Reflections on Learning

Module 8 - Final Reflections

I started this course with this statement in my reflection: I fully understand the importance of discussion forums for online learning - hahaha! Wrong. I had no real concept of the importance of discussion forums. I understood that discussions helped make connections to the material, required deeper thinking, - those kind of things. But I certainly did not fully appreciate the importance. This course led us into the facilitator role. From student in the discussion forum, to facilitator of the forum. Learning to develop questions and push students to think deeper is critical to creating a true learning opportunity for students. The other aspect of this course was the importance of creating a community among instructor and learners, and learners and learners. That community is a vital piece to the course as it draws the student further into the material when they feel a part of the whole.
Where do I go from here -- well, as I develop online courses for our school I will have a much better perspective on design activities that include discussion. Creating critical thinking opportunities for students is an important part of moving our students into professional nursing. In addition to online facilitation, this course has made me a stronger classroom teacher as all the techniques for creating online discussion prompts, extenders and redirects can be applied in the classroom or clinical environment during discussion activities. And, I hope to be at least useful to the mentor I'm assigned to in the practicum -- I certainly have a better chance at that after completing this course!
As usual, as I leave a UW course, I am amazed at how much I was exposed to and more importantly, how much I retained and use. Each course has allowed me to grow as an educator, online or classroom. And I have many new tools in my educator toolbox thanks to great instructors and the community of learners that I'm a part of. As I move into an online educator role, I feel confident that I can design and execute effective online learning -- at least as a well-educated novice! But I also know that there are many resources, including human resources, out there willing to support my efforts. Thanks to Deb for always being there and helping us move along. And to Dr. Kay for her guidance and support. She set a remarkable example and repeatedly demonstrated the methods laid out in her text. For someone who dreaded this class because it was all about discussion, I'm now a believer and much more engaged in the community of online learning. Thanks for another growth spurt!

Module 7 - Development of Critical Thinking

The most interesting thing I learned in Module 7 is the re-organization of Bloom's taxonomy in the EASyR format. Nursing uses a somewhat similar process to teach critical thinking to nursing students called the Nursing Process. The steps of the process are assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation. So students are taught to collect patient data, analyze the data and make a nursing diagnosis, select appropriate interventions and then evaluate the effect of the plan on patient progress. While nursing students need the structure of the nursing process as they learn to care for patients, nurse educators could use EASyR format in developing course content that requires students to critically think about the theoretical information presented in the classroom. By using the format and assuring that classroom content and activities relate to one of the steps of the process, educators can create instruction that is more efficient and relevant to the student. Heaven knows we need to pare down the amount of information we present and do a better job at helping the student recognize and retain important concepts.
Describe or analyze the experience of both getting and giving peer feedback, and how that informs your methods of facilitation. My observation is that peers generally give positive, supportive feedback. Because students seem to be very cautious of giving improvement feedback, often the messages are just 'way to go' kind of language. It is a bit uncomfortable to evaluate your fellow classmates since we are all students -- no one is a expert here. So I too am always a little hesitant to be too directive in feedback. I try to identify both strengths and improvements but I take quite a long time composing the messages. Giving feedback as an instructor should be easier and peer-peer feedback is good practice in careful composing.
Other reflective thoughts... We're almost done with the class. The design has been such that I have come a very long way with regards to online collaboration. Following our meeting with Deb, which included video chatting and our blue group video chat, I feel much closer to classmates. We discussed in our group that having a video chat early on might help make the connections. Maybe as technology improves throughout the world text chatting will go away and video collaboration will become the norm. But, this class has provided me with references and resources that will be useful in my future as an online educator. I liked the EASyR method for critical thinking. Another great tool for the online toolbox.

