Pursue professional learning that deepens expertise in the ISTE Standards in order to serve as a model for educators and leaders.
BUILDING ONLINE INSTRUCTION
LLT 555
Building Online Course Instruction, LLT555, was probably one of my favorite classes in the Instructional Technology program at Kutztown University. This was my first opportunity to work inside of an official Learning Management System (LMS). I had been using Google Classroom for several years. I loved the ability to present content systematically, but it was not a true LMS. Going into the course, I probably had more experience than most people. I designed and ran a few websites, including two different sports management websites for my sons’ swim team.
I am always on board to engage in new ways to be creative and organize content, and this course really helped me think through how I would need to do that if I had to move my course content online. Online learning is not about posting your normal assignments and expecting the learning experience to be the same. It requires you to rethink exactly what you want to communicate to your students and how you will have them engage with the materials. It’s a different kind of communication and expectation for work completion. Knowing this has helped me be successful in my classroom.
Ironically my learning in this course was completed in front of the changes in education as a result of Covid-19. This year we not only had to begin the 2020 school year virtually, but our district switched to Canvas as our LMS three weeks in front of the school year. My learning in this course put me in the unique position of having thought through transitioning to online instruction and gave me additional skills to working with an LMS. Because of this experience, I helped other colleagues or at least eased the stress of their transition. Being familiar with how an LMS functions, I was able to quickly build my courses in front of other colleagues and then was able to share that knowledge.
LLT 555
Building Online Course Instruction, LLT555, was probably one of my favorite classes in the Instructional Technology program at Kutztown University. This was my first opportunity to work inside of an official Learning Management System (LMS). I had been using Google Classroom for several years. I loved the ability to present content systematically, but it was not a true LMS. Going into the course, I probably had more experience than most people. I designed and ran a few websites, including two different sports management websites for my sons’ swim team.
I am always on board to engage in new ways to be creative and organize content, and this course really helped me think through how I would need to do that if I had to move my course content online. Online learning is not about posting your normal assignments and expecting the learning experience to be the same. It requires you to rethink exactly what you want to communicate to your students and how you will have them engage with the materials. It’s a different kind of communication and expectation for work completion. Knowing this has helped me be successful in my classroom.
Ironically my learning in this course was completed in front of the changes in education as a result of Covid-19. This year we not only had to begin the 2020 school year virtually, but our district switched to Canvas as our LMS three weeks in front of the school year. My learning in this course put me in the unique position of having thought through transitioning to online instruction and gave me additional skills to working with an LMS. Because of this experience, I helped other colleagues or at least eased the stress of their transition. Being familiar with how an LMS functions, I was able to quickly build my courses in front of other colleagues and then was able to share that knowledge.
Below is a sample unit from the course build in LLT 555