My First Web CT Class

I took Contemporary Literature last semester for two reasons: I wanted a refresher in studying literature before I began grad school and I was curious about taking an online course. It was very enjoyable. I especially enjoyed the long discussion threads. The class was not taught in a traditional lecture method. The instructor really used the medium to his advantage by promoting student discussions as the predominant method of instruction. He offered occasional insights, but most learning and teaching was done by the students. It was very Socratic.

The only problem I had was with the group project. It was hard to collaborate with people of varying computer knowledge. There was also quite a lot of miscommunication that would not probably have occurred had we been meeting face to face. It was a learning experience for me on several levels.

Turning Point II

I've used the Turning Point software in several situations now, and I do not feel like it enhanced the learning process enough to deal with the added work of creating these presentations. Turning Point works in conjunction with Power Point, so I create a presentatation in Power Point and then open it with Turning Point to create my questions. The students would be able to interact with the program by using the Student Response Systems ( or clickers). From their responses, I could tell who was participating and could monitor their progress. Unfortunately, every time I used this program, I encountered some sort of technical problem. The system seems great in theory, but the practice left much to be desired. Invariably half the clickers would not work, or I would open the presentation in Power Point rather than Turning Point, or the classroom computer wouldn't register the clickers. These little things could be ironed out with time, but taking into consideration how long it took me to make each of these presentations, I don't think it's worth the effort.

Ingeniux V

I am responsible for managing the content of the following PBCC web pages:

• Student Learning Center Staff Resources
• Student Learning Center Student Resources (English and Reading sections)
• Belle Glade Student Learning Center page and child pages
• Belle Glade location page and child pages
• Belle Glade Professional Teaching and Learning Center
• Belle Glade Student Activities page and child page

While it's been fun working on some of these pages, I do have a tendency to get a little "tech- happy."  My maze of pages is getting a little out of control. Since I'm leaving PBCC in August, I'm working on distributing the responsibility of these pages, as well as reigning them in a little so they're a little easier to manage.

I'm chairing a subcommittee for the Student Learning Center to make our pages more student friendly, and I hope to finish with that major project before I leave. Ingeniux is set up a lot like an outline. There are major pages with detail pages underneath them. We've met to discuss our main SLC page and the second tier of pages which includes our four location pages along with student resources and staff resources. In the midst of these changes, Ingeniux has received some major updates. Overall, the updates make the CMS easier to use and a little more visually appealing, but it's still something new to learn. To see what the pages look like now, go to www.pbcc.edu/slc.xml. Of course, when you check this site out in July, it will look much different.