Module 6 - Facilitation Tips and Techniques

The two most important tips from Time Management Tips for Online Teaching were under the sections of "billable hours in e-learning' and "stay focused'. I had not put much thought into the concept of billable hours but that section caught my attention. Having once worked in a position that was based on billable hours, I frequently look at any job from that standpoint. But in online instruction, I had only considered how the instructor might conserve time to improve financial efficiency. The advice about not including what a student won't notice was excellent. I tend to what to make documents look perfect but I will need to concentrate on content more than presentation. The other tip that stood out for me was 'stay focused'. I know that I have difficulty staying focused even doing the work for this online course. I look for information that maybe is not really vital to whatever I'm doing, get caught up in links that others send, wonder what that email alert was -- and so on. So seeing the advice to make it a rule not to allow for distractions like email notifications was important. I'll turn those off when I'm concentrating on a course. I do know (as in the Know Thyself section) that I have to close myself in a room and pretend I'm in my office at work to be really efficient when working from home, so I will have to maintain some structure of 'office hours'.
Other reflective thoughts... Once again the activity of creating a tip sheet reminds me of my lack of technology sophistication. I had no idea how to embed a document on this website. When I looked at the help files it appears that that's what I've been doing on the other pages and just didn't know it -- but I'm still not sure. For the courses I plan to launch in the nursing program, I will have minimal help from the standpoint of technology so I continue to be concerned with the amount of frustration it might create for students. I know the advice is to stick with tools that you know but I'm concerned that I will try to put some vital piece of information online for them and it won't be retrievable - - I should stop fearing the future!
I continue to find working with other students in projects online to be limiting. I think that online projects are valuable as a learning activity but it is difficult to execute in an online setting where people only meet on the page. I believe that video conferencing, like we did with Deb this week, would be a much more effective way to do group projects. The limitation there, of course, is the diversity of technology that the students have available (or not) to them. But in setting up learning activities for my online courses, if I choose to use a group project, I will look for ways to have them meet visually as well.
And finally, being the facilitator for the small discussion group was interesting. The group did not start talking until Wednesday so I was unsure what to do. With Kay's advice, I waited and the group finally engaged. In retrospect, I probably was too silent but they were carrying on well without me. Having the opportunity to facilitate a discussion as a student really helped me integrate the best practices we've been learning in the class and I am now thinking to the future for managing my own classes.

Module 5 - 70/30 Rule

In what ways will the 70/30 rule impact your online facilitation? I usually spend a lot of time prior to a face to face course preparing. Even when I've presented the course before, I review outlines, make sure links are active, etc. So I get the 70% up front necessity. What I see from the reading and discussions is that online teaching requires more work before the course begins. In face to face classes most of the resources are local -- textbooks, PowerPoint notes-- with some links perhaps. But nothing like preparing for the online environment. So even though the instructor may have run the course a number of times, it is still important to check links, and to make sure all the bells and whistles are still working. But having things in order will benefit the students. Creating confidence in the online instructor is an important thing for students and having a course that runs smoothly from the start is a good way gain that confidence.
Other triumphs or challenges? I continue to struggle with participating in the conversations fully. I see group members really talking like they've been friends for years and I think that is great. But, much as I would do in a group of unfamiliar people in a face to face environment, I just 'listen' to the conversations. I take away a lot of great things to know and think about, but I'm just not very good at adding to the conversations.
What could have been done to mitigate those challenges? I should look for more outside resources so that I have something new to contribute. I realize commenting that my classmates are still 'unfamiliar people' after 5 weeks of class is probably not a good thing since significant effort has been put into helping us recognize and prevent student isolation. I don't feel isolated -- just demonstrating normal behavior for me. For the future, I'll keep this in mind when I have students who don't seem to be joining in the conversation. If I just knew how to intervene, I'd be able to help myself --- hmmmm I'll work on that too.
Other reflective thoughts...this course is very well developed and facilitated. It provides a good model for future reference. I believe I have begun to understand the process of creating collaborative groups. I certainly see the contribution it makes to learning in the online environment. Now it's my turn to moderate the group. If I were moderating a group of nursing students having discussions about healthcare issues, I'd be ready -- but, not sure I'll shine in this assignment.

