My name is Barrett and I am in my third semester of the MSIT program. I plan on graduating this December after completing my comps in the Fall. I hold both a bachelor's and master's degree in French. I have been a French teacher for a total of ten years but I have also worked in the entertainment and airline industries. Before starting the MSIT program at USM I had no experience with online courses; all of the courses during my undergraduate and graduate studies were face-to-face. During my time in the MSIT program I have completed six online courses and I am currently enrolled in three.
I have a working knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite including, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I have used Microsoft Publisher in the past, but I still consider myself a novice. I am also a Mac user so I am familiar with iMovie and Quicktime. In one of my courses for this program I learned the basics of Adobe Dreamweaver and was able to create a very rudimentary website.
The MSIT program has introduced me to myriad communication tools. I am now very comfortable using tools such as video chat, discussion boards and IM. I think that video chat is an amazing tool for online students. When all of your courses are online, it is helpful to be able to "meet" your classmates and professors through video chat. I never had the opportunity to use discussion boards before starting this program but I enjoy being able to share my thoughts and get feedback from my peers. I think the discussion board is probably the most important communication tool for online courses.
Throughout the past year I have learned about the benefits of tools such as blogs and podcasts in education. I have used podcasts in the classroom setting in the past. Podcasts are a great tool for the flipped classroom. Last semester was the first time that I ever created a blog and I have learned so much about using them to improve upon the teaching and learning experience.
I have a working knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite including, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I have used Microsoft Publisher in the past, but I still consider myself a novice. I am also a Mac user so I am familiar with iMovie and Quicktime. In one of my courses for this program I learned the basics of Adobe Dreamweaver and was able to create a very rudimentary website.
The MSIT program has introduced me to myriad communication tools. I am now very comfortable using tools such as video chat, discussion boards and IM. I think that video chat is an amazing tool for online students. When all of your courses are online, it is helpful to be able to "meet" your classmates and professors through video chat. I never had the opportunity to use discussion boards before starting this program but I enjoy being able to share my thoughts and get feedback from my peers. I think the discussion board is probably the most important communication tool for online courses.
Throughout the past year I have learned about the benefits of tools such as blogs and podcasts in education. I have used podcasts in the classroom setting in the past. Podcasts are a great tool for the flipped classroom. Last semester was the first time that I ever created a blog and I have learned so much about using them to improve upon the teaching and learning experience.