REFLECTION - DAY 3

THE ONLINE PORTAL

Entering day 3 of the training session, I was no longer novice to the NSC as I
had an understanding of its framework. I was no longer contemplating whether
or not I was going to be introduced to a bulky document that would be
extremely complicated and requiring me to turn water into wine. In fact, I was
more relaxed and enthused as I had been reminded during the psycho-social
session on Friday that my emotional and mental wellness plays a great role in
how I approach a situation and what I take away from it.
Scheduled for day 3, was An Introduction to the Online Portal. I had been
made aware that the Ministry of Education is seeking to minimize the distance
between its schools and stakeholders through an online portal via which
teachers will be able to access and share resources both with students and
other teachers. The space will also allow for the creation of virtual classrooms
which will enable learning to be ongoing and
making it easier for students to access tasks
they would have missed having been absent
for a day or two.
Having used the University of the West
Indies online portal, I am aware of the
benefits to be derived from such a system.

However, I had many unanswered questions as my role would now change from
student to administrator. Questions such as; how can I create my own virtual
classroom? What should I do to ensure that I will be able to at all times, monitor
the information that is shared within in the classroom? Would I be able to
provide parents with the opportunity to access and assess their childs progress
without compromising the privacy of other students?
Thankfully, the presenters Miss N. Williams and Miss D. James were equipped to
assist. We began the session with the mornings devotion afterward, we jumped
into the meat of the matter. We were exposed in those very minutes to the
disadvantages of the system as it can be very difficult to manoeuvre and time
consuming without good internet coverage. Many of us had difficulty entering
the classroom that had been created prior to the session.
However, we were directed to the various sections of the portal and were given
step by step instructions as to how to access and manipulate each to our
advantage. Although we were unable to create our own classrooms due to the
insufficient internet coverage, we were given the directives how to. Having
accessed the classroom our presenters had created, we were able to see how
the responses of students can be monitored.
My questions were answered and I left the session feeling satisfied. I have also
learnt how to create assignments and upload content to the classroom. I would
have however loved to have the opportunity to mark and present a students
task via the system as nothing beats active engagement.