Finally, the last class is coming to a close! Where has the semester gone? I can hardly believe that it has been a complete year since I have started this journey. For my final blog post I would like to reflect on not only my journey as the completion of my online course comes to a close, but also the previous courses that have led the way. But first, let's reflect on the progression of building my first online course.
As a final assigment, I had to create three lessons and build them out to completion. My course includes lectures, quizzes, discussion boards, group acitivities, extra credit, syllabus, and orientation. I feel that the design of my first online course has reflected well of the standards presented in the Blackboard Best Practices rubric. The course I have built utilizes Blackboard's exemplary rubric because each of my online lessons consists of learning objectives. These learning objectives can be easily located at the beginng of each learning module. My online course lessons are based on a textbook. My lecturettes for each lesson are short. The lecturettes are designed to keep the students on task to completing the reading assignments and to point out any information that may be important. Supplemental exercises were provided throughout the course for the students to use as practice and to apply what they have read. I tried to refrain from exercies that encouraged regurgitation of information. Weekly discussion topics and an ongoing group project were developed to create a best practice for solid student to student interactions. Instructor to student interactions are ongoing which can either take place in my virtual office hours, course messages,email, and weekly annoucements. Both interactions offers opportunites for synchronous and asynchronous interactive learning tools to provide course updates, reminders, or special annoucements. My syllabus and orientation was designed to be clear, concise, and helpful to a first time online learner. I made sure that items were easy to find and were located in multiple areas for the student to locate. Assessments were developed to test the student's knowledge and as a clear way to provide immediate feedback to the student to see if they are meeting the learning objectives in each lesson. Extra credit assigments were designed to help the student study in a group, to apply what they have learned, and to keep them encouraged if they are not doing well on the quizzes.
As I designed my online course, my memory drifted to the vast technologies and education practices that I have learned throughout this program. I would have liked to use all of the technologies that I was exposed to in a meaningful way throughout the online course that I built for my final project, but unfornately there was not enough time to incorporate it all. As I continue to grow as an online educator, I may use these technologies of learning, organizing, and studying in subsequent classes or lessons as I see fit.
For my final thoughts, in the beginngin of the course, I felt that I had been "thrown to the wolves" as I tried to navigate a new learning managment system for the first time. But at the end of the course I felt that I have come back " as the leader of the pack" as the semester comes to a close. My final thoughts on completing this online certification course is this: I hope I land a job!