Module 4 - Reflections at the half way point

We are half way through the course. Hard to believe that time goes so quickly. Our reflections this week are to include an 'aha' moment. I didn't have to think too long to come up with it (I believe that defines an 'aha' moment -- an inspiration). It was Friday afternoon, while dutifully working on classwork before my darling Valentine arrived home, that I realized I had not counted the number of times I posted or responded to the discussion. I have consistently through the past 3 courses found the discussion forum to be educational, but just a tedious process: Read, think, try to write something sensible and interesting, then read, think, and repeat. But I noticed this week I actually forgot about it being a required process with 'x' number of posts required that included . . . whatever the rubric called for. The subject of Tech Tools was most enlightening. I continue to be awed by the way my classmates integrate tech tools into their classrooms. And a little intimidated, I have to admit. But reading through their conversations gave me some ideas and inspiration to continue to integrate new tools into my own learners' worlds. So, while intellectually I understood the importance of the discussion forum, I have finally 'lived' the value of it. As I've said before, I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree sometimes --

I am curious now to see if there is a way to organize discussion forums so that they are not so overwhelming. In a class of 40 students (the number we'll have in our nursing classes in the future) what will be the best way to use the discussion forum and what will be the best way to keep the students engaged without overwhelming them. Dr. Kay has used both small group posting and posting to a forum for the entire group. I have found that helpful. I'm working on a hybrid class for vocational nurses as they begin courses to transition to the professional nurse role. A pre-course survey will give me an idea of whether or not the students have used discussion forums before enrolling in this class. If the overall experience of the class is minimal, I might start my students posting in small groups to get them accustomed to discussions, and then add work to be posted to the whole group.

Our other discussion on learner-learner interaction and critical thinking was interesting as well. We had some good questions and examples of how effective it is for students to collaborate, self assess, and evaluate themselves. Kelly Anne did a great job facilitating. Her style of interaction projected a friendly conversation and that was very motivational for me. I think I'm beginning to see a bigger picture and maybe even turning that corner from student to facilitator! Hope my turn as facilitator in week 6 proves me to be at least a decent novice.

Module 3 - Reflections

The most intriguing thing I learned in Module 3 was the importance of maintaining a neutral tone with regard to culture and gender. The facilitator must be aware of the potential for inadvertent insults that might occur among students in a discussion forum. I was most impressed with Lori's description of her coworker who was sent out of the country because of a student dialogue that offended a parent. It's great that we have global access to learning with others in countries throughout the world. But as a facilitator, it is important to be aware of the impact of having a student from a less tolerant culture. During the discussions, classmates and Dr. Kay discussed how facilitators should approach learning about their students. Asking directly seemed to be the wrong choice. Some said the students will self-reveal - which was my experience in the one class that had an international student as a participant. And then there is the language issue. Once again without verbal cues understanding written communication produced by ESL students can be challenging. And I'm sure those of us who have been writing in English since childhood can be confounding to our ESL classmates when we use words that have multiple meanings and must be translated within the context of the discussion. Monitoring and supporting student discussion is a difficult job. As a student in online learning I have come to understand the necessity of discussion forums but the experience from this week has really driven home (see, there's one of those confusing uses of the English language) the responsibilities of the facilitator when using discussion forums.
I will use this newfound knowledge as an online facilitator by being sure that I am approaching the discussion forum with a global mindset. I have taught F2F only and we do not admit students with a student visa (must have some form of permanent residency) so I tend to see the world through my cultural filter because it is the most common filter among our students. In online education I will have to be more sensitive to the diversity of the participants.
Other reflective thoughts... I was excited to see a reading resource that dealt with nursing. I had just had a discussion in our Curriculum committee meeting at work about using discussion forums as an assessment method. The common response was that it would be impossible to do that with 75 students. The article by Klegg and Heap will be useful as I work to help our faculty try new methods including discussion groups. While looking for the origination of the article I found this PowerPoint presentation that was useful. I hope that when discussion forums are of my design and the topics deal with nursing issues I'll be more confident in my ability to facilitate.

