Lisa Hershey

An overarching theme in this section on technology is that instructors should never assume their students have all the required technology skills.  Therefore, when I choose to use technology tools, I will assess the students' ability to utilize it first.  

I plan to use the following two new techniques:  the FAQ Discussion Board as an ongoing tool throughout the course to address questions related to the overall course and assignments.  This will not be used for content questions but rather for more system / technical / course operations questions.  I also plan to utilize the Exit Slip method for synchronous classes early in the course and anytime I have students who are struggling to participate in a meaningful way.

I learned more about the design of a rubric; it was interesting to note that the number of performance levels should be even, 4 or 6.  The basis for that made sense and I intend to apply this theory.

I have used both objective and subjective assessments in the past.  It is critical to establish rubrics for subjective assessments.  In most courses, both serve a function.  

I understand the assessment concepts but I do not understand why they need to be anonymous; many of the types of formative assessments were directed to be anonymous which doesn't really make sense to me.

I learned about alternative forms of technology assessment tools including WebQuests.  I plan to research this method as an alternative for some course content.

I plan to use the Stop, Start, Continue concept I learned in this course.  What do students wish instructor would stop doing, start doing and continue doing?  It is suggested that instructor obtain this feedback via anonymous blog but, once you know your students well, I believe this could take place in a somewhat public format.

I want to make the shift from teacher to facilitator as I believe that will be most beneficial for my students.  I believe we wear many "hats" while doing F2F teaching but it is even more heavily emphasized in the online environment.

One course can effectively utilize synchronous and asynchronous methods.  Organization of the materials and accessibility are crucial to student success.  I plan to use the FAQ Discussion Board concept as I like the idea that answers can be posted publicly by instructor and students.  

I tend to use the technology that I am comfortable with in teaching.  I would like to be adventurous and try new technology including introducing podcasts and possibly blogs into my courses.