Monday, January 25, 2010

Together, we are stronger



Previously (anyone a fellow LOST fan?)… my posts were regarding my online coursework. This post, my final, is about the people. A benefit I see in a quality online program such as this one is the caliber of people it attracts.

An online program allows for a professorial base that can be pooled from the global arena. I have had teachers from The Netherlands to Wyoming as well as in my own New England backyard. These professionals are dedicated, passionate, and bring amazing levels of insight and experience to their courses. Although the online forum is a different experience from a direct classroom experience, we are communicators at heart and utilize all resources available to do so including video conferencing for face to face conversation.

My fellow classmates are also a diverse group and I enjoy learning from them as well as with them. From South Korea to Texas as well as the next town over, I have expanded and enriched my PLN (Personal Learning Network). This spring I will leave Lesley University with more than just a degree in hand. I have found colleagues and mentors that bring the entire learning experience full circle. Together, we are stronger.

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Using Wordle, the graphic above was created by using this blog's URL.  All the words from the posts were made into this word cloud.  The bigger the word, the more times it is used.  I love to see that words such as "fantastic", "future", and "understanding" are rather large.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

End of Semester Post

My time line for submitting this final post for the fall semester has long since come and gone! I've not prioritized my time well over a much needed-winter break. Since managing my very little spare time has become more difficult, I thought I would address the flexibility of the Lesley program in case anyone reading this is not aware of the upcoming change.

It's been quite a challenge to teach full-time while taking the math master's courses as I had doubled up on classes for several semesters. But as the courses have become more time-consuming and difficult, (difficult because I'm very rusty beyond algebra) it's become harder to manage everything and do a good job.

I recently changed my course path so that I would only take one class per semester while teaching and then stack my summer with classes to get through the program. I wasn't entirely happy with this decision since the time we do have off as teachers over the summer is a time to rest and recharge.

That brings me to the recent change in the Lesley semesters that is going to allow so much more flexibility for anyone taking the programs. I hope I am correcting relaying the information, but as I understand it, instead of offering just one 12 week semester, they will begin offering two 8 weeks sessions within about the same time frame, so that instead of trying to complete two courses at the same time, you can still take two courses in one semester, but they run back to back, for 8 weeks each. I am so happy to have this option, because it allows me to take more courses without the workloads overlapping.

And one last note; as a teacher in Washington State, we are now required to complete a Professional Certification program within our first 5 years of teaching to keep our teaching license. It's very similar to the National Boards, but requires enrolling in a University and doing several courses. Along with those courses you have to take classes (either clock hours or credits) to help with your professional growth plan. I have just begun this program, and so the Lesley math classes I take during my pro-cert program will count towards my completion and fit beautifully into my professional growth plan since I teach math.

Possible New Year resolution: Post my blogs on time!
Best of luck in 2010, Jen Nelson