Search Results for: why do i have to blog

March 11

“why do i have to blog???”

I teach a fully online master’s level course “intro to online teaching” and have used blogging as a metacognitive journaling activity in the course for 5 years now. (Here is a prezi about my course fyi http://prezi.com/yyzcr9_btox6/teaching-learning-in-the-cloud/)

So far, none of my students have ever really blogged before. Most of them really don’t want to. Many hate this part of my course.

I LOVE their blogs.

Blogging is a required component of this course. Students are required to reflect on their learning and to provide me with descriptive feedback on their learning experiences in the course. they are given specific guiding questions for each blogging assignment (1 per week/2 per module) and they must self assess their own posts based on a rubric http://etap687.edublogs.org/2008/06/02/reflections-blog-post-grading-rubric/

I have  specific questions that I ask them to address in their blog posts that revolve around the content covered in each module of the course and where they “are” in their development as online instructors, and in addition, I ask them to provide feedback on the course design and learning activities because I am trying to evaluate the tools we are using, how they are being used and the activities they are being asked to do in the course. They have to do one blog post per week. I have used the feedback from these student reflections to improve the design of the course and it has improved my understanding of the student experience, which makes me better at it. I get a better sense of how the students perceive the activities in the course, so that I can understand student perspectives and use that insight to improve the activities. I want to improve my own practice, and to do that I need the student feedback of how they are actually experiencing the activities, interaction and learning in the course. To get that, I need to get students to talk about their learning.

Students have freedom to blog about whatever they like, but they do have to address (in some way the guiding questions and the course materials) in at least one of their posts. They read and respond to each others posts and i comment and give them feedback in blog comments and using diigo highlights, stickies, and traditional blog comments. I also grade them based on the rubric. The activity is 20% of their grade.

Metacognitive reflection helps them better digest and apply what they are learning in the course. They must articulate what they learned and how they perceive that they learned it. They must reflect on what was difficult in this particular activity and why? It is a bit like therapy really. So I can hear you say “wait a minute, I am a teacher… not a psychotherapist!!” I teach XX (insert what you teach here) I am not here to analyze them…I am teaching them XX.

I respectfully disagree. I equally respectfully ask you to consider this- how do you know your students are learning? Your feelings about your teaching have little to do with your students’ learning and everything to do with you. There is an insidious teacher-centered narcissism here that I want to expose, explore, and eradicate. It is fine to LOVE teaching, to feel good, satisfied, and productive about it… but teaching and your feelings about yourself and what you teach are not the point – learning is. So how do you know that your students are learning and why don’t you give a shit about their learning? You may say that their learning is reflected in the assessments … I don’t know that that is true, or not. It might mean that they are good test takers, or good cheaters… the assessments tell me nothing about what they learned. I want them to show me that they learned. I orchestrate learning activities. They engage in the activities and then must demonstrate to me that they learned. Their level of engagement, their learning, their experiences are their choice. I didn’t teach them anything. They chose to learn or not. This is fundamental and revolutionary about what it means to be learner-centered. If you really understand what it means to be learner-centered, it blows your mind because you have to come to grips with the reality that there is no such thing as “teaching.” There is only learning. You design activities, you plop a student into the activities, and then you see what happens… it is kind of magic…maybe it happens, maybe it doesn’t. Maybe you have to redesign the activity to get a different effect. But you don’t know unless the student can make their thinking and learning visible to you – and in order to that, they have to talk about it, so that you can observe that.

I feel very strongly about public blogging. If it is in the course and student access to it is removed at the end of the term, then it is NOT a BLOG. The very nature of a blog is that it is yours and public. You own it. You can customize it/personalize it. it is YOURS. “Blog” features in course management systems ARE NOT BLOGS. You can call it a journal, but NOT a BLOG! If we ask students to generate content and then we take away their access to it, how is that student-centered? I also want my students to have the experience of developing their public digital voice and to contribute to the living discourse on the social web.

The explicit purpose of the student blogs in my online course is to have students articulate and verbalize what they are learning, how they are learning, how they are applying what they are learning, and how they feel about what they are learning- and to do it publicly. Student blogged reflections are a completely different type of discourse than what happens within the course discussion. They have a completely different type of  voice when they are asked to reflect on their learning.

I have 3 main objectives for using metacognitive reflection as a component of the course:

  1. The process of self-reflection enhances student learning and deepens connections and understanding with and between students.
  2. I use it to get descriptive feedback from the students on the design of the course that I can use to improve my practice and the course itself.
  3. The process of writing publicly gives the student the opportunity to explore their online voice and digital identity and gives them exposure to and experience contributing their voice to the social web.

The value for them is:

  1. They get a blog that they can keep and continue to maintain beyond the end of the term.
  2. They get real-life experience blogging in a guided feedback-rich environment within a safe, yet public (class) community.
  3. They experience reflective (public) writing.
  4. They establish or add to their digital identity by exploring and contributing to social web for academic and professional purposes.

The value for me is that I learn from them. I can watch their progression from the first to the last day. I get a deeper understanding about how they learn, what they are learning, how they prefer to learn, and how they can improve what they are learning in the course. I have to filter, interpret, and diagnose where they are coming from and engage them in the process of productively reflecting on and demonstrating their learning so that they can move forward in their learning and the course. As the instructor, I read their reflections and sift through them for opportunities to diagnose misperceptions and provide corrective feedback, or to probe something to get the student to go further in their thinking, or to question something, or to prompt the student to question their own assumptions, assertions, opinions, or biases. You have to really listen to what they are saying. If a student says an activity sucks, I probe that and make them articulate exactly what, how, where, why they feel it sucks – perhaps they have other expectations, perhaps they fear something, perhaps they disagree ideologically with the approach – I try to get them to expose the roots of their feelings, so we can look at them and decide what to do with them… and we both have the opportunity to learn from that interaction. So, whether I learn something about myself, or about the student, it gives me the opportunity to make changes in my own understanding, or in the course, or I can confirm/affirm my perspective… and so can the student.

You can browse through my students blogs here https://etap640.edublogs.org/   Current live student blogs are links on my blog and a selection of blogs from 2011-2008 past semesters are also links.

The quality of their posts and their insights are astounding.

for example:
http://joanerickson.edublogs.org/
http://joyquah.edublogs.org/
http://francapponi.edublogs.org/

Category: Uncategorized | 1 Comment on “why do i have to blog???”
May 4

What 2013 students have to say about this course…

 I have never been challenged like this in any other grad class. Your course has single handedly given me a new outlook on who I am as a teacher, and more importantly as a person. I can’t thank you enough for this experience!

