CEdO 555 Post #1

This week I had an opportunity to start evaluating online portfolios, and I have found the process to be interesting. Prior to this task, I have always thought of teacher portfolios as collections of works gathered throughout the years and housed in locked filing cabinets. These guarded secrets were rarely talked about and seldom seen, but I always knew they existed. I applaud the willingness of teachers to put their work into cyberspace to be closely scrutinized by graduate students. With that said, there are varying degrees of skill and thoroughness in these portfolios. If these portfolios are reflections of the teachers that created them, then there are a wide variety of talents available for employment.
As I embark on creating my own online portfolio, I have initial feelings of trepidation. Throughout this program I have tried to complete my assignments to the best of my ability, and now we are asked to match our assignments to state standards. I am hoping that I will be able to accomplish this task, but I also wonder if this will be something that can be improved throughout the graduate program. It stands to reason that artifacts to be included in the collection would have been created with standards in mind, rather than now trying to figure out which standards they meet. This is not a criticism of the program, but something to be considered in the future. I wonder if I will have to significantly alter my work to make assignments adequately cover a wide range of standards. Hopefully, for the sake of my sanity and marriage, that will not be the case.
I am looking forward to pursuing a project of my own choosing. There are so many areas that I feel need further study, and I am enthusiastic about exploring some of these areas. I think the biggest challenge with the assignment will be limiting the scope enough to be effective. I don't want to take on a task that is either too large or too small, yet it will be difficult to determine this at the onset. Either way, this might be the most meaningful assignment of the program for me, and I am gearing up for the challenge. :)

CEdO 550 Post #6

I will use what I learned in this course over the next 30 days by . . .
getting my Ning up and running. I think I have a much better understanding of the power of online learning, and I feel more comfortable offering components of online learning in my face to face classes. My confidence in facilitating lessons has grown to the point that I know what I want to do with my classes this year.

I will use what I learned in over the next year by . . .
continuing to develop what I have learned in the course. Just like my knowledge has grown considerably from the start of my graduate work until now, my knowledge from the beginning of this course until now has shown considerable growth. I will continue to look for ways to involve online content in my current classes. I believe that in a years time my students will have a much more fulfilling experience because of the addition of online content that was developed in this course.


After completing this course I would like to learn more about . . .
what I would need to become an online teacher. My school has started an online program through Kaplan, but the plan is to have Bay Port teachers take a more active role in teaching some of the online offerings. I think the timing of this course works well with the implementation of the online course at Bay Port. I am not sure if I would be the right guy for the job, but this course has enlightened me as to the possibilities of teaching some online classes.

CEdO 550 Post#5

I am currently spitting mad. :) I have finished my synchronous lesson, and it didn't run quite as smoothly as I had planned. I went against my usual delivery style and spent significant time practicing my lesson. I usually spend my time preparing the material without running through the delivery. Be doing so, I am more flexible in dealing with issues that arise. For this lesson, I spent my time in a Vroom practicing the delivery of information, and I got an idea of how everything would run. When I delivered the lesson to the class, something happened that didn't occur during practice, and it really threw me off my game. I wasn't sure how to fix the problem, and it put my timing out of whack. My mind had a practiced idea of how things would happen, and I was somewhat bound to that plan. Although I am hoping the lesson wasn't as bad as it seemed to me, I am still disappointed in the delivery.
At the same time, I have to understand that it was my first lesson with the Elluminate tool. Now that I know that the issue that I encountered could happen, I will be a stronger presenter the next time around. I do like the tools that are available, and I can see how students would have a great experience in Elluminate. Teachers should also feel comfortable with the available tools, and the flexibility that Elluminate provides. In the back of my mind, the lesson further developed my interest in teaching some classes online in the future.