Civic Engagement On-Ground
Working with career college students has been a rewarding experience. I have had the opportunity to teach individuals who have overcome unimaginable obstacles in order to continue their education and strive to improve their socioeconomic status. I have always believed my role as an educator reached beyond teaching the skills necessary for employment. In my classrooms I sought ways to connect my students' lives outside of school to what they were learning in school. My students' learning experiences were also deepened by providing them with opportunities to make contributions to their communities through volunteerism which in turn provided them with a sense of empowerment to create change.
Alongside my coworker, Shannon Tinsley, (whom, I still consider as a highly regarded friend and colleague), we were able to connect students to local community events such a health clinics and fundraisers in which the students were able to practice their skills but also provide an invaluable service to uninsured or underinsured members of our local community. The learning experiences I provided for my students led to the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce "Educator in Excellence" award in 2007. The award was presented to me not only because of the students' civic engagement, but also because 100% of my students in the previous year were employed in their field of study after graduation.
Although, the award was truly one of the highlights of my career, my greatest reward was the learning experiences I shared with my students. I grew to know them outside of the classroom, met their children, and "got my hands dirty" with them on many occasions -- from painting a house to giving an injection. The students at Empire College not only inspired my personal and professional growth but also taught me about perseverance and what it means to be part of a community.
Alongside my coworker, Shannon Tinsley, (whom, I still consider as a highly regarded friend and colleague), we were able to connect students to local community events such a health clinics and fundraisers in which the students were able to practice their skills but also provide an invaluable service to uninsured or underinsured members of our local community. The learning experiences I provided for my students led to the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce "Educator in Excellence" award in 2007. The award was presented to me not only because of the students' civic engagement, but also because 100% of my students in the previous year were employed in their field of study after graduation.
Although, the award was truly one of the highlights of my career, my greatest reward was the learning experiences I shared with my students. I grew to know them outside of the classroom, met their children, and "got my hands dirty" with them on many occasions -- from painting a house to giving an injection. The students at Empire College not only inspired my personal and professional growth but also taught me about perseverance and what it means to be part of a community.
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Peruse these photos and captions to learn more about a few of the fantastic volunteer community events I was able to attend with my students including the Human Race, Flu Clinic, and Neighbors in Health. |
The Power and Politics of Course Development
A good majority of the schools who use the online courses I develop are located in the Southern United States whose administrators are much more conservative than me and the company I contract with which is located in Santa Cruz, CA. My students are training to enter the healthcare field – which, like the educational system, is fraught with socioeconomic inequality and issues of power. As a course developer and educator whose objective is to teach students about the reimbursement process within the U.S. healthcare system my beliefs about the current system and the content I deliver are often at odds with each other. My courses are currently being used by 20 schools nationwide and the company recently acquired a contract with a large textbook publisher which offers courses through their website. Because of this, the content in the courses is from what I would consider a "neutral" perspective and is taken directly from the textbook. Although within all courses there is a "hidden curriculum," because the content of these course is created by me there is undoubtedly a certain amount of bias not only in the information I chose to present, but also in the information I chose to omit. As I have learned in my Educational Technology courses, "bias is built into" information and technology (Beatham, 2008).
I do, however, manage to include alternative view points in areas of the course that perhaps go against the grain of the view points of some of the administrators. For example, during the weeks I discuss Medicare and Medicaid, as the course developer, I introduce students to the inadequacies in the current system through weblinks to videos that are posted in their weekly resources such as a trailer to Michael Moore's film "SicKo."
I have no idea how the other instructors utilize these weblinks or if they even realize I have slid these alternative viewpoints into the curriculum (which you won't find in the textbooks either). My hope for addressing socialized medicine is for students to reflect on their current positions within the healthcare system and that of their patients when they become employed. As a critical educator, regardless of my role is as a developer or instructor, I feel I have a responsibility to help my students understand systems of power and the roles they play within these systems. |
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Thinking Outside the Box: Critical Thinking Online
As an online instructor, I have had to continuously find ways to work within the limitations of the current system to discover ways to create collaborative and engaging learning environments that allow for deeper learning experiences. Some of the ways I have navigated around these limitations is by creating additional spaces for students to hold discussions in the forums and linking to content outside the LMS such as YouTube videos or programs that encourage students to look critically at the U.S healthcare system and their future roles in healthcare settings. The image to the left is an example of a news forum post I use in one of my courses which links student to a 60 minutes segment on the Medicare program. Students are encouraged to post their response to the video in the news forum which not only provides another avenue for them to connect online, but also to engage at a deeper level with alternative views of the Medicare program and the costs to the U.S. economy. The students are also given a much needed break from the "text heavy" environment of the LMS and learn through video. The only drawback to this approach is that the response is extra credit which means the students' participation is optional.
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Connecting a Community of Learners
An area of concern for me as an online educator is the difficulty in building community within classroom. The social aspect of learning was easier to accomplish in a face-to-face environment because students were able to physically meet in the same location and get to know each other working side-by-side.
In my online classroom, I think building a participatory culture (Jenkins, 2008) in which students are able to collaborate and feel part of a learning community is further limited by the LMS used for the course. Students in my courses typically only socialize in discussion forums. Discussion forums are a component of the students' grades; therefore, most students post to the form because they view the forum as a requirement, not as a social aspect of the course. Also, because a student's response is "text" based, discussion becomes more cumbersome than a spoken conversation. In my opinion, Moodle, which I learned to use at Sonoma State as both a student and student assistant to faculty, is better equipped to create a shared learning experience among students and teachers. However, switching to Moodle is not a feasible solution to introduce to the school or the companies whose use my courses.
In my online classroom, I think building a participatory culture (Jenkins, 2008) in which students are able to collaborate and feel part of a learning community is further limited by the LMS used for the course. Students in my courses typically only socialize in discussion forums. Discussion forums are a component of the students' grades; therefore, most students post to the form because they view the forum as a requirement, not as a social aspect of the course. Also, because a student's response is "text" based, discussion becomes more cumbersome than a spoken conversation. In my opinion, Moodle, which I learned to use at Sonoma State as both a student and student assistant to faculty, is better equipped to create a shared learning experience among students and teachers. However, switching to Moodle is not a feasible solution to introduce to the school or the companies whose use my courses.
My online students received school GMail accounts which included Google+ for social networking (the school has since moved email to their internal server). I have been reluctant to use Facebook as a social networking tool because not all of my students use Facebook and it wouldn't necessarily provide greater discussions or connections than what are currently offered through the LMS. Additionally, many of my students Facebook profiles are used for more personal communications and would be deemed unprofessional by the school.
Being that all students have access to Google+, it has the potential to provide students a space where they can make deeper connections to one another on an educational and professional level, share information, and work together on assignments and at the same time provide a viable solution to working around the limitations of the LMS. Because the account is associated with the school, students are also able to access applications that might be required for other courses - which was the original purpose of providing students to GMail (one of the programs they use requires a GMail account). I can also customize information I would like to share by grouping my various sections of students into "Circles." Google Hangouts is also a great video tool that will allow me to connect with students. The potential uses of Google Hangout include bringing in guest lecturers, holding weekly discussions, and tutoring sessions. Google Hangout also has the potential to open doors to civic engagement for my students to attend public healthcare events or meetings where they could make contributions and learn more about the current state of the U.S. healthcare system.
Being that all students have access to Google+, it has the potential to provide students a space where they can make deeper connections to one another on an educational and professional level, share information, and work together on assignments and at the same time provide a viable solution to working around the limitations of the LMS. Because the account is associated with the school, students are also able to access applications that might be required for other courses - which was the original purpose of providing students to GMail (one of the programs they use requires a GMail account). I can also customize information I would like to share by grouping my various sections of students into "Circles." Google Hangouts is also a great video tool that will allow me to connect with students. The potential uses of Google Hangout include bringing in guest lecturers, holding weekly discussions, and tutoring sessions. Google Hangout also has the potential to open doors to civic engagement for my students to attend public healthcare events or meetings where they could make contributions and learn more about the current state of the U.S. healthcare system.