Reviewing your previous blog posts, what, if anything, has changed in your attitude toward online schools and online schooling over the past 15 weeks?
What has changed? That's sort of a funny question from my perspective because frankly, I barely even knew they existed 15 weeks ago (except for the occasional mention of Philadelphia's Virtual Academy) and now I am starting to produce courses myself.
It is not really that I didn't know they existed, I just never gave deep thought to anything about online learning - even though I do it myself at TC. What made a good instructor vs a bad one. What defined a good online course vs one that was poorly done. My knee jerk reaction would have been to say "what about the social interaction?" I don't believe it is so much what I've read or seen that has changed my attitude - but more the fact that I thought about it at all. It tied everything I know about education, technology, teaching, learning, and people together. And the well chosen readings provided interesting perspectives I would not have thought about.
As I begin working with a new CTE school this month, they are requesting an online learning component. I haven't had a client ask me for this before, and I am not sure whether our national education crises is bringing online learning out in to the open as a very viable alternative or whether it is just coincidence. Now I will know to look in to all options - should they have existing teachers give it a shot? Should they outsource to FLVS or K12 or one of many other sources? I would have absolutely no knowledge of the alternatives, the differences, or what to look for in a high quality online environment if I hadn't taken this course.
Thanks to you all - for this was truly a social learning experience - great class peers and of course an instructor/facilitator who is one of the highest ranking black belts in the country when it comes to online learning. I feel so fortunate that I was able to have this experience and very coincidentally, I will use what I've learned here often in the short term future.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Research and Online Schooling
More and more I am convinced that online schooling has the potential to solve so many issues we face with our "education crises." If we put the time and money in to research, if we take the time to teach our teachers how to produce and execute a really good online course there are so many benefits. In a regular face to face environment, a student may get 20 minutes 3 times/week to develop literacy skills. That may be all the time they get for any course, not just literacy. In an online course, we have the opportunity to be sure the students are understanding by using ongoing assessment tools and adaptive learning. And now as we are moving toward core curriculum standards in so many schools, the challenge in face to face schools will grow greater and they will be re-developing their curriculum regardless. There is so much that can be done, and the flexibility is so much greater than in a face to face environment - hopefully as time goes by we will have more case studies to evaluate that have been developed over time and as a result carry more validity. We have never needed this more.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
After Developing the Course......
In a way, the course was easier than I thought it would be to develop. I was lucky enough to have a partner who had a lesson plan she had already done for her class, so we didn't have to think that through. What I am more recently aware of, both through working with Sara and through my own real-life job, is how academic requirements play such an important role in course design. Sara had already designed the course to coincide with the Regents, so this seems to be something regular teachers are used to. But from a design standpoint, it made me think about time allotted to each task, how long we could leave for each task, if the same exact requirements applied for each online course, and how complicated it must be for the larger for profit companies that create content for states other than their own. It seems very specific, although I am just getting a handle on that aspect of course development (so pardon my ignorance for those who didn't think twice about it.) I am very glad I had Sara because my concerns about time allocated and the unit would have been magnified if not for the fact that she was used to working within those parameters and had already designed the course to fit.
It was great fun to apply mindtools and various ways of learning the same content. I am also not sure that we should have used a different platform than most were using, as I don't believe many people had a chance to view what we did and thus we didn't get much feedback (my fault - there was not a link that would have worked for everyone, only an email I sent out which may have been misinterpreted as SPAM.) There is definitely something to be said for the incumbent (moodle) in terms of people's familiarity - but I think it is only a matter of time before the other open source platforms start getting momentum and people choose based on their needs. Especially where there is no cost involved.
It was great fun to apply mindtools and various ways of learning the same content. I am also not sure that we should have used a different platform than most were using, as I don't believe many people had a chance to view what we did and thus we didn't get much feedback (my fault - there was not a link that would have worked for everyone, only an email I sent out which may have been misinterpreted as SPAM.) There is definitely something to be said for the incumbent (moodle) in terms of people's familiarity - but I think it is only a matter of time before the other open source platforms start getting momentum and people choose based on their needs. Especially where there is no cost involved.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Planning an Online Course
What are you most concerned about as you embark on creating a curriculum unit?