When we began our journey at the beginning of the summer, I continually asked myself: “What have you got yourself into.  I feel overwhelmed! Can I pull this off? Should I drop this class? Is it worth it? How could I ever build an entire online class over the course of a summer? Is she nuts? ….Oh yes, she’s definitely nuts!” Boy was I wrong on every account! This course has not challenged me as a student, as an educator, but as a  person. This course has been the most intense course that I have ever taken. Each week, we have worked towards creating an online course that I am most certainly proud of. …I have a course that is ready to go live. A course that will challenge and engage my students. The process to get to this point was challenging, but each step along the way has made me a better educator…

If one fails this course, it’s truly not because of the instructor. It’s because one chose not to use every single item that you have given us to our advantage.

The best quote from this class that I will use until the day I die, “Assume Nothing, Anticipate Everything”. – Dan Hacker

It has been great to work with a professor who gets to know you as a person and student and spends the time to give you feedback. As I am ending my masters, I wish I had taken this course before other online classes as I truly felt part of a class and this is due to understanding the online class community and my part in it. ETAP 640 is a great course! At this point, I feel any teacher who is teaching should take this course for multiple reasons.  This course does not just teach about online teaching, it speaks about what is necessary for the future of our students and if we truly are educators we want the BEST for our students!  The best for our students is very different that the past had offered. – Celeste Sisson

This has been an amazingly special course. I am really sad that it is ending. I am inspired. Thank you for pushing me out of my comfort zone. Your presence and ability to form relationships at a distance is brilliant!

This course held a mirror up to the learner in me. Inside I want to connect with others. The social element in learning is vital. I want to connect, I want to be validated and I want to feel safe in my learning spaces. I want to learn from someone who is passionate about their subject and teaching. I want to be inspired and I want to feel like I am making a contribution. All of these elements have been present in our discussion forum. We have exchanged ideas, thoughts and we have been able to thoughtfully disagree.

This course has been an example of how we can create learner centered instruction, promote curiosity and creativity while appreciating and embracing diversity.

This class had had many layers to it. On the surface of this course we have learned how to put an online course together. We have learned the principles of effective online instruction and the philosophies that surround interactions on line. Throughout the course each of us began to dig a little deeper. Some of us even dug down to the core of who we are as individuals. I have been one of the lucky ones who is looking inward at what lies at the source of my passion. I am really reflecting on what is at the soul of my teaching? Why do I feel so compelled to be a part of educational reform? Why can’t I continue to do my job, as hundreds and thousands do daily, without changing? My voice has been validated, and I am not sure if this is the design of the course or a course that my heart should follow.– Heather Kurto

If there is one thing that I have learned in the last few weeks of ETAP640 it’s that the grade is secondary to the learning, the grade is meaningless if it is not backed up by actual knowledge and education. And boy have I learned.

I chose, for my course, a subject that would – in my mind – be almost impossible to teach online! The problem with this theory and my plans: Every obstacle that I thought I’d engineered for myself was never an obstacle, every problem became an opportunity, every difficulty and area that I thought would give me a challenge or I expected to fail turned out to a chance to create something new, to do something different, to think outside of what I believed to be conventional and an opening to reconceptualize the norm into something fresh.

I failed to fail. Everything that I thought couldn’t work did.

So onto to the next step, applying everything that I have learned about student-centered classrooms, using social networking tools, Flow, peer assessments, teaching presence etc. etc. to my F2F classroom and thinking about the creation of future online classes – Dramatic Literature, Shakespeare, Scenes, (how would you teach scene work online???), Set Design, Greek Theatre, Absurdist Theatre the list is endless and none of them unachievable, I know that now. “Can a drama class be taught online?” Yes, absolutely, yes. –  Luke Fellows

I am so glad that I decided to take this course. Participating in this course and reflecting on my learning here has really helped me to gain confidence in my skills as an instructional designer!

When I was deciding which course to take over the summer, I wasn’t sure if “Introduction to Online Teaching” was the right choice for me. While it is relevant to my work when helping instructors design their online or blended courses, I am not a teacher in a traditional sense. This course has not only refined my ideas of pedagogy, but also has dragged me into understanding the role technology plays in effective teaching for the 21st century. Now that I am coming to the end of ETAP640, I know that online education in many ways is better suited to today’s student. I have learned how pedagogy can meld with the current technology tools to create effective teaching and learning environments. Taking advantage of this is not only important for online instruction, but can also inform and improve face to face education.

I have noticed on my journey through this course is that I was able to make connections that led to meaningful insights.  During several of the modules, I would read and digest the materials, participate in the discussion, go through the learning activities.  At the end of the module, I would focus my blog post on the major themes that formed in my mind throughout the module.  Often these insights would be main themes introduced in the next module.  I really appreciated that the course was able to allow me to reach these conclusions in my own way, rather than just telling me “the line between direct instruction and facilitation of discourse can be blurred”.   Recognizing this ability in myself has given me a lot of confidence as an instructional designer, and has taught me that the passion that I have for instructional design will allow me to be successful in this field.

The process of blogging in this course has led me to have another really huge insight about reflection.  In previous courses I’ve taken, I have felt that I was so focused on completing the assignments that I really had little chance to digest what I had learned, or what I was learning, connecting, discovering, etc.  Through the blog assignments in this course, I have been able to make the big connections, and form ideas in a way that previously has been difficult for me.  I think this is because we have been encouraged to think about, focus on, and reflect about what and how we are learning.  I feel as though the reflection assignments have provided the context for my brain to think in a different way.  This not only gives me confidence for the future, but it also helps me to discover the connections I have made unconsciously!  It seems kind of strange to say that, but it is true!  I am hoping to continue to use blogging as a tool to document my insights and learning after the course ends. – Maree Michaud-Sacks

…great course. It is very relevant to what I’m doing now and what I hope to be doing. 🙂

I have learned a lot about the process of creating an online course.  No, creating an effective and engaging online course. One with solid objectives, varied assessments that tie back to the objectives, activities with a purpose, visual appeal, consistency in naming conventions, Web 2.0 tools that enhance instruction, SS and ST interaction, well written discussion prompts, and proper organization.  It is possible!

How are we doing this?  Creating a course.  Evaluating and analyzing exemplar courses, and each others’.  Applying what we’ve learned as we go.  How do I know I have learned?  Because I have created something, and it is awesome.  I understand how and why I did it, and I could do it again.  This isn’t one of those ‘forget the info as soon as the class is over’ deals.  This is something that relates to what I do for a living, and want to continue to do.  I need this information, and will continue to use it.

