My Overview of the Tutorials

One of my personal goals for this course & the certificate program is to learn the technologies that can be used for online learning.  My experience with virtual & online environments is extensive - but in a corporate learning environment and with the technologies owned by that company.   To complete this assignment I started with writing a list of the technologies we had been introduced to so far - I couldn't believe how long the list was and how many on the list were new to me.  Through these assignments as I have learned/re-learned the technologies, I asked myself "how could I use this within an online learning course or community?" I don't have an answer for all of them and am looking forward to reading what others think.   I have learned a lot by reading the reflections & personal experiences from those in the class.  The community for this course does help me learn :-)

For me, some of the initial "aha" moments were;

• those technologies that I am familiar with that I didn't like before, like Second Life, I still don't like 
• I reconnected with Jing and got caught up on what was new since the last time I used it 
• how different the wikis & blogs were compared to what I was use to

I have kept my commitment to using the bookmark program I selected, Diigo.  The more I use it, the more I like it.  I still feel I have just scratched the surface of how to use it.

As I reflect on how these technologies could help with online teaching, I think about selecting a few and using them well, keep the focus on the course objectives, not how to learn the technology.  A few ways I could see using some of the technologies for online teaching effectiveness begin with assisting students with getting started quickly and on the right path.  As cited in several of the articles we read & discussed, the instructor being present is a key factor for successful online courses (Boettcher & Conrad 2010. p 53-54).  Using a simple technology, like Fotobabble, to create a welcome message for students as they arrive in their virtual classroom is simple but can be very effective and lets the students know the instructor is present.  Right away the student will know they are in the right place (ie - right classroom), they will hear the instructors voice, hear how to pronounce the instructors name, and see a picture.  It is easy for the instructor to do and can quickly create a connection with the students.

Depending on the purpose of the course, I would match my technology to the work the students are expected to do.  If group work is needed, I would consider a wiki for small group work.  A wiki can become cumbersome, hard to follow, and depending on the wiki application, can be deleted.  For those reasons I would keep it to a small group assignment.  The ability to edit and collaborate in a wiki can be very useful.  For any required work, I would limit technology to those in a closed or secure environment.  There are many students with valid reasons for not wanting or not able to have their information/work in an open & social environment (like this one).  Just like traditional classrooms don't post assignments on a board in the dining hall - I think the privacy aspect is easy to lose sight of in an online environment.

I would recommend a set of "core tools" that a student might find helpful throughout the course, like Jing, a bookmark application, and maybe an online journal.  It is important to provide the student with the "must use" technology and the recommended ones that they might find helpful.