my e-learning future

Wow! What a whirlwind semester this has been! I feel like we've accomplished a lot in a short amount of time.

My e-learning initiative... If I was in a position to implement this (which I hope to be in the next few years) I would make a push for it. Every bit of information I used to complete this initiative was with my county and the struggles I know we face right now in mind. Designing an e-learning professional development for teachers not gaining a degree or some sort of stipend is a real hurdle we face. There are very specific rules in teachers' contracts about PD happening outside the required time. Designing something like this would be a great challenge in our system.

I also have thought long and hard about a "points system" for participant involvement in gaining knowledge and implementing assistive technology. I first heard of a system like this at the Spring MATN conference last year. Fairfax County's AT team presented and I've since been very intrigued by there system of gaining involvement.

I tried to make my e-learning initiative effective while requiring a minimal amount from participants so they would be more likely to find time to participate. I also tried to incorporate some of their needs into the wiki ( links to support and the Kurzweil library) so participants would be more likely to "stop in" to the site and might get curious before leaving.

This course has really challenged my thinking about online courses. Throughout the semester I have often felt overwhelmed by the amount of course work. However, looking back I feel this was by far the most effective online course I have taken. Group work was by far the most difficult to navigate for me, especially as we are not all full time students and struggle to log on more than a few times a week. It often seemed like a bit of a waiting game. I appreciated the open endedness of the assignments and felt free to create something that would work for me and also teach me.

My first rodeo...

Never thought I'd be a "blogger" but I guess there's a time and a place for everything.
So far I'm finding this course both very interesting and very overwhelming.
I love the new ELC setup and appreciate the weekly activity list and especially the checklist. Both items are helping me stay on track throughout each week. I am also trying to read as much of the discussion posting as possible. So many students in this course have different backgrounds than myself, new ideas (that I can't wait to steal! I mean borrow) and knowledge of tools I haven't yet explored.
The breakdown of course work in individual, whole group and team spaces is an interesting concept I've not experienced before. To begin this course we introduced ourselves, became acquainted with team members and learned the importance of working as a community. I do feel much more "connected" than I have to an online course before. I'm starting to know which of my classmates share my views or likely have posted something that I will find interest with. I'm struggling a bit to keep everything straight and remember all of the assignments each week, though I think that's LIFE getting in my way more than the course setup.
I love reading about web 2.0 tools, social media, social networking and the use of all these things within the classroom. The ideas are innovative, exciting and motivating for me as a teacher and a learner. I so wish I had more freedom in my classroom to try some of the great tools we are learning about. Without the freedom of "unblocked" tools I do feel a bit confined in my abilities to completely involve my students. But... I can only change what I am able and for now my short term goals include those things.
1.) Research research research! Find tools we can use!
2.) Keep students using technology. This way when the tools are ready our students will be ready too!
3.) Keep thinking/ planning outside the box to incorporate tools we do have into instruction daily.
With so many great ideas already shared I'm interested to see what else this semester will bring!