More Ch. 5 reflections October 1, 2009

One of our questions in the back of the chapter said, “What concerns do you have about the social aspects of online interaction?” As a teacher, my primary concerns about online interaction is (1) keeping students from posting or messaging derogatory comments or put downs to fellow students from accessing  risque information on the net either on purpose or by accident (3) keeping students from communicating with online predators or people who have alterior motives. My primary concern about online interaction is the emotional and physical safety of my students. I do feel that these concerns could be easily rectified with clear and consistent rules and consequences. Also, I think that filtering and blocking selected materials is also a great idea! I’m not a big fan of censorship, even though I am a strong Christian. I think that our kids have to know what information it out there, and learn how to emotionally deal with it. For example, while I am a science teacher, I don’t agree with evolution. However, I still teach evolution, but I also teach creationism. I think there are multiple sides to every subject, and kids need to be able to view all sides, and make their own decision about what they accept or believe. However, some things just need to be filtered. I don’t want to see my kids on an online virtual sex sight! I don’t want them viewing pornography, gambling environments, and a plethora of other things I’m probably not even aware of.

Ultimately, though, I think these concerns can be dealt with in a positive manner. If learning is real-life applicable, and motivating to students, they are more than likely not going to take the time to view other sights. Instead, students will be engaged on the task at hand.

Chapter 5 Reflection

This week’s reading focused on the obstacles of online learning in terms of the characteristics needed to be successful in an online course. Kearsely also discussed how online learning is also relevant to those with special needs. The major characteristics that the writer mentioned as ones that are needed for an online learner to be successful were for the learner to be a self-directed learner, someone who has good study habits and communication skills, and a high level of motivation. All of these characteristics, in my opinion, are very true! I am very much a self-directed learner. I always have been. I remember taking some sort of career and study skill test in the 7th or 8th grade. My results came back specifically stating to let me learn on my own without groups. Basically, give her the textbook, paper, and pencil, and she’ll figure it out. Now, of course, it didn’t say how long sometimes that it takes me to figure things out, but it did basically state that I am a self-directed learner. I have to process information, alot of the time in a list format, so that I can understand it. I am a sequential person. I love checklists. I’m not real crazy about change, but I’m working on that. In terms of online courses though, I prefer them. I like to learn on my own. I don’t understand lectures. For me, that is like a waste of time, unless you allow me to take notes.

Another characteristic mentioned was great study skills and communication skills. This is very important. If you don’t understand how to manage your time, set goals, and reflect on your own work, it would be hard to take an online course of any kind. I fit this skill as well. I don’t need someone to tell me, “it’s time to get started,” or “this is exactly how you do it.” I can for the most part interpret what it expected by the tone of the written assignment. I set goals each day for myself. Just yesterday, I had a relatively laid back day in which I had planned on completing our school’s Oct-Nov newsletter that is mailed out to faculty and parents of our school, finishing my simulation evaluation for 688, and completing lesson plans for the next school week. I, even designated time for each of those things, and for the most part reached each goal. I did not get all my lesson plans done, as I was wanting to tweak something I had done in the past.

One must also be highly motivated. People who participate in online learning, must have an inner drive to do so. One might be motivated by grades, a love for learning, or to keep a scholarship…who knows? I know that I am motivated just because I like to learn. I am very reflective about my own teaching, and if there are new ways to teach, I want to try them. I think that if you can possibly make the time, you should always strive to do your best given the best practices out there. The key is having the time. So, I guess I consider myself a successful online learner, because the characteristics needed are very similar to my personality.

Reflection about Teacher’s & Their Roles

I read a blog entitled, “Life after Facilitation.” The writer of the article is a teacher who has chosen to branch out into a blogosphere type classroom. The teacher has truly become the facilitator and reflected daily on the experiences of the students through using this pedagogical approach. Ultimately, he came to the conclusion that after faciliation, he had lost his own voice. He asked himself the question, “Shouldn’t my own learning be apart of this blog? Shouldn’t my students see my own thoughts about a concept, doubts, uncertainties, revelations, etc.
I thought this was an interesting point. At what point does faciliation start and end? Yes, it’s great to allow students to take charge of their learning, but can we as teachers get lost in the abysss to where we may guide the learning, but no longer become relevant to students. I’m not sure if the writer is entirely correct, as you can tell from my last blog…I’m completely torn between the older methods and the newer methods of teaching, even though my teaching truly reflects a more modern approach. I think that teaching students to be indendent learners is a great thing! Learning should not be imposed, it should be something that is sought after. If a love for learning can be faciliated to the point that it takes on a life of it’s own, that’s awesome! As long as the facilitator is following a guided plan, assessing, and seeing results, I think the teaching is on the right track!