My primary concern as we plan our curriculum unit is that, as in any instructional design, what seems to work in theory does not always translate to a good course. There are lots of teachers in this class who are probably very adept at planning good coursework, and thankfully I will be working with one of them :) It may be different when constructing an online course though. I feel as though I will know ways to prompt discussion and engagement, but just as in face to face course design, in a real course unit we would need to be ready to shift gears if the learners were not responding as we'd hoped. That "Plan B" we all keep in our pocket might not be as easy to implement in this environment. We shall see!
My other concern, if we do a combination of virtual classroom and virtual course, is that even if we have occasional live sessions (which we are talking about doing) there will not be participation - especially if it is optional.
As of right now those are my main concerns, but I'm sure they will snowball as we both reflect and dig in to start planning the actual mechanics of the course!
My primary concern as we plan our curriculum unit is that, as in any instructional design, what seems to work in theory does not always translate to a good course. There are lots of teachers in this class who are probably very adept at planning good coursework, and thankfully I will be working with one of them :) It may be different when constructing an online course though. I feel as though I will know ways to prompt discussion and engagement, but just as in face to face course design, in a real course unit we would need to be ready to shift gears if the learners were not responding as we'd hoped. That "Plan B" we all keep in our pocket might not be as easy to implement in this environment. We shall see!
My other concern, if we do a combination of virtual classroom and virtual course, is that even if we have occasional live sessions (which we are talking about doing) there will not be participation - especially if it is optional.
As of right now those are my main concerns, but I'm sure they will snowball as we both reflect and dig in to start planning the actual mechanics of the course!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Reflections on the Unseen
Q: Did you change anything in the Google spreadsheet? If so, what? Has your view of the schools you chose to research changed from the first week you looked at them? If so, how?
I did not change anything in my spreadsheet, but our discussions really made me think about the challenges and unseen (or specified) challenges in both producing and conducting an on-line class. It is easy to say "oh, this class was good" or "oh, this one was bad" but the past couple of weeks allowed us to delve deeper in to why we say these things. I thought our discussions really showed deep thought and proved that, given the proper forum and group of motivated students, it works!
Peer to Peer interaction, the various ways of encouraging it, teacher student interaction - there are so may components that go in to a class. This explains why being a good teacher does not necessarily translate in to being a good online teacher. It is a unique skill set that a teacher must have to adequately balance all of these things AND provide rich and educational content.
I have to think that running a class like this would be even more difficult for a K-12 teacher who knows nothing about her class or their personal interests, aside from the grade they are in. How do they know they are hitting the right buttons with questions to engage and promote discussion? It is definitely not easy.
I did not change anything in my spreadsheet, but our discussions really made me think about the challenges and unseen (or specified) challenges in both producing and conducting an on-line class. It is easy to say "oh, this class was good" or "oh, this one was bad" but the past couple of weeks allowed us to delve deeper in to why we say these things. I thought our discussions really showed deep thought and proved that, given the proper forum and group of motivated students, it works!
Peer to Peer interaction, the various ways of encouraging it, teacher student interaction - there are so may components that go in to a class. This explains why being a good teacher does not necessarily translate in to being a good online teacher. It is a unique skill set that a teacher must have to adequately balance all of these things AND provide rich and educational content.
I have to think that running a class like this would be even more difficult for a K-12 teacher who knows nothing about her class or their personal interests, aside from the grade they are in. How do they know they are hitting the right buttons with questions to engage and promote discussion? It is definitely not easy.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Nature vs Nurture?
Did the results of your TPI fit your image of yourself as a teacher? Do you think the TPI results are different for the same person teaching online and face-to-face?
The results of the TPI test were interesting for me, because I teach adult learners. Sometimes my instruction is done face to face, and sometimes it is via distance learning (webinars, go to meetings, videos, etc.)
