Reflection of Methods for Online Teaching

In the Spring semester of 2017, I was privileged with the opportunity of taking a course entitled: Methods of Online Teaching and Learning. We explored methods of teaching through blended learning and gamification. In addition to teaching through communication and feedback, both asynchronous and synchronous facilitation, and the most promising practices of an online educator.

With such a massive amount of information gained this semester, I want to touch on just a few topics:

Gamification

This was my favorite discussion of the semester. As a previous student in this Professor, Dr. Linton's, class; I was able to personally experience gamifying my learning. I knew then that this was a method of teaching that I would use in my personal classroom one day. Hence, I was very excited to learning more about gamifying. 

Gamification is the idea of taking gaming mechanic ( points, scoreboards, levels, badges etc) and applying them to the given curriculum. Although it does include playing games, it is not centered around playing an actual game; but rather using the "rules and regulations" of the gaming world. There are so many exciting ways that an educator can bring the idea of gamification to life in their classroom. I have already begun to put the plan in motion for a fully gamified curriculum in my NC Math 1 course. I look forward to sharing it!

Blended Learning

Blended learning was a small review for me in this semester course. As a current MAT candidate I have come across this terminology a few times as well as currently use one type of blended learning model in my classroom. 

Blended learning is the idea of taking online digital media and combining it with the classroom methods. The two basic categories: brick-and-mortar and online learning. Within these two categories we have four basic types: rotation model; flex model; a la carte model; and enriched virtual model. The rotation model is the most commonly used model as it includes these learning styles: station rotation, lab rotation, flipped classroom and individual rotation. Many teachers has begun to blend there classroom as a way to bring 21st century learning to their students. 

Synchronous vs Asynchronous Learning.

Finally we have synchronous vs asynchronous learning. This is the idea that asynchronous learning is conducted mainly in a video format where each student is virtually present at the same time, while synchronous learning is conducted through discussion and chats where each student asks and answers questions, in a sense, at their leisure. 

Coming into this class I had no Idea was the difference was between these two learning styles. I just knew sometimes I answered question on discussion boards while other times I was in a live video chat. Learning the difference between the two gave me a chance to think of ways to implement them into my gamification model for this next school year. I plan to have many discussion boards in place for my students to express their way of thinking for the different topics in class. I also look forward to sharing this as well.

Overall this class has opened my thinking when it comes to way to change the way my students are able to learn. I am very excited for the future and look forward to sharing my ideas of education that I continuously learn in course such as this!