The Changing Role of a Teacher September 30, 2009

After reading several blogs, I realized that teachers pretty much take on every role in the universe. From nursing cuts and bruises, to filtering Internet sites, to adapting to various learning abilities (like reading student’s writing that can only be read with a mirror), by protecting kids during recess from minor injuries, to dress code monitors, to counselors, to coaches, and to parents. It’s amazing how most teachers are sane considering the roles each must play! I found one article that truly stood out in terms of describing how the role of a teacher has changed in terms of instruction. The writer spoke about the past role of a teacher. She mentioned that teacher’s were once informational dispensers who were considered to be high-priced baby-sitters. Teachers were expected to sort students, as one would process and package factory items. Students were sorted (maybe some still are) into high, medium, and low achievers. Teachers taught the same lessons from year to year.
She then discussed how the role of a teacher is now to be a facilitator of learning. A teacher must open the doors of knowledge to all sorts of resources besides the text. Teachers are counselors who guide students to understand concepts rather than teach them through lecture scenarios. Teachers are expected to adapt to various cultures and levels of knowledge, and promote student decision making concerning their own learning. Teachers are advised to have students list the pieces of knowledge they would like to learn based on a given set of standards.
Many comments were made after this article was posted. Most comments were along the lines of, “What sort of utopia do you live in?” I agree with a lot of these comments, how does one expect to teach this way everyday all the time given the responsibilities of a teacher? I definitely think that the modern role of a teacher would be the ideal one considering the age in which we live, but with the responsibilities of a teacher now widening to include personal home lives and roles such as a mother/father, housekeeper, bill payer, child chaperone, child chauffer, etc I really don’t see how this will be entirely possible.
I see the good and bad of the past and the supposed present forms of teaching. I felt that I had a glimpse into the past after attending a Pioneer Day center at Camp Nathaniel in Hazard, KY. I felt like the techniques (at least of discipline) might not be a bad idea for today’s generation. The teacher expected students to sit straight in their seats, stand up when they responded to questions, respond with “yes mam or no mam,” etc. While those issues might seem a bit strict, it seems that students had more respect and fear for their instructors, and stayed on task much more than today’s generations do. I know that things are changing, but some of the most important values that were once taught and demonstrated by people are quickly fleeting. Values such as truth, work ethic, time management, planning, critical thinking are not practiced or even demonstrated by students, and a lot of teachers. I think everyone is taking on way to many roles. Parents either don’t have the time or don’t take the time to teach their kids values, and now expect the teacher to do all of that. I don’t think you had drug busts in the schools in the 1800’s. It just didn’t happen. Kids knew better. They knew after being punished at school, that they would get a double whammy at home!
While I feel a lot of great values and sound teaching practices based on student’s hard work ethic are slowly waning, I also see the potential of changing the way we teach to accommodate an entirely new society. In fact, I’m just not sure we can go back now! I do love the characteristics of modern teaching such as guiding students to use critical thinking skills to decide what they should learn, and how they will assess if they have learned it or not. All this sounds so great, but teachers no longer live the lifestyles of teachers in the past. Teachers are allowed to be married, have families, and must usually sponsor some sort of extra curricular activity. Teachers seem to be expected to part the Red Sea and do miracles, but in the pace of life or the expectations of a teacher’s role in and outside the classroom, this is almost unbearable. How can one ever hope to achieve the utopia this writer speaks of? Sure we might be able to do this for one unit, or bits and pieces of it throughout the year, but to teach this way all the time seems impossible. If this happens, I will need a maid, a work study to do my graduate work, a person to be the speech coach, a puppy sitter, an office worker, and a multitude of other roles that I play on a daily basis.
You know this is really a subject that bothers or frustrates me. You see I constantly analyze “Am I teaching well? What’s really important?” Are values important: ethics, trust, honesty, modesty, etc? ABSOLUTELY! What things are important to learn? How can I make this real life applicable? I get so frustrated, because sometimes there is so much to remember. Are you using technology? Are you teaching cooperative learning? Self-directed learning? It all seems overwhelming. Which way is best- the old way or the new way? Do we allow our students to slip into laziness and branch away from these values and old ways of teaching, or do we encourage the newness and adapt to their ways (which I’m still not sure are the best). It’s just very hard to decide what’s best for students, because each student is different. The role of a teacher is one that should be respected, because it truly is no less than a miracle that teachers do the things they are expected to do. I could harp on this all day really. Going back the above underlined statement…do we consider how students respond to traditional teaching as laziness or do we sweep this under the rug and say, “Oh the brain has changed, and as such, we must not expect the same things that we did of our FOUNDING fathers.” I don’t know. I am willing to admit that I just don’t know. All that I do know is that I am committed to doing my best every day to see that I teach what I am supposed to teach, and to reaching out to those kids who need to know that you care about them.

