Module 1: Engaged Learning- August 24th August 29th 2015

Starting the class with introduction is expected in any online class, but
the instructor went beyond the introduction by asking students to share a
surprising story. This was the first time in my online class experience that I
know more about each individual in my class. What an interesting way of
getting to know each other.
Myths and Facts about online learning, what an interesting topic chosen for
discussion? This discussion gave me the opportunity to know more about the
efforts that both students and instructors put in online education.
MOOCs, what does the acronyms stands for? I found out the meaning
of MOOCs (Mass Open Online Courses) during the discussion forum, online
resources and reading the textbook. I was surprised by the myth concerning
MOOCs that the role of professor is less important in online learning and
instructors are not needed. I still believe there should be a facilitator in
online learning environment.
I learned more about the role and the resources available to be a
successful online instructor and student. Interaction through discussion
forum is very important and allowing both instructor and students to freely
share their experiences is a great way to achieve this goal. The use of
various means to deliver content is one thing I will put into practice when
carrying out online presentation at my work.
Module 2: Building Inclusive Communities August 30th September 5th
2015

Building inclusive online learning community, diversity playlist videos,

discussion board etiquette, updating profile, writing professional biography
and researching online learning network groups. Wow! What a busy week. I
did not expect this much online learning workout but I was thrilled by this
week activities.
The discussion forum was really busy and enriched with great learning ideas.
After watching the diversity playlists, I learned that the use of short
messaging system is not limited to the corporate setting and healthcare
environment but it is also a very important technology tool in the classroom
setting. Researching many online teaching and learning network groups gave
me the opportunity to see how online professionals share ideas and to start
looking into belonging to these bodies of professionals.
After reading articles and from my experience as an online learner, I
will surely include the netiquette rules in the online course syllabus. I will let
the students know that the netiquette rules are important as the course
syllabus. Diversity is another issue especially with international students.
This week discussion forum and reading activities gave me the opportunity
to learn how to work successfully with people of diverse origin and culture
either as a teacher or learner.

Module 3: Activities to engage online learners- September 6th September

12th 2015

Working in Moodle discussion learning management system is an

exciting thing for me. Navigating and exploring all the learning curves in this
system is very interesting. I did not expect this but it is a good learning tool,
easy to navigate.
Being a facilitator and coming up with critical questions for discussion forum
was a challenge to start. Practicing responding to various questions and
responses on the discussion forum, personally, is a positive learning
experience. I learned how to formulate critical questions, as a facilitator, I
was able to respond to questions in a positive manner using various
netiquette rules. I learned that critical thinking, listening and netiquette rules
are crucial in online learning environment.
Allowing the students to be part of putting the netiquette ground rules
together is one thing I will adopt as an instructor. If students are part of
generating the rules, they will be obligated to abide by it. Voice and tone are
very important, and I will surely encourage the use of positive responses and
politeness in the discussion forum.
Module 4: Measuring online learning -September 13th September 19th
2015

Building a survey in Moodle was a new and interesting experience for

me. I was very excited to put the quiz together. I knew that as an online
teacher, putting tests together in various forms is crucial for the success of
online learning and teaching. The only surprising thing to me was working in
Moodle.
I learned quickly within the past two weeks working in Moodle. I got more
comfortable with this course management that I learned and embedded the
plagiarism video in quiz. At first, I found it difficult, but after many trials, the
video was well posted. I also love the idea of peer review in this module.
I love Moodle course management system now and I started feeling we need
to be there one more week. I love Moodle course management system and I
will surely apply building quizzes, surveys and feedbacks in Moodle in my job
or as an online teacher in online forum.
Module 5: Universal Design and Accessibility - September 20 th September
26th 2015

I did not expect the technical activities in this module. Building and
publishing You Tube video was time consuming and challenging the first
time. This was like a child learning to take the first step. I was not really
happy about the glitch with Lynda Stout portal video. I got my first rejection
from You Tube and I have to pick myself up and try again. I finally published
a successful video with CC and I was able to share my experience with

others. I was very excited after successful publication. I learned pretty

quickly not to use You Tube automatic interpretations in CC. A lot of errors!
The discussion aspect of Universal Design for Learning was an eye
opener. I never thought about ways in reaching out to all learners until this
week in the discussion forum. This was a great learning opportunity that
opens the door of various ideas in making learning accessible to all students.
Disabilities, race, culture, language, age, socioeconomic status should not be
a barrier to education. Using close captioning in education is very important
and now I know how to reach out to students that will benefit from this great
tool.
Module 6: Power Searcher - September 27th October 3rd 2015

Interesting activities and more technology activities this week!

Learning how to share digital information following the guidelines for curation
and fair use was a perfect activity for this module 6.
Curating tool like Scoop.it was a new thing to me. At first I was a little
confused about how it works, but after reading the fair use policy, l felt
relieved and delved into curating by building, testing, sharing and discussing
it.
I am very excited to see my first Scoop.it magazine. I love the art of pinning
all the information together and exploring other topics in Scoop.it
After working in module 5 and close captioning Scoop.it video, module 6 fell
right in line with learning how to Scoop.it. Now that I scooped my first
magazine, I am ready to learn more about this information sharing tool. I am
looking forward to share, educate and use this curating tool as an online
instructor.
Module 7: E-Portfolio October 4th October 10th 2015
Here comes module 7. I couldnt believe the course is now coming to
an end. Creating an e-portfolio, of course I knew about portfolio when I was
in graduate school, I never created an electronic. With my background in
informatics, I have no problem working with computer or building a website.
So I was ready and eager to create my first e-portfolio.
Choosing a webbuilder was a tough decision for me. I tried various ones and I
finally settled for Weebly. Wix was more user friendly and Google site seems
to be better, but Weebly drag and drop features made it attractive. Like I said
at the beginning of this course, I never thought of having this much
technological hands on activities. Hmm, a little different for an education
course.
I placed great value in the experience I gained this week. Creating an
e-portfolio was at first challenging and overwhelming with my work schedule.
Two of my colleagues were on vacation and combining their work with mine

was tough. Then e-portfolio, why am I back to school? Of course, to share my

knowledge in the online learning/teaching environment.
I gathered all I needed to design my website. I started with WordPress and
Google, but I wasnt ready for these tools then I searched for others and I
tried Wix and Weebly. I learned to navigate Weebly very quickly. I put all my
pages together but at the end I deleted my welcome and biography pages. I
learned in Weebly that once a page is deleted, the deletion is permanent. I
called the support team and they recovered my biography page but not my
Welcome page.
After practicing many times with Weebly, Im now more comfortable working
with it and ready to build more sites. I like the idea of putting all I learned,
information, and artifacts in electronic formats to allow me to share my
experience with others.
The experience I gained in this module is valuable and I am ready to
adopt the use of various technological tools in online teaching/learning
environment. I am looking forward to take an online teaching job so I can use
the Google site and Weebly education site to organize my instructional
activities. I will surely encourage my students to develop the habit of
creating e-portfolio. This is an organized way of sharing information,
knowledge and artifacts.