Portfolio Reflection
The planning, construction and publication of this portfolio has certainly been an educational journey. Throughout my career I have held to the philosophy that technology should not be used simply for technology’s sake, but should be selected thoughtfully in a manner which most benefits the learner.
I also feel strongly that everyone should have the ability to engage and collaborate with other learners on their path to education, and those at a distance should not feel they are being “short-changed” due to their time/space/distance requirements. When collated and presented together, this portfolio demonstrates that a variety of technologies can be utilized to engage learners online, perhaps more so than in the classroom, and that online learners can be just as involved – and dare I say, entertained – by content created specifically for their often isolated, online environment.
Spare a thought also for the NETS-T standards which are at the heart of this portfolio. Each artifact is aligned to – and guided by – the standards found on their site: http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers. These standards remind us that we are teaching students to whom the world of global sharing and collaboration is a daily reality, not a choice, and must become integrated into their learning environment.
Online courses are no longer the “distance” courses of old – yet often they become wastelands of dry textbook readings and multiple choice quizzes. This antiquated teaching style benefits neither the teacher nor the student, but the digital artifacts in this portfolio show clearly that with planning, thoughtful design and yes, a little hard work, students can feel a part of an engaging online community at least as much, if not more, than in the traditional face-to-face classroom.
-- Sam
I also feel strongly that everyone should have the ability to engage and collaborate with other learners on their path to education, and those at a distance should not feel they are being “short-changed” due to their time/space/distance requirements. When collated and presented together, this portfolio demonstrates that a variety of technologies can be utilized to engage learners online, perhaps more so than in the classroom, and that online learners can be just as involved – and dare I say, entertained – by content created specifically for their often isolated, online environment.
Spare a thought also for the NETS-T standards which are at the heart of this portfolio. Each artifact is aligned to – and guided by – the standards found on their site: http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers. These standards remind us that we are teaching students to whom the world of global sharing and collaboration is a daily reality, not a choice, and must become integrated into their learning environment.
Online courses are no longer the “distance” courses of old – yet often they become wastelands of dry textbook readings and multiple choice quizzes. This antiquated teaching style benefits neither the teacher nor the student, but the digital artifacts in this portfolio show clearly that with planning, thoughtful design and yes, a little hard work, students can feel a part of an engaging online community at least as much, if not more, than in the traditional face-to-face classroom.
-- Sam
