This weeks readings were very interesting and informative!
Firstly, the reading Teaching Online-A Guide to Theory, Research, and Practice was particularly interesting to me because I am currently enrolled in 3 online courses that are all structured differently. For instance, in one of my courses we are solely using Google classroom rather than Brightspace. Although I have nothing against Brightspace, I actually prefer Google classroom because I find it much easier to navigate. Additionally, in one of my other courses, we are doing a lot of discussion forums. I think discussion forums are a great way to keep students engaged in an online course, however the comments can often come across as insincere. However, the course I am in that uses Google classroom also uses Flipgrid as an alternative to discussion posts. I think this is a great alternative because you can actually put a face to the words and your video comment will come across as more genuine. Moreover, this reading made think about how COVID really pushed for more online learning options (I know we’re all sick of talking about COVID but I have to bring it up lol). Before COVID, online learning wasn’t really something I had considered but now I can’t imagine not having access to online learning. As I’m typing this post I’m sitting in my home in comfy clothes and my dog is having a nap on the floor next to me, how amazing is that?? I think COVID really opened the floodgates to make education more accessible. However, the article mentions that a criticism of MOOCs is, “They also have been criticized for possibly being able to create a stratified educational system that provides onsite education to a privileged few and online education to those who cannot afford it otherwise.”(81). The article then goes on to say that these online courses will disrupt higher education as we know it; but isn’t that a good thing? Onsite education is already mostly only accessible for people that come from privilege so why not make education more accessible with online courses? Universities charge an insane amount for tuition and it is only going up so why not completely reinvent higher education using all of the endless possibilities of online learning. One last thing I wanted to note from this reading was the section about using social media for online learning. I think we are at a very interesting time when it comes to using social media for online teaching/learning because more often than not, the students have a better understanding of social media than the teachers. This is obviously a generational difference but definitely plays into Freire’s problem-posing education.
The other reading for this topic, Openness and Education: A Beginner’s Guide was also informative. I think this is a great resource to understand the history of online teaching/learning and where it’s going. Perhaps I missed it in the other reading but this reading introduced me to the term OER (Open Educational Resources). This reading talks about the history of OER and it got me thinking about how easy I have it as a 21st century teacher. I can google ‘lesson plans’ and thousands upon thousands of results will come up. This accessibility to resources is game changing for teachers. I tried to take a look at the timeline view they created that allows you to explore by topic and year, but it would not load for me. It does have a message that says that the site works best with firefox or safari but this seems a bit outdated to me? The website is from 2017 so it’s not super old but I find most sites today work best with google chrome.
Major, C. H. (2015). Teaching Online – A Guide to Theory, Research, and Practice. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=3318874 (pp. 76-108)
Jordan, K. & Weller, M. (2017). Openness and Education: A beginners’ guide. Global OER Graduate Network.
July 12, 2022
Hey Maegan!
I feel like the Major (2015) reading did a great job of showcasing the different ways in which online courses can be organized. Much like yourself, I have taken several online learning classes that all vary slightly in the way they are organized and delivered. I personally love discussion forums, as they allow me to accurately articulate myself. I like having the time to reflect before I comment. I do understand what you mean though about how comments can feel insincere. I wonder if your thoughts on this could be changed, for example, perhaps those interacting with your post are not replying as thought-provokingly as they could be. I find that the reply is an extension of the conversation elicited within the original post and therefore should ask questions of the authors and/or provide alternative perspectives/new information. Not in this class per see, but I remember one of the first discussion forums I was a part of for a university-level course was all ‘surface level’, basically just compliments and no substance at all! Is this how you are feeling? (Also thanks for mentioning Flipgrid, I’d never heard of this before, it sounds neat and I’ll have to check it out!)
You are right, in that COVID totally changed the way educational institutions looked at teaching online – many teachers had no choice but to adapt! While I love the exposure boost that online learning received during this time, I feel like it also got somewhat of a bad rap as many teachers were not prepared to deliver their courses in this manner and often had limited skills in the technological field.
Another interesting facet is the accessibility that online learning (either distributed or open) provides to differently-abled communities. For example, back in February, there was an organized student walkout to protest the lack of retention of hybrid options once we returned to face-to-face classes. Quite obviously the pandemic isn’t over and health risks are still quite high for those who are immunocompromised or living with an immunocompromised person, in addition to other issues. Many students felt that their voices were not heard and that their health was being put at risk, plus there were disagreements about whether or not the university was prioritizing its finances over student safety during the return to campus. I think that online learning/hybrid options should be the norm nowadays, especially given the current health climate! I think it’s interesting that you mention the quote about onsite education possibly becoming only available to the privileged because, in a sense, that’s what was happening with those with certain health ailments. In many cases, they felt they needed to stay home and received sub-par online access or risk their health to come to class to get the full experience. What are your thoughts on this? Were you aware of, or participate in, the walkout?
I also sincerely agree with you! I think we should change the educational system as we know and use it! Why not, right? It’s 2022 and we have all the tools necessary to run classes in dual formats for most programs. Heck, a teacher mentioned in the reading has been teaching online since 1998, why can’t we?
July 13, 2022
Hey Tegan!
Thanks for your reply. I totally get what you mean about being able to gather your thoughts better in discussion posts, I feel the same! As you mentioned, I was mostly referring to those ‘surface-level’ responses that didn’t give me much to work with.
Also, as an immunocompromised student myself, returning to campus was scary and I agree, hybrid/online learning options should be the norm! I risked my health to participate in in-person classes because the online options were very limited. This past September was also the first time I had classes with my cohort and I felt pressure to go in-person because I didn’t want to miss out on meeting everyone and making those connections. Thankfully all of my professors were very accommodating to my needs and I felt a bit safer being with the same group of people everyday but I can’t imagine having huge lectures with different people everyday.