Course Objectives: ABSOLUTELY! September 26, 2009

Do I think you need course objectives? YES! Do I think they are wishful thinking? NO! I think as an instructor, course objectives shoud be made, and assessments should be designed as part of the course to see if students are truly achieving them. Course objectives have to be measurable. In order to be measurable, and a measurement activity must be created. I do not think this is wishful thinking. This is what teaching is. You find out what as a teacher, what are the most important concepts or skills my students need to be successful. How do I help them achieve these goals? How do I see if they have reached these goals? Yes, they should be a fact of life, but they may not be, but they are definately not wishful thinking. Course objectives are either reached or they are not reached.

How many tools?

Ok, my answer is going to be crazy…I can already tell you that. Ok…let me see if I can explain this. I think you need as many tools as will make a course or educational experience effective. Ok…so now that we have that settled..let’s go on to point two.
There are different types of tools used for different things. By types of tools, I mean assignment posting tools, communication tools, resource tools. I think you need 1 basic place to post assignments; so I think you only need 1 assignment type tool. In terms of communication tools (IM, Discussion Board, Chat Room, etc), I think this should be limited to two tools if at all possible. It would be great if the assignment tool had a blog, discussion board, and a chat room all in one. Then, the only other communication tool you would need would be an IM device. The key to communicating is understanding how to reach an individual. That individual must be able to receive that communication in a clear and simple fashion. If all communication is coming through one tool, it makes that communication easier in terms of where and how to communicate. The other communication tool would be an IM device to reach anyone anytime they are online. The last type of tool I mentioned were resource tools, which is a type of tool that I think should have limitless options. I think one should not limit resources tools. The world is full of resources, so resource tools that an instructor posts could be listed in one place, but should not necessarily be limited to those resources alone. I hope I’ve been clear on what I mean. I have learned about tools that I never understood existed. Most of those tools I really believe could be incorporated into a course as instructional strategies to learn particular lessons, but all tools or most tools all the time will create confusion. Students, then will learn more about how to use the tools, than the actual objective of the course. So in our case, using all those tools is a great thing, because that is the objective of this course. However, as a science instructor, I would need to limit my tool use, or else my students will not necessarily learn the objectives of the science course, they will learn more about tool use.

What influences my choices in both toolboxes?

