What benefits do you see in educators knowing how to design and implement online learning?
Every educator should know how to design and implement quality online courses. I believe that schools are recognizing the positive impact that online courses have. One important point to remember is that online learning does not have to take the place of classroom learning. A quality designed course can support the classroom learning by offering additional resources that students can access as needed.
“Just as regular teachers do, online teachers facilitate learning through the use of a variety of instructional strategies based on traditional or current models and theories of education” (Davis & Rose, 2009). Online courses can allow instructors to try different things and to evaluate the impact of those changes on each student. I believe that I am better able to watch each student individually in my online classes. This means that I can adjust my classes as they progress in order to create a quality online offering.
How will you professionally use your course that you designed?
I designed a course that is focused on the concept identified by my students as one that is difficult to master. I would like to use my course to help students with this concept. Normally I would cover this material about 4 weeks into the class. I plan to change this practice and use the online course that I designed to introduce the material in small pieces. I believe that this will result in less apprehension on the student’s part. Students come to class believing that they cannot subnet, my course topic, and therefore are set to fail. My plan is to sneak the material into some of the other lessons so that by the time we actually get to the subnetting chapter in the book the students are already comfortable with the basic concepts that we will build on as we progress through the material.
Will you integrate online learning in your role as a teacher/staff developer?
I have taught online classes in the past and believe that quality courses can have a positive impact on student learning. I am working to increase the amount of online content in my program over the next year. I believe that online content can help answer the various needs of the students. Teaching in computer technology means that the course content can change rapidly. Using online courses allows the instructor to keep the content updated as changes in the industry occur. Up-to-date learning better prepares the students for the future.
I also do some faculty development training on our campus. I have only recently begun to add online content to the trainings that I have done. I have received great feedback on these trainings. The most consistent comment I get is that faculty enjoy the fact that they can “attend” the training sessions when their schedule permits.
What questions do you still have about online learning?
What type of student would most benefits from online learning? Not all students are successful with online courses. I know that students must be self-motivated but what other attributes should they possess. As a student I love online courses because they allow me to work at my own pace. As an instructor I am often disappointed by the performance of some of my students. A student that performs well in the classroom will not necessarily post the same types of grades in an online environment. How can I help to motivate students in an online environment? I know that instructors are constantly looking for ways to motivate their students but it is especially difficult in online courses. Of course there are as many ways to motivate as there are students in the class so I know that this is not an easy question and there are no simple answers.
What will you do with this new learning?
The thing that I always try to do with new learning is to begin applying it as soon as possible. Though I have taught online courses in the past I am always trying to improve my courses. I believe that I must learn to communicate better with my students in order to improve their learning. “Today’s teachers have to learn to communicate in the language and style of their students” (Prensky, 2001). I am trying to add the tools that I need to my instructional tool box so that I can learn to speak their language. The knowledge that I gained from this course will help me accomplish this. I also believe that my students can help me learn. This is the advantage to the course I created for this class. It can serve as my test environment allowing me the opportunity to improve my understanding of the language my students speak.
Davis, Niki & Rose, Ray (2009). NACOL: Professional Development for Virtual Schooling and Online Learning. Retrieved May 13, 2010 from http://www.inacol.org/research/docs/NACOL_PDforVSandOlnLrng.pdf
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Retrieved on May 15, 2010 from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Sunday, December 6, 2009
UDL for the Uninformed
Before today I had never created a formal lesson plan. My plans simply consisted of notes to myself that I hoped to accomplish with my lecture. Though I consider the fact that I have a classroom full of people that have different learning styles, I have not ever had to put in writing how I plan to address this fact. Universal Design for Learning makes it easy to consider each individual student in your class. The UDL Lesson Builder at http://lessonbuilder.cast.org helps the instructor to build lesson plans that consider all of the UDL principles which will ensure that each student has the ability to be successful with every lesson.
The lesson builder site serves as a checklist of sorts. Using the UDL principles is the key to a learner-centered lesson plan and classroom. A lesson plan that uses the UDL principles will have goals and objectives that consider both the curriculum that needs to taught and the students that are learning. The principles guide the instructor as they consider the methods of teaching in the classroom and help them to give the proper background to the student while ensuring that the students have various ways to express their level of understanding. The instructors are also reminded that there are multiple tools at their disposal that can be used to present the material. Finally, the UDL principles help to ensure that the assessment techniques used are thorough and varied as well. A teacher that implements the UDL principles in the classroom, and uses the UDL Lesson Builder, will surely see the results in the level of acheivement in the students.
The lesson builder site serves as a checklist of sorts. Using the UDL principles is the key to a learner-centered lesson plan and classroom. A lesson plan that uses the UDL principles will have goals and objectives that consider both the curriculum that needs to taught and the students that are learning. The principles guide the instructor as they consider the methods of teaching in the classroom and help them to give the proper background to the student while ensuring that the students have various ways to express their level of understanding. The instructors are also reminded that there are multiple tools at their disposal that can be used to present the material. Finally, the UDL principles help to ensure that the assessment techniques used are thorough and varied as well. A teacher that implements the UDL principles in the classroom, and uses the UDL Lesson Builder, will surely see the results in the level of acheivement in the students.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
2020 Ain't So Far Away
It seems like we have a great deal of time to accomplish the goals set forth in the Long Range Plan for Technology. After all, that's over 10 years away. Realize, however, that we don’t have 10 years to learn today’s technology because we also have to learn tomorrow’s. This is why I have decided to talk about the Educator Preparation section of the LRPT.
I know we don’t have the time that we would like to learn all that we would like to learn. I only need to read the postings from my fellow classmates to see that time, or lack of it, is our biggest barrier. The Texas Statewide STaR Chart indicates that 74.2% of campuses are lacking the time and/or support needed to rise above the Developing Tech level. The Educator Preparation area of the LRPT measures a teacher’s involvement with technology, how they are using it in the classroom, the budget allowed for technology and whether teachers are meeting the SBEC standards.
So, what can be changed? What can I do, as a college instructor, to reach out to the public school instructors in my city, who indicated on their STaR Chart that Educator Preparation is the area with the greatest need? I have the ability to offer training to these instructors. I can tailor trainings to their exact need, train on their campus or mine, and I can, at the same time, learn from them. I encourage all of my classmates to reach out to their closest higher education campus to see if they might have the same opportunity. To really be ready for 2020 it will require effort at every level of the education system.
I know we don’t have the time that we would like to learn all that we would like to learn. I only need to read the postings from my fellow classmates to see that time, or lack of it, is our biggest barrier. The Texas Statewide STaR Chart indicates that 74.2% of campuses are lacking the time and/or support needed to rise above the Developing Tech level. The Educator Preparation area of the LRPT measures a teacher’s involvement with technology, how they are using it in the classroom, the budget allowed for technology and whether teachers are meeting the SBEC standards.
So, what can be changed? What can I do, as a college instructor, to reach out to the public school instructors in my city, who indicated on their STaR Chart that Educator Preparation is the area with the greatest need? I have the ability to offer training to these instructors. I can tailor trainings to their exact need, train on their campus or mine, and I can, at the same time, learn from them. I encourage all of my classmates to reach out to their closest higher education campus to see if they might have the same opportunity. To really be ready for 2020 it will require effort at every level of the education system.
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