I wonder if it is completely different for me. I am always aware that I am teaching clients who have paid for me to teach them, for my training and for the products we offer. My TPI numbers were all in the low 30s and some in the low 40s - by far "nurturing" was my highest score. Again, I wonder if that is because my primary goal is to make them happy - which means I've made them learn and understand - which means they will continue to be clients (and I will continue to have a job :)) Although it is not exactly the same, the question arose during discussions about only paying a teacher when a course is completed. My situation could be interpreted in the same way (although it is different.) If my clients are not happy, my company can lose big business and I could potentially lose my job. I am not sure whether regular teachers (in a non-corporate setting) feel the same way? I would be curious to know. "Customer comes first."
When I taught for the sake of only teaching, in non-profit/volunteer situations, it was for adults as well. I found that I tailored my instruction to their individual desires and goals, because I wanted them to come back and complete the course/learn what I was teaching. I knew it would give them better job skills and it would be worth it, but these particular adults were tough to keep interested. If it was not easy enough, they felt futile - if it was not tough enough, they wouldn't learn what they needed to learn. I suppose this is also how most teachers feel. In that case I would say I was more nurturing as well, but it was because of the student's nature - these people had seen very tough times and needed to feel good about themselves and what they could accomplish/learn.
I can't see how it would be any different in either situation for online teachers of any type. I wonder what others will notice.
The results of the TPI test were interesting for me, because I teach adult learners. Sometimes my instruction is done face to face, and sometimes it is via distance learning (webinars, go to meetings, videos, etc.)
I wonder if it is completely different for me. I am always aware that I am teaching clients who have paid for me to teach them, for my training and for the products we offer. My TPI numbers were all in the low 30s and some in the low 40s - by far "nurturing" was my highest score. Again, I wonder if that is because my primary goal is to make them happy - which means I've made them learn and understand - which means they will continue to be clients (and I will continue to have a job :)) Although it is not exactly the same, the question arose during discussions about only paying a teacher when a course is completed. My situation could be interpreted in the same way (although it is different.) If my clients are not happy, my company can lose big business and I could potentially lose my job. I am not sure whether regular teachers (in a non-corporate setting) feel the same way? I would be curious to know. "Customer comes first."
When I taught for the sake of only teaching, in non-profit/volunteer situations, it was for adults as well. I found that I tailored my instruction to their individual desires and goals, because I wanted them to come back and complete the course/learn what I was teaching. I knew it would give them better job skills and it would be worth it, but these particular adults were tough to keep interested. If it was not easy enough, they felt futile - if it was not tough enough, they wouldn't learn what they needed to learn. I suppose this is also how most teachers feel. In that case I would say I was more nurturing as well, but it was because of the student's nature - these people had seen very tough times and needed to feel good about themselves and what they could accomplish/learn.
I can't see how it would be any different in either situation for online teachers of any type. I wonder what others will notice.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Future of Online Courses and Instruction
What did you learn about the design of online courses this week that will affect how you think about this form of instruction in the future?
I think online instruction is still a nascent industry/method of instruction. Every aspect is new and deserving of research and investment - optimum pedagogy; the proper use of multi-media and digital tools; integration of social learning, interaction and sharing; professional development (or initial teacher development) of instructors who can take full advantage of the tools available and can still provide the personalization promised by online schooling, the acceptance of virtual schooling as a viable and credible option to face to face schooling, and more. There are multi-cultural opportunities, virtual language immersion, and a number of opportunities yet to come.
I believe there will be many companies that crop up as a result of the needs and pivots that online schooling takes. Private, individualized, personal tutors? Elluminate or Adobe Connect classes where students see and interact with each other? Handheld integration or "always on" learning? The list goes on. I doubt very much that online schooling will look like this in a few years, but this is a start!
I think online instruction is still a nascent industry/method of instruction. Every aspect is new and deserving of research and investment - optimum pedagogy; the proper use of multi-media and digital tools; integration of social learning, interaction and sharing; professional development (or initial teacher development) of instructors who can take full advantage of the tools available and can still provide the personalization promised by online schooling, the acceptance of virtual schooling as a viable and credible option to face to face schooling, and more. There are multi-cultural opportunities, virtual language immersion, and a number of opportunities yet to come.
