Participate 1.1.2 Joining a Digital Learning Community

I have now successfully joined a DLC (Digital Learning Community).  I've been hearing a lot about free courses taught through Ivy League universities like Harvard, Yale, and MIT so it was really interesting working on this quest and finding out more about them.  That's definitely a consideration when finding a reputable online learning environment; what's more reputable than Harvard?  They are not all created equal.  It is also important to find one that aligns with personal educational needs.  For instance, my background is in Spanish Education and Instructional Technology.  Utah State did not have any courses for Spanish but they had many offerings for incorporating technology into education. I bookmarked that one because I plan to peruse the technology coursework and although they did not offer Spanish, they do offer Chinese so I have been browsing that material to gain insight on teaching foreign languages online.

Here are the five DLC's that I bookmarked and why:

1. Open Culture:  As a Spanish teacher, I also teach and love to learn about culture.  This site contains so many great resources; pretty much anything you would like to learn can be found on this site.  It harnesses courses found through other schools; sort of like Kayak reaches most travel sites this reaches most online coursework sites.  You can also access free movies and other great resources both as a teacher and a life-long learner.
2. Open Yale Courses:  Who hasn't always wanted to be a student at Yale?  Well now you can.  If you were ever confused about Cervantes' Don Quixote you won't be for long because you can listen to recorded sessions and download all the coursework taught in SPAN 300: Cervantes' Don Quixote by Yale professor Roberto González Echevarría Ph.D.  They have other courses too por supuesto!
3. MIT Open Courseware:  Click on their link entitled "Most Visited Courses" and you'll see things like Multivariable Calculus, Principles of Microeconomics, and Classical Mechanics.  I have no clue what those things are but if you care to learn, here you go.  They have an extensive Foreign Languages and Literature department too.  That's more my speed.
4. Utah State Open Courseware:  My favorite part about the course offerings at this school are the interesting and current offerings in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences.  Some of these include, Blogs, Wikis, New Media for Learning and Instructional Games.  Seems like these would be pretty useful and interesting for an online educator like myself.
5. Open Learning Initiative:  I don't know if I can say it better than this,

No machine in the world will ever be able to substitute for an enthusiastic and inspiring teacher. The advantage of OLI is that it does not replace the teacher, but works in conjunction with the teacher. With OLI, class time can be used by far more effectively.

As stated by Georgetown professor Oded Meyer.  Open Learning Initiative provides resources for students and educators.  There are many free course offerings.  Materials are clear and engaging encouraging students through hands-on activities, self assessments, check points, and clear learning objectives.  Because of all of these things and it's user-friendly interface, this is the DLC I chose to join.  I joined as an educator but plan to take French I as a student so that I can see both perspectives.

Participate 1.1.1 Character Traits

I love the idea of using technology to be a digital citizen.  One of the main ways that I use technology is through my neighborhood Facebook page.  It really brings the neighborhood closer, keeps people informed, fosters relationships, and provides useful information.  People post things about neighborhood events such as the pool opening, ask for and give feedback on house painters, and my personal favorite (I started this one:): the Wednesday night yoga group.  Regardless of the platform for digital citizenship there are a few traits that I find to be impressive character traits of an exemplary online digital citizen.  Here they are!

1. Constructive:  Technology is a great tool for giving and receiving feedback.  This may mean shopping online or it may mean grading a paper.  Either way, I think that being honest, fair, and thorough is very important.  If I'm reviewing the shoes that I ordered online it's not exactly fair or helpful to review them by saying just "I love/hate these shoes."  It is much more helpful to the consumer and to the retailer to give constructive pros and cons so that the consumer can make an informed decision and the retailer can have the opportunity to make improvements if necessary.  The same goes for a cohort, colleague, or instructor who may be giving feedback on an assignment.  It is very important to be critical but to always be respectful and thorough otherwise the feedback may not be helpful.

2.  Clear:  Tone of voice, facial expression, and body language are very important tools in communication.  These tools are sometimes lacking when communicating via technology.  Sense of humor, sarcasm, and personality idiosyncrasies often don't convey very well through written word; especially if you've never met the person face-to-face.  When communicating online, it's important to be clear in your message so that words are not misconstrued.

3. Comprehensive:  Mostly by being comprehensive I mean to be open minded in opinion as well as in use of new technologies.  One of my favorite aspects of the world of online education is that it is almost impossible to be an expert; the online world is ever-changing and it takes someone very open to change and to new ideas to keep up.

I love what this company, Training Pros, has to say about being part of the local learning and development community!

Client Examples

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Here we go….

My TOOL journey has officially begun!  This was pretty simple to start since I have a decent amount of blogging experience already through my most recent graduate program.  Here is a link to my portfolio from my Ed.S. at UGA in Instructional Design and Development.  It was a great experience and I enjoyed using the blogging medium to keep up with coursework, submit assignments, and record thoughts.  I'm looking forward to doing that again!  I chose Blogger over the other blogging services because it is accessible through Google and I use Google for a lot of other work online already so I figured it would keep things simple.  See you again soon with my next quest!