I know that my Course Launching Presentation is ready from last evening, which covers the: Overview of TQM and the Learning Outcomes of the course. Thanks to CurricuNet and HCT Curriculum Leaders, without them my journey to start a new course would have been a true pain! The Course Content Elements that they shortlisted in the system were brilliant, it was very easy to select and customize relevant content for my new course. After all, HCT has invested tremendously in its membership with the Global Teaching Content Development Network. I have to admit that it was a very worthwhile investment, the quality of course material contributed from the GTCDN licensed teachers and subject matter experts are absolutely phenomenal. I believe it's only wise that I continue with my GTCDN qualification program to get the license myself; I can't think of any PD opportunity better than this one for any professional teacher. More than the title, I'll get to collaborate with subject matter experts and experienced teachers from all around the work, which will enrich my own understanding of my subject.
I can say that I'm happy with the Course Roadmap that I'll present to my new students in 15 minutes, it has a rich schedule of learner-centered learning opportunities covering all the learning outcomes and supported by the content that I worked on customizing for the past two weeks. I'll explain everything in the Conference Center today and will publish the presentation video on the Course Site this afternoon for the students to reference when required as usual.
Although the students are starting their final year with us, I don't think it'll hurt to remind them of the importance of meeting their Course Quota of 20 Learning Platform f2f sessions. I should emphasize that I'll be present in the specified Learning Platform according to the published Facilitated Sessions Schedule to give them some support and get to know them better. They will also need an emphasize that half of the Course Learning Platform Attendance Quota should be utilized for the TQM Students Forums, this is to encourage students with various abilities to still meet their peers f2f and discuss their questions. The students also need to be reminded that they should complete a small Peer Evaluation available on the Course Site for each student participated in the Student Forum. This will be part of the individual student assessment and the TQM Students Forum Scheduled sessions are also published on the Course Site for the students to select the sessions that are more convenient to them.
The Course Learning Platform Attendance Quota has worked very well in the past in encouraging students to come to campus and meet their teacher and fellow students in person. Without which many new students would choose the convenience of using their mobile devices to accomplish all the learning activities. I'm glad that HCT supported the CLPAQ model, which Action Research has proved its effectiveness.
The added value of balancing the use of online discussions with the f2f ones is tremendous compared to pure online model in terms of the richness of the learning experience. Many students have experienced this added value themselves that they are choosing to spend far more time beyond their CLPAQ in the Learning Platforms that replaced what so called classrooms at the beginning of this century. They particularly love the open space design that connects all Learning Platforms together allowing students of various courses to easily mingle with each other and teachers of various subjects discussing and creating cross-disciplinary solutions for their world. Those students are so lucky to do their studies in such environment I have to say! I believe our students value the learning environment provided to them and the evidence is their campus presence patterns compared to students of other universities that still operate on a traditional pedagogy paradigm.
Another highlight of my presentation is the importance of active use of the Global Learning Discussion Board. This is the place that students will raise and discuss most of their questions about the subject while trying to meet the learning outcomes. The GLDB network has reached a maturity stage that made it so reliable for students with all the experts, teachers and students participating from all over the world. Another reason for such reliability is the very efficient structure that gives both subject matter focus as well as cross-disciplinary focus. Such a challenging equation that is still very difficult to manage.
The element of the presentation that emphasizes the necessity to register any new ideas during the course of the study is of a very special importance. I don't want to go through another painful experience watching some of my students losing the rights over their own ideas that they discussed on the GLDB network or directly with their peers. They need to know by now the value of registering such ideas with the World Intellectual Property Registrar before engaging in elaborated discussion around them. The WIPR is doing a great job protecting people's right in certain ideas and offering a Search Engine for registered ideas that anybody can use to find out if anyone else has registered the same concept before. The WIPR also resolved many disputes successfully.
A good amount of the presentation time is allocated to describe the Course Assessment Plan. The students are very much used to this standard framework that still gives them a lot of flexibility to navigate through their learning experience according to their own learning style and individual preferences. Reminding them of the framework is still a very important topic to discuss in the Course Launch Presentation. I'll talk about their ability to take the any of the four Standardized Tests whenever they feel ready for it in the Campus Assessments Center. They sure need to book a free time with the CAC administrators. The Tests are covering the four main Learning Outcomes of the course and the questions will be randomly generated from the huge TQM Tests Bank that GTCDN network is providing. The CAC environment allows the students access to various resources to work out the solutions to the Tests questions, but at the same time blocks any online discussion/communication channels during the Test.
Another aspect of the Assessment Plan is the Course Project Outlines, which be described in an abstract manner in the Launch Presentation. Further elaboration is documented and published on the Course site. The final Project Presentations Schedule is also published to clearly set the deadline and will take place in the CCC.
Finally, the Learning Evidences Portfolio will be discussed with all its usual artifacts: link to the students Blog where learning reflections were recorded, link to the students GLDB network Archive, system generated report of peer evaluations of Students f2f Forum sessions, and finally Intellectual Property Certificate(s) for any new ideas that the students claim of owning.
I believe after this mental revision I have controlled my anxiety and I'm ready to start presenting now. I can always tweet any update during the semester. Oh! This reminds me to ask all students to follow me to make sure they receive any updates on the presented plan.
I can't think of anytime where teaching was more fun! I'm so glad that reality proved wrong all prophecies of diminishing teacher's role in the education process of the 21st century. We're still developing Courses Roadmaps, selecting and customizing Course Content, developing real world Projects Outlines, support students learning during the Facilitated Learning Platforms sessions, and assessing students Projects and Portfolios.
