E-Learning For Educators-FA07-901C
Week 2 – Reflection

Another outstanding week, hands on work with a wiki and moodle. I have experience with wikis and did step in it with my insertion of a uTube video that was, well not so good for our Netiquette topic. Dennis was gracious and turned the fax paux into a potential learning moment.

The moodle was excellent. This tool/application was discussed in my other class EDUC 763 so I was curious. Interesting way to mirror the UofW CMS supported platform. Moodle is very easy to use and navigate and I will definitely keep this in mind with the rising cost of licensing an declining reliability for the Blackboard install at MCC.

Readings were again excellent, I had read the Pratt and Palloff and I also found Thornburg to be an excellent review.

I was interested in a classmate’s posting in the moodle discussion board icebreaker. This student, in another section, indicated some experience with online classes as a student and once as an instructor and shared the absence of community in these experiences. I was both surprised and intrigued. I wondered why she once again was in an online environment. Perhaps this is evidence that online community is less valued by some learners. I have found this to be the case in my experience, a per cent of my online community college students are resistant to joining/participating in online community activities, preferred to remain solitary.

Alternatively, my classmate may have been indicating a desire for online community and not finding it in her previous online classes. However, given the impression I drew from her posting, that she had substantial online experience, I was left wondering. My curiosity is, I suppose based upon my experience with learners. Our f2f students at MCC are commuter and a per cent of these students seem to prefer to be an island in the stream of learning.

Greg