Reviewing your previous blog posts, what, if anything, has changed in your attitude toward online schools and online schooling over the past 15 weeks?
I think that I have gone from being overly optimistic with online schools to overly cautious. My knowledge of online schools was pretty limited to begin with but I do think I had this notion that online schools could solve some of the issues that regular schools have like overcrowded classrooms, fewer resources for non-core classes, etc. And while I still believe that this is true, I say that I am overly cautious because I now know much more about the types of virtual schools (state vs. private) that exist, who these schools cater to (parents, students, public schools), how they train their teachers (intensive vs. loose training), how students come to them, where their curricula comes from (homegrown vs. purchased), how much interaction students have with teachers and their classmates, is it synchronous/asynchronous or is the class taken during or after school, and their policies around supporting students (not only teacher-to-student connections but also the tools, online/offline, that are used to support). I think what I find most disturbing is that there is so much variation in these virtual schools.
And of course, I know that these variations exist in the f2f schools as well but somehow, this is less disturbing to me. Maybe it's because I have more confidence in the intake process and teacher training for the classroom setting than I do for the online setting. Or maybe it's just because f2f schools are tangible -- you can talk to the teacher or principal face-to-face if necessary.
I think if I were a parent, I would be overwhelmed by all of the options and ultimately, I would just pick the virtual school(s) that could provide evidence that students were actually learning content (not just barely passing the course), that the content was engaging and didn't necessarily require my child to sit in front of computer all the time, and that there would be constant contact with my child and myself.
5.10.2011
4.13.2011
Week #11
What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? Has your thinking changed as a result of what you learned this week?
It seems like all research studies, face-to-face and online, have their flaws or limitations but that doesn't mean that we can't learn from them. For example, I have to say that I really appreciated Haavind's attempt to look for concrete evidence for promoting learner interaction. I think her findings provide really practical information that a teacher can use and I think that this is really important. I think I mentioned in my previous post that I would love to see more studies along these lines -- ones that really focused on practical strategies. Having just returned from AERA, I keep thinking about if (or how?) online instructors get access to research in online learning. I know that some of the virtual schools that we studied do provide training/professional development for their teachers, including VHS, but I wonder how many these opportunities focus on what's currently being studied. And while AERA provides a great for sharing the latest research in online learning (although I felt like the options on this topic were limited this year) I wonder how many online teachers take advantage of conferences such as these? Does dissemination only happen among researchers and graduate students?
It seems like all research studies, face-to-face and online, have their flaws or limitations but that doesn't mean that we can't learn from them. For example, I have to say that I really appreciated Haavind's attempt to look for concrete evidence for promoting learner interaction. I think her findings provide really practical information that a teacher can use and I think that this is really important. I think I mentioned in my previous post that I would love to see more studies along these lines -- ones that really focused on practical strategies. Having just returned from AERA, I keep thinking about if (or how?) online instructors get access to research in online learning. I know that some of the virtual schools that we studied do provide training/professional development for their teachers, including VHS, but I wonder how many these opportunities focus on what's currently being studied. And while AERA provides a great for sharing the latest research in online learning (although I felt like the options on this topic were limited this year) I wonder how many online teachers take advantage of conferences such as these? Does dissemination only happen among researchers and graduate students?
4.10.2011
Week #10
What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? Has your thinking changed as a result of what you learned this week?
One thing that I learned in this week's readings/discussions is that some the factors that make it difficult to study f2f courses are the same factors that make it diffult to study online courses. For example, there are too many variables that can't be controlled for including the student's history with the content (perhaps this is their 2nd time in the course or they've had exposure to the content through their parents, the variations in the curriculum and the way in which the content is taught, and whether or not the student is getting (or not getting) extra help at home. All of these uncontrollable variables can have an impact on the study results. This can also make study results difficult to generalize to other situations.
I also thought that it was interesting that there do seem to be a lot of studies affirming the fact that online learning is as effective as f2f learning but few studies on what makes the online course effective. I think this is interesting because in our earlier readings, there was a lot of discussion about the transparency of online interactions -- it's easy to monitor teacher-student, student-student, teacher-parent interactions. It would seem like virtual schools would be able to, with a lot of careful planning, run some sort of qualitative study that carefully analyzed these interactions to determine what worked and why? Perhaps in the future...