One cool thing about this course is the ‘meta’ quality.  We’re learning quality design of an online course in a course with quality design.  It of course makes sense for the course about design to be a good example of design.

I have been responding to discussions in all my [online] courses here, but really never studied the construction of the questions.  Like everything else, the way it is worded is purposeful in what is included, what is left out, how and why it is asked, to try to elicit certain types of responses.  It isn’t easy to write a good discussion question, but it is essential for a productive discussion. I tried to include several elements in mine – open ended questions, outside research, creativity, and relevance to the student’s life.  – Mary Huffman

I appreciate the … encouragement throughout the course! From the very first day I must say that I was nervous about the prospects of making an online course. I was unsure whether I would be able to use the course, but as we went through the semester, and we learned more, I picked up many tools that I can apply in my classroom. I also learned about how to use my online presence to help students develop more.

Before this course I would have considered discussion one of the least important aspects of the course. This came from experiences that I had in other courses where we did not use discussion. After finishing this course I have learned of the huge impact it can make on a class. My understanding of the material was much better in this class than in my other classes.

In this course I also learned why discussion is such an important part in online learning. I learned about the different presences that are developed when students interact with a course. I also learned about how differentiating instruction online will help students develop these different presences.  I had no idea that you could make such an effect by simply talking directly to a student. It helps the student feel like the teacher individualizes instruction and at the same time speaks to a classroom community.

I tried to go through each [of my] discussion activities and make sure they provided students with the opportunity to engage each other. This not only builds the classroom community, but it also builds a student’s cognitive presence. By setting up my classroom this way, I have provided the students to take control. This is something I wanted to emphasize in the classroom because I feel that when students take control they also become more motivated. -Ryan Mulligan

I’m so used to turning to my professor for all of the answers and I can truly say in this class that I learned from every member of the class community.  When the course first opened I remember being so annoyed by all of the emails that came through from the course.  But pretty quickly I came to look forward to those emails so that I could follow the class discussions as they evolved.  

In this course not only will I remember my instructor’s name – I will also remember my classmates’ names. That’s pretty remarkable!

I came in to this course eager to learn but not so eager about online education.  I wasn’t sure that I would learn as much online as I would in a residential classroom.  I was proven wrong!  I learned a tremendous amount with the help of my instructor and classmates.  This makes me more enthusiastic about finding future opportunities to both teach and learn online. I have felt anxious, excited, frustrated, engaged, overwhelmed, accomplished, and confused.  The good news is that I’ve pushed through the difficult to get to the rewarding.  I wish that there was an effective way to prepare students for the fact that learning is an emotional roller coaster.

I have understood metacognition and reflective practice intellectually, but the experience of blogging in this course has given me a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of these concepts. Hey – look at that – something I learned!  It’s funny in this course how many things I have understood theoretically now make sense based on practice.  That’s pretty powerful. It has been a pretty powerful experience. And because my learning is based on experience my guess is that I will retain these lessons. – Anne Deutsch

This course has taught me that I am a teacher! …this course has really brought it home. I know where my passion lies now. She teaches with a student-centered approach and guided my learning so I would be able to not only learn it, but retain what I have learned. Before taking this course I felt that I knew everything there was to know about online courses given that I have worked in online courses for over 12 years. I now know I had a lot more to learn. I knew from being a student and from working in online courses that students want more than to read a didactic text based course for college credit. Now I have learned what exactly students want and need and I have learned some of the methods for incorporating student-centered opportunities in online courses. I also learned how, when and why to incorporate technology to enhance student interaction and engagement. I know how important community building is and that I can incorporate a tool such as voicethread to start community building with a course ice-breaker. I really feel as though I am a teacher and with what I have learned I can make a difference in the online courses I work in everyday. – Diana Cary

I have never met Alex, our instructor, but I certainly feel like I have. Her presence was felt in every aspect of the course! It was very interesting to observe when our she would get involved in the discussion forums, and most of the time it was to bring them to a higher level, by forcing us to “dig deeper,” one of her favorite terms. Looking back, I learned an incredible amount and am feeling very positive  about all of my accomplishments. My golf game suffered, but small sacrifice for what I gained, and if this course assists me with employment opportunities in the instructional design field, then I will be extremely grateful!! – Hedy Lowenheim 

This course has been an amazing learning experience that I wouldn’t change for anything.  I have been challenged more than I could have asked for.  This is my first semester as a University at Albany and this is one of the 2 courses that I am taking.  I am excited for what the future holds since I know I will be a life long learner. After taking this course I have considered becoming a professor possibly even an online professor. This course has taught me to keep on learning.  What I mean by that is sometimes you are given assignments to complete.  It is what you do beyond those assignments that help you to gain insight and knowledge.  My favorite part of this course was turning the discussions into our own learning experience through research.  We could take take the discussions in a direction that interested us which in turn actually taught us something.  We also were able to read our classmates discussion posts and learn about what they were interested in.  It was almost like the course was student led.  I feel like I have had a different learning experiences in this course which has shaped me into a new kind of learner.  I am more of a go getter now who wants to keep learning more. My learning was shaped by my peers and the discussions that we had.  Without them my learning experience would have not been the same. During this course I have learned a lot of valuable information that I will be able to take with me in life.  To start I have learned that I am capable of anything I put my mind to.  This course pushed me to see my full potential and I am grateful for that.  To be honest I was not challenged throughout my college career.  All of the work that I completed felt like busy work rather than  intellectually challenging work.  This course was truly the first course to challenge me and show me that college is all about learning and enhancing your learning experience.  It was amazing how we each created different courses and still could learn from one another.  I honestly doubted this at first.  We came together from all different fields of teaching and together came out with new and innovating ideas of what it means to be an online teacher. I have a new understanding of the importance that a classroom community has on the discussions and other interactions that take place in it.  I have also learned that in a online environment interactions between students and students as well as students and am instructor are both very important. – Kelly Gorcica

I have to admit that I thought, oh, I’ve taught classes online, I know this stuff. I can honestly say that I have learned more in this class about what it means to structure an online class, and more importantly why to structure a certain way, than any other class or workshop on the topic. – Kevin Volo

…this is the most difficult course I have taken in my graduate career. Expectations were set out for us from the get-go and we were expected to not only meet them, but to exceed them. – Liz Keeney

What students said in the summer of 2012.

What students said in the summer of 2011.

What students said in the summer of 2009.

What students said in the summer of 2008.

