ETEC 565A- Synthesis: My Final Reflections on the Course
Throughout my MET journey and while working on this particular course as well, it became apparent that a number of my classmates were not necessarily very fond of ETEC 565A. Admittedly, I found the course to be a real challenge, especially since I lacked the skill set to efficiently navigate the Moodle platform. Nonetheless, I place a great deal of value upon the learning that has taken place for me as a result of this course. The sink or swim approach to many of our assignments forced me to access open source Moodle ‘help’ forums and seek out experts in a community of learners that was previously foreign to me. Time and time again, I was forced out of my comfort zone and although much of the time I was working at a frustration level, I persevered and I honestly believe that I am a better teacher because of the entire experience, including both the highs and the lows.
I have included this page of my ETEC 565A e-portfolio as an artifact of learning because I think that it illustrates the growth that I made as a result of this course. This section of the e-portfolio contains reflections based on the major learning moments that occurred for me during the completion of the course. The construction of this e-portfolio as a whole also provided me with the opportunity to create my first e-portfolio in a very structured setting with guidance from an experienced instructor and my fellow classmates, some of whom were already familiar with the medium. The entire creative process and the constructive criticism that I received from the instructor undoubtedly aided me in creating my own free form e-portfolio for ETEC 590.
One particular learning take away that occurred for me in this course stemmed from an article written by Anderson. I have included a portion of my reflection here, but please follow the link provided below to see my full ‘Synthesis’ for the course as well.
According to Anderson, the establishment of an effective online educational environment is threefold. The three critical components are ‘cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence’ (Anderson, 2008, p. 343). Taking care to ensure that all three of these elements are present in both my physical classroom and also within our online learning space, I believe will be incredibly advantageous for both myself and my learners.
References:
Anderson, T. (2008). Teaching in an online learning context. In Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and practice of online learning. Athabasca University. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/14_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf
I have included this page of my ETEC 565A e-portfolio as an artifact of learning because I think that it illustrates the growth that I made as a result of this course. This section of the e-portfolio contains reflections based on the major learning moments that occurred for me during the completion of the course. The construction of this e-portfolio as a whole also provided me with the opportunity to create my first e-portfolio in a very structured setting with guidance from an experienced instructor and my fellow classmates, some of whom were already familiar with the medium. The entire creative process and the constructive criticism that I received from the instructor undoubtedly aided me in creating my own free form e-portfolio for ETEC 590.
One particular learning take away that occurred for me in this course stemmed from an article written by Anderson. I have included a portion of my reflection here, but please follow the link provided below to see my full ‘Synthesis’ for the course as well.
According to Anderson, the establishment of an effective online educational environment is threefold. The three critical components are ‘cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence’ (Anderson, 2008, p. 343). Taking care to ensure that all three of these elements are present in both my physical classroom and also within our online learning space, I believe will be incredibly advantageous for both myself and my learners.
References:
Anderson, T. (2008). Teaching in an online learning context. In Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and practice of online learning. Athabasca University. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/14_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf