CTL1799
Testimonials
Testamonials
from Summer 2012
Messages from former
students since 2002:
I think that your course
has been the best I have journeyed on yet! It will remind me of how learning
should be - exciting, thoughtful and a worthy journey.
Thanks for all your efforts
in making this class a truly excellent experience. I really learned a lot
and had a great time interacting with everyone in the course.
First of all, I would like
to thank you for creating an engaging and highly informative course. I
must say that I was fairly intimidated in the initial stages, but having
finished the course I feel a lot more confident about IT. I'm glad my goal
for the course was met.
It has been a challenging
course, but also the best course I've taken so far at OISE. I feel I've
experienced a lot of growth in this short time and taken a lot out that
I'll be putting into action right away. I'd be very happy to have a course
working with you again in the future
Thank you very much for
the class. Although it was very challenging and I felt stressed for a lot
of it, I learned a lot! It is always a joy when I am able to take things
learned in a course and apply them to my personal life- which I hope to
do with all I learned in this one.
Like most difficult things,
I will remember this experience for some time. I regret not taking it as
a "regular length" course...if it was offered as one. You have definitely
pointed me in the right direction. It's up to me to carry on.
I realized that I still
have a lot to learn though the course has finished. the limitation of time
(6 weeks) is quite tough for me, particularly with other course I took
in the same term. I feel that even this course is finished, I still have
a lot to search and learn from this experiences. Therefore, I have intentions
to continue my individual project with more reflections in my website.
I believe that this course has given me more adequate experiences, precisely
with the holistic approach, professional development through
online, create international
networks, online collaboration and team works. Everything that I got during
6 weeks of learning, will have follow-ups through out my lifelong learning
experiences. I also would like to thank you, Selia for all your supports
and motivations, you've given to the class. You have shown me how to approach
students individually and push our personal strengths to share with the
class. It was great to have you as our instructor. thanks
It was a wonderful learning
experience. I have told many of my colleagues if given the chance
to take your course, as it is a great opportunity and journey.
I feel like this course
has been a very valuable learning experience beyond any mark. It was frustrating
beyond words, but the satisfaction gained from overcoming technological
hurdles made me feel such a sense of accomplishment. I really put a lot
of time and effort into working on my projects. This is the first
website I have ever done and I am very proud of the finished product.
It was great to be in both
of your courses, CTL1000 and CTL1799. I've learned a lot from these online
experiences!
It was an amazing journey
working with you on this course, Selia, and I learned SO much!! Your
approach as an instructor was to apply the practice of holism in the course
so that the students experience firsthand what holism means, and how it's
done! I know that everyone in the class, including myself, have grown
from this experience.
Thanks again for the opportunity
to participate in the course, it was the highlight of my summer!!! This
summer was quite a challenging term, personally and professionally and
I'm quite happy with what I have learned from participating in your course.
Thank you once again for
giving such a dynamic and interactive course. I certainly have lots to
ponder before I go back to school (in a week!).
Although it was an amazing
amount of work I enjoyed the activities and knowledge that I gained from
this course.
This course has taught me
more than I anticipated and challenged me more than any other course at
OISE so far. It was a real pleasure. Thank you very much.
I appreciate the attention
you gave to each detail. Your reminding brings my attention to the very
basics. I think your comments on my work hit the nail on the head and I
will always need to work on my spelling and grammar. I just feel that those
are the hardest hurdle for me to jump.
Thank you so much for all
your support during this course. It made it enjoyable.
"I wanted to say hello.
And, also to tell you that after completing four online courses, I can
honestly say that you really developed a rich online learning experience.
I feel that you developed a strong course which was well thought out....your
holistic approach was evident in all aspects of the course. And,
I'm still struggling my way through learning technology...often still frustrated
but far less fearful. And, I credit this to you."
"I have enjoyed this course
and have learned a lot. However, this is the most time I have spent on
any course."
"Thanks for a truly amazing
experience. This has been my favourite course at OISE so far.
I feel like I have learned so much. Just tonight I was mentioning
in a thread that the learning never stops for me. Each time I log
on I learn something else; whether it be about computers, holistic education,
and even myself. Thanks for providing such a well organized and meaningful
course."
"Thank you for a most intriguing
and thought-provoking course. The connections were great and the facilitation
wonderful. You've created a great learning experience! ps. in the year
1799 the Rosetta Stone was discovered which opened up so much for the history
of an ancient world. In my "1799" this summer, I feel like I've been given
a new window of learning that will allow me to go further with new perspectives."
