Highlights and Advantages of on line learning –A reflection on the CCTI course

The CCTI course has:

 Enhanced my intrinsic motivation- I am always eager to do and try out new  things. Today I made a presentation using Power Point to teachers in Kampala on Learner Centered Methods of teaching and it was such a huge success because I used INFORGRAPHICS to speak for me and with the ideas of constructivism still fresh in my mind- I found myself using terms like “Sage on the stage”, “Guide on the side” and “Meddler in the middle!” – transfer of learning  and practical application of what I had learnt. Teachers listened in rapt attention and were taking notes rapidly.

 Sharpened my research skills and ability to curate. I have a high sense of information seeking behavior. Given a topic to read and or listen to, I find myself reading and researching far beyond the allocated reading materials, book marking what I would refer to later and picking those ideas that would augment my argument. I have a store of knowledge regarding the theories of learning Behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism,the Socratic method and also how to deliver and integrate these in the classroom – I have a repository of quotable quotes for everything I need.

S  Strengthened my digital literacy and enhanced my technological skills. I have learnt and is still learning a lot about the functions of the internet. I have mastered typing on the key board. I have access to many apps –slide share, pinterest, Edutech, and many others. I have also joined the different communities on google+ , I can use You tube to connect with the world and especially to enhance the development of my new born baby – the classroom blog.

     Put me in a flexible mode. I am able  to self- direct- my- self –paced lesson since it could  allow me  to  access the course at  anytime, in  any place where  I  have access to the Internet even  from the comfort of my home.

     Brought Education Theory to Life. I am able to take full advantage of the interactivity and multimedia power of the Internet, engaging me with videotaped classroom scenes, interviews, and online demonstrations of concepts. This offered me a more valuable learning experience. - Salman Khan’s: Flipping the classroom, Seymour Papert’s TPACK model as a way of understanding the relationship between Content, Pedagogy and Technology. Larry Rosenstock’s: High Tech High and Erica McWilliam’s: The Meddler in the Middle are examples of a few. Very enriching  indeed.

 Made me discover that Information using the digital learning resources has a rhizomatic structure – branches that are intertwined with different possible reading paths. A rhizome has no beginning or end just like the Internet, and the phenomena of hypertexts contribute to the rhizomatic structure by facilitating links between texts, permitting me to enter into an entirely new relation with an infinite number of other information sources on the Internet, only by clicking on a small symbol. In this manner, I have a delved into extra reading that informed my knowledge beyond the expectations of the course.

Encourages the concept of evaluation by which I am encouraged to meta-reflect and discuss my own experiences, engagement and learning in the subject area – before, during and after the learning process, a process which I   encourages thinking and sharpens my writing skills.

What were the problems and pitfalls?

These were the problems I encountered:

1.    I am uncontrollably addicted to the computer and the internet to the extent that I sleep late, affecting my work generally.

2.    Too much Information provided resulting in information overload, leading to a high level of forgetting.

3.    Juggling work, family and the course. Therefore, stress!

4.    I had to put in more effort since the course requires more time and commitment.

5.    My budget for the internet bundles went up considerably; coupled with intermittent internet and on and off power supply.

 None the less, I am enjoying the course.