Friday, July 23, 2010
Internship Web Conference - July 23
I am now in my fifth class and beginning to feel overwhelmed - not from the coursework, but from many directives. There seems to be too much information coming in from too many sources and some of it is conflicting. Other students seem to have the same problem. There is still the issue of when our assignments or due in 5301 Research class, Friday or Sunday. Instructional Associates are telling us Sunday, Dr. Abernathy says Friday with a two day grace period. I believe the confusion lies in that this class is mostly geared toward the EL students. Requirements change and are added in. So, thus the blog. I am blogging about the web conference I participated in at 4:00. I didn't gain any new information concerning the internship, only that we need to blog about our web conference for giving feedback. I am still unsure if we blog about each one we attend or only if we are asked to at each conference. I am going to try and attend tomorrow's conference to see if I get any other information.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Integrating Online Learning in the K-12 Classroom
What benefits do you see in educators knowing how to design and implement online learning?
From the standpoint of a leader the main benefit I see in educators knowing how to design and implement online learning is increase in student performance. As leaders we are focused on campus improvement. One of the areas we need to focus on is how we can use technology to bring our teaching into the 21st century. If educators want to have relevance in this century, it is crucial that we find ways to engage students in school (Prensky, 2005). I believe incorporating online learning inside the walls of our schools we will have more opportunities to meet the many diverse needs and learning styles of our “digital natives”. If online learning is designed correctly, especially using the backward design approach, it will provide clear goals, directions, and learning plans. Tasks will be more authentic, learner-centered, and students will be more engaged. According to a 2004 study in the British Journal of Educational Technology by Dr. Namin Shin and Jason K.Y. Chan, the main factors in a successful online learning experience are: student achievement, satisfaction and persistence.
Prensky, M. (2005). Listen to the natives. Educational Leadership. 63(4), 8-13. Retrieved from http://www.siprep.org/prodev/documents/Prensky.pdf
Shim, N. & Chan, J. (2004). Direct and indirect effects of online learning on distance education. British Journal of Educational Technology. 35(3), 275-288. Retrieved from [PDF] Direct and indirect effects of online learning on distance education
How will you professionally use your course that you designed?
The course that I designed is actually a redesign of a unit I have been teaching for several years. I redesigned it just this year into a web quest. For the purpose of this course I took it once again and redesigned it using Wiggins; and McTighe’s backward design. I learned from my study in Understanding by Design that I had not established clear goals in certain areas of the project. Using the template made it much easier to clearly establish the learning outcomes. I was able to throw out some of the project that really did not add function to their learning. I plan on continuing to refine this project and use it with my students next year using Schoology. I agree with the authors of Understanding by Design that backward design can yield “greater coherence among desired results, key performances, and teaching and learning experiences, resulting in better student performance – the purpose of design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2006).
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.
Will you integrate online learning in your role as a teacher/staff developer?
I have enjoyed facilitating my Desktop Publishing class the past three years utilizing my website as an online communication tool for my students. Seventy-five percent of what I do with my students is given to them via my teacher website. Having been introduced and being able to experience Schoology has shown me how I can take my “online teaching and learning” to a whole new level. For instance, I have students each year missing two and three weeks of school traveling abroad for religious holiday. Although they could “keep up” with what we were doing in class they were still very much isolated. I see integrating this online course in my classroom as a great benefit for this instance alone. My students will be able to keep in touch with me and still be able to collaborate with their peers. They will be able to turn in assignments, watch videos, and ask questions. I will definitely continue to explore and master this new tool to be able to seamlessly integrate it in my classroom.
What questions do you still have about online learning?
