Instructional+Unit+in+a+Virtual+Classroom+Environment

Instructional Unit in a Virtual Classroom Environment
The requirement for this assignment was to create an instructonal unit in a virtual classroom environment using Blackboard. This assignment is really the bulk of this entire course. The instructional unit is one week long, consisting of four to five lessons, instructional media, pre-assessment and post-assessment, discussion board, group assignments, and external blog. The name of my unit is EDT 2010 - Social Networking in Education. After completion of this unit, my students will be able to: 1. Identify the basic elements of a social network, 2. Explain how social networking in an educational setting can be beneficial, 3. Identify the crucial elements of an educational social network, and 4. Demonstrate the ability to create and build an educational social network. For this purpose, I created a Ning social network for my unit named EDT 2010 - Social Netwoking in Education. My Ning social network for this unit is a place where students can get to know one another, collaborate through blogs, discussions and groups, keep track of assignment due dates, stay in touch with me, and stay updated on what's going on in the class.
 * Description:**

Although I cannot post a link to my Blackboard page, I can post a link to the Ning social network that I created for this unit. Please click on the link below, which will open in a new window.

**http://edt2010.ning.com/****​**

I decided to include my process and reflection together because, as I started to write about my process, I realized that I was including a lot of my own feelings and thoughts as well. So, this is a combination of my process and reflection, all in one. In my current position with Wilmington University, I have access to Blackboard. I use Blackboard to maintain my College's Blackboard page and I have administrator priviledges so that I can do so. Knowing the backside of Blackboard before starting this assignment was extremely beneficial. However, learning how to use Blackboard from an instructor's point of view was very new to me. Since I'm not a teacher and taking this program to learn how to use technology in the classroom and how to develop online classes, designing the lessons and assessments was a bit of a struggle for me. I am learning as I go and trial and error is probably my best friend at this point. I was able to use examples of instructor syllabi to help me construct the syllabus for my unit, so that made things easier. My previous position as an E-recruit Aide with Wilmington University gave me the knowledge I possess about the Ning platform. After experiencing first-hand the many beneficial uses of Ning in an educational setting, I jumped at the chance to integrate a Ning social network into my unit. I feel that Ning is a great learning tool and is a great way not only for teachers to learn about their students, but for students to learn about each other. This is especially beneficial in an online classroom setting or even block classes like Wilmington University has. Seven weeks is a very short time to get to know your classmates and instructor, and Ning makes it much easier to do so. Not only that, but it is also a fun way to get to know one another through the use of posting photos and videos (which are moderated for appropriate use, of course). I hope that I have the opportunity to utilize Ning and Blackboard in conjunction with each other in the future. The knowledge that I gained on these applications and myself during this assignment are invaluable.
 * Process and Reflection:**