Week 7 Reflection

What did you think about, or worry about, as you began to grapple with creating a unit for an online course?

First thing that came to mind was FOUR WEEKS??!! A unit that lasts 4 weeks and it is to be created in 3 weeks...

When I was a classroom teacher, I spent 16-20hrs working each day:

• One-third of it on actual teaching
• One-third of it on students' development, consultation and interaction beyond classroom
• One-third of it on lesson preparation/design, marking students' work, writing tests/exams questions and marking exams papers

So, 4 weeks worth of lessons will probably map to a few days worth of design and preparation.

But of course, given further instruction, I guess having a benchmark (iNACOL) does help me be more focused and I do feel more relieved when I read on the instructions to see that it is a week-by-week outline... phew! And, it certainly helps to have steps identified in initial design of the onlne course: audience, model, objectives, activities, pacing and assessment.

While it is important to have the knowledge about what kind of Web2.0 tools there are out there, in order to design the unit, I guess it is equally important to select appropriate instructional models, just like a face-to-face lesson. From Sharon Johnston's book, I resonate with the quote from Andy Hargreaves, "Teachers don't merely deliver curriculum. They develop, define it, and reinterpret it, too. It is what teachers think, what teachers believe, and what teachers do at the level of the classroom that ultimately shapes the kind of learning that young people get." I feel that this (develop, refine, reinterpret) would be essential steps in both face-to-face and virtual lessons.

Finally, just want to share some information with my course mates... I've spent the past few months preparing to host a regional event at Singapore. Today is the 2nd day of the event and there are many exciting things happening around my program innovative schools, teachers and students pillars. And, we've launched a Regional School Technology Innovation Centre! All are very exciting ways of engaging students and educators and connecting them to share and collaborate :)

Do check out more info from the following:

http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2010/03/09/speech-by-ms-grace-fu-at-microsoft-edu-forum.php

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1042271/1/.html

http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,62061738,00.htm