It has been determined that there are many advantages to online learning, however there are some disadvantages that could hinder the success of learning for some students. In face-to-face interaction students rely on verbal and visual cues for understanding. Some students are not independent learners and need frequent feedback to feel confident in what they are doing. Online learning requires students to have the ability to pay attention to detail. It takes a very mature, self-motivated and disciplined student to succeed in online learning. Also, what about the students that lacks organizational skills and discipline to managed their time in order to keep up with the pace of the course? What about the students that do not have the technical experience to be able to comfortably confront any technical issues? And last, what about those students who do not have the access to technology at home? Research shows that dropout rates for online courses and programs may be 10 to 20 percent higher than for in-classroom courses and programs because students lack time, management oversight, motivation, support, or because their individual learning style is not congruent with online delivery strategy (Digital Bridges, 2005). How do we address the needs of these 10 to 20 percent or even possible even a higher percentage for our younger students?
Digital Bridges. (2005). K-12 online instructions for teaching and learning: what does research tell us about online education. Northwest Regional Educational Library. Retrieved from http://www.netc.org/digitalbridges/online/essentials/research.php
What benefits do you see in educators knowing how to design and implement online learning?
At this present time I will use online learning in my classroom as a supplement to my existing program. I plan on using the course I have already developed in Schoology after some more revising. I also plan to use it at the very start of the academic year. Each year my students walk into my Desktop Publishing class with excitement and anticipation about working with state of the art computers. They are quickly disappointed when they realize they can not immediately jump right on the computers and start “playing”. The curriculum starts off with the history of desktop publishing the studying hardware and software. I would like to redesign this part of my curriculum using the backwards design and use the online learning management system. I am excited at the prospect of turning the beginning of our year into a learning experience that my students have never encountered before.
From the standpoint of a leader the main benefit I see in educators knowing how to design and implement online learning is increase in student performance. As leaders we are focused on campus improvement. One of the areas we need to focus on is how we can use technology to bring our teaching into the 21st century. If educators want to have relevance in this century, it is crucial that we find ways to engage students in school (Prensky, 2005). I believe incorporating online learning inside the walls of our schools we will have more opportunities to meet the many diverse needs and learning styles of our “digital natives”. If online learning is designed correctly, especially using the backward design approach, it will provide clear goals, directions, and learning plans. Tasks will be more authentic, learner-centered, and students will be more engaged. According to a 2004 study in the British Journal of Educational Technology by Dr. Namin Shin and Jason K.Y. Chan, the main factors in a successful online learning experience are: student achievement, satisfaction and persistence.
Prensky, M. (2005). Listen to the natives. Educational Leadership. 63(4), 8-13. Retrieved from http://www.siprep.org/prodev/documents/Prensky.pdf
Shim, N. & Chan, J. (2004). Direct and indirect effects of online learning on distance education. British Journal of Educational Technology. 35(3), 275-288. Retrieved from [PDF] Direct and indirect effects of online learning on distance education
How will you professionally use your course that you designed?
The course that I designed is actually a redesign of a unit I have been teaching for several years. I redesigned it just this year into a web quest. For the purpose of this course I took it once again and redesigned it using Wiggins; and McTighe’s backward design. I learned from my study in Understanding by Design that I had not established clear goals in certain areas of the project. Using the template made it much easier to clearly establish the learning outcomes. I was able to throw out some of the project that really did not add function to their learning. I plan on continuing to refine this project and use it with my students next year using Schoology. I agree with the authors of Understanding by Design that backward design can yield “greater coherence among desired results, key performances, and teaching and learning experiences, resulting in better student performance – the purpose of design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2006).
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.
Will you integrate online learning in your role as a teacher/staff developer?
I have enjoyed facilitating my Desktop Publishing class the past three years utilizing my website as an online communication tool for my students. Seventy-five percent of what I do with my students is given to them via my teacher website. Having been introduced and being able to experience Schoology has shown me how I can take my “online teaching and learning” to a whole new level. For instance, I have students each year missing two and three weeks of school traveling abroad for religious holiday. Although they could “keep up” with what we were doing in class they were still very much isolated. I see integrating this online course in my classroom as a great benefit for this instance alone. My students will be able to keep in touch with me and still be able to collaborate with their peers. They will be able to turn in assignments, watch videos, and ask questions. I will definitely continue to explore and master this new tool to be able to seamlessly integrate it in my classroom.
