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My Reflection Blog
Hello everyone,
It has been an absolute pleasure for me working and getting to know everyone in Jaimie’s BLPP’s class. I have learned a lot and hope to implement some valuable ideas and tips. Above all, I finish this course with a deeper understanding of the differences between teaching F2F and blended courses, not only as an instructor but also as a student. Jaimie’s patience, prompt replies to all my questions and her deadline extensions have reminded me of the importance of being more flexible and understanding with students’ problems and frustrations. I have also appreciated her constant reminders of due dates, her clear instructions and organizational style. Thanks, Jaimie! I am sorry that you are leaving us 
Good luck in your future job at USC! Also, a special thanks to Kristi and the FIT Studio staff for their invaluable help. I enjoyed our meals 
Among the new tools that I learned in this course that I really like are Movenote, Populr and Canva. I am planning on using these tools in my blended course in the Fall. I wish I would have had more time to do a better job in this course (I think we all do!). I am looking forward to teaching my very first blended course and continue learning more about teaching online.
Have a great summer!
Sandra
BLLP Reflection-Paul Murphy
I came into the BLLP cohort not really knowing what to expect. I did hear from some previous faculty cohorts that it was very good but also very challenging. I would have to say that the biggest challenge besides being introduced to, and sometimes being overwhelmed by technology tools I have never utilized, was trying to complete the work and attend all the classes during an incredibly busy spring semester. Trying to balance a busy teaching load with committee work, a Performing Arts job search, an external committee review, finish a CD and do a live performance of all the music recorded on the CD for my mini-grant presentation, was challenging to say the least. In my opinion, this course could be more effective if it was offered as a six week once a week class that met over summer break. However, I really did enjoy the community and feeling of camaraderie of learning with and from my CI colleagues, as well as all the great folks at the FIT studio including Jaimie, Jill, Kristi and Mike.
I did have some preconceived notions of blended learning and particularly online only learning at the beginning of the semester. However, in the very first class session, I was amazed at Michelle Pacansky-Brock videos and the visual appeal of what her online class looked like. I was also impressed with our many CI colleagues who presented to us throughout the semester and their use of blended and online technology. It was reassuring that many of our esteemed CI faculty is actually utilizing these technology tools. I also thought an excellent in class presentation was when the students came to speak to us. It was very interesting to get the student’s different perspectives on what they thought worked and didn’t work.
Some of the technology tools and concepts that I felt were very beneficial and plan to use in the future include voicethread, discussion boards, google presentations, CI Keys, 5 Essential elements for CI Learn, week zero, liquid syllabus and hopefully many more. However, I do realize the amount of extra time that can go into making some of the tools work for you and understand (as suggested by Jaimie and others) that I should only introduce a few new technology tools per semester so I don’t overwhelm the students and myself!
Finally, I want to thank and commend everyone responsible for the BLLP faculty development course and to my colleagues in the cohort.
Sincerely,
Paul Murphy
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