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April 30

What 2012 students have to say about this course…

I have been changed in many ways, particularly in how I think, how I will teach, how and what I will study in the future.  I was a proponent of online learning before I took this course, I am a greater fan now that I understand the flip side of the equation.  I love the course I built and want to keep working on it and improve on it so when I am ready (in the near future) I can teach it.  I still do not think that I am quite ready to teach—there are a few things I need to work on. However, I am confident that I will be ready relatively soon.  I feel confident and empowered!!!
– Anne-Marie Gomes

 

This was the most important thing I learned – to hand trust back to my students, and that it is not only OK to do so, but it actually makes a better class.
– Anneke Chodan

 

I really believe that this course has taught me important skills because I was required to actually use the skills I was learning about.
– Ben Malczyk

 

I am going into my fourth year of graduate studies at UAlbany and have taken many courses here.  Yet, I feel as this is one of the first courses that will let me leave with having a profound change in thinking.  Coming into this course I figured we would read a few articles about online education and create a course shell for an online course.  Additionally, I came into this course assuming online education failed to meet the standards of f2f education. Now, my thoughts are completely changed. Leaving this course I feel as though I could write an effective rebuttal of that argument and I believe that illustrates a great amount of growth for a person who entered this class questioning the merits of online education.
– Bill Meredith

 

I think the biggest impact on my learning is realizing that student centered must be meaningful. In order to make it meaningful it has to be important and the students must feel they are in control. Through the videos and readings in this course this has become increasingly apparent. Building class community, social presence, having teaching presence, and giving students’ choice are all strategies for creating the perfect learning environment. Although this course was quite a challenge I did learn a lot, especially in the past few days where I have become completely obsessed with adding “bells & whistles” to my moodle course. This course did present a student centered environment and I found it to be successful in changing my thinking about course design.
– Danielle Melia

 

I have so many ideas that I have learned from this course that I want to implement them all into my class.  But, I really need to stand back and reflect.  The most I got from this class is all the information that everybody shared on diigo.com and in their discussions.  I am very proud of everybody’s  contribution to my education and their own.  I loved how everybody had a share in the teaching presence and how Alex facilitated the learning.  This was an an excellent example of an effective student-centered learning environment.
– Gary Bedenharn

 

I just finished what may be my last discussion post for ETAP640. As I went through the post process, I was cognizant of each step: read your classmates’ posts; respond to something that resonates within you; teach (us) something by locating and sharing resources that support your thinking;  include the thinking and experiences of classmates; offer your opinion on what you are sharing; cite your resources for the benefit of all; tag your resources logically. Alex had informed us at the outset of the course that each discussion post is an exam and I have learned why: discussion is the heart of online learning.  An instructor may vary the context, content, activity, instructional grouping, and time frame, but in the online environment, students’ learning is demonstrated through the vehicle of discussion… I came to learn that blog posts are personalized records of learning, thinking, and being. It is not about what the instructor wants to hear, it is about hearing the student’s articulation of what is being learned that is essential to evaluating the content of a blog post. Through trying to be “fearless” about using technology, as Alex advises, I have come to learn that confidence is something that one must exercise in all spheres of the online environment.  While the pre-ETAP640 Irene would continue this last sentence with “but I feel as though I am still a student myself”, the post-Pickett Irene says, “while I continue to learn with them.”
– Irene Watts-Politza

 

I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to take this class. I have learned so much and have really enjoyed being involved in a community of learners with all of you. I have never truly felt like I have been part of a community of learners before, or really knew what that was or meant. I think this has resonated so strongly with me that it is something that I want to strive for with students in a face-to-face class or an online class, whichever comes first.
– Joan McCabe

 

Coming into this class I thought I was a technology native. I thought I knew a lot about the internet, its uses for the classroom and ways I could utilize it. This class has pushed my limits showing me there is endless posiblities and things I will do even in my face to face class. For example, I was introduced to vociethread. This I will use to connect my classroom to another and make an authentic population for my students to present to. I would even use it to show student work at an open house. To really have learned something I think it means it will stay with you, you will use it. It will be in your thoughts after the class has concluded.
– Julie Delpapa

 

This course was developed in a way that the harder you work and the more you participate the better the experience and the more you will get out of it. I can guarantee that all of us were nervous and scared the first time we entered this course. The first day we knew that it was going to be a challenging, but we have made it to the end with a lot of rewarding experiences and a lot of lessons learned along the way. Being a student and feeling like my work is getting noticed and valued is a tremendous boost in wanting to participate in the course and in my course design.  The hardest thing for me in this course, is the discussions. Being my first online course ever, I was a little intimidated by the type of discussion because of the requirements. I feel like I am not using my ‘voice’ like the other students in the course. A lot of the discussions between the other students are based off of prior teaching experiences, which I only experienced during student teaching, so most of my posts are more research and article based and it is hard for me to respond to the other posts. I am happy that I am getting the experience to develop a course though because it definitely has put my teacher hat on and going through a lot of different process to make it learner-centered and engaging. I believe if I didn’t have this opportunity to reflect, it would have been a thought but I would not have acted on it. At first I thought blogging and journaling was just busy work and I wasn’t too excited to do them, but I have found great benefit from thinking about how I learn, why I learn and how I can use this to improve my contributions as an educator and student and that deflated feeling is going away with every week that passes and it is renewing my faith in education and where it is headed.
– Lauren Dembrosky

 

I have to admit, I was a little intimidated when we all started to introduce ourselves in this course.  Every other class I’ve ever had was filled with people who had the same experiences as me and I felt like we were all on the same level.  As I was reading everyone’s introductions, I felt inferior.  I remember agonizing over what I could possibly offer to someone who was already teaching college!  When everyone in the course started sharing their feelings of frustration with the course, being overwhelmed and doubting their abilities I started to realize that we were all in the same situation…We were in this together.  I received private messages and replies to my blogs and discussions that offered me support, help and guidance from so many people in this class.  I starting CHANGING even more…I had a stronger connection with people I had never met than in any face-to-face class I had EVER taken! (and that’s  a LOT of classes having an associates, a bachelors and a masters degree already)  This is when I started to realize that online education could provide experiences to me that I couldn’t get anywhere else… I want to CHANGE someone the way that Alex, ETAP 640, and all of you have CHANGED me.
– Lisa Martin

 

Learning is change. I have changed many things to improve my online teaching such as adding more student choice and student-led discussions. I have also improved rubrics, instructions, and use more peer review and small group discussions based on sound pedagogical principles and best practices for online learning.  Additionally, I am including more authentic, student-centered activities and assessments. I have also learned about and included more multimedia in my course to enhance teaching, social, and cognitive presence (McDonough, n.d.) . I have learned to incorporate more innovative uses of technology to enhance online course delivery for students, including having learning environments available outside of the course management system for students’ lifelong learning needs.
– Mary Guadron

 

In a course titled Introduction to Online Teaching, I never would have imagined such a wide variety of topics could be covered!  Not only have I learned what it takes to effectively develop an online course, I have also learned about modern theories in education that have helped evolve the way I view my face-to-face interactions with students.
– Tina Bianchi

 

In the beginning of this course I was very overwhelming and did know if I could make.  Through support of my friends, family, and in reading through others reflection blogs I saw that I wasn’t the only one and that this was a challenge that I needed to concur.  I am so glad that I stuck with it because I learned so much and I can definitely take this with me in my teaching.
– Victoria Keller.

