Week #7: February 13th - 20th.
The seventh week of the Practicum has been centered in reviewing our e-portfolios for the last time. During this week, I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course and to share our thoughts about the graphics, audio, and visual elements section of our rubric in order to self-assess our own work and then ask for a peer review of our e-portfolio. I was able to share my experiences with my colleagues and also to learn more about my colleagues work and questions or concerns that they might have about the visual elements that they have used in the e-portfolio. The discussion that took place in the discussion board was very interesting and informative. Throughout this discussion, I was able to gain new insights and a better understanding about the strengths and the areas that I need to improve in my e-portfolio. I was also able to provide feedback to some of my colleagues in regards to their work.
The seventh week of the Practicum has been centered in reviewing our e-portfolios for the last time. During this week, I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course and to share our thoughts about the graphics, audio, and visual elements section of our rubric in order to self-assess our own work and then ask for a peer review of our e-portfolio. I was able to share my experiences with my colleagues and also to learn more about my colleagues work and questions or concerns that they might have about the visual elements that they have used in the e-portfolio. The discussion that took place in the discussion board was very interesting and informative. Throughout this discussion, I was able to gain new insights and a better understanding about the strengths and the areas that I need to improve in my e-portfolio. I was also able to provide feedback to some of my colleagues in regards to their work.
Week #6: February 5th - 12th.
The sixth week of the Practicum has provided me an opportunity to self-reflect about my journey as an online students and as an instructor. During this week, I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course and to share our experiences in online learning. I was able to share my experiences with my colleagues and also to learn more about my colleagues experiences as online students and as an online instructors as well. The discussion that took place in the discussion board was very interesting, informative and reflective. Throughout this discussion, I was able to gain new insights and a better understanding about how online learning has impacted me as a student and also as an instructor.
Here is my initial post in the discussion.
The sixth week of the Practicum has provided me an opportunity to self-reflect about my journey as an online students and as an instructor. During this week, I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course and to share our experiences in online learning. I was able to share my experiences with my colleagues and also to learn more about my colleagues experiences as online students and as an online instructors as well. The discussion that took place in the discussion board was very interesting, informative and reflective. Throughout this discussion, I was able to gain new insights and a better understanding about how online learning has impacted me as a student and also as an instructor.
Here is my initial post in the discussion.
Hello All,
I would like to share with you some of my thoughts in regards to this week's prompts. I started the journey of online learning many years ago. I am not sure at this point if I started this program in 2012 or 2013... My first thought as an online student back in those days was, "this is going to be an easy class" it is an online class... Therefore, during that summer, I decided to take two online classes instead. It was my summer time and as you all know teachers get to spend some time off during the summer months in order to attend professional development sessions, rewrite curriculum and hopefully to have a family vacation. Well... It turned out to be one of the busiest summers that I ever had. I was juggling two online classes, E-Learning for Educators and Assessment in E-Learning.
I learned a great amount of information that I was able to take immediately into my face-to-face class next Fall. During that time, I have been working in my school district for about 5 years and when I came back ready to start implementing new ideas and how to start transforming my classroom to a more blended classroom, I got a huge push back from my administrators... They really did not know about how technology could potentially enhance the learning environment and experience of my students.
I had to attend many meetings in order to explain what I was doing and why I was doing it. Back in those days, we did not have the research nor the knowledge about technology and how it could be implemented effectively for instructional purposes.
At that time, we did not have a LMS. I was using different Web 2.0. tools such as Quia, Blogger, Wiki's, Edmodo, etc... One day during that Spring, I received an invitation to be part of a Technology Committee. I thought that it was interesting and I went ahead and accepted the invitation from the same administrators that looked at the things that I was doing in my classroom with a great amount of disbelief.
I found out in the first meeting that I attended that there were some conversations at the district level about how technology has been impacting student learning and they wanted for us to share our stories. While this was happening in my school, I had been offered by a company that provides professional development for companies in the private sector an opportunity to create a Spanish course for adults that wanted to learn Spanish for the upcoming Fall. I immediately said "Yes" I can do that. When in reality, I had no idea how I was going to put the pieces together for this course. I do remember doing a tremendous amount of research about different LMS, teaching methodology, resources, etc... I went back to UW-Stout site and signed up for the next available class. That class was Instructional Design for Online Learning, but it was going to take place the same time that I was scheduled to teach this blended course for adults...
