Reading and grading assignments for Unit 4 has been very time consuming! Wow! Who knew that grading papers would take so much time? I am wrapping things up and posting Unit 4 grades to Blackboard. The students did fairly well with the discussion board question for this unit. I think that the prompt-How do cultural difference and diversity affect healthcare? Pick a group of people and discuss how their cultural and social norms may affect healthcare. How can the nurse be culturally sensitive to this group of people? Consider: personal space, language, communication, time, touch, eye contact, family involvement, privacy, pain, etc.”- encouraged them to really think about the effects of different cultures on health care. The initial post and responses to one another were well written and well thought out. What has taken up a lot of my time these past two and a half weeks has been reading through and grading the written papers. Most of the students did a pretty good job. The majority of them struggled with APA style. I have encouraged them to learn it and have supplied them with a couple of links to helpful online APA tutorials. What’s more is that APA 6 will change all of that. I have been told that the students (and instructors) will have to learn and apply this new APA 6 in the coming spring semester! Proofing and reviewing these papers has taken up so much time. I learned how to use the reviewing/editing tool on Microsoft Word in order to provide the students with feedback and corrections to their papers. Whew!
Discussion Board: 12 hours
Grading/editing/reviewing Papers: 22 hours
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Final Reflection
This semester has gone by so fast! It is incredible how quickly four months can go by when staying busy. Extremely busy! I cannot believe that this semester is coming to an end. I feel like we just got started. In fact, there is still quite a bit for me to do with the practicum before I can truly wrap things up. I am still in the process of grading written assignments from unit 4 (which has been much more time consuming that I had imagined…hours upon hours…) and unit 5 is still underway. I will be able to grade that last unit when unit 5 concludes on December 10th.
During the past four months I have had the opportunity to learn so much and be a part of many aspects of online learning and instruction. I am grateful for my experiences. With all I have encountered, I have discovered that I enjoy online instruction. I can see myself being involved with an online, distance course in the future. In fact, I would really like to teach in this environment. Some people may feel that there is something lacking in online education, but I feel that a lot can be accomplished through online instruction and learning.
At the beginning of this semester, I felt like I was lost and in a scramble to find a program and preceptor to work with. Luckily with some diligent searching and some advice from Dr. Anderson, I was able to find a wonderful preceptor who was more than willing to allow me to work with her. She has been a big help in guiding me through the world of online instruction.
I want to take some time to look at my achievements of the course objectives as well as my personal objectives.
Course 5293 Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. Analyze the role of the nurse as educator and sub-roles of administrator, consultant, leader, teacher and facilitator.
To analyze the many roles of the educator means to examine the multiple elements involved. I think that I have had the opportunity to see many sides and roles of the educator, but I know that there are tasks and roles that I was unable to experience in this practicum. Not only was I able to witness my preceptor in the role of educator, teacher, facilitator, consultant, leader, and administrator, I feel that I too was able to put on these many hats at some point during the semester. This was done in a number of ways; through the online module that I developed and taught, through guiding blogs and discussion boards, or by answering concerns and questions of students through emails.
2. Utilize a systematic approach; conduct a needs assessment relative to needs of specific populations or individuals.
The difficultly with online teaching is trying to learn each students’ needs. Many times this may not be obvious. Often times an instructor may not know that a student is struggling until they take a look at their grades and participation, or lack there of, in online discussions. I sent out a few emails to students when I noticed that their blogs were not properly set up or that they were not creating posts. Students that struggled with this assignment or failed to participate received poor grades in this area. I wanted to see if I could assist them with this assignment whether it be setting up their blog website, prompting thoughts for reflection, or encouraging time management.
3. Select and apply teaching techniques and methods for culturally diverse populations in the educational setting of choice.
The beauty of online instruction is that it allows much flexibility for the educator and students. People of all cultural backgrounds are now learning the need to utilize technology and this is important especially when taking an online course. Students may struggle in the beginning with the technology side of the course, but once they get a grasp of the use of the computer, Blackboard, email, and blogs, the rest of the course will go more smoothly. The assignments in this course allowed the students to use creativity, personal experiences, and reflection as they worked through their assignments. I feel that this allowed them to share and reflect upon their cultural diversity. The discussion board was an area where it was apparent that the student population was quite diverse and that English is a second language to some of the students. Even with the diversity the students seemed to be able to communicate well with one another, offered feedback, and asked for clarification if need be.
