550- Week 6 Reflection

My students are gaining 21st century skills by . . .

My students are not gaining the 21st century skills that they should be. They have regular access to computers, but that's it. The DPI mandates that have been placed on the MPS district have really hindered efforts to integrate technology. In my school, there aren't enough computers for students to have any meaningful usage. The interactions are very task oriented, for example testing.

I understand the Virtual Schools Legislation in Wisconsin and am concerned/excited about . . .

I am excited to see how much virtual schools have gained credibility. I am concerned about the charter school movement in general, which applies to virtual schools. I have personally seen the effects on a district whose enrollment has been significantly impacted by charter and choice schools. Although, I do understand that there are certainly quality issues that have helped get MPS to where it is now.

My district involvement in online learning includes . . .

I tried to get in contact with someone who could give me information on our districts online activities. Unfortunately, this was a busy week and I was unable to get all of my questions answered. As I understand it thus far, MPS hosts 2 sites, one for students (SLC=Student Learning Community)and one for teachers (TLC=Teacher Learning Community). These sites seem to be mostly resource oriented.

During the module I was excited to learn about . . .

I was excited to learn about the increased interest and legitimacy of online learning. I am deeply disappointed in the Milwaukee Public School district for not making technology enough of a priority, especially in the online learning arena.

550- Week 5 Reflection

• My experience with online communities has been …

• My experience through this particular program has been great. I have appreciated the many collaborative opportunities because they have helped to deepen my understand through the consideration of other perspectives. My previous experience was one of isolation. The discussion opportunities were not genuine and only seemed task oriented, rather than opportunities for valuable interactions.
  

• I believe the biggest benefit of collaborative groups is …

• I stated previously the biggest benefits of collaboration groups. The interactions with other participants makes a considerable difference in the quality of learning. For me, the interaction solidifies the learning and makes it more authentic and memorable.
  

• I believe the greatest challenge is/would be …

• The greatest challenge is the management of group dynamics. Although, my experiences with this cohort have been fantastic, I have been in groups where there are participants who don't hold their weight, are less motivated, and/or who dominate the group. It is important to maintain open communication; be honest and forthright; be dependable and prepared; and to be mindful of respectful and professional communications.
  
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• My thoughts regarding the social development and socialization issues are …
• Positive social development is an ever present problem in the community I live and teach in. The traditional teacher centered framework is not helping! I have truly enjoyed my online experience because of the vast opportunities it has provided me for worthwhile interactions with my classmates. Although, I am a fairly confident person, when it comes to sharing in an educational setting, I can only imagine how online education can be life-changing for those who are more reluctant to share.
  

550- Week 4 Reflection

• In reflecting on my teaching experiences to date, I would say that the proportion of teacher centered versus student centered lessons has been …

• I would have to say that I've presented about 50% of my teaching in a teacher-centered setting, which would make 50% student-centered. I must say, though, I have to be careful at times not to lecture. I really enjoy learning from my own students, which comes from watching, listening, and giving them opportunities to demonstrate their learning processes. Developing relationships with my students helps me to facilitate this process more. When I don't spend enough time watching and listening, I become more removed from their learning and more inclined to take over. This becomes increasingly a challenge when I am feeling specially pressed for time.
  

• I was able to identify more than one authentic assessment to measure mastery of a single concept lesson when I …

• I gave my students the opportunity to show their progress and understanding by giving several check-in opportunities through the use of the postcards. These postcards made way for the final brochure assessment.
  

• The rubric I created for my lesson clearly defined expectations and scoring for the lesson so that my students could …

• I really wanted to give my students some flexibility with their final products. My rubric allowed for them to present the information that they felt was most important to include while still showing me that they accomplished the goal of "exploring Africa".

• While working on this module I had success/difficulty while doing something new involving …
• I had a difficult time considering how to infuse differentiation into my lesson. I had to keep in mind my main objective. I want students to come away with more knowledge about the countries in Africa. For this lesson, I am less concerned about whether or not the information is read or seen on a video or through photos.
  

