Week # 24 Summary
Monday, April 30th, 2012
POT Week # 1: September 6, 2011. Introduction
On the first week, I created my first blog ever, a blog in Edublogs. I introduced myself to the group and learned about the other POT participants. I was happy to learn about Diigo. I read the first chapter of the textbook Teaching Online, and reflected on online teaching and on ways of implementing a learner-centered approach on the virtual realm. I commented on a couple of blogs. I am shy to comment on other people’s work or to write my own blog so it was good that at least I got started by the first entry on my blog.
POT Week # 2: September 14, 2011. Teaching and Learning Online
On the second week, I watched the video “Teaching and Learning in a Networked World” ( 2010), by Alec Couros and I only half liked it. I liked many of his ideas, but I think it was going a bit over the top encouraging people so much to embrace technology completely. I learned about the Khan academy which I liked, and learned what RSS was….the Oprah Way. I got to visit several blogs suggested by POT. I got a bit overwhelmed by Google Reader and started thinking first of what I wanted to do in a class and then in which technology I would use, rather than reversing the order and thinking of technology first and looking for a use for it. I also read chapter 2 of the textbook. I think I commented on one post or 2 maybe, but I was still feeling shy and it was difficult to think of what to say so it was useful.
POT Week # 3: September 24, 2011. Pedagogy and Course Design
On week 3 I spent some time thinking of the difference between pedagogical goals and pedagogical objectives. I watched the Beginner’s Questionnaire and GettinG Started Chart videos and enjoyed the reading of the article of the Seven Principles. I reflected on the importance of collaborative learning to deepen understanding of the material, and I read until page 63 of the textbook. I commented on one post at least I think.
POT Week # 4: September 26, 2011. Materials for Online Teaching
On week 4 I liked very much Dave Raggett’s Introduction to HTML but I got stuck the moment I tried to start putting it into practice. Being shy again I asked my brother through his blog. I need to practice more this HTML. I got dizzy with Prezi. This is perhaps the only tool that we have learned so far that I have not used in my classes yet. I am still thinking on something I want to teach that would benefit from the use of a Prezi. I keep getting dizzy with Prezi and I don’t enjoy it as others do. I read page 63 to the end of chapter 3.
POT Week # 5: October 5, 2011. The Online Syllabus
This week I wrote 2 paragraphs, a bit less than other weeks. I loved the interactive syllabus and watched the Elluminate recording. The suggestions for the syllabus on chapter 5 were very useful. I have not been keeping a record of my replies to other people’s posts in their blogs and I don’t remember if this week I commented on somebody’s blog.
POT Week # 6: October 13, 2011. Creating Presentations
When I read the assignment for this week I thought it would be very difficult and it would take me a long time to figure out how to do it, but it was not like that. It was good to read that we were not expected to create the perfect presentation and that we could just play around. It was after watching Nacho Giráldez´s creative Jing presentation on dance positions that I thought that playing around was going to be the way to create something that at least I could enjoy myself. Jings was easier than I had expected. Ted Major and Nacho Giráldez both commented on my post and I commented on one post at least. Since then I have been using Jing for class and POT presentations. I also found through the POT Facebook group a few links Maha had posted and I included these links on my post.
POT Week # 7: October 24, 2011 . The Online Classroom
This week I learned about useful ways to create community in an online course. I do not remember if I commented on anybody´s post but I did enjoyed reading them. I included some links in my post and one of them was a rubric to evaluate faculty who teach online. I posed 2 questions to create the conversation we had to create for 2 weeks. This week I got 2 comments to my post from Nacho Giráldez and Walter. By this week I felt a part of the POT community.
POT Week# 8: October 27, 2011. Creating Community
This week I wrote only 3 paragraphs in my post but I commented on at least 3 blogs and commented on Pilar´s voicethread. I also read fast Jonathan Mott´s article Envisioning the post-LMS era, found it interesting and read it more carefully next week again.
POT Week # 9: November 2nd, 2011. Student Activities
My post this week was long. I followed the POT Facebook group and found useful links I included in my blog. I bookmarked 6 MERLOT sites to Diigo, I read again the article from the previous week and wrote my opinion about it. I have been taking notes of every chapter we have read of our textbook. This week it took me a long time to take notes and read chapter 7 because it was so interesting!
I also met with my brother Nacho Giráldez in Second Life and wrote about my experience and how I would use it in a Spanish class. I reflected more on our digital lives…
I got 2 comments on my post and I replied to them.
POT Week # 10: November 10, 2011. Open Platforms for Teaching and Learning
I watched Lisa´s slidecast and Jim´s elluminate session and took many notes! After watching Pilar´s tutotial I created my mini-website at Google’s sites. I got one comment from Dancing Online. I read other people’s posts but I do not remember if I posted a comment. I continued reading chapter 7.
POT Week # 11: November 16, 2011. Class Resources and Intellectual Property
I learned about intellectual property and followed the POT Facebook group where I found useful links such as Symbaloo that I included in my post. I read other people’s blogs and chapter 8.
POT Week # 12: December 3, 2011. Resources Online / Mid-year Self-Assessment Check
I did the self-assessment check and checked the rubric. My opinion about my progress in this course so far was: I think I am doing well and making progress because I am learning a lot and keeping up with the pace of the course in terms of posting every week. I am doing a good job reading the book and taking many notes. I need to comment more on other people’s posts. I agree with what other participants have mentioned that it is difficult to comment on current topics on blogs that are not updated.I do read many blogs of other participants but sometimes I don’t find the time to comment. But I like commenting and also like to get comments from others. I want to find more time to create more videos, visuals or audio that I can include my post.
