I have learned a great deal throughout this short course period, and I think that it will take some more searching to really gain a deeper understanding of many of the tools I have learned about thus far. It seems as though it's been a whirl wind, such a short period of time that I had all of this work to do...or at least that was my initial thought. However, as soon as the course really started up, it honestly didn't feel like work, it felt more like playing around on the internet than learning. And, I think that's exactly what I loved about this class; it put the fun back into learning, which is how it should be! Half of the time I didn't even realize how much work I was doing or how much I was really learning, until after I sat back to take a look at my work. I know that I am taking away a wealth of information after these few short weeks of learning!
While I truly did enjoy working on all of the projects, I have to say that exploring webquests and creating my own was probably my most enjoyable and favorite journey/learning experience in this course. It was something I was so unfamiliar with before, but as I was creating my own webquest, I actually got sucked in and couldn’t stop working because I was so interested in creating it and exploring ways to make it useful and exciting! I loved how simple it was to create once I knew the topic I wanted to go with. I enjoyed searching the web to find sites that were exciting and relevant to my topic. It was great to see all of the information at my fingertips and to know that I have those options for my students; I can't wait to use this in the classroom someday soon. I can most definitely see how this tool is something of great use in the classroom and out. I think webquests are a great way to get students interacting with their knowledge and task at hand, rather than sitting in a class with a teacher talking at them, not even talking with them. webquests allow students to become actively engaged and interested in their learning.
I can confidently say that this course has helped renew my sense and longing of being a true lifelong learner. I knew that I had a good idea about how the internet and some Web 2.0 tools worked, but after taking this course my eyes have been opened to what feels like a new world of sorts. I didn’t realize all of the potential that the Internet really holds in helping to advance the educational world. With these tools used correctly, students are really provided with the opportunity to flourish. This course has helped me realize the potential of online activities in the classroom and I look forward to using many of the ideas I’ve learned when I have my own classroom in the future. It’s interesting to see how the school I currently work in as a TA uses technology; I think they’re getting there!
In terms of things that surprised my throughout the course, I’d have to say I surprised myself and my ability to really get through a class without being “in” a class was new and exciting. I’ve never taken an online course before and now I’m excited to take more because I really did enjoy this course! I was unsure of how it would work, what would happen, how difficult it would be, etc., but this course helped open my eyes to the realm on online classes. Of course, the material of the course also surprised me. I thought that I was fairly computer literate, but I quickly realized that there is a great big internet world out there and I’m happy to say that I feel more in-tune with that new invigorating world after having done the assignments for the course and having started to familiarize myself with some of the tools available to me and my future students. I know that the things I’ve learned are going to come in handy in the future and I can’t wait to see what my students learn based off of what I’ve learned in this course.
As far as improving the course, I honestly am stumped. I thought that the modules were well laid out, easy to follow, and fun to do. I loved that most, if not all, of the modules had videos accompanying the lesson, because I know that I am a visual learner so it really helps to see what I’m supposed to be doing considering it is an online course without person to person interaction in a classroom. I thought that the discussion questions and posts were phenomenal! I really learned a lot from my classmates without being in a room with them. I honestly feel that the course is very well designed! If there were other courses offered similar to this one, similar to this discovery program, I would most definitely be interested in participating; I feel that the tools I’ll be walking away from this course with are excellent and invaluable and I’m so pleased that I had the opportunity to learn in this fashion. Thank you for opening this online world window!
