Wendy's Blog

What I learned from creating a Jing video using Prezi…

It seems so simple in the example videos, but it took me hours to create a very short and simple video. I hope it gets easier as I become more familiar with the tools.

I actually used this video in my online class and included it in my welcome email sent to the students who are enrolled in my late-start class.

My Jing Video

I have learned so much from the textbook, videos, and reading my classmates blogs. More than anything, this class has opened my eyes to the students perspective. The structure of the class, the use of videos to highlight important topics and frequent emails from Lisa encouraging us to stay on track and not give up will help me improve my course.

The text reminded me to clearly define goals and class policies in the syllabus. A Simple class structure and concise guidelines are important for navigating the online environment. I like the idea of developing an interactive syllabus and I immediately copied and pasted my existing Word doc into Blackboard’s text editor. As I attempted to edit the syllabus within Blackboard, I ran into problems. I learned to copy the text from the Word doc and paste it into an HTML converter such as Dreamweaver or a free online tool. Once I changed the text to HTML code, I copied and pasted the code into the <> function located on the text editor tool bar. I don’t know exactly why, but this step alleviated the problems created by pasting text from a Word doc into Blackboard. I think it has something to do with “clean code.” I suppose reading the HTML article might offer an explanation!

Here is the link to the free converter tool I used. HTML text fixer  

I would like to create an interactive schedule , but I will continue to post weekly tasks linking to different parts of the course content areas. Blackboard can be cumbersome, but I have attempted to keep the structure simple and reduce the “clicking” factor. Last semester, I created a Jing video explaining how to navigate the course and how to submit assignments. The videos cut down on email questions during the first week of class. Lisa’s video inspired me to try Moodle. I am not particularly fond of Blackboard, but I fear the amount of time it will take to make the change. Maybe next semester…

I think I will use the textbook to help me create a comprehensive syllabus, I especially found the checklist helpful; but the videos inspired me to think out of the box and try something new and creative.

I am just now getting to blog my thoughts about week 3 readings. I definitely feel like my students, wanting to make excuses and justify why I failed to post my assignment…but we all know how life happens!

My score on the beginners questionnaire was 12. I discovered that I like to teach using small and large group discussions in a F2F class. I rarely lecture more than 15-20 minutes to introduce a topic, then use activities to engage students in the learning process. In my online class I see myself as more of a facilitator, guiding students as they explore the topics of the course. This model works well for the class I teach-college success skills. It is designed to guide them as they explore their personal career and educational goals.

Goals for my class are:

• create an online group project
• create an introduction video using imovie: Best practice-improve instructor/student contact and connection.
• create a webfolio assignment: Best practice-students will respond to one another’s portfolios.
•  make discussion board prompts more meaningful: Best practice-develops reciprocity and cooperation among students. I have found that students value the discussion board interaction.
• provide frequent feedback that is meaningful and given in a timely manner

Learning outcomes and course objectives are already written into the course outline. My challenge is to create meaningful assignments to meet those objectives. My teaching experience is limited, so I am learning about pedagogy as well as course design. Or, are those two things the same? From the reading, I continue to reflect on this statement:

“Design: The shape and direction you want your course to take. It means purposefully planning the course, rather than simply letting it happen.”

I appreciate the information we are learning in this course…thank you for creating a forum for stimulating dialog.

Chapter 1 from Teaching Online eased my anxiety about teaching online. I am not a techie-but I care about students and my wish is to continue learning how to use technology to improve my teaching. I am a counselor at heart and I still prefer to communicate in person, but I understand the value of discovering the many opportunities available in the online world. Friday nights blackout reminded me about the value of time spent together without technology. Both of my teenage kids said they wished the power outage had lasted longer. We played cards, talked, and laughed as we laid on the grass looking at the dark sky filled with the bright moon surrounded by stars. I

The Alec Couros video inspired me to finally create a Twitter account. It might have something to do with the number of times he said “Twitter” during the video. I have resisted Twitter and many other online social networking sites because I feel it is another distraction from spending f2f time with my family and friends. I struggle to balance my computer use with other forms of communication. I work on the computer all day, come home and continue working on the computer (and do some online shopping) until it is time for bed. There is always something new to learn, read, or watch. I suppose I will never truly find my answer…but I constantly wrestle with the question.

I created a newsreader account using Google Reader, where I added the RSS feed for my blog and Pedagogy First! I tried to add the RSS feed for my Twitter account, but I had trouble figuring out how to do it. My next goal for today is to create a YouTube video for my online class. I know many of have already been doing this, but I am nervous to see myself on video. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Article: Face to Face vs. Online Communication 

I am Wendy Horton and I live in Oceanside Ca. I work at MiraCosta as a full-time academic counselor and part-time instruct

or. I teach one Coun (college success) online class each semester. I am a busy mom serving as a taxi driver to my two teenage kids; Taylor, my daughter (15 1/2) and Tannyr, my son (13 almost 14). Yes, you will notice the 15 1/2…and yes, she is now learning to drive. I have been married for 17 years to a great guy.

Because I work full-time as a counselor and teach as overload, making time to keep up with technology is a challenge. I am looking forward to getting to know all of you and learning more about technology for online teaching.