E-Learning for Educators
This course in the E-Learning and Online Teaching Graduate Certificate offered by University of Wisconsin-Stout allows educators to explore the potential of online education. Below are the learning activities completed during this course. Please click on the images to access the link.
Facilitated Forum
One of the greatest challenges that online educators face is how to facilitate a virtual discussion outside the familiar live classroom setting. By using the open source site Moodle, we composed discussion prompts that did not just communicate with others, but promoted critical thinking. Here is a sample of a discussion focused on the topic of balancing between orienting students and teaching them in an online environment. This gave us the opportunity discover the best practices involved in facilitating online discussions.
Closed Captions Video
Online education allows instructors to provide comprehensive accessibility, not only to those with different learning preferences, but also to the underserved population of those with special learning requirements. One of the activities in this course involved creating closed captions for an instructional video created on YouTube. To ensure that all students are able to view and understand any videos provided by instructors is an essential tool and creating closed captions is one that I will utilize always.
Online Survey
There are a number of options available to online educators in the area of engagement. One of the activites in this course involved creating an assessment for students to complete. Again we utilized Moodle to create either a poll, quiz, or survey. My survey topic was how technology can be used to combat academic dishonesty. The creation of effective assessment tools is essential to the success of any online course.
Scoop.it Magazine
Scoop.it is an online source that allows you to create, organize, and publish a web page that revolves around any topic of importance to you. This tool can be utilzed by instructors and students alike and one that I will use when working with students on research. The staggering volume of information that is available on the Internet can leave students feeling overwhelmed. One way for instructors to assist students in finding their way is to curate relevant, accurate, and current web sources. The future of online education was the topic I researched for my Scoopt.it Magazine.
Reflective Letter
What I'm taking away with me from this course is the subject of my reflection letter as I continue on my journey into the world of E-Learning.