"I would like to take this
opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you for what I can
truly describe as a transformative learning experience. I use the word
"transformative" very deliberately, since I experienced a major shift in
my personal perspective on the role of computer technology in delivering
holistic educational programs. I began the course with a very skeptical
attitude about the impact of computers on the human psyche, and much to
my surprise, discovered that - with certain caveats - the technology can
work wonders in bringing me closer to my fellow learners, even though I
live hundreds of miles away from my nearest student neighbour. The second
part of this surprise for me has to do with just how profound the impact
of developing friendships with others in this course has been. I learned
how important co-inquiry is as a contributor to the shared discovery process
in our large group discussions, small teams, and even smaller partnered
learning dyads. My sense of connection with all of you has grown in wondrous
ways, more so than in any of the other six online courses I have previously
taken. I appreciate the technical help I received from the IT wizards in
this course, as well as the warm responses (and sometimes helpful challenges)
to my ideas from other learners in this course. I feel that as a result
of this process, my technical, cognitive, and interpersonal skills have
grown. I am excited about the possibilities inherent in online learning
environments designed with collaborative and holistic considerations in
mind and hope to continue my education to the next level, most likely relying
again on the online delivery model."
"I would like to express
my thanks to Selia and all my colleagues from this course for creating
the excellent online environment...we all have experienced transformation
of learning at higher levels to understand the core of holistic in education
and gain insightful technical skills of operating computer technology.
It has been exciting and a rewarding experience for me. I am grateful to
Selia for always being there to support and provide encouragement. I also
feel richly rewarded with this online community over the past several months,
...We have made our way uniquely! A special thank you to my reading partner
...A sincere thank you, to Selia for your wonderful work and inspiration
along the way which allowed me to finally enter the Holistic World."
"One of the things I most
appreciated about this course was the personal compassion you seemed to
have for each and every student - this takes any awful lot of energy and
your "good example" is something I will carry with me into next semesters'
courses - you also were very effective at getting the "holistic" message
across without being too preachy - I think this is partly cause you really
know the subject very very well, and you cast an aura of confidence when
you are dealing with yellow belts or brown belts (to use a metaphor I know
you will appreciate)
- and you did it all in
the face of challenges at work and personal health challenges - you have
"led me to a better place" - not only did you teach me something useful
to improve my competence, but by virtue of the fact I teach about 350 college/univ
students a semester,, your good guidance has a far reaching effect, as
you can tell from looking at recent updates on witiger.com
- domo arigato gozaimashita
- thanks very much - sensei yoroshiku onegai itashimasu - teacher, you
would honour me with favourable remembrance."
"I would like to join others
who have expressed some of their experiences and their thanks to Selia
for a very positive on-line learning experience. This is my first MEd course
and I was quite nervous at the beginning - to contribute ideas...that I
was able to "keep up" with the other participants...and the list goes on.
But through Selia's effective "team building" at the beginning, I soon
became increasingly comfortable and excited to delve into the topics presented
and discussed. The foundation that Selia worked so hard to establish -
to foster a feeling of "team" and collaboration are so very much appreciated
and respected! Selia, you are an excellent model of organization, openness,
resourcefulness and a stimulating teacher. This has been a very enlightening
and rewarding experience for me. I have learned a great deal not only about
computers and holistic education for my students, but also about myself
as a learner. Thank-you!"
I just want to say that
I am grateful to you since you taught me to 'learn to learn' when I took
the course 'Holistic Approaches to Information Technologies' When we presented
the curriculum for grade 2 students and parents on the Curriculum Night,
I was labeled as 'techi' since I put up everyone's work in MSP.Point.
It was a good presentation. We the grade 2 teachers were the ones who used
P.Point for the first time ever in our school.
For the past two
years I have been a graduate student at OISE pursuing an MA in CTL.
The course work portion of my degree is almost finished. In the summer
of 2003 I took CTL 1799 Enhancing Holistic Learning with Computer Technology.
I would like to take this opportunity to recommend this course with Selia
Karsten as the instructor. To date, this has been the most beneficial
course that I have taken at OISE. Not only did I benefit both professionally
and academically, but personally as well. Through
the openness and exceptional leadership skills of Selia, I developed a
passion for holistic education and wellness as well as focus for my research
interest in the area of technology. I utilized almost all of the
strategies I was taught this year in my position as behaviour resource
teacher and found the pedagogical expertise of Selia and the other students
to be refreshing and exciting. Combining holistic learning
with a rich technology base is not an easy thing to do. Selia has
done an exceptional job of pairing the two while challenging students and
pushing them to expand beliefs and practices. Courses and instructors
like this help OISE to be an innovative and progressive institution.
