Virtual Schooling Presentation

Week 14-15

Each of the scenarios shows how schools and students struggle in different ways. I think that education as a whole will get to the point where online learning is present and open for everyone easily, but for now with the technology gap and lack of technology improvement funding, schools are doing their best to keep as close to up-to-date with trends and needs of technology and online learners.

I do not think that schools are ready for the changes in education that are going to be taking place. I honestly think that schools today are struggling to maintain the technology they have. I think that with the constant change in standards and regulations, it has left many schools unprepared for the future and the ever changing need for technology and online learning.  I think that the changes that will occur will be very slow. I think that many have unrealistic goals that the schools will not be able to follow through on. I do see small changes occurring and being about the foundation for online and virtual schooling for the future.

My school is currently working on a technology bond proposal. This bond will allow for the school to try and catch up on the current need for new technology within our district and within our building which needs many updates to provide the technology integration that they want educators to provide. There is a large portion of teachers that are unprepared or do not agree with online teaching which plays a major role in how technology is properly implemented for the students. Also, there are funding issues there are only so many things that can be accomplished with in a tight budget. This means that in the end things are being left untouched until funds can be found, which in all reality may be never. I know that in my content area, we offer hybrid courses and use technology for content education daily. I also know that many of our other content areas have been focused on incorporating more online course technologies. But as an overall, the idea and hope is present, but the follow through and guidance is still developing. There has been nothing set in stone yet and for now we provide the best educational setting possible for technology integration and content development.

What I Think I Know About Online Learning Part 2

After my readings and research, the things that surprised me the most was the growth and availability of online schooling. In my head, I always think of online schooling and courses as a new concept, but in truth they have been around and growing for some time now. The items that I included in Part 1 were accurate and were not found on the top 10 myths.

I do have some experience with online schooling from my nephew. He took off a year of on-site high school and participated in online schooling. I tutored and helped him stay on task and helped him with content understanding. In his case, he knew that he was going to unable to do it on his own and he had me to help him. This is one of the things that I think all students who are looking in to online school should consider. It is very important to have a support system in place and to not be afraid to ask questions of for help from your at home support system or from your online school support system. For him, online school was more time consuming and difficult then he originally thought it would be.

Also, I have done some research on online schooling and hybrid for my own teaching experience. I have had the opportunity to begin implementing hybrid course for my school district and have been constantly updating and improving the way that my own course structure works. My current education has helped a lot! I have seen many teachers that think that converting to online course layouts will make their course load easier. They soon find that operating a properly working online course can be very time consuming and continuing education on technology and resources is a task all its own. 

What I Think I Know About Online Learning

From what I think I already know about Online Learning, it is when students use online resources to complete their learning through an online course set up. Online courses have a structured page or LMS (Learning Management System) which contains all of the resources that student need build on the courses content. Student then work through different assignment, discussions, projects, and so on to gain the knowledge that they would receive as if they were in a brick-and-mortar classroom. Students each have access to this course page and log-in to complete the required course work to receive a grade, point amount, complete/incomplete, or whatever the instructor of the course has deemed necessary to show content knowledge in a specific area has been achieved.  

Online learning takes place in an online forum/LMS, some examples would be Blackboard, Moodle, Google Classroom, or a district/school provided platform. All and any student can take part in online learning. One of the main reasons my students take online courses is for credit make up. I also have student who participate in online courses for college credit because they are advanced in specific subject areas, in which the school district does not offer a course high enough for them to take on-site. Last, I have student who take online course because of family, illness, and time reasons. This allows them to complete classes online where they may lose credit because they are unable to attend face-to-face courses regularly.  From my experience, both as a teacher and as a student, there are many different types of courses offered. I know that with the growth of online classes new classes are being offered online every day. 

Good Source or Not...That is the Question???

In my classroom, we discuss the importance of using reliable sources to back our standings and what information is useful. You would be surprised how many students do not realize how Wikipedia works. 

While I know that in a real life situation, getting a quick answer can be recovered from almost any Google search, I tell students that when writing academically or for professional purpose, backing for their information and ideas should be found from multiple sites not just from the first site that pops up when using a search engine.  With that said I will allow my students to use Wikipedia as long as they can back up their information from multiple reliable sources and sites. 

As for Youtube, I use Youtube all the time in my classroom. Although these videos can be posted by anyone, I do my research before selecting a video to use for lecture or for student use. Since I am already aware of the topic that is being covered, I am able to select what video is the most beneficial to the lesson or tool being covered. In the end, as long as the source is representing information in the proper way and with a reliable standing, its use in the classroom is a valued source of information. 

Who I'm Following- Blogs & Twitter

Blogging

The first blog that I selected to add is: Moving at the Speed of Creativity. This blogs offers many creative uses of multimedia to help students. This blog will help keep track of the ever changing technology that is useful and innovative in the classroom.

The second blog that I have selected to add is: Educational Technology & Mobile Learning. This blog has a host of helpful hints, tricks and resources for educational technology in the classroom. Because I teach a variety of classes, this site has a bit to offer in many different arenas. 

The third and last blog I have selected to add is: Classroom 2.0 (http://www.classroom20.com). I found that this blog works better as a website that in the Feedly RSS. This is a teacher networking and communication site. The thing that attracted me to this blog was how each different topic has its own category and how easily the blog was to navigate.

