Featured L4C Participant: Nellie Deutsch

"WikiEducator is a place where I become we" I would like to see e-learning available and free worldwide]]. My name is Nellie (Muller) Deutsch. I joined Wikieducator around February, 2008 because the idea of sharing freely appealed to me. I registered for a Learning4Content workshop scheduled for March 2008. However, I found WikiEducator so user friendly that I started contributing before the course began. I browsed around and noticed Israel, my place of residency, did not appear so I added the name and country flag. I then began to develop my user page on February 23, 2008 (my youngest daughter's birthday).

Since then, I have been involved in the forum discussions via google groups on how to improve communications on WikiEducator, to promote WikiEducator on other social networks I belong to like facebook, ning blogs, wikispaces, wetpaint, pb wiki, learnhub, and wiziq, and pursue my goal on how to make e-learning free worldwide. My interest in sharing and developing free e-learning, inspired me to create a Moodle learning environment called Integrating Technology for Active Lifelong Learning (IT4ALL) and use WiZiQ  as tool to invite experts to present live online sessions. As a Learning4Content graduate, I started courses on how to make the most of WikiEducator both face-to-face for high school students and on I facilitated over 10 L4C online workshops on WikiEducator. I also developed the courses and innovated they look today. In addition, I have applied to moderate online courses for new members on how to use WikiEducator via Moodle. I also volunteered my services as Chief Electoral Officer for the First Wikieducator Council Elections and until recently was a nominated member of the Council and secretary. I resigned due to personal family commitments.

Next year, I plan to change strategies and involve teachers and students in collaborating on an international literature-sharing project on WikiEducator instead of my Building Relationship Moodle website (Website is no longer available).

My formal educational background is varied but my informal studies are even more so. I have a BA in English literature and linguistics, an MAED/CT in education specializing in curriculum and technology, and a Doctor of Education in educational leadership specializing in curriculum and instruction from the University of Phoenix (blended learning format). I have been teaching English as a foreign language for over 30 years and integrating technology into the ESL/EFL classroom since the 1990s. I have been involved in international collaborative projects and WebQuests via Moodle for the past 7 years. My first website, Nellie's English Projects was an experiment that evolved from a WebQuest and started me off as a webmistress in the days of html before web 2.0 tools. I facilitate online (Blended and full) and face-to-face workshops on how to use Wikieducator as a collaborative tool to improve instruction and learning and conduct online workshops and conferences. I also moderate live online workshops for Electronic Village Online which is a project of TESOL's CALL Interest Section, storytelling and cultures, and integration of technology and web 2.0 tools into the classroom on WiZiQ.

I am passionate about learning and have recently completed my doctoral studies in educational leadership specializing in curriculum,and instruction online at the University of Phoenix. I researched blended learning] and instructor experiences with technology in blended learning in higher education. In my spare time, I mentor educators on how to integrate technology via Moodle for Teachers (M4T), WebQuests, Online Facilitation via Blended Learning (BL) and Blended Online Learning (BOL), and Professional Electronic Portfolios (PEP) for instruction and learning. I would like to see e-learning available and free worldwide.

Here's a video I created for a Learning for Content (L4C) workshop: