7+Online+pedagogy+-+reflections

As teachers wanting to enter the virtual realm it seems prudent to consider the similarities and differences in a course offered in the traditional face-to-face format and one offered fully online. · The main advantage of face to face teaching is in the instantaneous nature of feedback, the ability to create a unique atmosphere that cannot be duplicated online, the warmth of human contact and the ability to communicate on a deeper level with the students. · In the online class, students have the chance to play on a more even playing field. Certain students do not have to ability to totally dominate a class, everyone has the chance and the obligation to participate. This enhances the learning of all students, not just the shy or the outgoing students in the group. The online class allows students to give careful thought before participating – generating higher quality responses to questions and conversation threads. · Online assignments have to be more carefully crafted than classroom activities. If an activity is not working out in class, you can change gears midstream and adjust what you are doing right then and there. In online classes, this is harder to do because of the asynchronous nature of the course. You have to have good activities from the outset because you don’t have the time to adjust when you are moving at the speed of most online classes. · All activities should be designed with the out come in mind – whether in class or online. The final product or skill to be mastered must be kept the focus of all activities and lessons. This holds true no matter what type of class you are talking about. · Group work has similarities in that you want each member to participate and contribute. The difference in online classes, is that you can distinguish who contributes more easily in this environment. This helps assess more reliably the accomplishment of the students. · Discovery learning and project based learning are becoming more and more important to me in my classroom and I believe that these are easily addressed with the proper planning in an online course. It can be done with carefully crafted activities that focus on the final product or skill – learning to communicate in another language for me. I want to have students using the language to accomplish something – to create a product or have a meaningful interaction. In the upper levels, this is something that can be accomplished online and in the lower levels, it can be enhanced with online components. Webquests, blog entries, presentations, etc. are all meaningful uses of the Spanish language- the trick is finding and creating good quality ones!! · Online delivery will only improve the quality of teaching with the proper training. Teachers cannot just transfer lessons to the computer and expect results. Proper training is required here as in any other endeavor we attempt in the education world. · Online delivery can improve the access to teachers, but it does not guarantee it. In most cases I think it does improve it because with private messages and frequent teacher comments, the average student will hear from the teacher more often in an online course than in a f2f course. When a teacher has 25 students in a room, it is impossible to have a personal interaction with every student every time that student does work in class. Online, the teacher can send off a quick note on any given topic as can the students and expect a quick response in return. This is an improvement .
 * 5. A Reflection on online pedagogy as it is similar to and different from face-to-face instruction. **
 * What do you think are the main advantages and disadvantages of teaching in each environment?**
 * What are the differences and similarities of teaching in each environment? Compare online and offline classroom techniques. **
 * What is the most important part of your pedagogy? How does this play out in an online environment? **
 * Can online delivery improve the quality of teaching? **
 * Can online delivery improve the access to teachers? **
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Select artifacts that represent difference and similarities, advantages and disadvantages.Write reflective statements for each artifact, elaborating on why it was selected and its meaning and value in the portfolio. **
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">See the ARTIFACTS page **

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