One thing that I learned in this week's readings/discussions is that some the factors that make it difficult to study f2f courses are the same factors that make it diffult to study online courses. For example, there are too many variables that can't be controlled for including the student's history with the content (perhaps this is their 2nd time in the course or they've had exposure to the content through their parents, the variations in the curriculum and the way in which the content is taught, and whether or not the student is getting (or not getting) extra help at home. All of these uncontrollable variables can have an impact on the study results. This can also make study results difficult to generalize to other situations.
I also thought that it was interesting that there do seem to be a lot of studies affirming the fact that online learning is as effective as f2f learning but few studies on what makes the online course effective. I think this is interesting because in our earlier readings, there was a lot of discussion about the transparency of online interactions -- it's easy to monitor teacher-student, student-student, teacher-parent interactions. It would seem like virtual schools would be able to, with a lot of careful planning, run some sort of qualitative study that carefully analyzed these interactions to determine what worked and why? Perhaps in the future...
3.31.2011
Week #9
Now that you have seen what other people did in creating their units, is there anything that you might do differently if you were to redesign your own unit?
I'm not sure Ning was the best platform for our Introduction to 2D Design course. It is really meant as a social networking site so it lacks many of the features that a course management system has such as an assignments tab or a calendar. It also doesn't have a main/homepage that everyone lands on. Kristin and I ended up using the blog post feature to add our assignments which added a level of complication in that we had to change the posting date/time to make everything appear in the correct order. I do think, that for an art course, Ning's options for themes were great. Our site is very visual and the colors, layout, and the banner art reflect this. But the regular Ning is really not designed for education.
If I were to do it again, I think I would spend a little more time exploring different learning platforms earlier in the project...ones that could really support an art course. It looked like Canvas/Instructure, one that I hadn't heard of until I saw Donna and Sarah's curriculum, has potential. I'm sure there are other platforms available that really lend themselves to a course that is mostly visual.
I'm not sure Ning was the best platform for our Introduction to 2D Design course. It is really meant as a social networking site so it lacks many of the features that a course management system has such as an assignments tab or a calendar. It also doesn't have a main/homepage that everyone lands on. Kristin and I ended up using the blog post feature to add our assignments which added a level of complication in that we had to change the posting date/time to make everything appear in the correct order. I do think, that for an art course, Ning's options for themes were great. Our site is very visual and the colors, layout, and the banner art reflect this. But the regular Ning is really not designed for education.
If I were to do it again, I think I would spend a little more time exploring different learning platforms earlier in the project...ones that could really support an art course. It looked like Canvas/Instructure, one that I hadn't heard of until I saw Donna and Sarah's curriculum, has potential. I'm sure there are other platforms available that really lend themselves to a course that is mostly visual.
3.09.2011
Week #7
Kristen and I have chosen to do something around Art (2d/visual/graphic design) for our project.
Although I have a strong interest in art, I definitely do not have a background in it so right now, this is the one part of the curriculum that concerns me the most. I am now bringing myself "up to speed" so that I can contribute in meaningful way to the actual planning process. In this process, I have come across fairly broad standards for art in K-12, multiple curricula from different levels, and lots of links to lots of really wonderful websites and tools that may be helpful when we start our planning process. But we have not started planning so I don't any other concerns just quite yet. I'm sure that once we really start designing, that's when all of my concerns will arise...
3.02.2011
Week #6 posting
Did you change anything in the Google spreadsheet? If so, what? Has your view of the schools you chose to research changed from the first week you looked at them? If so, how?
I changed the first school that I looked at, Georgia Virtual Schools, from "high" to "low" interactivity. I think initially that we had it under high because GAVS offers multiple tools that allow for student interaction. These tools included discussion boards, blogs, journals and email. However, it isn't clear how these tools are actually utilized. It seems from the description of GAVS that students work independently (self-paced) on their coursework so they wouldn't really need to use any of the tools. Most students do take GAVS courses during the schoolday which means that many students might be not only enrolled in the same course they might even be taking it at the same time in the computer lab. In this situation, I think an online teacher could have students use one or more of the tools but again, it does seem like GAVS is primarily an independent, self-study course.
It is a little deceptive to have the student-student tools available but not mention this interaction component. I think GAVS does this because they know parents are worried that their children will be learning in isolation in the online environment. Those tools probably represent a safety net. Parents who look through the demo will see these tools and hopefully, their minds will be put at ease.
