Module 1

Joycelyn Love and Sarah Bright
EDT 574
Reflections from the book "Power Up"

Chapter 5

Title: More Power to You-Becoming An Online Learner

As Sarah and I read through chapter 5, many of the points were already familiar to us. We have already been in the online program for a few semesters, so we are somewhat acclimated to how online classes operate. However, the information in chapter 5 would have been a great asset as an earlier orientation into the LEM program! :)

The online community is indeed different from face to face meetings. One point chapter 5 made is that online learning exposes us not to just students in our class, but students in the whole world. This was most surprising to us when we started the LEM program. We posted assignments to LiveText that people all over the world could read! Recently, we created an online binder. I read binders created by language arts teachers in other states; likewise mine is now viewable. We like that aspect of online learning; the world really does become "the classroom."

The chapter also mentioned the importance of leaning of fellow classmates for support. We agreed this seems to happen more in an online learning environment. In a sense this is advantageous because it teaches us teamwork and collaboration.

This chapter also mentioned that in online learning, "project teams" are often assigned throughout the course of our online education. We noticed this has been a trend in online learning. This allows for our team to gather in chat rooms, virtual communities, etc.

From chapter 5, we were once again reminded of what an online community is, what we might expect from it, and appropriate ways to contact all members in the environment.