4. Demonstrate appropriate use of various evaluation techniques to assess student progress in the learning process.
I have been given many opportunities to evaluate and grade student assignments and progress through the course. My preceptor allowed me to assess students’ progress by grading assignments and posting grades. It has been a good experience for me and a very time consuming one at that. I did not know that reading through blogs, discussion board posts, and evaluating written assignments could take up so much time! Being that this course was conducted through Blackboard, I learned how to post grades into the grade book.
5. Evaluate instructional implementation through student, self, and administrative evaluations.
This past week, my preceptor and students cooperated by completing an evaluative survey in order to provide me some feedback on my instruction. This was helpful for me in seeing areas of weakness that I may need to improve upon and areas of strength that I can continue to build upon. Overall, I am pleased with the result of the evaluations. Personally, I feel that I have done a good job in this practicum and that my teaching project was well put together and presented, but I know that there is always plenty of room for improvement.
Personal objectives: Throughout my practicum experience I aim to:
1. Practice narrative discovery by guiding student blogs
I have had the privilege of reading each and every blog posted by my students. As written about in my own blog, I have talked about how some students have done an excellent job in their reflections and posts, how some put in minimal effort, and how a few students often times failed to post at all. I tried to encourage blogging and provided prompts to those who needed help with something to write about.
2. Utilize a variety of methods of communicating online in order to effectively communicate with my preceptor and students
This was done through emails, discussion boards, and blogs.
3. Become familiar with technologies used for online learning
I was delighted that I had the opportunity to become more familiar with Blackboard and see some of the behind-the-scene workings of this program. It was a great experience for me to be able to learn how to submit grades, post announcements, created assignments, and more. I worked more with blogs and discussion board, this time reading, prompting, and assigning grades
4. Develop and/or implement a lesson or module
My online unit module took place over three weeks and was developed as my teaching project. It contained reading assignments, blog prompts, a discussion board question, and a written assignment required of my students.
5. Document experiences that take place throughout this practicum
Blogs! This is where I have been documenting the majority of what I have done during the course of this practicum.
6. Observe and participate in different teaching techniques within online learning
As stated above, I have been involved in discussion boards, creating an online module and presenting it to the students, blogs, assignments, etc.
7. Guide and encourage students to critically think
This has been ongoing throughout the semester. Students have been urged to use critical thinking skills through their assignments and discussions.
8. Learn how to successfully conduct an online class through observing my preceptor, actively participating in activities and lessons, and taking initiative in communication and learning opportunities
I think this objective pretty much sums it all up. This is what I have been striving towards throughout this entire practicum experience. I think that I have done a good job of meeting this objective and will continue to do so until the conclusion of the semester.
9. Practice and utilize time management
This has been a biggie! Time management is key as a student and as an instructor. School is very time consuming, whether it be due to completing assignments or conducting assessments and grading. I think that I have done well with making the most of my time. I tried not to get too overwhelmed or let things pile up or wait until the last minute to get things finished.
10. Learn various teaching methods used in distance learning
Blackboard, blogs, discussion board, online communication, etc.
11. Analyze the role of faculty in an online course
As looked at in our 5293 course objectives, it is apparent that an online educator is more than just a teacher. The role of faculty in an online course is to educate, facilitate, guide, counsel, administer, lead, teach, instruct, train, direct, advise, and encourage.
12. Support my preceptor in directing students in their progress throughout the course
My preceptor was great to work with. She encouraged me to work alongside her in all aspects of the course. This also entailed helping to direct students as they worked through the course.
13. Monitor discussion board communication and prompt further thought and feedback
The discussion board questions were tackled well by most students as well as the feedback and ongoing communication amongst one another.
