Blended e-Learning, First Reflection

My expectations of the course Blended e-Learning include gaining the understanding of the topic, gaining experience relating to my Master’s of Science in Instructional Technology degree and future employment, meeting the requirements to obtain my degree, and doing the work necessary to obtain the best grade possible. These expectations fall on me, it is my responsibility to ensure that I accomplish these goals, with the understanding that my instructor will provide reliable information and support, along with tools to reinforce this learning experience.

I had no real understanding of the course until I read the article required for the first question on the discussion board. It took me a little bit of thinking to come up with what the difference between Blended Learning and Blended e-Learning is. (Hopefully I have it!) I am noticing a strong similarity in the structure of this class and the first class I took from Dr. Byers, Instructional Design, so there is some familiarity, which is somewhat comforting. Again, I find myself somewhat disquieted by some of the terminology, i.e., synchronous and asynchronous, and a bit unsure of the direction I wish to take with my projects.

I am somewhat concerned about the timing of this course, remembering how overloaded I felt with Instructional Design and knowing that the schedule for this course is extremely condensed, and that I will be away for one week of the course. I feel pressured by myself to get as much work done ahead of time as possible, so that there is not a huge crunch at the end. I also learned from Instructional design that online learning feels much more formal than a classroom experience, and that I will most likely need to be aware of that, and prepare my presentations to be more formal, having had an embarrassing experience with the final presentation of Instructional Design.

My expectation for what I will learn with this class is the ‘research proven’ method to blend both ‘media centered’ and traditional teaching methods into a course, which will optimize students’ knowledge and understanding of the subject matter combined with the convenience that electronic media can provide for both student and instructor.