I also looked at Georgia Connections Academy. Its website was pretty clear -- they really support individualized learning. There aren't any tools for student-student interaction. All interactions are strictly with the learning coach (the parent) and the instructor.
I changed the first school that I looked at, Georgia Virtual Schools, from "high" to "low" interactivity. I think initially that we had it under high because GAVS offers multiple tools that allow for student interaction. These tools included discussion boards, blogs, journals and email. However, it isn't clear how these tools are actually utilized. It seems from the description of GAVS that students work independently (self-paced) on their coursework so they wouldn't really need to use any of the tools. Most students do take GAVS courses during the schoolday which means that many students might be not only enrolled in the same course they might even be taking it at the same time in the computer lab. In this situation, I think an online teacher could have students use one or more of the tools but again, it does seem like GAVS is primarily an independent, self-study course.
It is a little deceptive to have the student-student tools available but not mention this interaction component. I think GAVS does this because they know parents are worried that their children will be learning in isolation in the online environment. Those tools probably represent a safety net. Parents who look through the demo will see these tools and hopefully, their minds will be put at ease.
I also looked at Georgia Connections Academy. Its website was pretty clear -- they really support individualized learning. There aren't any tools for student-student interaction. All interactions are strictly with the learning coach (the parent) and the instructor.
2.23.2011
The TPI
I don't teach anymore so as I completed the Teaching Perspective Inventory I reflected on my experiences as a learner as well as specific teachers I appreciated to help me respond the the questions. My dominant score was for Apprenticeship (38).
The TPI describes the Apprenticeship as teachers revealing their "inner workings of skilled performance" and translating "into accessible language". It also states that these teachers organize tasks from simple to complex that provide learners with different points of contact and that "they engage learners within their "zone of development".
I believe that this is very accurate and that it is my learning in adulthood, many times in the role of apprentice, that influences my teaching perspective. For example, I taught an ESL class, right out of college, without having any experience in teaching what-so-ever. However, I had a fantastic teacher who guided my through the teaching process, reviewed my plans, observed my teaching, modeled responses to difficult questions, and provided continuous feedback. This is how I learned about student-centered teaching.
My lowest scores (31), although none were recessive, were for Transmission and Social Reform. The low score for transmission did not surprise me because it is reflective of much of my secondary and post-secondary education. It's not the best way for me to learn and therefore, I have an aversion to it. I am, however, a little disappointed that my Social Reform score was equally low. I do think it's important but I suspect that social reform has not been a big part of my learning experiences.
My developmental and nurturing scores were similar, 36 and 35 respectively. I thought these were fairly accurate and reflective of some of my learning experiences at TC. This is more true for developmental than nurturing where the course has been structured around addressing challenging questions and connecting them back to concepts learned in the earlier part of the course. (I'm specifically thinking of my Curriculum Design course.)
I should say that although I don't teach now, I used to teach GED prep at a community center a long time ago. My nurturing score is as high as it is because of my experience with this population of learners, many of whom had dropped out high school. It was important to understand where they were coming from in order to help them move forward and attain their high school equivalency.
The TPI describes the Apprenticeship as teachers revealing their "inner workings of skilled performance" and translating "into accessible language". It also states that these teachers organize tasks from simple to complex that provide learners with different points of contact and that "they engage learners within their "zone of development".
I believe that this is very accurate and that it is my learning in adulthood, many times in the role of apprentice, that influences my teaching perspective. For example, I taught an ESL class, right out of college, without having any experience in teaching what-so-ever. However, I had a fantastic teacher who guided my through the teaching process, reviewed my plans, observed my teaching, modeled responses to difficult questions, and provided continuous feedback. This is how I learned about student-centered teaching.
My lowest scores (31), although none were recessive, were for Transmission and Social Reform. The low score for transmission did not surprise me because it is reflective of much of my secondary and post-secondary education. It's not the best way for me to learn and therefore, I have an aversion to it. I am, however, a little disappointed that my Social Reform score was equally low. I do think it's important but I suspect that social reform has not been a big part of my learning experiences.
My developmental and nurturing scores were similar, 36 and 35 respectively. I thought these were fairly accurate and reflective of some of my learning experiences at TC. This is more true for developmental than nurturing where the course has been structured around addressing challenging questions and connecting them back to concepts learned in the earlier part of the course. (I'm specifically thinking of my Curriculum Design course.)