550- Week 3 Reflection

• What is the greatest challenge that I have encountered as an online teacher/facilitator and how did I manage it? (If you have not yet taught online what do you think would be the greatest challenge for online teachers/facilitators?).
• I have never taught an online course before. I would imagine that my greatest challenge would be providing timely, effective feedback for my students. Well, the challenge wouldn't be making the feedback effective as much as making it timely. The success of online education is largely due to frequent communication. I would be tempted to comment on every little thing my students submitted. I guess this is more a challenge of setting reasonable limitations on how much time I make myself available.
  

• Some things that I feel are really important to consider about synchronous and asynchronous facilitation as I prepare to facilitate my threaded and web conference discussions are. . .

• An asynchronous discussion reminder is to post early and respond frequently. It is, also, important to provide clear instructions to initialize quality discussion within the group. For synchronous discussions, the facilitator must provide frequent affirmation and invitations for participation. This will detour from a lecture setting and encourage sharing and valuable participation.
  

• I choose my particular discussion topic because . . .

• I chose the topic of online learning myths because I was quite a skeptic initially, myself. I am interested in sharing ideas about personal experiences and how to dispel these myths.
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• One thing that I thought about when developing rubrics for the 2 different discussions is. . .
• One thing I kept in mind was trying to stay focused on the actual intended outcomes. What was the purpose of the discussion? What did I want the participants to walk away with?
  

550- Week 2 Reflection

• Identify at least two synchronous and two asynchronous online learning tools that would be appropriate for your targeted online learners.

• Asking questions to encourage higher level thinking and acknowledging contributions to provide timely feedback are important synchronous online learning tools. Providing materials ahead of time and giving clear and concise directions gives students all they need to get and stay organized.
  

• List four different types of activities that you might use with your targeted online learners and identify an appropriate online tool to use in implementing that activity.

1. blogging: blogger.com
   
2. video conferencing: tokbox or Skype
   
3. wiki: pbworks.com
   
4. virtual classroom: Elluminate
   

• Is my initial contact warm and inviting? Are there things I did particularly well or could do better in the future?

• My initial contact conveys a warm and inviting message by showing interest in the success of the intended audience. I spoke consideration of their time and their hesitance to try something new.
  
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• Is my initial contact clear and concise and yet user friendly? What are some strategies that help to format your contacts to make them as clear and concise as possible?
• The information presented showed a clear schedule of what the participants will be learning from the course. It may be more helpful if I provided a screen shot crash course tutorial on how to get around the wiki. It, also, includes contact information and course expectations.
  

550-Week 1 Reflection

I can relate the examples of online learning to my own experience in the following ways. . .
I certainly can relate to needing a masters program that could accommodate my family and work schedules. Even more importantly, life happens! In the last couple of years, I have struggled with a health issue resulting in the removal of a tumor just a couple of months ago, the same day I lost my grandmother. (March-May were really the pits!) If I hadn't been in this online program, I surely would've had to drop out.
In addition, I have really benefited from all of the professional development, not to mention the needed credits to keep current with my license.

These are some problems I had navigating the course management system and utilizing the discussion boards, can you help me with . . .
Reviewing the system before our first class session was a little confusing. During the first class, I got the needed clarifications to enable me to browse and use the site effectively.

I can imagine using Elluminate Live! for a web conference in order to . . .
As a first grade teacher in a building full of technology scaredy-pants, I can't imagine using Elluminate professionally. I definitely see it's potential when trying to plan family functions with relatives out of state. I wish my husband's job would get hip. They have phone conferences every morning and a full in person meeting every Wednesday. This is an inconvenience because the staff all live and work at sites all over southeastern Wisconsin.

I tried something new while working on this module and it made me think that . . .
I can't think of anything new I did that was significant enough to give me any uh-huh moments. I do like the system. It would be great for high school students.