Thanks with a Grateful Heart!

Dear friends of class 5283,
The semester that seemed long has come to an end but what we learned in this class is a beginning and it will continue lifelong. I am very grateful to my professors and all my classmates who played an important role in enabling me learn and complete this course successfully.
Blessings,
Mercy.

Pressing towards the goal

Finally we have come to the end of module 4. The road to success is not always pretty. We have done a lot of work leaning evaluation. I try to evaluate everything ever since I started this class. I was trying to evaluate the person who was doing our annual evaluation and I thought she needed to attend a class on the standard bssed and responsive evaluation to be a better evaluator.
Now it is my turn to analyse and determine a coding system for the instrument I made. I am battling with it because I am not a fan of statestics. I read somewhere- to find what you like to do, do well, and strive to do it with excellence...I am still a work in progress....pressing towards the goal of completing the task successfully.
Mercy.

meta evaluation

What is meta evaluation? Stake says it is the evaluation of the quality of an evaluation. How many times we all evaluate something or somebody every day. We evaluate them as we think and feel. This class has taught us the process of evaluation and its complexity. It has taught us that it is not an easy job. The several steps of evaluation, the different stake holders, the several terminologies, the type of evaluands and so much more.
Now I evaluate them with the professional knowledge I acquired from this class. Dr. Anderson has helped me expand my technological horizon through continuos active engagement with technology which I would have never tried otherwise. I stopped using the words like technologically challenged and I like to say that I am technologically growing but the growing pains are always there. Like the parents want their children to grow steadily as expected, I am thinking our instructors are happy to see their students grow. As we grow we learn more everyday from our surroundings, peers and many others. I am sure the instructors learn from their students too. Just like our patients touch our lives as we touch theirs, I believe that it is the same with the instructors and the students.
I have seen hurricanes but the experience of going through one is entirely different. Now I have a life experience and a testimony to share and can understand better the feelings of anyone going throug such an experience. It also taught me that it was not the end. The sun shines again and life goes on. More to do and more lives to be touched. The clock continues to tick and let us make every moment count.
Mercy.

End is always better than the beginning

Finally more than half of the class is over. The time has come to present the fruits of our labour. Program evaluation was not that easy, but we made it. Developing an instrument was a piece of hard work. Learning and using new and unfamiliar technology was overwhelming. Finding the blogs, creating them, reading them, reflecting on everyone's blogs, participating in the discussions and keeping up with the assignments were all time consuming and many times distressing. Despite all these pains, hard work and unavoidable calamities like Ike I feel that we all have come through well.
Three cheers to our great instructors who were behind the cutains, setting the stage for us to learn. The surprises, the excitements, the shocks, the joys, the discoveries, the achievements, and everything else has brought us together as a class and more than that an interactive community. As I read everyone's blog I understand each one as a person, get to know more about their styles of reflection and interaction which is unique and together we make that very special online learning community.
Mercy.

The program evaluation

The program evaluation is very interesting and rewarding too. It has been so complex than I thought. It changed my perspectives about the process, goals and outcomes. I learned how to develop measurable goals. I started looking at the several programs going on in my institution with critical and professional eyes. There is much more to program evaluation than just evaluation itself. I was looking at the outcome of several programs in relation to what I learned from the class. It even made me think critically about the programs at our church at my kids' school and several local programs. I learned a lot from this class. Is evaluation a science? Stake states in chapter 9 that science is systemized knowledge obtained from observation, study, and experimentation, carried on to determine the nature or principles of what is being studied. In evaluation we use all of these. What are your reflections?

A "hands on" educational program

Hello Everyone,
I am trying to do a program evaluation on a hands on education program for the urology patients who are discharged with a foley catheter. This program is developed with the objectives of improving the confidence of the patients in caring for their indwelling foley catheter at home. It indeed is a good one which is greatly appreciated by the patients as well as the staff.
As I started evaluating this program I realize that it is much more than the participants acquiring knowledge and skills. It should be an outcomes based evaluation I think. The goal is to minimize anxiety and improve the condidence of patients in the care of their catheter. Any thoughts?
Mercy.

5283- Evaluation

Hello All,
How is evaluation and program goals going? I thought it was good until I lost my assignment from the webmail. I was unable to save it on microsoft from my brother-in-law's house as we were not able to stay at our house due to repair. Now I can't do the next one without it. Any one know how I can find it again? I wonder how chaos strike you when you are already confused. I hope I will find it some way!
Mercy.

Reg Modus Operandi

Hi Dinah & Melinda,
Thanks for the response. I did not know that it is a Latin word and that it is commonly used in criminal justice. Now I understand that it is observation of styles and characteristics. Once again thank you.
Mercy

The Blogging continues.....Standard based vs Responsive evaluation....

Hi Everyone,
Are'nt we happy that Module 2 is almost over. I am working on assignment 2, making up program goals from scratch ...kind of using 'critical thinking' for standard based evaluation ans searching for 'quality'
in the program for reponsive evaluation. Did you know tht "modus operandi" for responsive evaluation is observation? I wonder what does modus operandi stands for.
In nursing we use a lot of responsive evaluation along with standard based evaluation. I liked Stake's illustration of the responsive clock in Page 103.
I would have never known that evaluation is such a complex process and is more than students and courses or nurses and competencies. I am definitely enjoying this class in spite of it's complexities. It has changed my perspectives about evaluation. It is inspirational as well as fun.
Mercy.

Many are your challenges

Hello Everyone,
September has been a memorable month for me. I wonder what October holds. I hope and pray that it will be uneventful. The classes are challenging and overwhelming. Everything affects you from all the sides at the same time. It teaches you patience and endurance.
I love the new technologies and love to use them but now it is more time consuming until I get used to them. I am grateful to my groupmates who are patient with me.
I know that if I cannot embrace the various types of instructional technologies now, the day will soon come when I will not be able to survive.
Today I am so excited that I can use twitter and am trying to learn wetpaint wiki. It is amazing to know about interesting technologies available.

Hi Mercy, glad to hear that you and your family are okay. I am sorry to hear about your home. We looked at all the internet photos we could find. How can I help you with class? Are you doing okay with it?

Update on Hurricane IKE

Hi All,
How have you been doing? Sorry that I haven't had a chance to update the blog like I should have. We have had a rough couple of days due to the hurricane. Basically my house is in shambles due to the heavy rains and winds. We are currently living with one of our friends. We hope to have everything up and running as soon as possible.

Hi all,

I am Mercy Cherian from Houston Texas. I work in MD Anderson Cancer Center for the past 10 years. I am married and live in Stafford, TX, with my husband and two daughters. I love nursing and nursing education. This class may be a little tough for me and may need some help from my expert class mates. I am looking forward to learning with you all. I believe we have a wonderful semester.

Just to let you know, my email is mcherian85@yahoo.com; it is also my instant messenger on Yahoo! under the same address. My blog website is: http://n5283.blogspot.com.

Again I look forward to seeing what the class has to offer me, and how I can be enriched by the materials given in this class!

Thanks!
Mercy.