One of my students, Brent Zeise, shared this infographic with me (originally published at OnlineEducation.net). I found it incredibly compelling and so I’m sharing it here. I’m currently teaching CEP 820 — Teaching Students Online, in the Master’s of Educational Technology Program at Michigan State University. For me, this infographic is a reminder of the dynamic and powerful context that is constantly shaping this course. Online learning has become a major educational force, particularly in higher education. The students I teach are, most often, K-12 classroom teachers who want to explore the affordances of online learning as a supplement to their face-to-face teaching. Many, too, are interested in designing online courses for virtual schools or new online learning intiatives in their school or school district. Suddenly, I feel a deeper sense of responsibility than ever. The students in my course are at the vanguard of a transformational movement in K-12 education. As teachers, we are often most influenced by the teachers we have….gulp. Feeling humbled and nervous, but determined to model exemplary online instruction for those who will be shaping the pedagogical landscape of online classrooms around the world. I just hope I can keep up!
Via: OnlineEducation.net
2 responses to “Online Learning, Educational Transformations and Me?”
Thanks for sharing this Michelle – it certainly is thought provoking! It also reminds me as someone working with pre-service teachers that I need to be creating opportunities for my students to consider the ways that online learning might enhance their own teaching practices in the future.
Thanks for your thoughts, Kristin. I agree — pre-service teachers need models of online learning that prepare them to think critically about their power as pedagogical decision makers. If this infographic speaks the truth — and I have no reason to doubt it seriously — pre-service teachers’ professional lives will, in some way, include online instruction. Who is teaching them to think about the ways that the technologies will shape their practice? Who is teaching them to think about the affordances of every tool — online ones included — and the ways that they interact with the learning objectives they set each day for their students? Us, I guess. Another gulp 🙂 But if anyone can do it, I know you can!!!