Recently, I took the SmarterMeasure online assessment test to determine my readiness for learning in an online, technology rich environment. This tool confirmed that I am a strong visual learner and am highly motivated to succeed in the online learning environment. One interesting area where I can improve is in the use of technology in my life. Since I do not own a cellphone, have never sent a text message, and do not do my banking online, my score in this category was yellow. Already in this class, I have learned how to set up my own blog site, create a wiki, and embed video into my pages. Although there is still much to learn, I am such a strong visual learner that this is all beginning to flow together for me.
My score for technical on this assessment was 100%. I have access to the equipment and software that I need to be successful in this new learning environment. My elementary school has a tremendous amount of state-of-the-art equipment, and there are several tech savvy people there who are willing to help me learn more. Although I was very comfortable with iMove HD, Apple changed their program and I still need to make friends with the new iMove 11. However, I am motivated to learn and want to help my students use the green screen option to put themselves into their photos and reports--as I know this will spark their enthusiasm to do research and learn.
My goal for this class is to learn how to create engaging discussion forums and interactive learning projects for the college students in my Basic Mathematics online course with Shiloh University. Already I have learned that I can have my students create exciting introductory pieces by making wikis to introduce themselves, and want to expand this to include giving the students opportunities to share problem-solving strategies with each other as they work on group projects. I am also interested in learning how to properly cite references, get written permission, and teach cyber ethics to my students--especially when it comes to posting photos, songs, and other possibly copyrighted material to their sites.
