In the sea of Post 1’s, a new fish joins

How’s that for an interesting title! Darn right!

I think I will stick close to the suggested topics for this one.

Favorite vacation spot: I can not think of a favorite. Over recent years I have had the chance to go to a number of different places internationally and nationally. Each has something to offer, which is a joy of travelling I guess. I enjoyed Japan for its architecture and organization. I enjoyed parts of Africa for its people and rugged beauty. I enjoyed Croatia for its vistas and natural beauty.

Synopsis of last novel: Open recommendation from a previous teacher I grabbed The Tipping Point. Like many books around leadership I found it light on content but rich in contextual story telling. It used real world examples to put forth the idea that seemingly large sudden changes are often a result of a few key principles; the law of the few, the stickness factor, and the power of context. In other words:

  • Certain people, due to qualities and/or influence they possess, are often critical to spreading more so than a huge mass
  • While the content of the epidemic is important, what ever it is needs to be presented in such a way that it actually sticks with people. A key aspect being that whatever it is sticks enough that the person is willing/wanting to pass it on.
  • Still reading this chapter 🙂

Here’s a wiki summary that likely explains it better than I could:

http://www.wikisummaries.org/wiki/The_Tipping_Point#Chapter_3:_The_Stickiness_Factor:_Sesame_Street.2C_Blue.E2.80.99s_Clues.2C_and_the_Educational_Virus

What is the most important characteristic of high quality online learning environments?

  • Engaging content

Why?

  • There is never ending options for posting, sharing, blogging, forums, etc. The reason why I am in this place engaging in this activity is because I am interested in the content being discussed.

What is one thing I learned about about teaching in the last year and what was its impact?

  • My tendency to over-value covering new content over providing opportunities to practice content being covered. This has resulted in my constantly asking myself before moving on to the next topic, “how can I tell if students are actually learning what I am intending for them to learn?”

What questions do I have about online teaching and learning?

  • I question the impact that online blogs/forums/posts  have on the overall process. The more I participate in online learning environments, the more I believe that they are missing something . I don’t mind doing post like this, and I do wonder if it just a more elegant form of a lot of social media; breathe vs depth and shallow exposure vs deeper understanding.

I am interested in this course though. I would argue online learning environments are still in an early stage of development, so I am sure there are more perspectives I can learn from. I do believe in the power of online learning environments, and I am still trying to figure out how to best utilize them.

Cheers,

Cael Field

Showcasing: I liked this post as upon reflection, some of my initial ideas were supported in the following lessons.