Beyond my experience in the veterinary field, I am also an instructional technologist, holding a Masters of Science in Instructional Design and Technology and currently enrolled in a Ph. D. program in Instructional Technology. I gained an interest in that field after completing my Bachelor degree online. It was horrible, the classes were designed poorly, there was no sense of community, and the teacher was never present. Not to mention the horrible weekly chat sessions. As I started teaching in a traditional setting, I wanted to incorporate more online technologies, and the only example I had of how to do it was horrible. I feel it would be a disservice to my students if I did not include online aspects to my courses that will allow them to explore beyond what we talk about in class. Online education is also becoming more common and as long as I stay in education, it will be a part of my daily life. I teach a hybrid course, and have designed and taught an online course. All of my other courses are considered to be web-enhanced.
My skills of instructional design are strong, however my skill of website design, or really anything that involves a sense of art is weak. In the past, I have other people help me with the design of any media that I need or with making my online courses "look" prettier. I am seeking to improve my skills with content creation and design.
Online education is a great tool that we have. The internet can really teach people to think critically and help develop problem solving techniques. Many get lost in the WWW when trying to find the answer to a question, and within minutes it feels as though you may be an expert on the subject. The only weakness to online education is that the instructors must constantly keep up with the new technologies, things change so frequently on the internet.
My skills of instructional design are strong, however my skill of website design, or really anything that involves a sense of art is weak. In the past, I have other people help me with the design of any media that I need or with making my online courses "look" prettier. I am seeking to improve my skills with content creation and design.
Online education is a great tool that we have. The internet can really teach people to think critically and help develop problem solving techniques. Many get lost in the WWW when trying to find the answer to a question, and within minutes it feels as though you may be an expert on the subject. The only weakness to online education is that the instructors must constantly keep up with the new technologies, things change so frequently on the internet.