Based on my research, I chose Canvas as my LMS and I started to build the blended course for the employees of Alcatel-Lucent. This course was a blended course that will last six weeks. I was meeting face-to-face with a group of 12 employees every Wednesday for 2 hours and the rest was done online. Some adult learners did really well and some others did not reach their full potential. I learned a great deal about blended learning and how to maximize the resources in the LMS. It was a demanding, but yet a terrific experience. I was developing this blended course, I was bringing more ideas to my classroom and I was noticing how my classrooms and the learning environment was changing. I knew that I had to get better. I continued to research and to learn on my own different Web 2.0. tools. I was building my toolbox without knowing where this journey will take me.
After that school year, I was chosen along with a couple of other teachers to implement Canvas in my course. Luckily, for me, I had some experience in this field and I felt very confident in how to move forward. Unfortunately, I had to deal with another push back from the administration since they wanted to control the design and the layout of the course... I found this very frustrating, but I decided to play the game and to show them how to maximize some of the features of this LMS.
Throughout this process, I gained respect from some of my colleagues, but also new enemies... I guess "pioneers" are either the good or the bad guys... After having the opportunity of implementing Canvas in my courses and learning more about blended and online learning, I decided to complete this certification program. This program has been such a rewarding experience not only as a student but also as an online instructor. By the way, as I am working with this practicum, I am also an intern with Mrs. Rouman in the E-learning for Educators course. I have enjoyed this experience because I am able to learn more about how to manage the course as an instructor.
Finally, the past few years have been extremely busy due to the different professional commitments in my campus not only as Department Chair for Languages Other Than English, but also as a 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year on my campus. I am constantly juggling the demands of my work and my life. I know that these are busy times, but I am confident that I will be able to continue to move forward in order to be able to reach my personal and professional goals.
Many thanks to all of you for this great learning experience and for your willingness to continue to push each other to get better in what we do. However, I would like to especially thank Mr. O'Connor for his ongoing support and guidance. I consider him not only a great mentor, but also a wonderful professor and I hope one day be able to follow his footsteps in this magical, but yet challenging, online learning world.
All my best!
Respectfully,
José A Salas
I would like to share with you some of my thoughts in regards to this week's prompts. I started the journey of online learning many years ago. I am not sure at this point if I started this program in 2012 or 2013... My first thought as an online student back in those days was, "this is going to be an easy class" it is an online class... Therefore, during that summer, I decided to take two online classes instead. It was my summer time and as you all know teachers get to spend some time off during the summer months in order to attend professional development sessions, rewrite curriculum and hopefully to have a family vacation. Well... It turned out to be one of the busiest summers that I ever had. I was juggling two online classes, E-Learning for Educators and Assessment in E-Learning.
I learned a great amount of information that I was able to take immediately into my face-to-face class next Fall. During that time, I have been working in my school district for about 5 years and when I came back ready to start implementing new ideas and how to start transforming my classroom to a more blended classroom, I got a huge push back from my administrators... They really did not know about how technology could potentially enhance the learning environment and experience of my students.
I had to attend many meetings in order to explain what I was doing and why I was doing it. Back in those days, we did not have the research nor the knowledge about technology and how it could be implemented effectively for instructional purposes.
At that time, we did not have a LMS. I was using different Web 2.0. tools such as Quia, Blogger, Wiki's, Edmodo, etc... One day during that Spring, I received an invitation to be part of a Technology Committee. I thought that it was interesting and I went ahead and accepted the invitation from the same administrators that looked at the things that I was doing in my classroom with a great amount of disbelief.
I found out in the first meeting that I attended that there were some conversations at the district level about how technology has been impacting student learning and they wanted for us to share our stories. While this was happening in my school, I had been offered by a company that provides professional development for companies in the private sector an opportunity to create a Spanish course for adults that wanted to learn Spanish for the upcoming Fall. I immediately said "Yes" I can do that. When in reality, I had no idea how I was going to put the pieces together for this course. I do remember doing a tremendous amount of research about different LMS, teaching methodology, resources, etc... I went back to UW-Stout site and signed up for the next available class. That class was Instructional Design for Online Learning, but it was going to take place the same time that I was scheduled to teach this blended course for adults...
Based on my research, I chose Canvas as my LMS and I started to build the blended course for the employees of Alcatel-Lucent. This course was a blended course that will last six weeks. I was meeting face-to-face with a group of 12 employees every Wednesday for 2 hours and the rest was done online. Some adult learners did really well and some others did not reach their full potential. I learned a great deal about blended learning and how to maximize the resources in the LMS. It was a demanding, but yet a terrific experience. I was developing this blended course, I was bringing more ideas to my classroom and I was noticing how my classrooms and the learning environment was changing. I knew that I had to get better. I continued to research and to learn on my own different Web 2.0. tools. I was building my toolbox without knowing where this journey will take me.
