Week+5

Assignment [|Schoology Course]

Discussion Post

· What benefits do you see in educators knowing how to design and implement online learning? I can see that having to design a course like this really makes you aware of “keeping the end in mind” and making sure that you are assessing what you really want your students to learn. The more we can get teachers to think in that manner the more our students will walk away with true understanding. Knowing how to design a course like this also helps them think through their material in a different way it can bring new life to a class has been taught the same way for many years. It is also very motivational for students. They thrive on the interactivity of learning in this way and it provides built in appeal. Teachers need to be exposed to this, it is where education is going. It is not a question of if but when. If we don’t embrace it then we will be left behind. · How will you professionally use your course that you designed? I have already professionally used the course I designed. I worked with a classroom teacher and we actually targeted skills that her students needed to work on. She has been happy with what she has seen so far and is excited to see her student’s final projects. The course layout has been difficult for her first graders to navigate but the fact that they are entering into dialog and commenting has been fun for them. They actually want to write in order to answer their peers. I am not sure I would use it again with first graders but I think 5th graders or teachers might enjoy working in this environment. I am going to try and get a few 5th grade teacher’s interested next year. I think a teacher who has several sections of students might see her students benefit from being able to collaborate with students not in their normal section.

· Will you integrate online learning in your role as a teacher/staff developer? I am not sure how many teachers are really ready to interact in this type of online learning. I think it is a good first step though. It might really appeal to teachers who need the flexibility to do staff development on their own time. I also find that I personally am more involved in my learning when I am in an online setting because I can really decide what I want to say and everyone gets a chance to talk not just those in the front row of the class. I plan on bringing this product to the attention of my supervisors and our staff development department and will see if there is a way to try it out with a few trainings that we will be offering. I think there is great potential in it.

· What questions do you still have about online learning? I am still wondering about the practicality of this environment for the early learner K-2. I know they could do it but it must look very different. The interface would probably need to be much more auditory rather than text based or maybe more icon driven. The text is just too overwhelming for the little ones. I do not doubt that they could do it and that they would be good at it as well. I am also pondering that it didn’t quite do what I wanted it to. When I talked to the folks at Schoology they were very interested in my suggestions and had never considered anyone wanting to embed the image directly in the post before or have the ability to dialog about an image. They were very open to the comments and led me to believe they would work on solutions for those issues. I also wonder about the “protocols” of working in this type of environment in a school setting It is so much like their social networking sites that I would be afraid that the boundaries might get blurred and that might not be a good thing.

· What will you do with this new learning? The learning from this course in many ways is very practical for my daily job. We use the “Backward Design” model and are currently analyzing our assessments to make sure we are assessing the big ideas, holding students responsible for their own learning and implementing assessment for learning strategies along the way. It was good to revisit this information. It will help me greatly as I work with teachers to effectively teach their curriculum. The Schoology piece I hope to implement next year with a few teachers. I think there are a few early adopters who would jump at the chance to wok with their kids in an environment like this. I am also considering creating a course for teachers so that they can have the experience of working in this environment. I think it needs to be experienced and hands on or we as “digital immigrants” won’t “get” it.

=Resources= McTighe, G. W. (2005). //Understanding By Design.// ASCD. Prensky, M. (2005). Listen to the Natives. //Educational Leadership//.