I should say that although I don't teach now, I used to teach GED prep at a community center a long time ago. My nurturing score is as high as it is because of my experience with this population of learners, many of whom had dropped out high school. It was important to understand where they were coming from in order to help them move forward and attain their high school equivalency.
2.17.2011
Week #4: Instructional Design
What did you learn about the design of online courses this week that will affect how you think about this form of instruction in the future?
One key question crossed my mind as I reviewed the various lesson plans: Does this lesson plan meet the needs of learners with varying learning styles? As a visual learner, I thought that some of the lessons, like those provided by K12, were incredibly difficult to navigate. When I have a lot to read on a screen, I tend to lose focus. And the lesson that I looked at in particular, Walden Pond, was very text-heavy. I would have lost focus or I would have just skipped ahead to the questions and attempted to answer them without reading.
I like the Connections Academy material because I felt like it was addressing multiple learning styles (auditory, visual, and depending on the lesson, spatial, kinetic, etc.) If I were planning a module, I think I would aim to address several the learning styles, when appropriate. I think I would also try to connect the learning to what the learners might already know by providing a pre-reading assignment, a short video clip, or just some questions to help them think about how the topic relates to them and/or why it matters before launching into the lesson plan.
And of course, I think about the theories that support multimedia learning.
One key question crossed my mind as I reviewed the various lesson plans: Does this lesson plan meet the needs of learners with varying learning styles? As a visual learner, I thought that some of the lessons, like those provided by K12, were incredibly difficult to navigate. When I have a lot to read on a screen, I tend to lose focus. And the lesson that I looked at in particular, Walden Pond, was very text-heavy. I would have lost focus or I would have just skipped ahead to the questions and attempted to answer them without reading.
I like the Connections Academy material because I felt like it was addressing multiple learning styles (auditory, visual, and depending on the lesson, spatial, kinetic, etc.) If I were planning a module, I think I would aim to address several the learning styles, when appropriate. I think I would also try to connect the learning to what the learners might already know by providing a pre-reading assignment, a short video clip, or just some questions to help them think about how the topic relates to them and/or why it matters before launching into the lesson plan.
And of course, I think about the theories that support multimedia learning.
2.09.2011
Week #3
How has your thinking about online schools and online schooling changed since the first week?
Tough question. I came into this course with very little understanding of online schools and schooling in K-12. I though that (and still think that) online schools are a great idea and now I'm starting to collect evidence to support this notion. The one area that concerns me, now that I've perused a few of the state and charter online school websites, is the lack of transparent around student outcomes. In some cases, it's completely missing. In other cases, the outcomes are really vague or aren't particularly meaningful (e.g. 96% parents agree that our teachers are helpful). I realize that some of the schools are newer so they may not be able to provide longitudinal evidence a student success but I do think it's important to provide some information. For example, in states where high stakes testing matters I would want to know how online students fared. Or I'd want to know what the average AP scores were? I think knowing this type of information might help a parent make a more informed decision about which online school to select for their child.
2.08.2011
Reflective Tweet #2
As a student, I’d want 2 things: interaction with other students (school-specific social network, IM) and cool classes like video gaming.
2.03.2011
Reflective Tweet #1
I would want to know that my child has adequate teacher support, a timeline, and adequate interaction with other students.
1.26.2011
Week 1 Surprises...
What did you learn this week that surprised you?
The one thing that surprised me right off the bat is that I didn't know that there were so many different terms to describe the education that goes on in the online world. Subtle difference in the wording of term can mean different things to different people (e.g. virtual schooling, online school, online learning, online courses, etc.). I'm still having trouble keeping it straight in my head and definitely noticed that, in responding to the forum posts, that I had to check the PPT to make sure I was using the right time.
What was the biggest question you were left with at the end of this first week? I guess the biggest question I was left with was how many different models on online schooling are there? Can you generalize about what makes online learning effective, if the models vary? And, how do you even begin to evaluate effectiveness? I looked into this question last semester (a little bit) and felt like researchers avoided looking at outcomes (e.g. grades) in their studies in effectiveness. To be fair though, I was looking specifically at social presence and why it mattered...
Anyway, those are just some quick thoughts...
The one thing that surprised me right off the bat is that I didn't know that there were so many different terms to describe the education that goes on in the online world. Subtle difference in the wording of term can mean different things to different people (e.g. virtual schooling, online school, online learning, online courses, etc.). I'm still having trouble keeping it straight in my head and definitely noticed that, in responding to the forum posts, that I had to check the PPT to make sure I was using the right time.