 

What students said in the summer of 2011.

What students said in the summer of 2009.

What students said in the summer of 2008.


 

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March 26

If you don’t want to bore your students … don’t be boring! : )

A very wise old online professor (Bill Pelz @wmpelz)  once told me that the lecture was the most efficient way to pass important concepts and theories from the professor’s notepad to the students ipad without going through either brain.

So, I am very curious… why do you think that your students fail to engage in your online discussions/interactions? Can you analyze what went wrong in the discussion activity for your students? Think about this from your students’ perspective.

What makes something boring? what makes something engaging? Can you cause someone to learn?

How might you apply the principles of andragogy to inform solutions for this situation?

I hear lots of faculty complain and tell horror stories about how impolite and distracted their students are with their devices in the classroom. You know what? i don’t buy it… I am completely against removing the internet or cell phones and other devises from any classroom. ridiculous. closed minded. reactionary. I don’t buy that the internet is worse than daydreaming, or doodling, or that it is a distraction. The internet simply IS. If you are distracted by it, then that is on you.

In the classroom or online you can’t MAKE people be polite any more than you can MAKE them learn, or make them want to learn for that matter. That you learn…what you learn …is entirely up to you – it is your responsibility.

Of course “netiquette” needs to be addressed and managed by the online instructor – its part of the role. But assuming everyone agrees on acceptable “behaviour” in the learning environment, and everyone is there -interested/willing/able/ to learn, if I am not able to engage you, then i consider it my failure, not yours. It is my job to design a learning experience in which you can engage.

The reality is that there are a lot of impolite people (students) out there and a lot of people (students) not seriously interested in doing much learning. There are also a lot of people (students) out there that are just not receptive to the possibility that they don’t already know it all – and use every opportunity to demonstrate how much they know, rather than acknowledging that one ANYONE always has something more that they can learn…there are dysfunctional people, people with political agendas, people with real life problems/tragedies and issues. (If you can’t allow for the possibility that there is something more you can learn, please drop my course.)

However, I think there are also a lot of boring professors out there who would much rather blame the internet for the lack of attention of their students, than turn a critical eye on themselves to ask “how  relevant am I to my students.?” How do I engage my students? How is what I   “teach”   relevant to the real life of my students? How relevant is a liberal arts education today to most youth? Will it get them a job? How much debt will this education incur? Are students well informed and advised well about their chosen degree programs, and the demand for jobs, or expected career paths and salaries? Will they learn things they can ever actually use in the “real world”? If I were a college student today, i would be pissed off.

If you are putting them to sleep in the classroom, how do you think that will play online? Do you want to sit there and watch talking head on video for 3 hours!?  Some faculty like to lecture. You may even be good at it.  REALLY good at it. You may exude passion, drama, enthusiasm and feel like you have captivated your audience. BUT – newsflash. it is NOT about your passion. It is about catalyzing that passion and learning in your students. So, here is a truth. If you are boring in the classroom, you will be boring online. Here is another truth. You CAN’T duplicate what you do in the classroom in an online environment (well you can try – but, it will not go well).  I get it. You are used to doing things the way they always have done…perhaps you use the same textbook, same lecture notes, same MC tests, same jokes, …etc. It is too much work to rethink how to present content, how to facilitate interaction and collaboration between your students, with you and with the content, and it is WAY too hard to come up with authentic ways of evaluating and assessing student learning. Nevertheless, if you want to be good online, – effective, successful, efficient – you will have to rethink how you achieve your learning objectives given the options and limitations of the online teaching and learning environment.

I think there is a HUGE disconnect with how things in higher education have always been, and how they need to change today to be relevant.

Students don’t want to be entertained, they want to be engaged… They need to experience flow. They need to be perplexed.

Here are 50 ways 2leave ur lecture: http://www.slideshare.net/alexandrapickett/50-alternatives-to-lecture

Here is how i engage my online students: http://prezi.com/yyzcr9_btox6/teaching-learning-in-the-cloud/

Join the conversation and share what you know, here: http://slnfacultyonline.ning.com/

This article was republished here: http://qz.com/68962/if-online-students-arent-engaged-its-the-teachers-fault/ on March 31, 2013 under a different title – If online students aren’t engaged, blame their teacher.

Category: Uncategorized | 12 Comments on If you don’t want to bore your students … don’t be boring! : )
May 26

what did i do?

First i created my course information documents and tried to get them laid out in a location on the moodle coursemap that makes sense. I am using the course summary pane for that. I am having to use things in ways i don’t think they intended to get this to look and feel like i want. I don’t get the long center topic thing… it gets too long…you need advanced organizers to visually chunk the information… i am still trying to figure it all out. also, they call dicussions “forums” and respond-reply and modules – topics… so i ‘ve had to map, try to map analagous features and functions to what i am used to.

Then i started to try to outline the modules just to get a structure in… Along the way i have discovered better ways to do things… For example it is better to create a web page than to upload a file, cuz you can’t edit files on the fly… and they don’t contain the built in moodle page nav bars…you have to use your browser back button and you have to edit the original word file save it, upload it to the files folder, then create a link to that file… etc. with a web page you can just create it as a draft and edit easily. I started out using the glossary tool for the shared references, but decided to move that to diigo instead.

I started to think about the class community areas and decided that the main pane should be used as a newsflash area… you can’t move it and you can’t put anything above it, so i have now also also created a table in it as a navigation bar to some additional help type resource that would be too buried course info area… i will change the newsflash often and archive them in the news forum, which i renamed Bulletin Board… the way the news forum works is that you have to be “subscribed” to it which means you will get an annoying email anytime one is added, and you only get 30 minutes to add/edit anything to it, you can’t change the dates, so all my standard “announcement” type documents can’t really go in that space… it is hugely annoying… I have had to create a Bulletin Board to serve that function… its fine. I will live with it.