Networking 

@EdTech_K12- Resources on trends and issues facing K-12 educators

@edtechdigest- Trends, tools, connections with education 

@edtechtimes- Daily updates and connections to education technology

@coolcatteacher- Helpful tips and Best teacher blog winner 

@MindShiftKQED- Future of learning, tech trends, technology 

To be honest, I have not used these tools to much this semester. It is not because I do not feel they are useful, because I do. For me the issue is of not enough time in the day. For all great tools, you must make time to use and understand them more. I have not had the opportunity to get more acquainted with the tools to better develop a time to incorporate it in to my schedule. Because this is my first time using both of these tools, they are not something that I am use to using or updating. I am happy that I am adding different blogs and resources to my bag-o-tricks and following others in my field to see what they are doing and thinking. I hope that I am able to begin catching up on posts that have caught my attention in the near future and working these tools in to my routine more.  

Teaching & Learning 2.0 Tools- Humorous & Instructional Educational Cartoon

Unit 2 Post- Web 2.0 Tools and the SAMR Model

Currently I teach Business/Computers and CTE (Architecture/Drafting) courses to high school students grades 9-12. I was unaware of the SAMR Model before this blogging prompt, but looking in to the model more, I found that I have incorporate the stages of the SAMR model in my classroom without knowing it. The video below briefly describes the SAMR Model and what each of the areas/phases are and how they function.

Substitution- An example of substitution I use is in my Financial Management course. Many of the assignments are located on my class Blackboard site. Here, students are able to open the document, fill in their responses, and either print and turn in or turn in using our class drop box journal (also within our Blackboard site).  

Augmentation- An example of augmentation I use within many of my classes is bubbl.us. This site is a brainstorming site and app that allows the user to create and build a bubble brainstorm chart. This allows students to create and build off their ideas throughout many projects in my classroom. 

https://classroom2point0.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/mind-mapping-tools-bubbl-us/

Modification- Example of modification I use within my classroom are using discussion boards and Google Hangout to communicate with each other about topics, content, questions, new and difficult information. This allows my students to communicate and connect with each other easily and constantly throughout their development of projects and content understanding. This is useful for my class because it is hybrid. Here, my students report to class only select days through out the week and throughout the trimester. By opening up and using these discussion tools, communication and discussions occur outside of the classroom as students work on assignments and projects individually and cooperatively. 

Redefinition- One of my favorite assignments and  example of redefinition I use, occurs during my Intro to Architecture class.  Here students use Google Earth to explore man made structures all around the world. They research where the structure is located and find specific information about each of the structures they visit. In the end, students use the information to create a scaled silhouette of the structure, which we hang in the hallway so that other students can see the size difference and learn unique information about structures they may or may not recognize.  

caiuipadpilot.wiki.caiu.org

Unit 1 Prompt

While reading and viewing the materials for this week’s topic (which really peaked my interest), I realized that a lot of the ideas and information relates back to my students lives and education, to my own education, and to the way that I teach and use technology within my classroom. It is true that students’ lives today function a lot around technology and social networking. I see it every day with my students. They are constantly checking their cell phones and updating themselves on the most recent postings from their friends. I think that as educators we need to remember how much technology has influenced the student that we see in front of us in the classroom.

For me, I had the best of both worlds. Growing up technology was just beginning to take off. Gaming wasn't as accessible to me or my peers, we played outside. We did not have cell phones until late middle school and/or high school and trust me those cell phone did not have any of the bells and whistles like the phone do now. We networked by calling home phones and walking to our friends house. We were updated on our friends’ status by passing notes in class. By the time I was in high school/college, technology was changing rapidly and in a time frame of less than 10 years, technology is everywhere and for the most part everyone has the ability of accessing it. Unlike me, my students have had these amazing toys and tools since before they could talk and walk and this has influenced how they learn and how they gather and interpret information. They are the technology age the click generation; they have been in and grown up in the thick of the boom of searching, social networking, gadgets and apps.  

I agree with the readings that students these days are connected with technology and that they are resourceful in using technology to learn. I think that the students have a right to technology and that our system may need to catch up with the times, I believe the video about teachers not using technology and that students minds are doing multiple things at once. I also agree that the old ways of teaching need to be improved, but I think that is because of the usefulness of technology to society not just technology alone.

Also, I think that students should have to take responsibility for their learning. With the ease of information, I see my students becoming lazy with thinking. They want the answer now and in black and white. This is not the case in my classroom, the answer is not black and white, there are many possibilities and outcomes, creativity and trial and error are constant. It is important to teach students that problem solving and critical thinking should be and are things that every person needs to be successful regardless of your age and career pathway.  I think that technology can help the learning process, but it cannot alone be the answer and brain for my student.

Introduction

Hello! I’m Mallory. I am currently a CTE/Business Teacher at Lake Shore High School in St. Clair Shores.  This year I will be teaching Architecture, Drafting & CAD, Computers, and Finance. This is my third semester with WSU and the IT program (K-12 emphasis). I enjoy sports and I am a HUGE Detroit Red Wings fan. In my free time, which is rare, I like being outdoors, attending concerts/plays, and reading.

From this class, I hope that I am able to expand my resources and understanding so that I can better prepare my students for their futures. Since I currently use the Internet daily in my classroom, I hope to learn a few tricks to improve the flow of information in my hybrid classes, as well as adding to my other classes.