Part 3 Reflections

Part 3 Reflections

I have reached the end of this class and I can see a difference in my skills. Whereas part 1 was about the roles an instructor plays, and part 2 dealt with facilitator roles, part 3 relates to assessments, diversity, ethics, and common problems in online teaching. These areas are essential to understand because they relate to teaching in a way a student learns. With assessments it was explained they are used to understand what students are learning and how. There are three types of assessments: diagnostic, formative and summative. Diagnostic are given before the beginning of class to determine what the student knows. These are usually samples such as papers or pre-tests. However, formative and summative are more common and can be confusing. Formative assessments are given to students while the students are still in the class to see what they are picking up from the subject. There are several kinds of formative assessments such as midterms, papers, observing students in class, journals and homework. These are great because if a student is struggling, the instructor can work with the student to help them understand better.

Summative assessments are given at the end of class and examples could be finals, final papers, student evaluations, and portfolios. The result is what did the student learn and what issues have arisen from the class? Evaluations are great to help the teacher know what they need to improve to help students. Another assessment to "test" students is authentic assessment. In this assessment, students must demonstrate what they know instead of just writing about it. One of the best ways for a teacher to assess a student is through rubrics. Rubrics clearly state what the student should mention in the assignment, and how they get a higher grade for the assignment, such as clear, concise writing with sources. However, it should be mentioned that to assess the student, the assessments should be fair. The teacher needs to make sure the learning outcomes are clear, that the assessments and the subject are the same, that they use different tools, that the teacher is ready to help the student, that they engage the students, the results are interpreted correctly, and to evaluate assessments

https://bb9.govst.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1646171-dt-content-rid-14746177_1/courses/ONTL-6201-01_18SU/FairAssessmentPractices_Suskie_Lesson8_1_ONTL6201.pdf

When mentioning fair assessments, diversity and ethics plays a part. Teachers need to be aware of a student's background and how it plays into learning. For example, humor might work for some ethnic groups, but in other groups it could be considered offensive. A teacher needs to learn what is offensive and to avoid it. A teacher could learn the culture by asking the student to talk about themselves. This is a good way to learn, not only for the student but the teacher. Ethics is another part of teaching and a teacher needs to know what is wrong for the class, even if they don't think it is. A major example is plagiarism where someone takes directly without citing a source. Many times, it is a mistake that can be corrected but other times a student is just taking without using their own words. This can cause many problems, including expelled from school or the teacher being fired. One way to avoid this issue is for the teacher to change assignments often. This is just one common problem though. As an instructor, teaching a class means to understand problems will arise, such as students not participating or online fights. An instructor will learn various tactics to handle these, such as steering the conversation away from the hot topic, and helping the student understand how to participate in a way that benefits everyone. 

These lessons help me understand what a teacher does besides teach. They must look at the assessments to see where students are struggling so they can make it easier for all. They look at what is working or what isn’t, so they can make it easier for students. They could create a rubric so what is expected is listed. They need to take in consideration the student's background, so they can learn even with disadvantages. The teachers need to keep up with what is offensive and how they can deal with it. They also must watch out for plagiarism and making sure they are able to handle common problems with online teaching. All of this will result in a kind, caring instructor who makes the learning experience valuable for all the students. 

Bibliography

Suskie, L. (2000). Fair Assessment Practices: Giving Students Equitable. AAHE Bulletin, 16. https://bb9.govst.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1646171-dt-content-rid-14746177_1/courses/ONTL-6201-01_18SU/FairAssessmentPractices_Suskie_Lesson8_1_ONTL6201.pdf

Self Reflection Online Facilitation

Self Reflection Online Facilitation

I did my first online facilitation on Lesson 7, called “The Technical Role of the Online Instructor” on June 27, 2018 at 7:30pm. I was lucky because I had seen how my classmates handled theirs and knew what to expect. However, I have worked as an instructional designer, so I already knew about the various learning management systems, or LMS, needed to be effective. Since the class (and this program) is Blackboard focused I concentrated on that program. I created a presentation for the synchronous part and for the asynchronous section I kept the discussion boards going.

I first concentrated on the synchronous part of the lesson, which dealt with the presentation. First, I read the chapter then created the slides discussing my background and what I found important. I was worried someone would say “hey not related” because my experience is dated, but I did tie it to Blackboard and other current technology. I prepared by relaxing and doing the work slowly, including research and the presentation. I also created notes in the event it wasn’t making sense. I didn’t apply a different technique as the days came closer, rather I just kept going back to edit my presentation. If I had to say I was surprised by anything it would have to be that the lesson really stressed an instructor needs to be technical savvy. I know HTML, but I didn’t think an instructor needed to know that. I was happy to be honest they need to know this because knowing technical skills will help me, not to mention help me with the students in the event of situations, such as a dead link. My biggest issue in general was that I hate public speaking and often get so nervous. However, speaking about something I knew, and then studying was a blessing. I wish I had created more exciting topics to ponder, I feel I was lacking in that but in general the presentation worked because I used my experience and the sources related to the chapter.

