Annabella Roque

Using active learning to enhance critical learning is so beneficial to both instructor and student. Not only are students learning through active learning,  but instructors are learning as well. Students can learn without even realizing that they are learning through engagement and open communication with one another. Also, instructors can use open/ended questions rather than yes/no answers to allow the students to really think out of the box.

Modifications of traditional classroom activities shifts from all the attention on teacher towards the students. It is more a student centered approach rather than teacher centered. As mentioned in my previous post, teachers are not accustomed teaching active learning when coming straight from a classroom setting. I myself, as both an in class and online instructor, I love to engage my students by asking them for feedback. For example, "what do you guys think?", "has this ever happened to anyone?", or read case studies and then ask them what they would do in certain situations. 

Limitations and misconceptions come from various avenues. One being how students are taught throughout their k-12 learning lifespan. They are use to being told what to do, and no critical thinking on their behalf occuts when participating in online courses. Also, for in classroom instructors that are new to online teaching and active learning, they feel the teaching is not as effective.

Active learning is a big deal for me. I feel that it keeps students in tune because they do not know when they are going to be picked on to answer a question or give their insight. I use alot of active learning when I am teaching. I love engaging the students and have them share any relative stories in regards to what ever topic it is we are covering. In return, then other students jump in because they have something that relates to what is being discussed and we end up in an open conversation. My students always tell… >>>

Blogging allows for learning to go beyond online structure. It allows students to elaborate and be as expressive as they want to be, as long as they follow online etiquette. Like mentioned in chapter, they cannot give out personal information, be disrespectful, or talk about someone else without their permission. But blogging indeed, is a great resource tool for learing.

Microblogging in my opinion, are answers that are concise and to the point. In other words, giving a character limit is basically letting the student know they need to give the facts and answer what ever the question is straight forward. At the same time, the online instructor needs to be specific in with what they are asking so students know exactly what to focus on and not feel that their is too much information to share and have a limit on it.

Social networking especially in today's society is crucial. It has become a tool that you have no choice but to use it, because everyone around you is using it. Back then it was all about staying after class if you have any questions, then we evolved to emails to have communication and answer within an apporpriate time frame. But we have reached a new level, which can either be having all your students sharing a facebook page for example to share lessons, communicate, etc. Or simply creating a whatsapp chat room where everyone can communicate and everyone know and share… >>>

What I gathered from Media Hosting and sharing is that it can definitely be a plus because students and online instructors can use a variety of tools to further their education in the online world. From online presentations, sharing videos through different sites and allowing students to interact with one another. But along with media hosting and sharing comes difficulties. Both, instructors and students need to be cautious of copyright rule and regulations. It is very important that students are providing their own work.