14. Gain knowledge in the process of developing and/or preparing online courses
Wow! I think that I really did gain knowledge and insight in what is involved in preparing and developing modules and assignments for online courses. (Although I would imagine that there is much more that I didn’t get to see that is involved in the preparation.) Online educators must really be prepared at the beginning of the course for this will help guide how the entire semester runs. The online instructor must know what types of technology and assignments he/she will want to utilize so that he/she can help students become familiar with new technology and how to utilize it before engaging in assignments.
15. Gain experience in assessments, evaluations, and grading of assignments
I am glad to have had this wonderful experience, having first hand experience at evaluating and grading assignments.
All things considered, this practicum experience went really well. I look forward to more teaching experiences to come. With this experience, I feel a little more confident and know that with more experiences and guidance I can be a great educator.
During the past four months I have had the opportunity to learn so much and be a part of many aspects of online learning and instruction. I am grateful for my experiences. With all I have encountered, I have discovered that I enjoy online instruction. I can see myself being involved with an online, distance course in the future. In fact, I would really like to teach in this environment. Some people may feel that there is something lacking in online education, but I feel that a lot can be accomplished through online instruction and learning.
At the beginning of this semester, I felt like I was lost and in a scramble to find a program and preceptor to work with. Luckily with some diligent searching and some advice from Dr. Anderson, I was able to find a wonderful preceptor who was more than willing to allow me to work with her. She has been a big help in guiding me through the world of online instruction.
I want to take some time to look at my achievements of the course objectives as well as my personal objectives.
Course 5293 Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. Analyze the role of the nurse as educator and sub-roles of administrator, consultant, leader, teacher and facilitator.
To analyze the many roles of the educator means to examine the multiple elements involved. I think that I have had the opportunity to see many sides and roles of the educator, but I know that there are tasks and roles that I was unable to experience in this practicum. Not only was I able to witness my preceptor in the role of educator, teacher, facilitator, consultant, leader, and administrator, I feel that I too was able to put on these many hats at some point during the semester. This was done in a number of ways; through the online module that I developed and taught, through guiding blogs and discussion boards, or by answering concerns and questions of students through emails.
2. Utilize a systematic approach; conduct a needs assessment relative to needs of specific populations or individuals.
The difficultly with online teaching is trying to learn each students’ needs. Many times this may not be obvious. Often times an instructor may not know that a student is struggling until they take a look at their grades and participation, or lack there of, in online discussions. I sent out a few emails to students when I noticed that their blogs were not properly set up or that they were not creating posts. Students that struggled with this assignment or failed to participate received poor grades in this area. I wanted to see if I could assist them with this assignment whether it be setting up their blog website, prompting thoughts for reflection, or encouraging time management.
3. Select and apply teaching techniques and methods for culturally diverse populations in the educational setting of choice.
The beauty of online instruction is that it allows much flexibility for the educator and students. People of all cultural backgrounds are now learning the need to utilize technology and this is important especially when taking an online course. Students may struggle in the beginning with the technology side of the course, but once they get a grasp of the use of the computer, Blackboard, email, and blogs, the rest of the course will go more smoothly. The assignments in this course allowed the students to use creativity, personal experiences, and reflection as they worked through their assignments. I feel that this allowed them to share and reflect upon their cultural diversity. The discussion board was an area where it was apparent that the student population was quite diverse and that English is a second language to some of the students. Even with the diversity the students seemed to be able to communicate well with one another, offered feedback, and asked for clarification if need be.
4. Demonstrate appropriate use of various evaluation techniques to assess student progress in the learning process.
I have been given many opportunities to evaluate and grade student assignments and progress through the course. My preceptor allowed me to assess students’ progress by grading assignments and posting grades. It has been a good experience for me and a very time consuming one at that. I did not know that reading through blogs, discussion board posts, and evaluating written assignments could take up so much time! Being that this course was conducted through Blackboard, I learned how to post grades into the grade book.
5. Evaluate instructional implementation through student, self, and administrative evaluations.
This past week, my preceptor and students cooperated by completing an evaluative survey in order to provide me some feedback on my instruction. This was helpful for me in seeing areas of weakness that I may need to improve upon and areas of strength that I can continue to build upon. Overall, I am pleased with the result of the evaluations. Personally, I feel that I have done a good job in this practicum and that my teaching project was well put together and presented, but I know that there is always plenty of room for improvement.