Once I finished the synchronous part, I worked on the asynchronous part. Since classmates were posting at different times, I found it was an ongoing thing. How I started was by reading each post. Luckily, everyone knew the topic but if they hadn’t, I would have steered the conversation towards that. Since they did, I was able to banter with them by asking questions. I hope the questions were thought provoking and I learned a lot from my classmates by what they were thinking, and resources. My fear was I wouldn’t have made sense with the questions, but everyone knew, and my expectation was that everyone would answer the questions the way I hoped, and they did. This was my only technique or this and it worked as both answered and a few times even asked me questions. I wasn’t really surprised by anything as both of my classmates are very intelligent, though was surprised at times they asked me something. If I could have improved anything, I think I would have searched additional questions to keep the post going even more.

Having done both parts of an online facilitator, I would say my biggest takeaway is that there is more to becoming an online instructor than I realized. I hadn’t thought of discussion posts, for example, because my instructor often never responded. Also, I liked the technical aspects and that is part of the job. I really like finding sources online and then creating a presentation that all types of students will understand. I also like the idea of creating social media to use in my class, such as Facebook. An online instructor is more than a teacher, they are an instructional designer, a technology expert, a creator and even a student because they must keep learning so they can help other students. What I used years ago to create classes is outdated and many years from now, current technology will be obsolete, so an online instructor must roll with the changes to be an effective facilitator.

Part 2 Reflections

Part 2 Reflections

When I wrote last time, I spoke about the four parts of online teaching, which are: the pedagogical role, the social role, the managerial role and the technical role. I discussed that the pedagogical role deals with the “art” of teaching, the social role involves using sources such as social media and the ways to use them in online teaching. The third aspect is the managerial role, otherwise known as how the teacher gets to know the students and how they can make the usage friendlier towards them. Finally, the technical part was explained, which is all about creating courses. Since I already have a background in creating classes this section was very easy towards. Now, I am going to talk about the Facilitator Roles.

When discussing the role an instructor plays, making a diary should be mentioned. Since an instructor will have many duties and the online classes will add more responsibility, they should write down how they are going to fit in the class and why. As an online student, along with everything else going on in my life I find it a good idea to write down what I am going to do for that day and even that week. That way I have space allotted for online. This is something I plan to continue as an instructor.  Once an instructor has started keeping a diary (which can be just notes), one of the things they should do is make assessments. The assessments are in place before the instructor starts and are usually included in the Learning Management System used, such as Blackboard. These can include three different types of assessments: diagnostic, formative and summative. Diagnostic are usually done before class starts, formative during class and summative are after.  For example, pre-tests to see how well the students are doing, a quiz during the class would be formative and summative examples would include a final and a survey asking what a student learned. In addition, there are authentic assessments, which often consists of real-world experience, such as having them demonstrate a chemistry experiment, or doing an internship to apply what they learned.  One of the best ways’ teachers can assess students’ progress is by creating rubrics that lay out what exactly what is expected.

There is one aspect to assessments that teachers need to be aware of and that is the ethical issues and diversity. Ethical is defined as making sure teachers are teaching in a way that is fair. For example, they must be competent in the field they are studying, they need to make the class fair to all, they must be sensitive to each student’s needs, they need to make sure they are helping the student advance in the topic, they can’t play favoritism with students, they must be careful not to share things like grades with others besides the student, they need to be fair, and respect other teachers and the school. Unfortunately, many teachers forget some of this and they make it more difficult. I am dealing with a professor now who is breaking many of these rules and the ethics are being challenge. With ethical challenges, there is also cultural diversity. A good way I like to explain diversity is to make it fair to all regardless of their nationality, race, or gender, or anything that makes them unique. This can be difficult with online since some students will be different races and nationalities and ages, so a good instructor realizes this and will incorporate activities that will be beneficial such as discussing about their background.  The instructor needs to understand their life and do things that help them, including giving them more time in the case of a spoken presentation.

While looking at these aspects, I think an instructor should do several things. First, they need to create a rubric and make sure it applies to all students. Then they could ask each student to write about their background and learn that their needs. The instructor should make sure that if they do not know a background of a student they should learn. The instructor is expected to make sure they are not discriminating against a student and they are fair towards all. They also need to make sure they use several assessments depending on the student, such as having them create a video or using collaborative programs. This reminds me of when I did both of my presentations two weeks in a role. I made sure I developed Power Points that made sense and when needed, went more in-depth. This is what a teacher needs to do, including asking the students questions and answering questions. Doing these sessions made each of us more human because we often forget that when you don’t see people in person. I was glad I had to do more research to create a presentation because it prepares me for a role of online instructor. I was a little bit afraid of doing it but am glad I did it as it will help me become more confident, which will help in my online instructor position.