The experience of taking CTL 1799 has restored my faith in educational
research, development, and growth.
I would like to stress that
I found this course to be my most profound experiential process via an
online learning format. I especially appreciated the use of chats and partnered
learning assignments. By far the most interesting discovery for me was
that of how interpersonal relationships can help facilitate mutual learning
processes and how these can occur in an online environment. I feel that
the course is an important one in its present manifestation, and one which
bears further possibilities for growth and development, perhaps through
additional readings in the area of constructivist learning theory.
I hope that future students
have the opportunity to benefit from this course offering. Professor Karsten’s
course, Enhancing Holistic Learning with Computer Technology, inspired
me to strive to use technology in my classroom in a meaningful and constructive
fashion. Its collaborative approach and its emphasis on transformative
learning made me realize that the most productive use of technology in
education is one that focuses on creating communities, where each student
feels empowered and encouraged to grow and learn. Professor Karsten’s course
provided all of us with numerous opportunities to construct our own knowledge
and participate in a community of learning where meaning-making allowed
for active and personal quest for knowledge and personal growth. In addition
to reading about and discussing constructivism and holistic education,
we also experienced what it means to learn in electronic environments that
are based on these concepts. Professor Karsten's methodology and expertise
transformed our group into an inquiry-based community, where dialogue and
mutual support encouraged all of us to challenge ourselves and assume active
roles as co-creators rather than passive recipients of knowledge. As we
created our group blogs and built our websites, we became confident in
our own abilities to utilize technology in a meaningful manner. As a result,
my expertise as a teacher has expanded dramatically. Having experienced
the effectiveness of well-constructed online learning activities, I have
become adept at creating them for my own students. Professor Karsten’s
course helped all of us not only learn the theory but also experience it
“in action.”
Enhancing Holistic Curriculum
with Computer Technology is my first course in my M.Ed program at OISE,
and my first online course ever, so I was quite apprehensive about it before
I began. Your set-up instructions and advance information, well in
advance of the start date, were very helpful and crucial to my preparation
before the course began. You have the course very well organized
and are prompt and encouraging in your replies to any additional requests
for help or clarification. The objectives of the course are valuable
on many levels, and relevant to our time. On the whole, I have been
tremendously enriched by this course in my professional skills and understanding.
Thank you!
One of the most valuable
aspects of your course which has had a profound impact on my thesis and
my work as a teacher was its strong focus on empowering teachers/learners.
It gave me the courage to try blogging and collaborative discussion forums
in a grade eight class. I believe that it is a very valuable course and
should be a prerequisite for all teachers who intend to teach with computers.
As an "online only" student
at OISE/UT, I know I really appreciated the content and the delivery of
the course. Consideration of holistic learning with computer technology
forced me to be more cognizant of my needs as an online learner and I know
this will make me a more empathetic, and therefore better, online instructor.
I've tried to adopt more of "holistic" philosophy and approach since taking
your course and I know that it's helped in my efforts to reach-out to the
learners I've worked with since taking your course last spring. Indeed,
I'm still trying to wrap my head around a holistic approach for my major
research project. It's apparent to me that accounting for the social side
of technology-mediated learning is the key to success. I also suggest that
anything that enhances holistic learning will help educators better serve
the social and interpersonal needs of their students. I'll keep you posted
on developments ;-)
I found Enhancing Holistic
Learning with Computer Technology to be an important and enjoyable addition
to my program at OISE. Not only did the course explore holistic issues,
but it dealt with issues surrounding the online learning environment. The
course assignments comprised both individual and collaborative efforts,
and required considerable reflection on the processes of both. I
wouldn't hesitate to recommend this course to anyone, regardless of discipline.
This course has challenged
my previous experiences with online learning. While benefits such
as flexibility remain, there have been several other valuable rewards –
creating websites, exploring various Learning Management Systems, etc.
Sometimes the greatest learning occurs when we are pushed out of our comfort
zones and expertise, and for me, this course did just that, but in the
end, I learned about so many valuable technologies that I will employ to
enhance holism in my classroom.
Updated May 2013
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