Week Four-Journal
1. The most important thing that I learned this week was how to apply technology like Jing and Screencast into lesson planning. Also, I learned about the importance of community building and the interactive properties of online classrooms. Jing, and other technologies are useful in classroom settings and online community building.
2. In this course, most of the material has been familiar and I have enjoyed re-evaluating criteria and concepts that I have explored throughout my academic career. However, learning how to incorporate the TPACK model into instructional design was detailed and complex, providing a challenge in completion of integration into learning.
3. The most important element of instructional design and becoming an online educator is the element of organization and effective communication. While my courses at Ashford University have provided a great deal of opportunities for learning and implementation opportunities, there are still a few items that would enhance my skills and elaborate on my development. First, more instruction in assessment development and lesson design would be helpful. Also, an overview of instructional implementation and course creation would be helpful in fully expanding my knowledge and ability as an online learning instructor.
4. The information that I have learned so far has not only been published by many different authors in textbooks, peer reviews and academic websites but the instructional implementations have been tried and used by instructors in various classrooms. For example, this week we learned about incorporating Jing and screencast operations into classrooms. To learn about the application, we practiced making screencasts using the tool. This information that was learned was based on experience of such a device, and therefore the learning has to be meaningful.
5. The most interesting question a peer has asked me in the learning forum was in regards to veteran teachers and technology. This student asked my how veteran teachers acclimate to the changing climate of technology in schools. In my teaching experience, I worked with a veteran teacher that did not adapt well to the changing face of technology. She did not have computers in her classroom. She asked other teachers to enter her grades via our online system. The thought of technology was intimidating to her, and therefore was ignored. For veteran teachers, specific, guided instruction must be conducted regularly to be sure that they are up to date on modern technology, that they may not use on a daily basis otherwise.
