Its been a few weeks since my last post. I have been monitoring the progress (or lack of progress in some cases) of the development of your blended courses. I have had a few queries and some suggestions so I know some people are working hard to meet the April 11 deadline. I am hoping that the storyboards helped guide you so you were clear on what learning outcomes would be addressed. Always remember that you need to have a plan BEFORE you start to develop your course otherwise you may find yourself doing things in a very haphazard manner and really not meeting objectives. If you are having any problems you need to sort them out early, please don't wait until the deadline has arrived to communicate in a panic. You really don't need the stress caused by last minute work.
Yes, I am afraid that I am one of those students who has waited till the last minute, although I am hoping that with a clear storyboard, I will be able to pull it off in time.
ReplyDeleteI'm walking around w/ it on my mind (along with other pressing things that need to be done) and told myself I'll start doing a little bit each day of this week. I was about to start today and decided to check in on the course and on the blog and, bam, here you are Dr. Dianne talking about folks like myself who seem to have demonstrated 'a lack of progress'. Would you then believe me when I say I intended to start today? I feel like a student whose teacher won't believe their excuse. :-) (Shrug)
ReplyDeleteAnthea and Geraldine I have every confidence you will get it together in time. A blog is about reflections and those were my reflections earlier today. My intention was to stimulate not to make you feel guilty :-) so no worries Geraldine.
ReplyDeleteI have started on my course shell. I am using my storyboard to help guide me along the way. While I also find that sometimes other things can create obstructions, using my storyboard every step of the way is making it easier.
ReplyDeleteActually, I have a right to feel guilty because I'm the world's worst procrastinator. But, I understand your point.
ReplyDeleteI'm an academic who admire academics. How we do all of it, I don't know. I'm still striving for balance and learning. Lifelong learner is no cliche!
Well today is the deadline and it seem as if I procrastinated too. The usual technology technical difficulties came into play. First, I lost my entire Test Course on Sunday and when it was restored on Monday I could not uoload files.
ReplyDeleteI know I am guity of last minute rush to do assignements but somehow I forgot of how imperfect technology can be.
It is now 5:47 pm and I have sent the message to Dr. D. that my course is complete (or so I imagine). I feel releaved. My plan was to send this as soon as I got feedback on the course plan but as faith had it, everytime I looked at the course shell, I saw that something needed to be included, or new ideas came to my mind. I also realised that I was a bit confined to the set structure of the shell to a large extent. Apart from some technical challenges, the experience was rewarding. I have learnt something new. Something that would change the way that I teach and I am grateful for this.
ReplyDeleteThis has indeed been a long journey. I wanted to get it perfect (but I wonder if that is even possible). I finally see light at the end of the tunnel.
To all cutlers, thanks for the enlightening discussions. In your own unique way, you contributed to my learning and I wish you all the best in your respective fields.
See you on campus!
All the best to you, too, Khadijah. CUTL was indeed an invaluable experience. And, yes, see you around!
ReplyDeleteKhadija, all the best to you. I hope to see your blended course featuring in Semester 1 :-)
ReplyDeleteDane, I hope the lesson about procrastination was loud and clear. All's well that ends well. You have a new course shell and I am looking forward to seeing your course.
Geraldine, I hope you will also continue blending into the future.
So the deadline approaches and I am almost finished..... maybe. The detailed storyboard was indeed a clear guide and helped to be organized. But, my goodness! Why did I ever say I would upload all those files and have so many quizzes? I feel burnt out, my back aches, my eyes are burning, and I still have some quiz questions to put in. That's what you get for procastination!!!
ReplyDeleteWell guys, I have finished uploading all the resources and activities on my e-learning course This was very time consuming and frustrating but in the end I have learnt so much from this exercise that I feel I could blend all the courses I teach. lol.
ReplyDeleteGood-luck every-body, the end is near
and very tired. I am ready to go to bed.
Hi everyone, since we're all stating our last minute completions of assignments... I thought I'd chip in and add to the discussion =). I too am guilty of this, as this is my first time participating in this blog. However, now having a chance to read through the entries by Dr. D and comments by peers... I certainly do feel like I missed out. In the beginning I was an avid observer of this blog but never a participant, and as time progressed, and work and assignments grew, I barely accessed it.
ReplyDeleteI included a blog in my online course, and this is my first attempt in participating in a blog for educational purposes... So yes, I do feel a bit guilty, but there's no time like the present to make a new start. I do plan on participating in this blog in the future as his activity truly interests me both as a student and a lecturer.
Planning is the key. Ditto. That made it so much easier in the development of the assignment. To have a logic plan makes it easier to have made any edits as I was aware of the sequencing.
ReplyDeleteAgain. Ditto.
I started blogging with a bang and then petered out with all the other online demands.
ReplyDeleteBut I'd add my two cents worth to this one. Planning is indeed the key and the storyboard has proven integral to the planning process of developing the online course. In fact, just the previous day I saw storyboarding being advocated for developing a teaching portfolio which is another assignment that we have. The advice was to determine what examples of work one wishes to include and the order in which the various elements should be arranged. i find it useful help.
I found creating "course content and story board" thru' this course very useful. I'm currently in the process of developing a new level III course in Life Sciences. I have completed the curriculum and paperwork incorporating many of the technologies used or learned here. Its now under approval stage. Further I'm going ahead with developing story boards for all my courses/units which I suppose to teach from now on.
ReplyDeleteI think developing story board to carry out things in a more organized manner and avoid things in a haphazard way. It also ensures that the content and delivery are meeting and fulfilling the course objectives.
-Jaya
Planning is such a significant part of teaching. However, it is extremely helpful when doing blended type courses. I am in the storyboard phase of creating my blended course. As I create my storyboard, I am actually seeing in my mind's eye my Moodle Units and it feels so much less stressful to think about putting together the Moodle aspect because I now know what I am actually going to put in each Unit before start editing my page. It all makes sense and I am excited to complete my blended course. Dr. Diane the two days with you in the BVI was really great!!!
ReplyDelete