Month: August 2011

I have read the last of the course discussions. Appropriately, I have posted a video on online class size and whether it matters how big the class is. I think as I read the closing posts by circa 37 students, the thought struck my mind, that this class was too large to give the students as much attention as they may have gotten in a smaller class. This is not to say the instructor did not give them enough attention or feedback. I found the feedback they did receive to be quite a bit less than I have received in my online classes to-date. I think there is room for more research on the subject.

So, the course is finished and my observations have ended as well. I feel an emptiness, an aloneness I cannot explain. I have learned a lot about how to teach an online course; and what I might do differently if it were mine. However, this instructor is a seasoned teacher, instructor, facilitator and professor. I am not yet an expert. I am trying to apply Web 2.0 technologies to a course that is very traditional. The lack of some of the technologies I would have liked to use, does not diminish the effectiveness of the course. In the end, the most disturbing issue is that of class size. I would hope any class I was able to teach would be between 15-20 students. I found the number of papers, emails and discussions were just over the top! I wonder if a test or experiment could help determine how effect the class was and/or would have been had it been smaller with more student instructor interaction and feedback.

During the time this course was unfolding, I found myself trying to secure an internship at Bellevue College where I would like to teach. Since the college doesn’t want their faculty to teach online without classroom experience, I did not think I would find one. I under estimated the faculty of this institution. Not only did I get to observe an ongoing class as it unfolded online; but, I am going to do my internship on campus with the help of Robin my instructor and the chair of the Criminal Justice Department. I am going to put up a Hybrid Course in Criminal Justice. The very thought of the task frightens me. I find myself asking if I am capable of doing this task! I have found the answer by soul-searching and came to the conclusion that all my education and job training has led me to this task and project. If I am not prepared, I would certainly be highly surprised. I have had the best instructors and professors in the university system. My instructors at BC are top-notch.

I am reminded of my university studies when I was writing my pre-dissertation thesis in the field of international politics and on national defense issues. I learned that your paper and research project are only as good as the people who give of their time and talent to help you succeed at the task. Alone we would not accomplish as much as we do when we have the support of others. This interdependent relationship with others helps us accomplish any task we set our minds to. I certainly observed this in the discussion phase of the online course I participated in. We are social beings and in the words of a famous writer, Hemingway, “…no man is an island.” Incidentally John Donne (1572-1631) a Jacobean poet and preacher actually wrote a poem that inspired Hemingway to write those words in his book.

I have now earned my certification in eLearning and my course of study has ended. Even as the program ends my educating is continuing in my internship at Bellevue College. I am looking forward to these “new beginnings.” I have loved the journey and will continue it at least one more time…

I will continue to educate myself. I am moving into my chosen field of Criminal Justice. The next parting video is graphic and tells a story I want to share with you. It is one I see in various forms and have for more years than I care to remember. Maybe after watching this video (even thought the spelling is not perfect) you too will understand why I chose to study that field. This video is 8 minutes and 42 seconds long. Please if you can, watch all of it. Every week, I have to tell the women that call me, we have no room in our shelters and no place for them to rest or hide. The purpose of choosing this video is to show the effect DV has on the victims, especially the children. As to the message about guns…well that is up to each of us to decide in our minds and hearts. This video represents my journey as a woman, scholar and advocate. It is not just their journey or my journey, it is our journey as a people.

I am going to celebrate my anniversary tomorrow, Sunday the 7th of August, so I am writing this blog even though I am ill. Tomorrow, hopefully, I will not be as sick as I was these past few days. I am sleeping on a rubber or foam mattress that seems to have developed a peculiar smell that is making me very ill. Each episode is getting worse. After some research on the topic it seems I am not alone. Other people are getting ill from several brands of foam mattresses. Apparently today, many of these beds are made from petroleum-based chemicals, foams and flame retardants. These are not stable compounds and inhaling them hour after hour can cause damage to the immune and nervous system. My bed is seven years old. I began to notice the problems after I had chemical treatments due to an illness and developing asthma, about a year and a half ago.

Reading the assignments and discussions in the course, the students are expressing deeper thought patterns. At this point in the course there is supposed to be a shift as the learners or students move toward self-directed learning while sharing in the learning experiences of fellow learners. So far I have not observed this behavior. The course seems to moving along at the same pace with about the same format. I would like to think, I could change this pattern a bit by turning the discussions into an upside down inside out” Q & A session. Since the students have been reading and discussing course content for several weeks and the official end of the term is in circa 5 days, I would like to play a game called “…stump the expert,” posed by Boettcher and Conrad. The idea is to require the students to reflect on the course and come up with questions they would like answered by an expert in the field or from their instructor regarding the course content on any subject to date.

The idea is to have the students develop questions that make them pause, think and reflect on the knowledge they have gained. But more importantly have them reflect on the knowledge or concepts they did not understand or may have missed or something not covered they may want to learn more about. This exercise aids in the critical thinking and problem solving skills of the students. Adding an expert speaker or creating an event with an expert in the field may move them toward a deeper investigation of the field they are being introduced to. It may add newer insights and answer questions they may still have about that field of study.

During a introduction to sociology course, my instructor brought a FBI agent into the class to talk to us about the agency and the work they were doing. It was the reason I eventually pursued a sociology degree in my bachelors program. It was the reason, I chose a criminology emphasis of study in that field. To this day, I have not forgotten the instructor, the class or what that agent told us. He opened a whole new world for me.

Therefore, I believe experts may be able to add interest to the course when it is close to wrapping up. The expert should be able to bring new and current ideas to the students in the course. It could lend a new perspective to the course and its content in the present. The students would be able to research the topic the expert will speak on before the event; what the expert is doing in the field; and answer some of the questions they may have on the topic or topics in the course.

Although this has nothing to do with the topic of the course, the video is an example of how you could use an expert in your course. This of course is a video, but it could be interactive as well. The students could ask questions if it was presented in a forum such as Skype or Elluminate. Or in a hybrid course, this could be one of the days everyone meets in a classroom. Finding experts with the knowledge needed in most courses of study should not be too difficult and may be worth their weight in gold.