This week I was invited to present as part of the DePaul Online Teaching Series. There were a few things about this experience that I am reflecting on now. First, how cool is it that I could present to a group of faculty in Chicago while in my office in California? My presentation was delivered through Wimba which enabled me to present my Keynote (well, it didn’t take Keynote so it was turned into a PowerPoint, really) and then share my screen with the participants. The application share tool allowed me to take the participants through a tour of my online class. It was very fun, although very odd not being able to see the facial expressions of those I was speaking to.
The topic of my presentation was “Extreme Makeover: Online Course Edition.” I shared my own personal journal as an online faculty who had been teaching for three years and had the epiphany that my class was “flat” while my medium of delivery, the internet, had transformed from linear to interactive and dynamic. My class had to change. I would have it no other way.
The presentation is shared on SlideShare so if you’d like to see the slides click here. I’m thinking of developing it into a VoiceThread too. This was a great experience for me to share my stuff. I appreciate DePaul for contacting me and this experience leaves me with only one, unanswered question: Why doesn’t every college do this?
Thank you for sharing your slideshow and the VoiceThread. Your before and after syllabi really struck a nerve, and the VoiceThread seemed to work amazingly well.
I am also interested in digital tools and learning, although my focus is more on gathering and sharing content, but I also post when I come across tools to facilitate teaching and learning – such as slideshare and timeline software.
For me, the greatest challenge is the development of students’ autonomy in the learning process, but the material that you have shared has given me some ideas.
Thank you!
Kirsten Ataoguz
http://www.earlymedievalart.com
http://www.cavestocathedrals.com