OMDE 610: Teaching and Learning in Online Distance Education

What I knew about the course prior to taking it: I knew that if one wanted to learn from an online course and be successful that they needed to be actively involved in the course. As for learning-all I thought was if one participated in the discussion threads one would succeed.

What I learned from the course: -The Community of Inquiry model has three levels of presence; cognitive, social and teaching (Anderson, 2008). OMDE603 successfully incorporated all three presences in the course. Cognitive: The use of blogs and blog buddies developed critical thinking. Social: The threads and dictionary formation was interactive and a positive group activity. Teaching: The subject matter related to technologies in the 2.0 web world.

-The importance of a well developed rubric. -Use of other digital technologies besides the discussion threads would enhance understanding and create deeper learning. -Active participation in weekly thread discussions will enhance understanding and increase the rate of retention for an online course.

OMDE 610: Teaching and Learning in Online Distance Education

How I plan to use this course to excel in my profession: Rubric design: I teach the clinical component of Periodontics 518: Introduction to Periodontics for Freshman Dental Students. In the past, the students were not given a rubric for their practical exam. As a result, the stress level prior, during and after the examination was off the charts! I created a rubric for each instrument being graded and posted it to Black Board for review by the students prior to the examination. Was the stress level lowered??? Anecdotal evidence from the students suggests that having a rubric was helpful and beneficial in reducing stress and anxiety. Discussion Threads: In the past, Periodontics 518, had e-lectures where the power point presentations were posted and that was all. I redeveloped the lectures, added videos and required participation in discussion threads. We have 130 students per class. I divided them up into groups of 12-14 students and required one original post and then one post to another groups discussion thread. The senior students who participated in the thread discussions appear to have a better understanding of what is needed for appropriate oral hygiene instruction.

Anderson, T. (2008). Toward a theory of online learning In T. Anderson (Ed.), The Theory and practice of online learning (2nd Ed.) pp. 45-74. Athabasca, CA: Athabasca University Press.

OMDE 610: Teaching and Learning in Online Distance Education