Positive social change | EDDD 8110 – The Art of Online Teaching | Walden University

Post your response to the following:

You just won the Online Educator of the Year award! Write a  300-word acceptance speech for this prestigious honor. In your speech  address:

1-The qualities that made you such a successful leader in the  online classroom (Who can you thank for helping you to learn and  cultivate these qualities?

2-How you feel that online learning contributes to positive social  change (Consider access to education, global creative problem solving,  connecting diverse perspectives, geographically agnostic learning, and  serving students with mobility challenges, communication challenges, or  learning differences¬.)

SAMPLE FROM A STUDENT IN MY CLASS

Thank you so much for this honor, I am truly blessed to receive this  award. Teaching has been a passion of mine since I was a little girl,  and my dream was to become a college professor. When I branched into the  teaching scene, I was looking for a school that believed in giving back  to the community, understanding the importance of culture in the  classroom, and the ability to relate real world issues and successes  within in the classroom.

When I was a student, I had several professors who brought culture  and diversity into the classroom and connected it to the course  material. I loved learning how the material was relevant to social  society and how I could use that information to make a difference.  Having professors who truly cared how the students were going to be able  to use the course material in their lives outside of school, is why I  wanted to become the type of teacher I am today.

When I started my search for the school I wanted to teach for,  Walden University (2016) stood out because they, “consider their self a  learning organization and believes that quality and integrity are the  cornerstone of all academic processes” (p.22). Integrity is a highlight  in my courses because I believe students cannot be successful if their  professor and themselves are not honest with their course work and  having a standard of high moral principles to do the right thing.

Online learning contributes to a positive social change, and I am  thrilled to consider myself part of the online learning community.  Online learning is about being able to reach a diverse group of students  across the world and Walden University (2016), “fosters social change  through education of scholar-practitioners, increasing access to higher  education, and applying research to helping solve problems in the world”  (p.6). Learning through the online platform allows an increase of  access to higher education for those who cannot attend in-person, or if  there is a certain degree a student wishes to achieve, and a local  school does not offer it. With the increase of higher education access,  it also increases diverse perspectives within the classroom. It is an  incredible feeling as an online educator to be able to teach a diverse  group of students; I find this contributes to the overall success of the  course because it adds value and additional insight into the course  material.

As an online educator I understand that students may have  communication challenges, mobility challenges, and/or learning  differences as they could have in-person learning as well, but knowing  these challenges I am, “sensitive to the various learning styles and  particularly the way I assess student’s performance” (Katz, 2020, p.5). I  like to reach out to all of my students on the first day and have a  private conversation with them and ask them is they have any learning  difficulties I should be made aware of, and then we can discuss how we  can work through them to make sure the student is able learn the course  material and perform to their best ability.

Again, I want to thank you so much for this honor, I am truly humbled.

RESOURCES

https://www.waldenu.edu/about/social-change