Thanks again for your reply 🙂
July 13, 2022
Thanks for sharing, Maegan!
I’m glad your professors were accommodating during these uncertain times and yes, a cohort group at least limits the number of people you are exposed to every day! I was lucky in that most of my classes were 30 people or less but I just finished a summer class that had a capacity of 200!!
Do you think you will be integrating various online components into your future course planning? If so, what style might work best for which grades? How might you go about offering an online or hybrid version of a class for a younger audience?
July 12, 2022
Also! Here are the links for the timeline, as it was able to load for me 🙂
1994: BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS – https://youtu.be/JWdr4zeE3JU
1995: THE WEB – https://youtu.be/WTKIgdfoHxM
1996: CMC – https://youtu.be/wasFmwlQdys
1997: CONSTRUCTIVISM – Video Unavailable
1998: WIKIS – https://youtu.be/1pR5yogCmkA
1999: E-LEARNING – https://youtu.be/mfMrVKnGzwg
2000: LEARNING OBJECTS – https://youtu.be/N7YgvG4QlAY
2001: E-LEARNING STANDARDS – https://youtu.be/FzxNwWvmwf4
2002: LMS/VLE – https://youtu.be/m6KnJPeAWog
2003: BLOGS – https://youtu.be/Xk97NwetXtE
2004: OER – https://youtu.be/LDTCdMKlDQw
2005: VIDEO – https://youtu.be/P4dT-lW9260
2006: WEB 2.0 – https://youtu.be/6gmP4nk0EOE
2007: SECOND LIFE – https://youtu.be/tqDL9APQI4U
2008: E-PORTFOLIOS – https://youtu.be/0rYj1ZrkhhE
2009: TWITTER – https://youtu.be/OSHvikBuv3Y
2010: CONNECTIVISM – https://youtu.be/yx5VHpaW8sQ
2011: PERSONAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS (PLE) – https://youtu.be/zDwcCJncyiw
2012: MOOCS – https://youtu.be/U6FvJ6jMGHU
2013: OPEN TEXTBOOKS – https://youtu.be/qnkNTWi4lMw
2014: LEARNING ANALYTICS – https://youtu.be/xmi8y_ZhK9c
2015: DIGITAL BADGES – https://youtu.be/-ErAbVArIPE
2016: THE RETURN OF AI – https://youtu.be/T6GKVusSnUQ
2017: BLOCKCHAIN – https://youtu.be/s8EcrSjb85o
2018: ED TECH’S DYSTOPIAN TURN – https://youtu.be/IrVnLFYd4iU
July 13, 2022
Hi Maegan!
Wow, what a great post! I loved your insights on this week’s readings and agree with a lot of what you said. I especially like how you brought up disrupting higher education as we know it. The system is definitely flawed in quite a few ways, but especially in it’s inequitable access for those of lower economic status. We now have the technology and ability to make education accessible, so why wouldn’t we? Is it just the tradition of higher education and the corresponding social hierarchy that keeps the system closed off? If education was more open and we were able to get degrees online and for less money (or even free) would more of the population be certified in certain areas? Why wouldn’t we, as a society, want this or would it in a way devalue what it means to have a degree? Now that I’m thinking about it, this is a very interesting topic and leads to a lot of questions on the structure and value of higher education.
I was also unfamiliar with the term OER before the reading, but definitely agree that we are so lucky to have so many resources at our disposal. I know I put a lot of these resources to use in my last practicum. It is crazy that we can just look up a grade or a subject and have access to millions of ideas and lessons within seconds. I sometimes find this super overwhelming though, as there is sooo much content out there it can be really easy to get sucked down a whole of trying to find the best resource. I know I have spent hours scrolling through pinterest when I meant to be lesson planning, but instead was distracted by all the possibilities!
July 13, 2022
Hi Courtnay!
Thanks for your comment! I agree that the whole idea of higher education and what it means to have a degree is a complex topic that raises so many questions. I’m not sure what the answer is, but all I know is that I shouldn’t have to pay upwards of $500 to do my practicum for free lol.
I also used a lot of resources I found online in my practicum and I agree, it can be so overwhelming! Its especially overwhelming when I think about having to plan for the whole school year, I’m so indecisive I should start planning for my first year now lol!
Thanks again for your comment 🙂
July 13, 2022
Hello Maegan!
Wow, taking 3 online courses simultaneously in the summer semester is impressive! As students, we must all be quite adaptive and do so pretty quickly as we start off any semester. As you mentioned, one of your courses uses Google Classroom and not Brightspace. While this course is now mainly WordPress, another uses Flipgrid. It’s difficult to keep track of where everything is and how to use each platform.
I absolutely agree with you that there is a huge accessibility benefit of online education (introduced by COVID, unfortunately). Working on schoolwork at home in comfy clothes and pet best friend is wonderful!
July 13, 2022
Hi Maegan!
Thank you for your blog post, it was very interesting to read! Right away I could relate to the post and say I also agree that google classroom is easy to navigate and prefer it over brightspace. I too think discussions are a great concept but have seen posts that shouldn’t be appropriate for the topic or even present in an educational setting. If you had the choice to do your degree completely online or completely face-face what would you choose? I personally would choose face-face. For my style of learning I could not survive 4 or more years stuck at my computer, 1 year was enough of a challenge for me. An interesting point you brought up that has to do with the cost of tuition got me thinking, why did tuition prices increase the year that all our schooling was moved to online? Curious what your thoughts on the topic are.
Thanks! 🙂