What is a MOOC?

I recently was speaking with a friend of mine, Kathleen, and she mentioned a website she had came across that offered a list of a number of certificate (and the like) courses from Canadian and American Universities...for free. PARDON? But why?...

A massive open online course (MOOC) is an online course aiming at large scale-participation and open access via the web. MOOCs are a recent development in distance education. They are similar to college courses, but typically do not offer academic credit, and instead often offer a statement of accomplishment.

I was in. I love to learn, and being able to self-direct my learning so much in this way really excited me. The website that she referred me to was Coursera, check it our for yourself! There are a number of courses offered in a wide range of topics.

I signed up for the following three in the upcoming weeks:

1. Aboriginal Worldviews and Education (University of Toronto)
2. Know Thyself (University of West Virginia)
3. "Pay Attention" ADHD Through the Lifespan (University of Pennsylvania) 

The Aboriginal Worldviews and Education one has just begun and I can already tell that I am going to really love it. This is a subject area that I am very unfamiliar with, and cannot wait to learn more about.

I look forward to recording my journey as I navigate these new online learning environments!

Happy thoughts,
Miss Scott

New New New - 2013 Update!

Hello everyone :)

This year has already been so busy, I cannot believe two months have already escaped me!

Applying for my Masters of Education has kept me busy the past few weeks, and now that the preparation is finally over...the waiting begins. I only ended up applying to Brock for September 2013, as my tardiness left me little other choice. One of these days I will learn...maybe. Not that I am not happy to have applied to Brock, that couldn't be farther from the truth. I love Brock University and would be honoured to spend another two years here, it just probably would have been a good idea to have more then one option. I applied within both the Teaching, Learning and Development and Social and Cultural Contexts of Education streams, and I am interested in studying within the field of science and environmental education.

Teachers college is coming to an end this week, and this Monday I officially start my second teaching block. I will be spending six weeks at St. Peters Catholic Elementary School in Milton, Ontario, and then spending two final weeks at the Norval Outdoor Education Centre run through Upper Canada College, in Norval, Ontario. Though I thoroughly enjoyed my twenty weeks of teachers college, I am really excited for the weeks ahead!

This weekend I have further training to be an Earth Day Canada EcoMentor! I am excited about using my training as an EcoMentor to facilitate workshops for students at my school in my upcoming block. To find out more about the EcoMentors Program click here. Look under the "events" tab for information on upcoming training!

It is a goal of mine to keep up my blog during my teaching blog, and I look forward to sharing more!

Happy thoughts,

Miss Scott