Before I signed up for EDU 505, I was very nervous about what the course would be like. I had so many questions like would it take up too much of my time? Would it be hard for me to stay focused online for long periods of time? Would the course load be too intense for me to handle? Even with all of these unanswered questions, I decided to take a chance and take the class.
There were a lot of things that I really liked about this course. First, I really enjoyed how convenient this course was to take. As a full-time teacher, it can be tough to go to classes afterschool. Often times the weather is bad, so the drive to and from class can be dangerous, or I get back from class really late at night. However, with an online course, I was able to log on and do my coursework whenever and wherever I wanted to without having to leave my house. I thought that it would be hard to work online without losing focus, but I rarely had this problem.
Next, I really liked the type of assignments that were assigned throughout this course. All of them were always described in-depth, and I rarely had any questions and/or concerns after reading all about them. If I did have a question, I could always write a question on the Ask A Question section of the site, and it would be answered by my teacher or a classmate. Also every assignment contained numerous examples of what our finish products should look like. Having these models were extremely helpful in creating my pieces of work for class, which I am very excited to use in my classroom next year.
I also enjoyed the learning environment that our classroom was able to create with one another. All of the classmates were honest and respectful, and I learned a great deal from a variety of people. Everybody was graded on participation, so it was very nice hearing from more than a couple of students in the class. Personally, I was even really excited to post whenever I could.
Lastly, the amount of time that we had to complete each module was very fair. I never felt rushed to finish any of the assignments, and I always had time to post any feelings or reactions to the discussion posts. I figured that this would be the opposite during a summer course, but I was wrong. The amount of work that I had to complete was the perfect amount.
There was only one minor negative to taking this course. If I could change one thing about this course, it would be that the modules would have been opened a little bit earlier. I never felt rushed to finish, but some weeks I had more free time than others. During these days, I would have liked to have gotten a head start on my work. However, I do understand that by not opening up all of the modules, my classmates and I were able to give our full attention to the most current one.
Overall, I was very content with the amount of information that I learned from taking EDU 505 online, and I would highly recommend it to any educator who wishes to become more technologically advanced in the classroom.
