Week 12: Reflection

Week 1: It’s fun to look back and see where I started. I, admittedly, had a hard time getting into the routine of the course. Posting happened late in the week, commenting later if not at all. At this week, I was feeling nervous. Since I haven’t taught an online course, I felt like I was a college freshman jumping into a grad school course with experts! This week I express my interest in streamlining the grading process and I am confident now that I have some tools that will definitely do just this. http://wp.me/p3ShAo-6

Week 2: During this week, it clicked for me that I am now an online student and the purpose of this cert is not to just complete tasks but also to reflect on the process of learning online and apply that to our own online courses. This (seemingly obvious) revelation helped me frame the work for the rest of the semester. http://wp.me/p3ShAo-9

Week 3: This week’s task was extremely helpful for me. I know that if I had not enrolled in the POT Cert that I would not have taken such a close look at my courses until I was scrambling to put together my first online course. This practical aspect of designing a particular unit made me feel a bit more confident in my potential to teach online. http://wp.me/p3ShAo-e

Week 4: I now feel like I’ve found my groove this semester. It only took 4 weeks! I’ve established my own pacing for the course and tried to stick with my self-imposed schedule. (I really do feel like an online student struggling with time management issues!) This is a blog post I will revisit regularly when I begin to plan my first class online. It provides an outline for how to design an ENG 100 course including some of the tools I’d use, how I’d pace the course, and how I’d frame each unit. http://wp.me/p3ShAo-h

Week 5: This chapter was, again, extremely practical and helpful. I can’t imagine being assigned an online class and planning it without going through this certification—or something comparable. I learned about Diigo, which I see as serving an important purpose in my classes, especially for research-based assignments. Unfortunately, I didn’t use the POT Cert Diigo as much as I would have liked. I didn’t post, but I did appreciated skimming through the links throughout the semester. http://wp.me/p3ShAo-p

Week 6: I’m glad I learned this tool. This week was one that got away from me with commenting. It looks like I missed some good conversation. Disappointed. http://wp.me/p3ShAo-r

Week 7: I liked looking through the additional texts this week like the manifesto and Lisa’s blog post. From this week, I’m taking away a few practical aspects of building a classroom especially the idea that we should strive to create online “eye contact.” I think audio, video, images are essential for this. I like a good metaphor, so this point is one I’ll hold on to. http://wp.me/p3ShAo-y

Week 8: Fittingly, during “Creating Community” week, I felt like I was really part of the community. I engaged in some interesting conversations and really appreciated the comments I received on my blog.  http://wp.me/p3ShAo-A

Week 9: Yes. My routine has been established and I don’t feel like the freshman sitting in on a grad course anymore. Of course, this was all in my head. Everyone has been so supportive and thoughtful throughout the process. I thought about plagiarism this week and I hadn’t considered how this issue might be different in an online setting. I was generally worried about students not generating original content if they post late and have access to everyone else’s work. This is something I’ll have to think through more and address it in my syllabus in some way. http://wp.me/p3ShAo-E

Week 10: Posts on the POT page were sparse this week. I felt like I made it to the home stretch and was glad I pulled through. As you can see, my participation was sparse in the beginning of the semester, but with each week I found more of a footing and I grew in confidence. I contributed a few ideas about accessibility to the group that I had considered while working for DSPS. It’s something I think is really important that is too often overlooked or examined too late in the semester. http://wp.me/p3ShAo-G

Week 11: This was by far the hardest post I put together. It began with me buying a microphone at Best Buy late in the week. Who knew some laptops don’t come with them? I do now! Thankfully, Julie posted her process in her blog, so I was able to follow that general approach and I was overall happy with my audacity recording. I did it on the first try, too! http://wp.me/p3ShAo-K

Week 12: Here we are. Admittedly, I started slow and found my footing mid way through the course. I posted consistently and almost always on time, but I wish my participation was more consistent in commenting. In my posts, I tried to ask questions so other POTters would have an opportunity to respond directly to them and create an immediate, productive conversation. I look forward to improving my skills as an online teacher—and student—next semester.