What was the biggest question you were left with at the end of this first week? I guess the biggest question I was left with was how many different models on online schooling are there? Can you generalize about what makes online learning effective, if the models vary? And, how do you even begin to evaluate effectiveness? I looked into this question last semester (a little bit) and felt like researchers avoided looking at outcomes (e.g. grades) in their studies in effectiveness. To be fair though, I was looking specifically at social presence and why it mattered...
Anyway, those are just some quick thoughts...
1.22.2011
All about me...
Hello and welcome to my blog!
As you can see, this is not a brand new blog. I decided that I would just continue using a blog I started last semester for a course on the social aspect of ICTs. So if you're interested -- feel free to peruse those entries.
The short story of my life is that I was born in India, raised in Syracuse, NY, did my undergrad studies at SUNY Geneseo (Political Science), and my (first) grad studies at Boston University's School of Education (Administration, Policy). Education was not my intended path after college but somehow I was pulled into it. It all started with a volunteer job tutoring teenagers who wanted to take the GED exam (the high school equivalency exam). From there I went on to teach adults, immigrants mostly, English as a Second language, basic reading and writing skills, as well as citizenship skills. I also spent several years managing a program that helped nontraditional adult learners transition into post-secondary education. This all happened in Boston where I lived for nearly 11 years. I moved to New York City about four years ago (yikes!) and now I work at the Medical Center at 168th Street. I still work with adult learners, just in a different capacity. I manage a program that helps faculty improve their teaching/evaluation skills.
So what made me interested in this course? I only recently developed an interest in online learning. For my work at the medical center, it almost feels like it could be the answer to all of my low attendance problems. As you can imagine, it's hard for physicians to keep their commitments to attending face-to-face workshops. When I started the Instructional Technology & Media program, my intention was to really learn how to address this issue. So my hope is that this class, although geared towards a K-12 audience, will help me to think through the issues involved in online learning and help me to think about how I might develop informal online courses or module for the faculty.
And do I have any experience with online learning? Yes, yes I do. Last semester, I took my very first online class. I must admit that I struggled through it and that was not something I expected at all. Although the course content was very interesting to me, I thought that the platform was terrible (ClassWeb, really??), the instructor's expectations weren't clear, and we never got any feedback on our discussion posts. And instead of feeling like I was part of class, I really just felt like I was doing an independent study. The experience actually prompted me to do a little research for my other class on what does make online learning more effective.
As you can see, this is not a brand new blog. I decided that I would just continue using a blog I started last semester for a course on the social aspect of ICTs. So if you're interested -- feel free to peruse those entries.
The short story of my life is that I was born in India, raised in Syracuse, NY, did my undergrad studies at SUNY Geneseo (Political Science), and my (first) grad studies at Boston University's School of Education (Administration, Policy). Education was not my intended path after college but somehow I was pulled into it. It all started with a volunteer job tutoring teenagers who wanted to take the GED exam (the high school equivalency exam). From there I went on to teach adults, immigrants mostly, English as a Second language, basic reading and writing skills, as well as citizenship skills. I also spent several years managing a program that helped nontraditional adult learners transition into post-secondary education. This all happened in Boston where I lived for nearly 11 years. I moved to New York City about four years ago (yikes!) and now I work at the Medical Center at 168th Street. I still work with adult learners, just in a different capacity. I manage a program that helps faculty improve their teaching/evaluation skills.
So what made me interested in this course? I only recently developed an interest in online learning. For my work at the medical center, it almost feels like it could be the answer to all of my low attendance problems. As you can imagine, it's hard for physicians to keep their commitments to attending face-to-face workshops. When I started the Instructional Technology & Media program, my intention was to really learn how to address this issue. So my hope is that this class, although geared towards a K-12 audience, will help me to think through the issues involved in online learning and help me to think about how I might develop informal online courses or module for the faculty.
And do I have any experience with online learning? Yes, yes I do. Last semester, I took my very first online class. I must admit that I struggled through it and that was not something I expected at all. Although the course content was very interesting to me, I thought that the platform was terrible (ClassWeb, really??), the instructor's expectations weren't clear, and we never got any feedback on our discussion posts. And instead of feeling like I was part of class, I really just felt like I was doing an independent study. The experience actually prompted me to do a little research for my other class on what does make online learning more effective.
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