After that school year, I was chosen along with a couple of other teachers to implement Canvas in my course. Luckily, for me, I had some experience in this field and I felt very confident in how to move forward. Unfortunately, I had to deal with another push back from the administration since they wanted to control the design and the layout of the course... I found this very frustrating, but I decided to play the game and to show them how to maximize some of the features of this LMS.
Throughout this process, I gained respect from some of my colleagues, but also new enemies... I guess "pioneers" are either the good or the bad guys... After having the opportunity of implementing Canvas in my courses and learning more about blended and online learning, I decided to complete this certification program. This program has been such a rewarding experience not only as a student but also as an online instructor. By the way, as I am working with this practicum, I am also an intern with Mrs. Rouman in the E-learning for Educators course. I have enjoyed this experience because I am able to learn more about how to manage the course as an instructor.
Finally, the past few years have been extremely busy due to the different professional commitments in my campus not only as Department Chair for Languages Other Than English, but also as a 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year on my campus. I am constantly juggling the demands of my work and my life. I know that these are busy times, but I am confident that I will be able to continue to move forward in order to be able to reach my personal and professional goals.
Many thanks to all of you for this great learning experience and for your willingness to continue to push each other to get better in what we do. However, I would like to especially thank Mr. O'Connor for his ongoing support and guidance. I consider him not only a great mentor, but also a wonderful professor and I hope one day be able to follow his footsteps in this magical, but yet challenging, online learning world.
All my best!
Respectfully,
José A Salas
Week #5: January 30th - February 4th.
The fifth week of the Practicum has been centered in reviewing our e-portfolios. During this week, I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course and to share our thoughts about the usability and accessibility of our e-portfolio. I was able to share my experiences with my colleagues and also to learn more about my colleagues work and questions or concerns that they might have about the product that they have created. The discussion that took place in the discussion board was very interesting and informative. Throughout this discussion, I was able to gain new insights and a better understanding about the strengths and the areas that I need to improve in my e-portfolio. I was also able to provide feedback to some of my colleagues in regards to their e-portfolio. Here is my initial post in the discussion board.
Hello All,
I have been working with my e-portfolio throughout this certification program and I have made some changes along the way. I have enjoyed creating this e-portfolio. It has been fun and I have learned new skills along the way. Therefore, I would love to hear your feedback about how this artifact could get better. What are the strengths and what areas need improvement?
One of the concerns that I have is to whether or not insert some audio to some of the pages of the site and to include close caption to all of the embedded videos in this site.
I look forward to hear your thoughts.
All my best!
Respectfully,
José A Salas
Web Address: http://jasalaseportfolio.weebly.com/
The fifth week of the Practicum has been centered in reviewing our e-portfolios. During this week, I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course and to share our thoughts about the usability and accessibility of our e-portfolio. I was able to share my experiences with my colleagues and also to learn more about my colleagues work and questions or concerns that they might have about the product that they have created. The discussion that took place in the discussion board was very interesting and informative. Throughout this discussion, I was able to gain new insights and a better understanding about the strengths and the areas that I need to improve in my e-portfolio. I was also able to provide feedback to some of my colleagues in regards to their e-portfolio. Here is my initial post in the discussion board.
Hello All,
I have been working with my e-portfolio throughout this certification program and I have made some changes along the way. I have enjoyed creating this e-portfolio. It has been fun and I have learned new skills along the way. Therefore, I would love to hear your feedback about how this artifact could get better. What are the strengths and what areas need improvement?
One of the concerns that I have is to whether or not insert some audio to some of the pages of the site and to include close caption to all of the embedded videos in this site.
I look forward to hear your thoughts.
All my best!
Respectfully,
José A Salas
Web Address: http://jasalaseportfolio.weebly.com/
Week #4: January 23rd - 29th.
The fourth week of the Practicum has been centered around MOOC's. During this week, I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course and to share our thoughts and previous experiences with Massive Open Online Courses. I was able to share my experiences with my colleagues and also to learn more about these courses. The discussion that took place in the discussion board was very interesting and informative. Throughout this discussion, I was able to gain new insights and a better understanding about how these online courses work. I was able to learn about the different universities that are currently offering these courses. An interesting fact about these courses was the dropout rate. I was not aware that more than 90% of the students that enrolled in these courses do not finish the course. During my research about MOOC's I found an interesting video (please see below) about how universities and colleges are considering different ways in how to monetize these courses that are free to the public.
