OMDE 603: Technology in Distance Education and E-Learning

What I knew about the course prior to taking it: I knew going into this course that I already used technology with my students (Black Board). I had not developed a blog or a wiki, so my use of technology over what was daily used was at a minimum. What I learned from the course: Bates and Poole (2003) discuss a framework used as a guideline when an institution chooses an LMS (Bates & Poole, 2003). SECTIONS is the framework for this analysis. S represents the student, what is known about the students and if a specific technology is appropriate for the students (Bates & Poole, 2003). E represents the ease of use for the LMS and its reliability (Bates & Poole, 2003). C represents the cost of the product to the institution and to the learner (Bates & Poole, 2003). T represents teaching and learning and describes types, approaches, and student support that meet the learners needs (Bates & Poole, 2003). I represents interaction and interactivity of the technology used and how it promotes quality interactions between students and the material, students and other students, and students and instructors. O represents any organizational issues that may arise when instructors select a particular technology for a class (Bates & Poole, 2003).

OMDE 603: Technology in Distance Education and E-Learning

N represents novelty and involves using new technology in the online classroom (Bates & Poole, 2003). S represents the speed of the technology.
Social media is not scary. Social media is not just a means of playing on the computer/web world. Social media can be useful in the educational world in both asynchronous and synchronous learning atmospheres. Social media can lower stress levels, help with communication and allow deeper interactive thinking within a course.

How I plan to use this course to excel in my profession:

When, and will, I use a Blog or a Wiki within my teaching experiences at the community college or the University? As for U of M SOD-I am not sure. I might design a Blog and have students post general questions related to patient care or instrumentation. I think this would be a great way for the students to see that I come off as a hard noser but if they are prepared I am a great instructor to work with. This social media might lower the stress level in the clinic related to instructor-student relations. My start date as full time faculty-clinical instructor-is November 7, 2011. Maybe I will do this!!! When I look back 20 plus years on my education from the School of Dentistry would an open forum such as a Blog help me be a better student/practitioner? I must say, I think so. If I had some type of communication with the dental faculty that had to approve my case prior to starting treatment I would not have broken into a hives when I saw Dr. DePaola coming to give me the approval to start. In the social media format I would have learned he was a real person that wants the best for the patients

OMDE 603: Technology in Distance Education and E-Learning

and that he expected all the students to be prepared 110%. In the Blog, asking questions that I may not have wanted to do face-to-face may have made my clinical experience more relaxed and less stressful. These questions could have been on the minds of other students as well and we could have helped each other be better clinicians from the start! OMG-I still have visions of seeing him walking my way!!! Today, at the school-he is my peer and a mentor and I have no problem talking to him about anything.

Bates, A.W., & Poole, G. (2003). Effective Teaching with technology in higher education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.