I believe there will be many companies that crop up as a result of the needs and pivots that online schooling takes. Private, individualized, personal tutors? Elluminate or Adobe Connect classes where students see and interact with each other? Handheld integration or "always on" learning? The list goes on. I doubt very much that online schooling will look like this in a few years, but this is a start!
How has your thinking about online schools and online schooling changed since the first week?
This week has been somewhat of an epiphany, because I did not realize how many "moving parts" were involved in an online school. I'm sure this is partially because we are still in the early adopter stage, both on the part of the schools and the potential students/parents. In most early adopter situations, a product is more easily defined thus the "sale" of the concept becomes easier to those who understand and want to be first. In this case, the schools are experimenting with various methods of many components. Teachers, methods of teaching, platforms, teacher/student interaction, curriculum, instructional design - in fact it would be really interesting to look back at the same schools in five years and see how they have changed and gelled.
When it comes to potential students, we are still not sure of the audience. There are the obvious candidates - the home schoolers. But there are others - the travelers, the athletes, etc. and possibly markets they haven't defined yet. I was aware that we were in the early stages of the adoption curve, but wasn't aware of how they were tackling it at the beginning. I suppose like many other businesses, using the equivalent of outside contractors (content providers or part time instructors) is a viable option without the long term obligation if the business pivots course.
It is interesting how an entirely new type of industry has evolved from these issues - the suppliers, content providers (including AP and credit recovery facilitators,) marketers, and administrators of a new type of program.
When it comes to potential students, we are still not sure of the audience. There are the obvious candidates - the home schoolers. But there are others - the travelers, the athletes, etc. and possibly markets they haven't defined yet. I was aware that we were in the early stages of the adoption curve, but wasn't aware of how they were tackling it at the beginning. I suppose like many other businesses, using the equivalent of outside contractors (content providers or part time instructors) is a viable option without the long term obligation if the business pivots course.
It is interesting how an entirely new type of industry has evolved from these issues - the suppliers, content providers (including AP and credit recovery facilitators,) marketers, and administrators of a new type of program.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
If I were Choosing an Online School for my Child....
I'd make sure courses had instructors experienced w/ online ed & that it wasn't an experimental feature. Direct & personalized instruction would be a deciding factor
Monday, January 24, 2011
Introduction
Hi Everyone - it was nice to read your introductions. My name is Donna and I am finishing my M.A. in Communication and Education. I am particularly interested in virtual teams and learning, both in K-12 and Adult Professional Development settings so I'm looking forward to this course.
Right now I work with an LMS (Learning Management System) company in a division that has a very vertical platform for CTE (Career and Technical Education) students. I teach teachers and administrators how to use the technology to run their schools, help them go from paper to keyboard, and standardize everything from their grading rubric to discipline to their curricula and assignments.
I've taken a few other courses online at TC, and many that I might venture to call blended (even though they are f2f, the online component is integral.) My experience has varied in every situation which is a good thing, because the best way to learn what you like and don't like - and what you would do and wouldn't do - is through experience like this.
I look forward to learning with Moodle's platform, with Dr. Lowes who is certainly the expert in this type of teaching and learning, and with all of you.
Right now I work with an LMS (Learning Management System) company in a division that has a very vertical platform for CTE (Career and Technical Education) students. I teach teachers and administrators how to use the technology to run their schools, help them go from paper to keyboard, and standardize everything from their grading rubric to discipline to their curricula and assignments.
I've taken a few other courses online at TC, and many that I might venture to call blended (even though they are f2f, the online component is integral.) My experience has varied in every situation which is a good thing, because the best way to learn what you like and don't like - and what you would do and wouldn't do - is through experience like this.
I look forward to learning with Moodle's platform, with Dr. Lowes who is certainly the expert in this type of teaching and learning, and with all of you.
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