Final Thoughts

I thought of titling my final blog for the last course in the online teaching certificate "Journey's End." But, since the title is used for books and summer homes, I thought the better of it. In reality, the journey for learning is never really at an end. Those of us who believe in life-long learning will continue to pursue it. Likewise, most teachers want to improve their teaching, so they are always looking for ways to do so. The certificate program certainly provided the means toward that goal.

The Beginning and The Middle

I wasn't exactly a neophyte in the world of online teaching. I had worked with knowledgeable course designers and digital producers to implement my online courses. Therefore, I knew that my courses were quality. But, I was missing something that the other faculty in my department had when creating online courses. I could not produce them. I wanted to hurry up and learn to do this right away. However, I had to take the first several courses in the certificate, before being allowed to do so. At first, I was frustrated, then the light dawned. Philosophy of education and design strategies are important. Guess what, I had a lot to learn! At the same time, I was studying for my certification examination in nursing education. The certificate courses added to my knowledge and I passed the exam. Thank you Jan and Bonnie. The first three courses in the program improved my skills as a teacher.

The End

At last, here I am at the end of the program. This has been an incredible journey. I began it being intimidated about technology. I remember the first Chat session I attended. I somehow misunderstood the instructions and had my headphones at the ready. Soon everyone started typing their conversations. Boy, was I embarrassed. Techno terror struck again when my groupmate and I tried to do video streaming on the Wimba Whiteboard. We practiced several times for the session, and the video link was successful each time. When it came time for Wimba Live, guess what happened? It didn't work, no matter what we and the instructor did. I learned to be cautious with videos from that experience.

I was so enthused to get to the last class. At last I would learn all of the technology needed to produce a quality class. I did. This class was a great learning experience. I learned not only how to use technology as a beginner, but I also learned the pitfalls involved with their use. This was most valuable to me. I learned that the instructor must consider not only what is accessible to every student, but to consider what is available to students given their software.

Being able to view other students' works was also helpful. The back and forth of the discussions with the students and the instructor helped me achieve my assignments. I loved looking at the other students' courses on the student shells.

Goals Achieved

I achieved the course goals of (a synopsis here) of being able to produce text content, use an html editor, incorporate images, and integrate sound components into my course. I was also able to attain the beginning use of presentation software, deliver a synchronous learning activity, and integrate content from online and other digital sources. I also achieved my personal goal of improving my design capabilites and becoming more comfortable with a variety of technologies used for online teaching. Thank you all for helping me on my journey-fellow students and especially my instructors.