One of the most important things I learned about this class is that on-line classes CAN be interactive, you CAN learn (SO MUCH), and it’s possible to be successful. I feared on-line courses for years, but I heard about this class from a friend it came with high praise. I remember telling her, “No, no, I can’t do it even if it’s on-line,” and, although I still believe I need more “practice” with on-line courses, organizing myself, timelines, etc. I am far more confident now (and I loved the content too). In addition, this course taught me to “trust the process.” A professor of mine once told me to trust his instruction and to remember he would not let us fail. He helped me to move beyond the numbers and the letters (and the obsession with control and perfection) and simply engage with the course material, to enmesh myself in the learning. From the beginning of this course, with the first blog instructing us how to set up our own blog and learning all the structure (e.g., 12 hours apart per blog post), I challenged myself to release the fear of existing in the unknown and just “roll with it.” I know this isn’t course concept related, and of course I learned so much from the text and my peers, but I had to do so much personal learning and growth too.
I have a few favorite things about the course:
The text: It was easy to read and exciting to engage in with a great balance of theoretical concepts and practical application and examples. The book was challenging enough so I was not bored, but inviting enough for to want to do the reading. I know my knowledge of the course is better because I read.
The instructor’s guidance and communication with the class: I know one of my peers commented on this during the course and I would agree I have not encountered many instructors who take the time to be so intentional about their instruction and invested and excited about the students’ experience. The Blogging Prof’s passion certainly permeated and improved my commitment to the course.
The Cultural Event Paper: I am not a researcher, I am a practitioner so this was a fabulous opportunity to “get my hands dirty” and see the course in action. I had honest fun with this assignment and I am still attending the meetings I wrote about in my paper!
The blogs: This was a great opportunity to engage with my peers and stretch my perspectives. I always felt surrounded by great minds and I valued the experience to engage in a new way with my peers. I felt safe to post my positions and I appreciated people’s care for one another and willingness to reply with an opinion not appeasement.
While it’s not my “LEAST FAVORITE” thing about the course, I would have liked to interact with my classmates (at least once). I guess meeting would defeat the purpose of an on-line course and I support the (somewhat) ambiguity about it, but there’s just something about meeting my peers I would have enjoyed, or maybe finding a way to have us work together one something. In addition, I believe Eleanor Rigby made a comment about the journals due date. I agree with her. Again, responsibility on self completely, but I kept reading “journals are due at the end of the semester,” so, in my head, I was thinking THIS week, not July 29TH. While I attended, observed, or lived my journals during the assigned times, I was not well structured when writing them. For me, having them due every second or third week would have supported me completing them on time (that’s just how I usually work best).
I do not have any important comments for how to improve the course. I believe the work was enough for a 10-week course to keep me engaged, but it was not overwhelming.
I couldn't agree with you more when you say that you didn't know an online class could be so interactive. I have also learned so much from this class. I think that we all had reservations about this class before taking it and I think that all of us have taken something different from this class yet all different. About the journal's being due every week, I think that is a really great way to make your self be more on top of it. I am a procrastinator when it comes to papers at time. I was actually very impressed with how I handled the journals, but at the same time it would have made it a lot better if I had more of a deadline and could seperate them more. I also agree with you when you say that the work was not very overwhelming for a 10 week course.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I felt it was manageable...enough challenge to push me and keep me motivated, but not too much where I felt stifled and swamped.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree this class was very interactive, I don't think this would have been possible in an actual classroom. Everyone had an equal opportunity to participate which was nice. The blogs were interesting to read with differing views and opinions.
ReplyDeleteI too thought the textbook was engaging and easy to read. Trenholm did a great job in balancing theory with practical examples.
I agree with Morgan and you, that the work was not overwhelming for a 10 week course. I think if the journals were due every other week, it would have made a difference not only in how we approached it but we would have known if we were doing it right or not.
I really like how you mention that a teacher once told you to stop placing so much emphasis on numbers, and to engage with the content of the class. This is something that I have struggled with in my 4 years of college, because I am very critical of myself when it comes to grades. I feel like in my last couple of semesters I have been able to let the "number" obsession pass, and am now able to enjoy most of what i'm learning instead of being so worried about getting a B on a test. There is more to school than the number or letter grade, and I think it's important to understand that the material can be very valuable to everyday life. With this being my first online course as well, I agree with you that it as a great choice for a class. Our professor was very interactive, and I felt like I got a very similar experience to attending class (minus the student f2f interaction). I almost feel as if I got to know my classmates a little better because there wasn't one student always dominating the conversation among a room full of silence. With this class format everyone got a chance to voice their ideas and responses to our professors questions which made me feel like I got to know you guys a little better :)
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