Personal objectives: Throughout my practicum experience I aim to:
1. Practice narrative discovery by guiding student blogs
I have had the privilege of reading each and every blog posted by my students. As written about in my own blog, I have talked about how some students have done an excellent job in their reflections and posts, how some put in minimal effort, and how a few students often times failed to post at all. I tried to encourage blogging and provided prompts to those who needed help with something to write about.
2. Utilize a variety of methods of communicating online in order to effectively communicate with my preceptor and students
This was done through emails, discussion boards, and blogs.
3. Become familiar with technologies used for online learning
I was delighted that I had the opportunity to become more familiar with Blackboard and see some of the behind-the-scene workings of this program. It was a great experience for me to be able to learn how to submit grades, post announcements, created assignments, and more. I worked more with blogs and discussion board, this time reading, prompting, and assigning grades
4. Develop and/or implement a lesson or module
My online unit module took place over three weeks and was developed as my teaching project. It contained reading assignments, blog prompts, a discussion board question, and a written assignment required of my students.
5. Document experiences that take place throughout this practicum
Blogs! This is where I have been documenting the majority of what I have done during the course of this practicum.
6. Observe and participate in different teaching techniques within online learning
As stated above, I have been involved in discussion boards, creating an online module and presenting it to the students, blogs, assignments, etc.
7. Guide and encourage students to critically think
This has been ongoing throughout the semester. Students have been urged to use critical thinking skills through their assignments and discussions.
8. Learn how to successfully conduct an online class through observing my preceptor, actively participating in activities and lessons, and taking initiative in communication and learning opportunities
I think this objective pretty much sums it all up. This is what I have been striving towards throughout this entire practicum experience. I think that I have done a good job of meeting this objective and will continue to do so until the conclusion of the semester.
9. Practice and utilize time management
This has been a biggie! Time management is key as a student and as an instructor. School is very time consuming, whether it be due to completing assignments or conducting assessments and grading. I think that I have done well with making the most of my time. I tried not to get too overwhelmed or let things pile up or wait until the last minute to get things finished.
10. Learn various teaching methods used in distance learning
Blackboard, blogs, discussion board, online communication, etc.
11. Analyze the role of faculty in an online course
As looked at in our 5293 course objectives, it is apparent that an online educator is more than just a teacher. The role of faculty in an online course is to educate, facilitate, guide, counsel, administer, lead, teach, instruct, train, direct, advise, and encourage.
12. Support my preceptor in directing students in their progress throughout the course
My preceptor was great to work with. She encouraged me to work alongside her in all aspects of the course. This also entailed helping to direct students as they worked through the course.
13. Monitor discussion board communication and prompt further thought and feedback
The discussion board questions were tackled well by most students as well as the feedback and ongoing communication amongst one another.
14. Gain knowledge in the process of developing and/or preparing online courses
Wow! I think that I really did gain knowledge and insight in what is involved in preparing and developing modules and assignments for online courses. (Although I would imagine that there is much more that I didn’t get to see that is involved in the preparation.) Online educators must really be prepared at the beginning of the course for this will help guide how the entire semester runs. The online instructor must know what types of technology and assignments he/she will want to utilize so that he/she can help students become familiar with new technology and how to utilize it before engaging in assignments.
15. Gain experience in assessments, evaluations, and grading of assignments
I am glad to have had this wonderful experience, having first hand experience at evaluating and grading assignments.
All things considered, this practicum experience went really well. I look forward to more teaching experiences to come. With this experience, I feel a little more confident and know that with more experiences and guidance I can be a great educator.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Unit 4 Blogs
I just got done grading blogs for unit 4 of the five units! Like previous units, some students did a great job with their reflective thoughts, some gave little effort, and some did not post at all. I thought that my blog prompts would help to encourage those who have had a difficult time with blogging. About half of the students used the prompts to help in their reflections. Half of the students blogs about what the unit covered, cultural diversity in nursing. Some blogged about what was on their mind (which is fine.) (I like to see their reflective thoughts.) And some chose not to blog at all. Disappointing :( One more unit left for the students to get full credit for their blogs.
8 hours
8 hours
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