Feedback on Fall Course

* General impressions of taking this 1st online course.
I am impressed with the format and the amount of material/technology and resources that are available to us to enhance and work with students. I just hope we keep moving toward availing ourselves of the tools to work together with the students as they are so tech savvy.

* Have you ever taken an online course before?
I had not taken an online course before. This was my first experience and it was a positive one. My expectations were clearly met and the flexibility of doing it generally at my own pace and at times when I could be available. (Mostly, staying up after my family is asleep) has made is do-able and a convenient way to learn a lot of new material.

* What worked well?
The range of material and resources that I learned was great. I am comfortable with blogging which I had never done before. I use the delicious account all the time to access my most frequently visited sites and it is easier to do from anywhere instead of the "old" way of bookmarking on one computer.

* What was difficult or didn't work well?
The pace and amount of material for my learning curve was a challenge with my life and work although it was so worthwhile. It was my own responsibility and it was nice to overcome the challenge to keep up with the amount of work and keep ahead of the curve.

* Was the structure appropriate and/or how could it be improved?
I liked the structure as it gave me pieces of different things to try and work on throughout the fall. It was nice to see you and the others as resources and learn from them as the process moved along.

* Was the content appropriate and/or how could it be improved?
I liked the content and it was definitely relevant to teaching and to my position as a social worker. It was nice to be abel to be creative to see how to apply it to the teaching and counseling roles. Examples from others was helpful and the more of those the better.

* Did you feel that the teacher was sufficiently accessible and gave you enough support?
Lori was great as she was flexible and supportive.

* Other suggestions you have that would improve future online course offerings.
The personal connection of at least once being abel to put a face with a name was helpful and created greater connection and more meaningful feedback. It might be helpful to see if there was some way to have an online video meeting in the beginning of the course for the face to face in a virtual way if possible.

* Would you recommend this course to others? Why or why not?
I would definitely recommend this course as the technology can drive instruction to new and cutting edge ways that have endless possibilities only limited by our own creativity. it would be nice if we could get to the point where these tools were the norms instead of the anomalies.

* Would you consider taking another online course? Why or why not?
Absolutely as i already took the Spring one and would take another one. I am constantly learning and it takes practice to integrate and apply all of this information and the toools into a useful instructional framework to know how we are directly impacting student achievement.

* What topics do you think would be good for future online courses?
Specific use of these applications with some accountability and group work/department work to apply them to our classrooms, buildings, and student achievement. For instance, a blogging/wikis/podcasts class where each member works together to apply these skills in their classroom and share with the online class as a resource and a learning tool.