What questions do you still have about online learning?
It has been determined that there are many advantages to online learning, however there are some disadvantages that could hinder the success of learning for some students. In face-to-face interaction students rely on verbal and visual cues for understanding. Some students are not independent learners and need frequent feedback to feel confident in what they are doing. Online learning requires students to have the ability to pay attention to detail. It takes a very mature, self-motivated and disciplined student to succeed in online learning. Also, what about the students that lacks organizational skills and discipline to managed their time in order to keep up with the pace of the course? What about the students that do not have the technical experience to be able to comfortably confront any technical issues? And last, what about those students who do not have the access to technology at home? Research shows that dropout rates for online courses and programs may be 10 to 20 percent higher than for in-classroom courses and programs because students lack time, management oversight, motivation, support, or because their individual learning style is not congruent with online delivery strategy (Digital Bridges, 2005). How do we address the needs of these 10 to 20 percent or even possible even a higher percentage for our younger students?
Digital Bridges. (2005). K-12 online instructions for teaching and learning: what does research tell us about online education. Northwest Regional Educational Library. Retrieved from http://www.netc.org/digitalbridges/online/essentials/research.php
What benefits do you see in educators knowing how to design and implement online learning?
At this present time I will use online learning in my classroom as a supplement to my existing program. I plan on using the course I have already developed in Schoology after some more revising. I also plan to use it at the very start of the academic year. Each year my students walk into my Desktop Publishing class with excitement and anticipation about working with state of the art computers. They are quickly disappointed when they realize they can not immediately jump right on the computers and start “playing”. The curriculum starts off with the history of desktop publishing the studying hardware and software. I would like to redesign this part of my curriculum using the backwards design and use the online learning management system. I am excited at the prospect of turning the beginning of our year into a learning experience that my students have never encountered before.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Weak Link
The Educator Preparation and Development area of the Texas Long Range Plan basically states that in order to successfully equip students for the 21st Century teachers need to be current with the knowledge and skills and strategies integrating technology into the teaching and learning taking place in their classrooms. As teachers, to meet this goal, we are dependent on the leadership as well as the infrastructure. I believe if teachers are aware of the “vision”, have effective training and support, and time during professional development to work on applying what was learned we will meet this goal. However, on the two campuses where I have worked I have failed to see the majority of the teachers able to seamlessly integrate technology into the learning process. Why is this? On my current campus the data shows a drop from 18 points (07/08) to 14 points (08/09) in the area of Educator Preparation and Development. The drop in 4 points was specifically due to four out of the six focus areas dropping from a score of 3 (Advanced Tech) down to 2 (Developing Tech). These four focus areas are in Content of Professional Development, Models of Professional Development, and Capabilities of Educators and Level of Understanding patterns of Use. The other two focus areas stayed the same. I am curious as to why this has happened – what does it mean? Is it because teachers in 08/09 received less professional development and support than in 07/08? Or maybe is it that they feel that they now possess a clearer understanding and vision of where they should be and see that the weakness is in lack of effective development? These are answers that I feel would be advantageous for campus and district leaders to pursue. It would seem that the best possible way to understand the drop in data would be to seek out feedback from the teachers, perhaps in some type of forum.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Entering Into the 21st Century
How exciting it is to experience another area of technology! This evening's participation in EDLD 5306 Concepts of Education Technology web conference was a first for me. It was a cumbersome yet exciting experience. At first I felt as if I were stumbling around in the dark. Some of us could be heard but not seen. My camera was on, but my video would not appear. We had a rough start with a lot of audio feedback as well as it going in and out. But, after a while it began to sound better with the help of several in our group. All in all I consider it a success. Anytime I can get my feet wet and come out with a better understanding is an accomplishment. It was also great to be able to associate names to faces. I am looking forward to our next conference.
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