It is hard to believe that this course is over and the program is half completed.

This course ended with topics on assessment and evaluation, diversity and ethics, and common problems in online teaching. It also included the only group project of the course and a paper on our plan on using social media in our classrooms. During the assessment and evaluation section of the course, we discussed formative and summative assessments. Formative assessments take place when the learning is still taking place. Summative assessments are completed after the learning and teaching have taken place. Both provide useful information for the student and the instructor. In an online classroom, formative assessments can include evaluating the students understanding of the current readings by their answers to discussion questions. Also, during live sessions, instructors could take a poll or survey during the presentation to gauge student comprehension. Examples of summative assessments in an online class could be a final exam, a reflective paper and an e-portfolio that documents learning. The use of rubrics is a way to assist instructors in evaluating students and allows students to know how they will be graded on a project. In this section of the course, we had to give a sample assignment with directions and write a rubric to grade that assignment. Online instructors and students have to be aware of diversity in their classrooms. The freedom of being online and not in a physical location every week opens the doors for more diverse learners. Diversity takes many forms: ethnicity, disabilities, languages, religions, political views, and time zones. People involved in an online environment have to understand the diverse population and be aware of the use of humor, popular culture references and figurative language that people might not understand due to regional and language differences. Instructors need to be prepared for different opinions and ideals based on cultural differences among the class. Instructors also need to consider that students are in different time zones when scheduling group projects, live sessions, and due dates. Ethics, for the instructor, involves acting professionally and responsibly. There are guidelines for K12 and high education online teachers. They are similar to ones written for face to face instructors. However, they can be implemented differently. In short, instructors are to provide proper instruction, treat students fairly, and act professionally. Ethics, for the student, involve demonstrating academic honesty and respecting the diversity of others. Common problems in online teaching include: late coming students, possible cheating, lack of participation, issues with group dynamics, and students having trouble using the technology. During this week, we had respond to four different scenarios. In our responses, we had to state how we will deal with the issue and give examples of what we might say. We then had to critique other students responses for the other scenarios. The social media paper that we had to write was a plan on how to use different social media tools in our classrooms and our professional life. In it, we reflected on what we learned about the different social media tools and specific ways to use the tools of our choosing in our classes. The group project also was a reflection on what we have learned in both courses in order to help a teacher new to online instruction. In it, we had to give tips for before and during a course. We used asynchronous tools to work together to complete our project.