I think this is a very interesting and inspiring program. I am learning a lot from all the participants and mentors. The Facebook group helps to learn useful things participants and mentors post. Also, the people organizing POT are doing a wonderful job. Thank you! I feel very lucky that I can be a participant in this exciting course in spite of how time consuming it can be. A thought that helps me not to fall behind in the course is ” how many times are you going have the opportunity to take a course like MCC POT? ” Only once because it is a one-year program…so let’s learn as much as we can now! Maybe it is a little bit of an existentialist thought but it helps me to keep in track with the pace of the course.
POT Week # 13: February 9, 2012. Flickr
I learned about Flickr and uploaded an annotated image on it. I also learned about Windows snipping tool and commented on 3 blogs from other POT participants.
POT Week # 14: February 20th, 2012. Using Video and Audio
My teaching and interaction with students has really benefited from the audio and video tools I learned this week. Students love Eyejot and Audacity. It is great for a language class and I can invite native speakers from different parts of the world to talk to us briefly exposing students to different ways of speaking. It is a great way of introducing technology in the class. I recorded an audio with Audacity about a guided relaxation practice and added a few slides creating a Slidecast. I have been using Slidecast often since then.
I felt so shy recording my first Eyejot, but I have overcome that now. I have shared the “Eyejot discovery” with students and so many other people and everyone loves it. Main thing for me: it is easy to use!
POT Week # 15: February 22, 2012: Screencasting and Multimedia
I learned about Student-Generated Content. I did a Survey with Survey Monkey and used Mind –Meister to make a brief mind mapping about a general overview of the distinction between the Preterite and the Imperfect. These are two past tenses in Spanish that are not interchangeable but that first time learners may interchange at first. I used Jing to create a Screencast to narrate the short presentation.
POT Week # 16: February 29, 2012. Our Students Online
I used an Open Office document for the first time and learned how to do a FAQ list with internal links. I wrote about the reading of the 2 articles and learned about how students process information when learning online. I got 2 comments to my post and replied to it. I don’t remember if I commented on somebody else’s post but I probably did.
POT Week # 17: March 8, 2012. Classroom Management and Facilitation
My post for this week was a Slidecast. As the course progresses I am getting more and more comfortable using technology tools to communicate. I learned many useful teaching tips by watching Louisa Moon’s video. I enjoyed Pilar’s voice thread being used to teach a Spanish lesson. I learned the Seven Things I’d Want to Know as an Online Teacher by Lisa Lane as well as how a professional blog looks. Lisa’s blog is a place for reference for instructors. Very useful!
POT Week 18: March 13, 2012. Course Management Systems and Pedagogy
My post this week was a Slidecast with Audacity. I learned how to make my links alive in my blog. This week’s readings inspired me to rethink my use of Blackboard and made me aware of the importance of thinking first of pedagogy and secondly of which technology to use. Reading Lisa Lane’s article on “Insidious Pedagogy” I learned about two different types of systems” opt-in and opt-out. Course Management systems contain its own inherent pedagogy and this is something I had not thought about before.
POT Week 19: March 23, 2012. Web-Enhanced, Hybrid and Open Classes
I created a Slidecast with Audacity presenting the main things I learned such as open educational resources, flipping the classroom, and learner-to-learner interaction.
POT Week 20: March 28, 2012. Intro to Educational Technology and Instructional Design
My post for this week had the form of a Slidecast again. I learned about the advantages and disadvantages of blended courses. I also learned about what is instructional design and about the interrelationship between context, content, learning and instruction. I also learned about the importance of self invention of the human brain for learners to benefit fully of the information they learn.
POT Week 21: April 4rth, 2012. Online Pedagogy Models
I created 2 Eyejots for this week. One to comment on a post I really liked by Nacho Giráldez, and the other one for my regular weekly post. I learned about the instructivist, constructivist and connectivist teaching approaches. I also reflected on the fact that critical study is necessary to learn something and that´s why one cannot rely only on looking up information on Google to really learn about something. I also learned about the role of the instructor as a curator. I got 2 comments to my post. I also shared a video my students did for my 102 class.
POT Week 22: April 11, 2012. Personal Learning Networks
I created a Slidecast. I learned about the networked instructor and student diagram; how online courses allow you to have your own pace sometimes; the importance of sharing and learning together;
POT Week 23: April Presentation
Mystery here: the sound of my Slidecast won’t work for others. However, I have tried clicking on the link myself and it works quite well for me. I have tried from my computer at home and in school and I was able to hear it clearly from both places. I am clicking on the same link on my blog that everyone else is using too. How can it be that it only works for me? Not sure what to do at this point. I asked my brother Nacho to try it from Spain to see if it works for him.
I presented about 5 pedagogical and 5 technology elements that are most relevant to my teaching at the present moment and that I have learned in POT. I went to the Pedagogy First blog and tried to comment on every single presentation by other participants. I hope I have not skipped anyone!
Reflection:
This has been my first year as a full time faculty in a college and I felt I was busier than when I was a part timer. It was difficult to make the deadlines of POT sometimes but thankfully I was able to post a few times a few days late. I feel I have made a lot of progress. It is easy to make progress when you start knowing hardly anything about the topic. I appreciate the non intimidating environment of the course and the helpful contributions and comments of the other POT participants and organizers. I would not change anything about this program. Lisa, Jim as well as many other participants are passionate about online teaching and that is what makes of this course such a great learning experience. The materials were so interesting and I know I will be re-reading them again…as well as sharing them with others. I feel I need to keep all my notes because what I learned was so useful! Whenever I need some inspiration for my teaching I will come to POT or to Lisa’s blog. Thank you!! 
Regards,
Rocío Giráldez
