CEDO 550 - Online Learning Final Post

A common saying that I think applies here is "You talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?".  We have been talking and talking about online learning, virtual schools, flipping the classroom and many other variations of distance education.  Well this class forced us to "walk the walk" as we were asked to sit behind the wheel of Blackboard Collaborate and emulate a walk through of an online lesson.  Even though I felt the first 4 weeks of this program prepared me for the role reversal...it didn't.  There is no better way of learning how to do something than just doing it.  I'm not saying it wasn't a positive experience, because it was.  I'm just saying that it felt more like a Chris Berman announced segment where a big lineman picks up the football and he says "Rumblin, Bumblin, Stumblin!!".  Even though I felt prepared it turns out that the shared whiteboard within BC didn't accept JPG pictures and that threw me for a loop.  When I make a mistake in the regular classroom I have several options that make it have less of a negative impact on the lesson.  When you make a mistake in a live online lesson it creates that awkward silence where 10 seconds seems like an eternity of embarrassment.  I am fully confident that it would get easier with more practice but it was an eye opening experience.  It makes me feel sorry for the online teachers we have had when no one talks or raises their hand. :-)

A year ago I would've said that the mixed classroom was on the horizon but we had a ways to go.  Over the past year I think things have progressed with such a sense of urgency to change the structure of the classroom that I would say online learning is here...spread the word.

CEDO 550 - Week 5 "Prediction Time"

The future of online learning...hmmm.

Here's what I think will happen:  more and more schools from the elementary level through college will start to incorporate online class offerings, or at the very least, an online component to their instructional strategy.  Things will go well in the beginning with schools seeing an increased enrollment in these types of online formats.  Students with specific needs outside the capabilities of the physical classroom in their particular geographic location will be afforded opportunities that they would not otherwise have.  Riding this early success, schools will start to slowly convert more and more of their class offerings to the online format to attract additional students from other cities, other states, and even other nations.  Eventually schools will be daring enough to shift to completely virtual course offerings and the brick and mortar schools filled with 30 desks of students will be a minority.  Enough time will pass where we will see the products of these classrooms entering the workforce and somewhere along the line a study will show that having students attend completely virtual schools is a detriment to their social growth and makes them a pain in the arse to deal with in the workplace.  Now let me say that the workplace may have drastically changed by then and these former students might fit right in because there won't be as much need for social interaction anymore depending on the nature of the job but I'm hoping that's not the case.  The final conclusion will be that there needs to be a balance between the physical classroom experience and the online methods to create the most well-rounded individual.

CEDO 550 - Week 4 Formative Assessment

Tuttle’s Stages of Formative Assessment

I think Tuttle takes issue with those teachers that throw eClickers into student hands, ask for some responses, and then call it formative assessment.  Tuttle states the same sentiments concerning cell phones and Twitter.  So let’s take a look at Tuttle’s stages above and see where he is coming from.  With eClickers, Twitter, and cell phone responses it usually happens real-time so the format of the question(s) needs to be simple enough so that immediate analysis can occur.  A teacher should also limit the number of questions in these instances.  Sometimes teachers create elaborate surveys or questionnaires and try to administer them using eClckers, etc and then make the claim that they are giving formative assessment.  In reality, they are only going as far as Step 2 on the above graphic.  Surface analysis could occur but not enough where the teacher would reach the next levels of completing the formative assessment.

The tool that I like to use for formative assessment is Google Forms.  I’d like to qualify the use of Google Forms by explaining that I create formulas on the Google Spreadsheet where the output is created to assist with the diagnosis.  Without creating formulas for analysis/diagnosis, the use of Google Forms would not get you much farther than Step 2 of Tuttle’s stages.  A quick analysis of my Google Spreadsheet provides me with specific information about each student and the class as a whole.  For example, I could see which concepts need more attention as a whole, and by looking at the individual responses I can steer each student in the appropriate direction.  This feedback can be shared with the class and with individual students who, in turn, can use that to correct any misunderstandings.

CEDO 550 - Week 3 The 4 Roles of Online Teachers

First let's establish the 4 different roles. They are: Instructor, Social Director, Program Manager and Technical Assistant. I'm doing this blog on an iPad so creating a table inside of this blog will be near impossible so I'll just lay it out nicely and hopefully that will suffice.

     Instructor - "consultant, guide, and resource provider" hmmm...I'll agree with that description only in certain circumstances. If it a group of highly motivated advanced students, then yes. If it is a group of students taking a class for the 3rd time over the summer because they struggled with it during regular school hours within the walls of the traditional classroom, then no. Those struggling kids need more than just a gentle nudge towards the right resources. Either way, the shift from providing detailed explanations of the content to one of a consultant who stands by only helping when needed would be a big one for me. I will need to strip my lessons of most of the lecture format and find resources that allow the students to discover the content on their own with less guidance.
     Social Director - This will probably be the role that I need the most work on. I've tried to do a lot more projects this year with the regular classroom teachers to help incorporate technology into their content areas so that project-based approach will help me with an online classroom structure. That said, I would still need a lot more experience working with students in a colllaborative setting. I don't usually think to put students in groups, teams, pairs or anything else. I usually just tag along with whatever structure a regular classroom teacher has setup for the students. I will have to seek out collaborative opportunities and use a more project-based approach to be effective in the role of social director.
     Program Manager - This role covers structuring the learning process. Planning the online sessions, timetables, study guides, rubrics, etc are all part of this role. As the years have passed I have become better at judging time needed for various items in the educational process. I have learned how to create effective study guides and similar tools for students to use when outside the confines of the classroom. My weak area would have to be using rubrics. It usually takes me several versions before I get a final copy of a rubric that I really like. I guess I just don't like making them or at least not the really detailed ones that contain a lot of verbage. I know they are useful to both teacher and student and have seen their effectiveness in action but it hasn't really motivated me any more. I would have to overcome the bad taste that rubrics leave in my mouth as I feel they are an integral part of the online learning experience.
     Technical Assistant - This would be the easiest role for me. I am a technology coordinator at my school so I am the one that is responsible for technical assistance on many, many things on a daily basis. I even administer most of my lessons using classroom management software called SmartSync. This software has many similarities to online class management systems. There are technical problems that arise on a weekly basis with it and I have learned to think quickly and always have a backup plan (or two). If there was one area that I could improve on in this role it would have to be staying patient. Normally I am pretty accommodating when it comes to someone not understanding the technology side of things but sometimes I get irritated if it is a concept that seems simple to me.

CEDO 550 - Week 2

I used Creately to do my Venn diagram comparing Synchronous and Asynchronous online learning.  The tool set looks phenomenal and it is free as long as you only want to do one drawing at a time.  Not sure why it looks blurry when inserted in the blog.  If you click on it, it looks just fine.