Module 2 - Reflections

The most important thing I learned during Module 2 was there are two sides to constructivism. Not that I didn't already know that but this week while looking through articles to post I came across some articles and blogs that made some valid points. For instance, constructivism works well if the learner can read and follow directions, is computer literate, and has the resources needed to reach the end result of the learning activity. It brought to mind a conversation I had with my boss last week. Her 11 year old son is in a high achievers science class. He was required to do a science fair project of his choice for the school science fair (optional for non-high achievers). He was given a page of instructions and that was the last of the guidance he got in the classroom. The expectation was that he would read and follow the directions and create a project. Most of you with children know what followed -- 10 days before it was due he showed the directions to his mom and, although he had read them and thought about them, he had no idea where to go from there. So she worked with him and the project was completed. Here's my concern: what happens if the parent(s) of the kids in these advanced classes aren't advanced? Or can't afford the materials and resources needed for the project? Or are the children that qualify for advanced educational classes always the products of high achieving parents? So my point of learning for this week's class is this: plan carefully and consider your students' circumstances. Complete a pre-course survey to identify issues that may occur for students because of lack of resources - material and intellectual and that identifies their typical methods of approaching tasks (like Dr. Lehman's personality test). It would be a good idea for the educator to have a prepared toolbox of tip sheets, videos, voice-over slides, online resources etc that could be suggested to students at the start of the class. Recognizing that diversity has far reaching consequences to education, particularly online education, is a must for online educators.
This learning will benefit me as an online facilitator by assuring that I consider my students' circumstances early in the course. I implemented a pre-course survey for incoming freshmen in our nursing program specifically because my eyes were opened to how diverse student populations are in education. We use a learning management system for communication and have a number of resources that must be accessed online. By identifying students who may need more assistance before they even begin class, we have been able to intervene sooner and get those students who lack the necessary skills up to speed sooner. I plan to transfer this same practice when I begin to facilitate online learning in our school.
During this module, we were assigned a learning partner for a project due in Module 6. Dr. Lehman set up an online room for us to meet. I checked it out before my partner and I were to meet and it looked easy enough. Well, when the appointed time came, it took me 10 minutes just to get into the room. Poor Melanie had been sitting there twiddling her thumbs but was very kind and waited for me. So, the moral to the story is this: just because it looks easy, don't count on it! I'm a hands on learner when it comes to computer programs and I don't have a lot of patience for reading directions or watching videos (duh). The really big lesson I learned is -- read through all the resources that the insructor posts, especially if you are somewhat technologically challenged like me. Dr. Lehman posted screencasts that, if I checked them out before our meeting, I would not have wasted Melanie's time. One of my greatest concerns about online teaching is using and knowing how to help students use technology. Maybe I should look for a class that just teaches online tools.

Module 1 - Reflections

The new knowledge and skills I gained during Module 1 were the importance of icebreakers in developing a welcoming online environment. All the courses I have taken have had some sort of creative icebreaker. All have been different but all have required more than just a simple 'Hi, I'm Vicki and I live in Texas" format. Online personalities can be different that f2f personalities but the icebreaker activities I've completed all help me think a little deeper about how to present myself to my new (and sometime not so new) online classmates. I totally missed the using a different font to create a visual identity. I'll try to include that next week. Loved the online personality quiz. I have to admit when I first saw the activity I thought "oh great, a bunch of questions to analyze me" but then it was just a "which are you" choice. Funny but really very telling -- and quick to complete.
The knowledge and skills will benefit me as an online facilitator by giving me the 'why" of using an icebreaker to begin an online class. Now I see that it is more than just a way to ease the learner into the environment. It also provides other participants with impressions of classmates beyond just words. Classmates can find common ground through the descriptions people provide framed in the icebreaker activity. Our icebreaker for this module helped others to see a time when we weren't at our best. And also drove home the understanding the online communication requires careful planning and execution.
Other reflective thoughts would be that I have to admit to dreading this particular course. I fully understand the importance of discussion forums for online learning -- both for student learning and assessment of learning -- but I've found it to be overwhelming. There is so much discussion going on that I get lost in the process. "Where did I read that?" Who was talking about xxx?" "Have I looked at that comment?" " What do you mean I have 139 posts and 100 are unread? On the positive side, I've gained innumerable resources from classmates -- had to set up Symbaloo (which the use of was noted in a discussion post of a classmate) to keep up with all of them. So, I have high hopes that after completing this course I'll be in control!! Til next time ---