I must say that my the choices I made for both of my toolboxes are based on my knowledge and skill of those tools. I am familiar with Wikispaces, email, guided plans, a chat space, IM device, and Microsoft WORD. As an instructor, I use WORD on a daily basis to compose station task cards, tables/lists needed for classes, exploratory assignments, etc. This is a tool that I know backwards and forwards, therefore, I know it is a tool that I could utilize well enough to design outstanding assignments both educationally and aesthically. In terms of email, I use this on a daily basis and have used it for years now. It’s just a simple way to sent general announcements to a group of people, and see if they have read them or not. While I have not used a wikispace, I have examined its features and set up my own account. While exploring it, I found that it is very similar to a website that I have created for my class, only it allows for blogging and discussion. I have added WORD files, POWERPOINT files, etc to my website, and a calendar for daily assignment in which students can view. So, I know that this tool is usuable and faciliative in nature if used properly. I would absolutely use an IM device, simply because this allows for peer evaluation and peer tutoring. This would not be a tool that would be absolutely necessary, but it would be a tool that would be helpful. I would count downloading this tool as a participation grade in my course, because I think it shows that the student is attempting to reach out to other students, and willing to open channels of communication between him/herself to others. Of course, I have rattled on about the chat time. I love the chat we had online. It was the first class chat that I had ever participated in, and I think that the freedom to be able to talk whenever needed, post comments, and just interact so freely was fun and educational. I must say, I don’t like the aspects of having to wait until someone asks you to speak. It just seem like you can’t cover as much ground, and you don’t thoroughly read everyone’s comments, because you are so worried about when it is your turn, and the appropriate signals to give. I loved how the EDUC 685 chat was moderated. I’m sure there are tactics to making a chat creative. With that experience under my belt, I think hosting a chat and having this tool in a course, would be an invaluable way to share information. Last, but certaintly not least, one must have a guided plan. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT tool! Whoever said, “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail,” was correct! If you have no goal or vision for where you want your students to go, then you are likely to lead them on a goosechase. Most students will quickly get tired of the madness and chaotic nature of this sort of failure to plan, which leads to a lackadasical approach to the course. A guided plan is essentially the most important tool to have. A teacher is supposed to be a guide or a faciliator. As such, my knowledge and skills with the above listed tools, without a doubt, has led me to make the decisions that I have.

Innovative Course Designs: MOODLES! September 23, 2009

Just when I thought I would not run across any more E-learning tools that began with the prefix Moo-…..I stand corrected. I ran across MOODLES when searching for innovative course designs. This particular tool can be downloaded for use as an instructor. The tool allows you to design a course in which you can create resoures to post, activities (podcasts, videos, etc), blogs, discussion boards, calendars, attach files and articles for reading, quizzes, etc. It looks a lot like Blackboard in nature, but the interface looks a bit more user friendly, but I would have to download this and try it before I would know for sure. Everyday I am finding that I am behind the times when it comes to the new tools that are available.

Advanced Toolbox September 18, 2009

I really liked my basic toolbox, but after looking at Dr. Lowell’s basic toolbox I must say I thought a broadband connection, webspace, and an Internet Browser were assumed to be tools. lso, my mind has changed a bit about a couple of items that I would add. In addition to the guided plan, e-mail, and assignment board I would add an IM device, and a Chat Space such as TappedIn. I decided that after being in this course for 6 weeks now, my most exciting experience was the chat; I really enjoyed it and I felt like I connected with other people in a meaningful way, and that helped me learn, and feel the assurance that I was on the same page as other people were. Also, I have used the IM multiple times with my professor, and my classmates to double check, clarify, or to just chat about things in general. So my advanced toolbox is like so-

1) A guided plan or calendar to guide the course for students and teachers like at assignaday.4teachers.org

2) Email to communicate bulk announcements like ymail, live, gmail, etc

3) Assignment Place such as a Wikispace that contains a discussion board, a blog, a place to add feed aggregators, and file space.

4) A text Program such as Microsoft Word or Works to compose assignments or articles for students to read

5) IM device such as MSN or Yahoo to allow peer evaluation, reflection, or insights to course

6) A Chat Environment like TappedIn or Ning to meet as a class to discuss and elaborate on concepts we are all currently learning; to connect on bigger issues in education and lessons we teach.

I still see an Internet Browser, Web server space, and a broadband connection as given tools that one must have to access such information, but of course, these would be needed. I don’t consider them as something that would go in a toolbox. Tools (devices one would ACTIVELY  use) go into a toolbox. To me, these things seem like a workplace at which the toolbox could be found, but I can see the importance of these tools, and duly note that without them the rest would be virtually impossible.

Lectureware & Elluminate

Lectureware & Elluminate could be valuable tools, but when used in the right context. I don’t think offering high school or college courses in this manner would be very effective. Ithink these tools are needed for selected situations-maybe like a PD or a training of some sort. Somewhat like the ones www.learn2central.org  offer, but to say that I think a valuable learning experience is going to result for all learners simply by viewing a lecture by camera on the net; that is a big negative! Most students learn very little by beign yammered at. While, some information in traditional classroom is or just about has to be learned this way to get as far as you are expected to go, it is not the preferred way of learning, nor the most effective. This type of learning is best suited for selective situations. People learn by doing. The more interactive an assignment or course, the more likely one is to learn whats expected. This would not be a tool that I would use for an online course that I would design.