The other things i have learned or decided to do are to use the topics as Modules that outline the content of each content “chunk” of the course. I also will have a question area and links to the main course reflections blog in each module. I have learned to hide “topics” so i am putting documents in there and then linking to them where i need them… i really don’t get the label function for setting up the topic … seems like a lot of energy for text that does nothing. I am bummed that i can’t get a private discussion area with individual students easily… i am ending up using the coursemail feature for that… there may be another way to do this that i am missing, but i am not sure. I thought i might be able to use the assignment form for that, but none of the features that allow for private submission to the instructor result in the ability to reply back and forth in a forum type way… so i have to work around the private functionality of course mail to retain that needed privacy aspect… cumbersome!

I have also closed all the blocks that are extraneous and reorganized them into locations that make more sense to me… the news is in the upper right. under that is the people block, then the calendar, then the upcoming events… you can’t move blocks above the center block which is irritating… so that is why i made the nav bar table in that center block…

I created my class community module with links to the bulletin board and participant profiles. Oh, i have also begun to set up my exemplar course activity – link to a course for observation with MP3 files attached to use as side commentary as the participants tour the course… pretty cool. I have been figuring things out little by little in this tool as i go along…

Have i said i hate the subscribe thingy… at first i thought is was so stoopid, you know …i don’t want emails from my course management tool, every time an entry is made…errrrrrrrr. But i have reconsidered. I am not sure, i will have to ask the students. Now I think it will help keep track of the discussions. So, i have them all set to force subscribe…. we shall see.

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July 8

The power of professional networking, or “How to network like Alex” :)

Building a professional network is a life-long process of being interested and being interesting.

For me that means it is about relationships and learning. I am better at my job and better as a person by being familiar with the academic, personal, and professional experiences and contexts outside myself, my unit, my organization, my state, my country.

All relationships take interaction and nurturing. And they have to come from a place of authentic genuine interest. Like with any friend, to maintain the friendship, you have to be intentional about reaching out and checking in. There is also an element of just-in-time... so, I try to post in my various social media outlets what I am doing, so that if someone in my network happens to see it, and happens to be interested or curious, they can reach out. I will also occasionally share some things directly with individual people that I know might have a specific interest in something I am doing, or something I have found that I know they need, or would be interested in it if they knew about it.

So, here are my suggestions for how to network like a boss:

1. Leverage social media: Twitter, FB, and Linkedin

  • Follow your rock stars, see who they follow and follow some of them.
  • Join groups/chats that interest you. Spend time daily cultivating, and learning and sharing.
  • Post stuff you are doing/learning/creating, share stuff to amplify what others are doing that you genuinely think is cool or interesting, ask and answer questions – if you can help someone solve a problem, you strengthen your relationship, reputation, and credibility.

2. Reach out to meet people you find genuinely interesting, creative, innovative, cool.

  • Take opportunities to meet people at in-person and virtual events, conferences, or webinars.
  • Be authentic.
  • When you meet someone interesting, connect with them in Linkedin and follow them in Twitter. And let them know you are interested in maintaining contact/connection, or learning more about something they do, or they said when you met them that you found interesting and want to follow up on.
  • Check with your supervisor to see if you can join LOOP https://www.iste.org/companies-and-partners/iste-loop – a networking service.

3. Share

  • Look for opportunities to document what you are doing, and share it.
    • Create a blog, podcast, video about what you are doing, and post it – and share it on your social media platforms.
    • Present at conferences, events, webinars, twitter chats, online groups.
  • If you come across something that would be of interest to someone you’ve met, send it to them. This could be a job, a tool, a resource, a project, an article, etc.
  • When possible/appropriate openly license what you create, so you can share it broadly, and so people can adapt/adopt it easily.
  • Represent yourself and SUNY well.
    • Understand where, what, and how you share.
    • Know your audiences, and manage your connections, followers, friends.
      • Twitter is public = followers. FB is friends = personal and professional. Linkedin is professional connections.
    • Filter.
      • Assume that your mom, the chancellor, Kim, your boss, or your professional rock star are reading what you write, and don’t say every random thing that comes into your head. ‘
      • Don’t be unkind. No matter how frustrated you may get with friends and colleagues, try not to be snarky or criticize people/things that happen at work. You never know what people are going through…
    •  Maintain a balance in the “noise” to “signal” ratio both in yourself, and in whom you follow.
      • Consider how you represent yourself: Personal (noise) vs. Professional (signal). A little of both makes you relatable and a “real” person. Seek a balance.
  • Amplify others. Use your platform to highlight, recognize, and appreciate the work of others.

Networking requires time, authentic engagement, and mutual interests, and cultivating personal relationships.

There is never sufficient time, energy, or resources to do everything one might like to do. One’s own work and organization are the priority, so anything else is extra, and can’t be done at the expense of oneself, or professional responsibilities.

I don’t actively pursue, or initiate collaborations or partnerships per se, I focus on relationships that are genuine, and where there is mutual (personal professional and organizational) benefit. Opportunities sometimes emerge from that. I also decline lots of stuff. I have interests in particular topics, areas of the world, and a keen desire to hang out with people that I like (that find cool or interesting in some way) – I cultivate those in ways that I can without too much difficulty or too much effort.

What do you do to cultivate, sustain, and grow your professional network?

Some networking opportunities I had this year and how they came about:
Social media links:

 

Category: instructions, networking | LEAVE A COMMENT
April 13

Ask yourself, "Will it help you achieve your learning objective “better, faster, safer, easier, or cheaper?”

I have had the opportunity to work with thousands of online faculty and to observe hundreds of thousands of online students in the SUNY Learning Network (SLN). From that vantage point I can sense/feel the increased interest in and usage of audio and video-enhanced online instruction/communications/interaction. And at work I feel it too. Skype and elluminate meetings, workgroups, and collaborations are a regular thing now. I see a definite trend away from purely text-based interaction in the world of online teaching and learning from both faculty and students. And though that certainly does not mean that text-based communications will disappear, there is something about audio and video communications in instruction that significantly enhances the experience for faculty and students in terms of creating more engaging content presentation, and enhancing interaction, collaboration, and feedback. (My friend Phil Ice has done some research on this. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.137.2582&rep=rep1&type=pdf). In my efforts to explore what it really means to be learner-centered as an online educator in my own online instruction, I have come to the conclusion to really do that, I have to let go and let students be engaged and express that in ways that are meaningful to them and their lives. This is not as easy …or comfortable as it sounds. I would probably be characterized as one of the most learner-centered online instructor by friends and colleagues …and yet I struggle – so I know how hard it is.