The fourth week of the Practicum has been centered around MOOC's. During this week, I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course and to share our thoughts and previous experiences with Massive Open Online Courses. I was able to share my experiences with my colleagues and also to learn more about these courses. The discussion that took place in the discussion board was very interesting and informative. Throughout this discussion, I was able to gain new insights and a better understanding about how these online courses work. I was able to learn about the different universities that are currently offering these courses. An interesting fact about these courses was the dropout rate. I was not aware that more than 90% of the students that enrolled in these courses do not finish the course. During my research about MOOC's I found an interesting video (please see below) about how universities and colleges are considering different ways in how to monetize these courses that are free to the public.
Hello All,
What an interesting topic! I have never taken a MOOC , but now I am curious... Perhaps I have already taken a MOOC without even noticing. I have been working with my Google Certification in order to become a Certified Educator using the Google Apps. Therefore, since I have never taken a MOOC, I am not sure if this type of online learning will qualify as a MOOC. I can see myself in the future taking a MOOC related to education, blended and online learning. I feel that a MOOC could provide good learning opportunities for many people around the world. I am not sure how a MOOC could be facilitated... I am assuming through the use of a learning platform, an instructor or a few instructors and perhaps integrating social media into the course...
How the assessments will be administered in this type of online learning environment.? I believe that through the online platform you could create some common formative assessments, but I am not sure how these courses could provide the necessary credits at the high school, undergraduate and graduate level. I also think that it will be interesting to see if there are any discussions boards or any other type of activities that promote the interaction among the students and between the students and the instructor.
At this time, I don't know if MOOCs are a threat to me as an online professional. I think that in the future they might be a threat to other online programs that are being offered by other accredited universities and colleges. As an online professional, I think that these type of courses might provide more job opportunities for the educators that have experience teaching online.
Here is an interesting video that talks about how some universities and colleges are trying to figure out how to monetize these courses. What are your thoughts about whether or not these courses should charge a fee to the students? Google does charge a small fee for taking the online certification exam...
All my best!
Respectfully,
José A Salas
What an interesting topic! I have never taken a MOOC , but now I am curious... Perhaps I have already taken a MOOC without even noticing. I have been working with my Google Certification in order to become a Certified Educator using the Google Apps. Therefore, since I have never taken a MOOC, I am not sure if this type of online learning will qualify as a MOOC. I can see myself in the future taking a MOOC related to education, blended and online learning. I feel that a MOOC could provide good learning opportunities for many people around the world. I am not sure how a MOOC could be facilitated... I am assuming through the use of a learning platform, an instructor or a few instructors and perhaps integrating social media into the course...
How the assessments will be administered in this type of online learning environment.? I believe that through the online platform you could create some common formative assessments, but I am not sure how these courses could provide the necessary credits at the high school, undergraduate and graduate level. I also think that it will be interesting to see if there are any discussions boards or any other type of activities that promote the interaction among the students and between the students and the instructor.
At this time, I don't know if MOOCs are a threat to me as an online professional. I think that in the future they might be a threat to other online programs that are being offered by other accredited universities and colleges. As an online professional, I think that these type of courses might provide more job opportunities for the educators that have experience teaching online.
Here is an interesting video that talks about how some universities and colleges are trying to figure out how to monetize these courses. What are your thoughts about whether or not these courses should charge a fee to the students? Google does charge a small fee for taking the online certification exam...
All my best!
Respectfully,
José A Salas
Week #3: January 16th - 22nd.
The third week of the Practicum has been filled with great peer feedback. During this week I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course and to share two artifacts from my e-portfolio. I was able to provide feedback to my colleagues about the artifacts that they chose to share with the online community. I received wonderful feedback from my instructor and colleagues about the two artifacts that I chose to share with the online community. The comments and feedback from my peers and my instructor has helped to adjust and to reconsider how to to use these assignments for my future audiences and prospective employers. I enjoyed providing feedback to my colleagues and receiving feedback from them. Their comments and feedback helped me to have a different perspective about the quality of my work.
The third week of the Practicum has been filled with great peer feedback. During this week I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course and to share two artifacts from my e-portfolio. I was able to provide feedback to my colleagues about the artifacts that they chose to share with the online community. I received wonderful feedback from my instructor and colleagues about the two artifacts that I chose to share with the online community. The comments and feedback from my peers and my instructor has helped to adjust and to reconsider how to to use these assignments for my future audiences and prospective employers. I enjoyed providing feedback to my colleagues and receiving feedback from them. Their comments and feedback helped me to have a different perspective about the quality of my work.
Week #2: January 9th - 15th.
