Now that I'm officially not the only one in this group, it seems especially fitting to get things going. I am passionate about online teaching and learning as a mode of instruction for school aged children as well as adult learners.
I received my Masters in Online Teaching and Learning from California State University at East Bay. My experience as an online student quickly proved that the online learning environment was a comfortable fit for me. I truly enjoyed the interaction I had with my classmates, and quiet honestly believe I built stronger relationships in my online classes than I tended to in the brick and mortar classroom. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate both environments, but like to point out that the social element in the online class really worked for me as I believe that is one of the elements many fear would be missing. I even met several of my classmates over the years (I hiked with a classmate in Kauai, Hawaii, met two classmates in Las Vegas, and meet another classmate and her husband periodically for dinner (they happen to be close enough).
I teach computer classes in a traditional middle school in addition to teaching an online high school class for Virtual High School (http://www.govhs.org) and professional development courses for Virtual High School (Best Practices: Web 2.0 Integration - http://www.govhs.org/Pages/ProfDev-Home) as well as my school district where I teach a number of onilne staff development courses.
I hope that we can create some synergy here and bring others along for the ride.
Best Regards,
Steve Isaacs
