As I mentioned in one of my discussion board comments this week, talking with one of my students this week (she is pursuing her elementary education degree and certification), she made the comment, “…there will always be a need for elementary school teachers.” I paused to think about what exactly that meant, especially considering what we have been discussing in this course. As we discussed a few weeks ago, the time may come when most educators who are not willing to embrace new technologies may find themselves unable to keep up with their more “techie” peers.
It was interesting to read the different perspectives of my classmates this week regarding how new technologies will impact face-to-face delivery, distance delivery, and blended learning delivery. It seems that it depends on where we each are right now in our professions. Those who are in the classroom full time have a different perspective than those of us who are already primarily involved in distance education.
It was also fun to see the variety of articles that my classmates found and posted regarding Interactive TV. Again, we all seem to come to the course with different thoughts on how we could most fully utilize this technology in our individual situations. I enjoyed this activity because it gave me different perspectives on Interactive TV, both from the articles that were posted by my classmates, as well as their reactions and thoughts regarding the various articles.
Until next time…
Hi Melanie--Your post about embracing new technologies hit a home run with me. Out of some luck and hard work I am going to be teaching two online classes soon. It is something entirely new for me and although I am excited, I must admit that I am also a little nervous. However, after answering a want-ad online, I found myself engaged in a training class for online instruction. I figure I had better do this because this is what the world is evolving into in terms of course and content delivery. Besides, it will add nicely to my degree and understanding of the things studied therein, and also to my resume. I have taugt a number of face-to-face classes, so the transition to an online facilitator should not be entirely new in terms of providing instruction. However, the environment will likely require a period for acclimating one's self to that modality. If we do not embrace new technology and educational experiences, where will we stand among our peers? I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to teach online, however, I also consider it something I must do given the market and available technology. Regards, Shane.
ReplyDeleteHi Shane,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new online teaching opportunity! I'm sure you will be great.
I have really enjoyed my 3 years so far in the online teaching environment. Although I definitely miss some aspects of being in the classroom, there are some advantages to the online teaching situation. In some ways, I feel that I know my online students better than I knew my traditional classroom students. It seems that with the traditional classroom, students come in for class, and then leave. Most don't spend the time for the relationship development with their instructors.
On the other hand, most of my online students include something personal in each e-mail or discussion board post when they are turning in assignments. I always have one discussion board dedicated to non-academic material (like our class cafe), which students use throughout the term to post successes, failures, and other personal things. It has been great to see them take advantage of that resource.
Good luck to you! You'll have to keep me posted on how it goes!