The second week of the Practicum has been interesting. During this week I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course and to share my career aspirations as a future online instructor. Throughout the discussion, I have been able to learn more about the hiring process for online instructors and what type of credentials are needed to be able to be marketable in this industry. I am glad that I decided to join this program here at UW-Stout. I feel that not only I have learned how to become a more effective and innovative instructor, but also I have been able to truly experience the power of online learning.
The second week of the Practicum has been interesting. During this week I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course and to share my career aspirations as a future online instructor. Throughout the discussion, I have been able to learn more about the hiring process for online instructors and what type of credentials are needed to be able to be marketable in this industry. I am glad that I decided to join this program here at UW-Stout. I feel that not only I have learned how to become a more effective and innovative instructor, but also I have been able to truly experience the power of online learning.
I have always been passionate about technology and education. Before I started this certification program, I was already implementing in some way technology in my face-to-face classroom. I have been involved in education for 11 years and it has been interesting to watch how technology continues to gain more popularity with the educational system. As of this moment, I am not currently teaching an online class. However, I am intern in one the classes for this program. I have a full time job as a secondary high school teacher in Allen Independent School District (AISD). I teach Spanish 2 Pre-AP/IB and I also teach a Native Speaker course for Spanish speakers. I was the founder of this program 11 years ago. Nowadays, we have the NS 1-2 Pre-AP/IB course and the NS 3 Pre-AP/IB and 4 AP (I have been teaching the advanced courses for the past three years) in our school district.
In the near future, I would like to teach some online courses in addition to the courses that I teach. I do see myself in the next few years teaching online courses and professional development as well. I am actively looking for online job opportunities by visiting some of the sites that have been shared with us in this module. I also try to network and to attend local, regional and national conferences. I hope that once I conclude this program, I could become more marketable in the online teaching market place.
This certification program has impacted my teaching career greatly. I teach using a blended model and I use Canvas as my learning management system. Therefore, while attending this program, I have been able to learn how to implement the online and the blended model most effectively using an LMS. I have also learned how to to implement the best learning strategies for my students and for adult learners. Due to the experiences that I have had in this program, I have been able to contribute with the professional learning opportunities in my school district by providing training sessions about how to integrate technology most effectively in blended learning environments.
I have throughly enjoyed reading the first chapter from the book: Lessons from the Virtual Classroom. According to Phipps & Merisotis (1999) "Technology is having, and will continue to have, a profound impact on colleges and universities in America and around the globe."
I am very optimistic about the teaching/job opportunities that this industry will continue to provide in the years to come.
In the near future, I would like to teach some online courses in addition to the courses that I teach. I do see myself in the next few years teaching online courses and professional development as well. I am actively looking for online job opportunities by visiting some of the sites that have been shared with us in this module. I also try to network and to attend local, regional and national conferences. I hope that once I conclude this program, I could become more marketable in the online teaching market place.
This certification program has impacted my teaching career greatly. I teach using a blended model and I use Canvas as my learning management system. Therefore, while attending this program, I have been able to learn how to implement the online and the blended model most effectively using an LMS. I have also learned how to to implement the best learning strategies for my students and for adult learners. Due to the experiences that I have had in this program, I have been able to contribute with the professional learning opportunities in my school district by providing training sessions about how to integrate technology most effectively in blended learning environments.
I have throughly enjoyed reading the first chapter from the book: Lessons from the Virtual Classroom. According to Phipps & Merisotis (1999) "Technology is having, and will continue to have, a profound impact on colleges and universities in America and around the globe."
I am very optimistic about the teaching/job opportunities that this industry will continue to provide in the years to come.
Week #1: January 1st - 8th.
The first week of the Practicum has gone by very fast. During this week I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course. It has been great to reconnect with colleagues that have taken previous courses with me. At the beginning of the week I had the opportunity to share my background information and also my career goals for online teaching. I also had the opportunity to start reading one of the books assigned for this class. I have enjoyed the first chapter of this book. Throughout this reading, I have been able to gain a better outlook of the state of the online educational industry and how technology continues to be integrated at different levels within the educational spectrum.
The first week of the Practicum has gone by very fast. During this week I have been able to connect with my colleagues enrolled in this course. It has been great to reconnect with colleagues that have taken previous courses with me. At the beginning of the week I had the opportunity to share my background information and also my career goals for online teaching. I also had the opportunity to start reading one of the books assigned for this class. I have enjoyed the first chapter of this book. Throughout this reading, I have been able to gain a better outlook of the state of the online educational industry and how technology continues to be integrated at different levels within the educational spectrum.