Tag Archives: What I am

What I am is….

 

Who we are:

Created with Padlet

Photo on 7-21-13 at 10.53 AM

First of all I need you to know that I am submitting my blog from the island of Saint Marteen! We are on family vacation this week. My husband asked if I was taking my laptop, as if I would leave it behind.

What I have realized about myself is I am like a kid in a candy store when it comes to technology. I love to try new things, and I like to try everything! Mary and Anne discussed the use of Padlet in the section “How am I doing it in this course? And how are you doing it?” Well, I had to check it out! While in the  airport I plugged some Tootsie Pops in my kids mouths and started extracting lines from every one’s blog. I feel so grateful to be surrounded by a diverse group of peers who are so talented and knowledgeable. I am learning so much, and am dreading the end of this class.

With that being said, what have I discovered about me?

Me the teacher in my course:

So this module we really explored the nooks and crannies of our course. The course manual has been my bible. The section that I really have been focused on is pages 71-80 in Teaching presence. What I am coming to realize is that I am really weak in tying in my activities to assessments. I love the creativity behind activities, but I do not easily tie the activities into my objective or assessment. It takes a lot of time and thought into really putting myself in the shoes of my students. Trying to understand how and what they will learn from my activity and how I can assess it is not as transparent for me. In our course manual the section Confirming Understanding through assessment and explanatory feedback is sectioned off into areas titled: Think about how you will evaluate your learning activities, Confirming understanding through assessment and explanatory feedback (peer to peer feedback, creating opportunities to collect student feedback on course, use). This area of course assessment is getting me to think about my purpose in activities and assessments.

In addition to understanding and connecting with assessments the article A Follow Up Investigation of Teaching Presence” in the SUNY Learning Network connected me to what I need to do in direct instruction. I need to “present content and questions, focus the discussion on specific issues, summarize discussions, confirm understanding, diagnosis misperception, inject knowledge from diverse sources, and respond to technical concerns (Shea, Pickett & Pelz, 2003, pg. 71). ”

Sumary

With each module I have a realization of self. It may be a large “a ha” or a tiny hmmm. I understand that this process is continuos not throughout this course, but throughout my career. I know that there will never be a point where you say, “that is it, I am perfectly done!” If you do then it is time to walk away.

Heather (4)

 

Shea, P. J., Pickett, A. M., & Pelz, W. E. (2003). A follow-up investigation of “teaching presence” in the SUNY Learning Network. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 7(2), 61-80.