Akoranga?!!

Hi everyone!! (gosh are there people out there?)

It's Maori language week and I wanted to have an interesting title to this my second blog. I believe that Akoranga means learning, so the aim of this blog is to outline what I'm learning and what I want to learn.

Anyway, I managed to get onto our elluminate classroom this week for our online facilitating course. Elluminate is not brand new to me. I have a new job and role this year with Otago polytechnic as a midwife practice facilitator . I am based in Palmerston North so we use elluminate for our staff meeting. The students also use elluminate for their virtual classroom tutorials (I have yet to teach on them however, but my time will be coming soon.). Also I did a flexible learning course this year and was required to give a short presentation on elluminate. So I know how to get on there, I know a little bit about how it works, but there a lot of features that I have not mastered...so that is my goal. Be a master of elluminate! I have a tutorial to give on elluminate in October I think, so how fantastic would it be if I was a pro...Can see my name in lights!!

This week I was introduced to words and terms in the course that were very foreign to me. Google reader, i google, wikipedia?? Hmmm. Will have to look into them. I am thinking it might be a little bit like when I first heard of facebook. I was like, ???WHAT?? For me, I think I really just need to get in there and have a play and then I can fully understand. Honestly I do not know what google reader even is... Watch this space.

This week I've learnt about synchronous vrs asynchronous learning (look that one up Dad!). I was interested to learn about the positive side effect of on line learning being the breakdown of barriers that possibly inhibit participation and learning. When teaching and learning on line, it doesn't matter about you age, your race, your big pimple on your nose...everyone is the same. So I guess that face to face is always great, but that online has it's own benefits.

So basically I want to master elluminate, but I also want to know (a little bit even) about all these other terms. Skype, twitter, i google, citrix..I want to know what is possible for me to teach and offer my students in regards to using online materials or the computer. Next year I could have and offer smaller elluminate sessions for our local group, or record sessions or use blog or ??? what else?

I do have a student who asked me if she went to America for 5 weeks could we use skype to include her in our weekly face to face tutorials. I hope she couldn't read my poker face...or my blank brain.

How do I do this then? Well I'm not sure. Be enrolled in this course. Utilise the very knowledgable participants in this course to give me a hand, let me know where to go, what to do..
That's a bit lazy isn't it. But seems the easiest to do right now. Blogging off. Over and out!