I also feel that an LMS that locks down and controls access and ownership of student content is problematic and contributes to my frustration and struggle. I mean if we are asking them to generate content, then why does their access to their content go away at the end of the term? How can you call a tool a blog if they don’t own it, can’t personalize it, it is NOT public AND it (and their content) gets taken away at the end of the term – and so on… This tension I feel between the LMS and student-created content is one of the main reasons I teach mostly “outside the box” and have been presenting everywhere I can about teaching and learning in the cloud: http://prezi.com/yyzcr9_btox6/teaching-learning-in-the-cloud/

I always tell the faculty I work with NOT to get attached to “tools” as they change, get bought and killed, or just disappear… I tell them to be fearless and that there are tons of tools, so that if one goes away there are others to take its place http://www.appappeal.com/web-2-0-application-world-mosaic/ I tell them that you need to start with a learning objective, NOT the tool, and you just need criteria to evaluate tools – Does it help you achieve your learning objective “better, faster, safer, easier, or cheaper?”

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May 24

teaching outside the "box" and in the "cloud"

http://ualbany.mrooms.net/course/view.php?id=91 http://ualbany.mrooms.net/course/view.php?id=50

http://prezi.com/yyzcr9_btox6/

http://prezi.com/cjmoerciiegp/teaching-out-side-the-box/

http://tinyurl.com/23eksjz – slideshare handout of resources

I teach ETAP 687 intro to online learning , a fully online master’s level course where the majority of the content, interaction, and feedback for The course take place in and outside the course management system  “box” in the “cloud”. I will show you what happens when several web 2.0 technologies (twitter, voicethread, diigo, edublogs, jing, meebome, seesmic, youtube, gcast, audacity, polldaddy) are stitched together into one fully online course In moodle. I will talk about how I did it and why, and what the students thought about it. And I will also invite you to explore selected tools For yourself, and to join my netoworks, so you can share with me what you know and what you learn.

*   Specific educational need(s) met by the use of technology

  1. Create engaging content
  2. Facilitate engaging interaction and collaboration
  3. Provide engaging feedback/evaluations/assessments


*   Rational for selecting technology

why:

  1. To explore my passion to understand learning and to push myself to practice what it really means to be learning centered teaching To add interaction, engagment and visual appeal. To provide student access beyond the end of the term.
  2. To blur the boundaries of the CMS “box” take students out and bring others in to the classroom.
  3. Because it is important for the future of my students I feel an obligation to participate, evaluate, document and expose and engage students and faculty to and in this process
  4. Because it is important for me and I like it. To explore, test & evaluate I am a learner too!!!
  5. Because today I can. web2.0 is here. Giving me access to 1000 of tools. My criteria: better faster, safer, easier, cheaper. http://www.appappeal.com/web-2-0-application-world-mosaic/
  6. Big why: to improve engagement and learning. for them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv-DpTzu09k


*   Example(s) of implementation (whenever possible, use live Site to demonstrate)
show the course
http://etap687.edublogs.org/2010/01/22/114/

*   Benefits/drawbacks
http://etap687.edublogs.org/2008/08/06/my-reflecting-pool/ – my reflections
http://etap687.edublogs.org/2009/08/11/83/ – my student reflections
Students have and keep access to their stuff. They get permission to explore a lot of tools and the opportunity to develop a sense of, and control of their digital self.
Lots of work, lots of accounts…

*   Future applications/considerations
More students = will have to redesign
Have to find new podcast tool
Improve twitter interaction
Improve seesmic interaction

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August 11

these are my students and what they learned . . . summer 2009

I learned to not be afraid of trying things on the computer, that the computer is not going to break or all things lost.  I remember how awesome it was to realize that i could text code online docs through diigo.  I remember how long it took me to figure out what a tag was and how to do it.   Although, I still can’t say I know how to use them. And you know what? I don’t care!  Setting up accounts on Voicethreads and edublogs was crazy to me.  I didn’t know that i could do that.  I felt scared and now I feel empowered.   I think I can give myself some credit but, alex has been an amazing facilitator.  Her feedback has been gentle yet, demanding that i meet high expectations.

It occurred to me that real learning requires the removal of classroom walls in the sense that students need to be made to feel empowered in their ability to learn independently, as well as in the amount of information they learn. This realization was triggered after reading Alex’s blog about her recent NUTN conference. In her entries she talks about the use of Twitter and other Web 2.0 technologies in the online classroom. My initial thoughts were that teaching online was, of itself, enough of a technological integration for students to expand their thinking. But I now believe that the online environment, while substantially more engaging to me than a f2f classroom, can still leave one – at the end of the course – with novel ideas and knowledge gained through exchange with only a handful of students, an instructor, and a few texts. Now I understand why Alex is so interested in the integration of other web 2.0 technologies into the online environment. Suddenly, the student is propelled to think clearly and critically, as now their core ideas have the potential to be shared with anyone, anywhere.

From Alex (A series of Unfortunate Online Events and How to Avoid Them) , I learned an incredible amount of invaluable information that gave me a broadened perspective from the viewpoint of a student as well as a teacher. …When all is said and done, this was a fantastic learning experience. Thank you, Alex!

One thing I’ve learned through the example of Alex, is the importance of reaching out and engaging students on a personal level.

Thank you for everything, Alex! I have learned so much from you that goes beyond the technical aspect of teaching online – I learned how think about my teaching (f2f as well as online) in a more holistic way. I think, for the first time, I learned how to teach. I am not even sure how you accomplished that, because it was not done in an overt manner. But anyway, thank you. I am so glad that I came back this summer and finally got to finish your course!

I think Alex is an amazing teacher who is supportive and nurturing. She is a Master teacher in Social and teaching presence. Her encouragement when I was ready to throw in the towel was a blessing. I learned so much from Alex that it is hard to be specific. I learned from Alex just how important as an instructor to have established an on-line community and how to be there for a student(s). I will take this away with me from this course and pass it forward to someone else who struggles and loses their confidence.

This module has given me support for my current online teaching and reinforced my thinking about the value and necessity of online education. I have also come to realize how fortunate we are as a class community to have Alex guiding us through this process. I am constantly amazed at the professional contributions she has made to the field. Specifically in the development of quality online instructors and the creation of standards and models for online classes.

I really like how Alex has created a welcoming environment in our course and I hope I have done the same in mind. I feel very comfortable in our classroom and am not afraid to ask a question. Classroom community is very, very important in an online course as all of the interaction takes place behind a computer screen unlike a traditional classroom where it takes place in a face to face setting.

