Why did I joined and I am willing to pay for it? My first life friends do not get it.
Because I learn more when I have feedback from experts and my work is evaluated. As a plus I will get a diploma, if I succeed, from the University of Manitoba, Canada. I know it may be beyond my league, I am not savvy but I am eager to learn.
On the other hand, to build credentials for online teaching is important for me. I feel more secure and I can provide better service if I study formally.
I toyed with the idea of creating another blog just for the course. At the end I decided to place my mind maps, findings, ideas, difficulties and so on here. I do not write to be read, I opened this blog to collect my experiences as e-Learner and to have a place to rely on to find answers and tools.
I know I won't be comfortable during the course with so many new tools and information; therefore, the idea of having a known blog platform, a known site with my links, the tools I have used and the posts with answers to difficulties will minimize the uncertainty I feel. After I take Blogging4Educators course, at 2009 EVO sessions, I will attempt WorldPress.
The course has not started and I already found two new tools and struggled with a known one. PageFlakes and CMap are new for me. I had seen PageFlakes at the Baw08 course but I did not use it and there was not a PageFlakes page for it, as far as I could understand. I struggled with Google Maps, I did not find where to change the color of the marker!
I have downloaded the readings, I got a no-break and I will find a way to have a printer and a Web Cam soon. I will borrow them :-)
I have taken just one course using Moodle, my Diploma course in Teaching Elglish for First graders. This will be my second one. I want to learn to use Moodle not only as student, I know Andy's Computer Literacy Program uses it. I would like BaeL project to use it too; I know it is not a free platform... the way to get it will show itself.
I found the following presentation, it really widened my views about e-learning and connecting with students. Stephen Downes web page got me thinking seriously. The tools he exposes, his point of view and experience made my imagination fly. My BaeL project will benefit a lot by reading him. He is one of the co-moderators of the course. George Siemens is the other one, in his featured page at The Daily I found a great site to learn about e-Learning, it gives structure to the concept and guidelines. I will explore it further.
If BaeL project gets strength I will need to learn the knowledge foundation that they expose and the tools the suggest.
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