PLE is invaluable....having a network of people who are trying out different tools and making recommendations of how the tools can be used.

Now my biggest challenge is going through all the bloggers and tweeters, who are going through the tools, and deciding which ones have the most to offer me, so that it pays to RSS their blogs or follow their tweets, without being overwhelmed with RSS feeds and Tweets!!

Lesson 5 Reflection

Lesson 5 - Reflection

Well, this was the lesson when we gave our Elluminate presentation on the Web 2.0 tool, Vyew. We worked hard on putting everything together. We held numerous meetings. Michelle had created the flyer, Dvolver teasers, and put the finishing touches on our survey. It was a good thing that I filled it out prior to the presentation, as when I sent it in to Michelle, we realized that the link was not working as planned. Therefore, there was time to fix it. Unfortunately or fortunaltely as things were, Chih was our only participant. (We did get two visits from "emre" who visited us from Turkey. That helped demonstrate the true global connectiveness in our learning experience.)

Chih seemed to enjoy the interactiveness of our presentation and said that he would fill out the survey. Hopefully, others in the class will view the recorded session so that we have more intake for our assessment of our project. Overall, I think it went over well. Ruth had some technical difficulties getting the presentation to load and had to switch browsers. Still, that is the nature of "technical" beasts. One minute they are purring like a little kitty and all is well, and the next they are alarmingly growling and misbehaving. I learned alot with this application, and as usual had a great time working in our Fantastic Group 3! Kuddos to us for a job well done. - Teri