Final reflecctions

The first half of the final week of the course was a little tough. Final paper submission, review of a classmates’ paper and the rubrics. But, things were relatively calmer after Thursday. I enjoyed doing the self-reflection assignment. It really had some good questions which pushed me into the deeper thinking. The course EDUI 6701 prepared me for the courses I’ll be taking in the next 4 quarters of the MS OTL. It enabled its participants to plan, design, and incorporates strategies to encourage active learning, interaction, participation and collaboration in the online environment. The course also helped me in understanding how to do assessment of the learning goals.

The concept of inclusive and integrated learning is also very well highlighted in the program. The instructors and course designers have to be responsive to special education and cultural differences among students in the online classroom. It is responsibility of the instructor to encourage intercultural interaction and inclusive learning in the class. I got an opportunity to demonstrate awareness of observational data (i.e., tracking data in electronic courses, web logs, email, etc.). I had to use various research and scholarly articles for writing assignments and posting responses on the discussion board.

The course provided syllabus with objectives, concepts, and ideas, and learning outcomes in a clearly written, concise format. The discussion board is an interesting place where I got to know my classmates’ perceptions and ideas. The group project further provided an opportunity to connect with people  and work collaboratively with them.

In short, I had several light bulb moments in last five weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed the each and every assignment and reading material. It was fun to work with classmates. I am thankful to my instructor Ms. Anne Guptill for her constant support, positive feedback and encouragement. I’ll  surely try to remain in contact with her in coming years.