I’m about two thirds into my first endeavour teaching an online course and certainly have learned much about the process. First off, even though I only have 14 students, it’s been tough to get to know them. The ones I know best are those who have been blogging and commenting and allowing me to follow via RSS. Their blogs make up the bulk of their work and reflection of the content. It’s taking a bit but finally some are showing some good stuff. Some are still reluctant and haven’t quite figured out how to dive in. Here’s a couple of examples of good work:
- Amber’s post on Cellphones and the impending discussion
- Nicole’s discussion on creating her digital story
- Ronda’s post on why technology means money and following discussion
- Brian’s digital story
We’ve also had some great sessions using Elluminate. Currently students are working with Jeff Utecht’s Plymouth State Students in Developing Wikis. A few weeks ago, David Jakes and Wes Fryer added a wealth of information to our digital story session and the results are evident in their work.
Six weeks is a very short time to build communities but given past experiences I’ve had with workshops and even longer term work with teachers, I’m confident many of these students will continue to utilize a variety of tools effectively. Their enthusiasm is generally pretty palatable. Anytime they’ve had others comment on their work, it’s been a big boost. Comments rule. They validate work and can push learning further. If you can relate at all to this feeling head over and leave a comment on one of their blogs; even better add them to your aggregator.
Kyle
Gillian
Jane
Crystal
Amber
Ronda
Stepan
Nicole
Stephanie
Katie
Kelly
Janine
Erin
Brian
[tags]uofregina,elluminate,davidjakes,jeffutecht,wesfryer,cellphones,digitalstories[/tags]