Start of Fall 2010 Semester

Amazingly enough, I have made it through my first year of the MDE graduate program. Last semester was my hardest, with the travels, blizzard, changing jobs, and adjusting to life at home with school work. One would think that it would be harder to do schoolwork on the road, but I somehow found comfort in my schoolwork in the many Marriott's across the country.

At any rate, here I am, at the beginning of the Fall 2010 semester taking DETT621, Training at a Distance, and OMDE606, Cost of Distance Education. I am hoping that I will learn what goes into a distance education course, cost and training.

Currently, my courses are starting to merge with my professional life. When I started this program, I was an accreditation coordinator and was using my degree to develop a process for evaluations of distance education institutions. I determined that it was time for me to move on and now, I am creating an auditing/review/evaluation process for mortgage education schools. This is a different educational field for me as it is geared more so towards the training of mortgage loan originators. No longer am I responsible for ensuring that an entire institution is living up to the educational standards set forth by the accreditor, but rather, that training is being delivered effectively and in accordance with the policies set forth by the regulator.

Well, today being the official first day of class, I figured I would try to get a head start, seeing as how you are never caught up in dealing with school. My goals this semester are to be more vocal in class and not a classroom lurker. I am making the efforts now to make sure that my voice is heard, and that I also document my progress throughout the course. I think that only one course will require a learning journal, but I think that this will be beneficial as I track my progress throughout the course.

Here's to a new semester, filled with great opportunities!

I have learned a lot about myself from this course. I learned that I need to practice better study habits. I also learned that putting in the time upfront, actually pays off in the end. One of the most important things that I learned to me, is that I really like this field. I appreciate the dialogue and conversation that this course brings me. I wish I was more 'put together' so that I could be more of an active participant, but that is all in hindsight now. From this course, I learned how I would actually like to operate my own course - as a conversation. It helps the process of learning with others. Also, my lack of participation online makes me feel like I am alone in class when the truth is, I am not. This semester was a true test of me as a student, but given the fact that I continued on, made me feel a lot better. I do not have to be alone in an online environment and I think that is the greatest lesson I have learned in my first year of an online master's program.

Instructors

This week I started to think more about the instructors than myself for a change (this is a first). I know a lot of instructors, teachers, or professors that teach in an online environment. Unfortunately, I always here them sort of complaining about students and excuses, the larger class sizes and also how some people just don't get what they are trying to do. Although this may appear as just complaining on the outside, it is their way of exchanging ideas best practices and the like about their job. A lot has changed for the instructor in this day of online education. Students are older and expect to be catered to more. Time feels neverending because in an online environment school is always open. But what about the instructor. The class sizes have increased, the students and schools have become more demanding and other issues. For instance, how does an instructor adjust their teaching style to students without actually speaking to them? Can they change how they talk to students in all posts to ensure that everyone gets it? How do you encourage the student that 'sits in the back of the class?' While I get help and encouragement from the instructor, who is actually there to help and encourage them? How do they know that the student really understands the point they are trying to get across? The reflective portion of education not only lies with the student, but also takes place with the instructor. And while the conversation of education is sometimes only thought to benefit the student, maybe it is the measuring stick for the instructor as well.

Lots of Ideas Floating Around

There have been a lot of talks about witness learners, metaphors, and learning in an online community. First, let me say, "My name is Terasita and I am a witness learner." Even in f2f courses I was the student that stayed quiet as long as possible. However, many of my teachers would not let me stay this way becuase they felt my voice needed to be heard. I thank them for this encouragement. However, now, I feel like I need to be quiet to be able to understand and absorb the information. I try to get a gauge of the entire course prior to participating. Unfortunately, this means I miss the bus, a lot. Its not as though I think that I am going to learn through some type of osmosis, that just logging in will provide me with the information that I need from the course.

On another note, the instructor has the class looking at metaphors a lot. Metaphors are a hard thing to explain and to create. But this allowed me to think outside of myself and see what my experience is in the course.

Theories

In a reading this week, there was a lot of the mention of theories and how they can aid in teaching. I remember when I first started teaching and I was left alone in the classroom to do what was expected of me. Amazingly enough, I just relied on how I was taught. I did not look into theories, I did not study the best techniques, I just taught. Thank goodness for administrators and in-services. Of course while I was there, I hated having to sit through these tortuous events, but now I see the benefit of this. They were actually helping me by explaining theories in a way that I could relate to them.



Although I was not able to talk the talk while teaching, while I am studying I am finally able to understand the concepts that I was being told to apply in the classroom. I think that were I actually in a classroom now, I would understand what was going on. I would be able to reflect on how I was teaching and what my students were actually getting from the lesson.

February was Eventful

There is a lot to discuss about February. Of course, it will be slightly difficult to go back and reflect, but that is the best I can do. I can honestly say, that I thought about DE so much this month, based on so many theory readings. However, lets start at the beginning. I ended my precious job in accreditation this month. It was actually getting quite interesting since the organization was JUST venturing into how to accredit distance education institutions. I would have enjoyed staying araound just to hear the conversations surrounding this debate, but unfortunately, I would not have been part of the debate. So, now, I am in auditing, similar to accreditation, but more on the compliance side of education. It all sounds the same, but there are small differences. I no longer work with educational institutions but now I get to see how organizations and other businesses handle training outside of education. They look fo very similar ideas and outcomes, however, (again with words) the terminology is different.

On the school side, it has been a very theory heavy month. In the beginning, there is a strong need to understand the basics. At one point, it was very overwhelming.

Spring 2010 - Late Start

So, I am getting a late start this term. The reflective journal was beneficial last term, and per an assignment for a course this term, I am going to continue. Although I am late, I have learned somethings about myself during this late process. It is best to admit to the problem and move forward from there. I have admitted that I am late, and am moving on.

Since the term is approximately three weeks underway, I have noticed a theme that I started to think about last term, words. Maybe its more than words but the terminology that is used in DE. In both courses this term, the introductions were both geared towards familiarizing the students/learners with the terms and the uses in the course with respect to DE. The terms started with two terms that I think are very relevant to DE, media and learning/education. Outside of the DE conversation, the two terms do not pose such a huge hurdle, but when looking at it from a DE perspective, there are many potential answers in regards to the definition.

The language of DE has appeared to taken on a world of its own. I have noticed that students are no longer referred to as students, but rather as learners, and instructors are also known as course facilitators. Truthfully, it is hard to maintain political correctness with the classroom (or should I should classroom environment?). At any rate, I have pushed through the late post, and will continue to maintain my learning journal. In addition to this, I will also continue to update my wiki, once I remember the password (or is it access entry key?).

Making up for lost time,
Terasita