I have enjoyed communicating with Alex on Seesmic. It has been fun and Alex has been really helpful in brainstorming and conducting research on how I can incorporate this software into my course. After chatting with her a few times, I have decided to add Seesmic to my course as one of my learning activities. I am going to add this into the module on Preparing for the Interview. I am going to have students generate questions and practice role playing with each other. It will allow students to be able to respond at their (but keeping it within the timeframe), communicate with students in another form of communication, and allow them to gain experience as being an interviewer/interviewee.

I hope to create a learning environment that is warm and inviting. Once again, I have been in a classroom setting where I felt like I was out there all by myself. I did not like the way this felt and I don’t want my students to feel this way either. Seeing that I have been in their shoes, I know what they are going through. A positive, caring personality sets the tone for the course (I have to say Alex has done this in this course).

Alex’s presentation started off with a YouTube video demonstrating passion and joy….the things she feels for learning. She is an inspiration to educators hoping to find the best of both the world of emerging technological advances on the web and the world of student learning outcomes. She also showed me (for the first time) how many tools are available for us to use:

Alex, my instructor, has referred to our courses as living, breathing things that are always growing and changing. I realize now that courses not only change each time they run, but that it’s okay for them to change while the course is running.

Alex’s feedback to us on our course profiles, discussions and blogs have been great because they are very specific; offering encouragement and support while at the same time demanding more and telling us exactly what to correct and why. That kind of feedback is appreciated because I know where I stand in the course, and I know where I need to improve and how I can improve. It’s not enough to tell students they are wrong, the real learning takes place when students know why they are wrong and how they can fix it!

just watched alex’s clip on us; wow, we built community through a computer!  i love you guys and will miss all this rigour and interaction.  time to move on.  school year is approaching-may we all change the world!

This learning experience has been intense!  I know that I have learned, for god’s sake I created an online course!  I think about the insecure me 3 months ago, so afraid to be pushed out of my learning comfort zone.  Alex and my peers, pushed me and I waded out there, well, it was actually like tredding for dear life.

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=1106177&page=1

8/17/09 ETAP687 1 5 3 3 emoticon smiley flag Alex taught us a lot but also asked a lot of us. The work load was ridiculous at times and it seems like we did some things just for the sake of doing them. Nevertheless, the course was worthwhile and I’d recommend it – Just be willing to work really hard.
8/14/09 ETAP687 1 5 4 3 emoticon smiley flag One of the best teachers I’ve ever had. hard as heck, though.
8/7/09 ETAP687 1 5 5 4 emoticon smiley flag Alex is an amazing teacher.I will strive professionally to be more like her and to achieve because she has inspired me to do so.
8/7/09 ETAP687 3 5 5 5 emoticon smiley flag This course was extremely helpful, I learned so much. The course has helped me stay current in my field both for school and in my career. I am one up on others by taking this course. Technology changes every day and it is hard to stay on-top of new products/software. Alex is a fantastic teacher who is very dedicated and Very Very good in her field.
8/6/09 ETAP687 2 5 5 4 emoticon smiley flag Course required a lot of time invested in work (developing our own online classes) but Alex was very supportive and always available! learned a lot!
8/5/09 ETAP687 1 5 4 5 emoticon smiley flag Alex is a wonderful, approachable person and a fantastic teacher! Yes, the course was hard, but she did not – at any time- present us with a challenge that we could not meet. If you are interested in online education, you should not miss this course!
8/4/09 ETAP689 1 5 5 4 emoticon smiley flag Great experience. Hard work, but well worth it. Alex is one of a kind. Would recommend it to anyone serious about quality online course delivery.
Category: Uncategorized | 1 Comment on these are my students and what they learned . . . summer 2009
July 13

the avatar as a representation of "self"

One of my current students uses her dog, Bishop, as her profile image. I love that she does that. It gives me a warm feeling about her. She mentioned in one of our discussions that she chose him because she was concerned about her privacy and security.

She said:

I think it is funny that you mention my use of my Bishop for an image. I had a reason. In a class we had on cyber security, it said to never use a real image of yourself unless you want it broadcasted. We learned how to build an Avatar. I do not like my Avatar because when I made it, the selections did not include large or handicapped people as a choice. Everything was “beautiful people” and personally, I think that is very wrong. I have never gone out there to look further to see if there are other places (I used Yahoo) to see if you can build a real person. So I chose Bishop as he is my familiar.


As soon as i read her post i did a google search and started playing with 2D avatar generators to see what i could come up with. Below are links to the ones i found an played with. The resulting images i have inserted in to this post.

Avatar Generators:

  1. http://www.zwinky.com/
  2. http://www.faceyourmanga.it/faceyourmanga.php?lang=eng
  3. http://unique.rasterboy.com/
  4. http://www.tektek.org/dream/
  5. http://illustmaker.abi-station.com/index_en.shtml
  6. http://www.doppelme.com/
  7. http://en.gravatar.com/
  8. http://www.gamedition.com/31/Avatar_Creator

Articles:

These last 2 are my SecondLife 3D avatars. I lived in my newbie SL skin (left) for almost a year before changing her to a more “realistic” me (right) : ) Not sure why, but i never messed with her looks much till i saw someone walk by that looked just like me, and then i started thinking about it and wanted her to look more like the real me, so i plumped her up and got some “good” hair to look more like mine. Then i didn’t touch her looks again till i had to do a presentation in SL (http://etap687.edublogs.org/secondlife-if-my-avatar-could-talk/) and wanted to represent myself more realistically and less like a newbie. Have not really touched her since… i had a hard time finding appropriate clothes. I think about the online representation of self often. Colleagues and i have talked about, especially in the hyper-sexualized world of secondlife. I note it everytime i log into some place on the social web and see how friends and colleagues choose to represent themselves, or when i am required to upload yet another image to another profile somewhere… I am charmed by those who choose animals or some image that whispers insight into the person. I like that invention and creativity very much. None of the new little avatars i generated “really” look like me. There is a suggestion of me, i suppose. Brown skin, hair, and eyes. long curly hair… i really like the little one with the black skirt and shirt, but i will not be running around the web changing my profile images to any of these anytime soon.

I understand and respect the need for privacy, and for some, not wanting one’s “real” image floating about the net. For some there may be a sense of loss of control. I guess i feel “in charge” of what i put out there.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/13/research.privacy
http://news.research.ohiou.edu/notebook/index.php?item=467
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/technology/internet/13iht-cache13.html
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-social-networks-bring
http://technology.findlaw.com/articles/00006/011161.htmlhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15221095/
http://internet.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_we_represent_ourselves_on_the_internet
http://savageminds.org/2008/06/16/the-presentation-of-self-in-virtual-life/
http://internet.suite101.com/article.cfm/online_image_is_representation_of_our_real_self


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