Culminating expereince
This is a for the sills and technologies that we have experienced in this class. Also a shout out to the curriculum hey Louis. Let me take you back to last week. My culminating experience activity had been going very well. I had completed the following.
culminating proposal draft ok’d
full day of Html training from the head programmer for the company who provides our curriculum
individual research on html, some great online resources are available.
one on one work with the head of my department
downloaded application needed for curriculum editing
I was able to make changes to files that I downloaded and then submit those changes and have them appear in my classes big big deal for iQ teachers
I talked to Louis and talked about plan and how I was going to represent this in the portfolio
Got up Early Wed July 28th got the coffee ready papers out opened some apps and
BooooooooM!!!!!
Yep computer crash............ ok no panic, reboot check messages, scratch head
what does Stop code 0000ffffffx000000x fffffffff000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 mean any way.
no worries reboot again Stop code 0000ffffffx000000x fffffffff000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGG that right revert right to Pirate speak. Shiver my timbers Ahhhh poop deck.
The bad news
My hard drive crashed ...............
I lost all my most recent Caribbean vacation pictures (not all? see good news below)
I lost weeks of work (only weeks see below under good news)
I had to complete my culminating experience on my lap top.
The good news
Actaully this is part bad and lots good news We have a back up that for some reason stopped backing up in early June. so good news saved most everything yeah! bad news lost a month and a half of work.
* Most of my grad work materials can be found in cloud storage, wohoo!
* I did not have to go Mad
* My wife though of attaching key board and mouse and monitor to my lap top increasing efficiency, once again I stayed relatively sane.
So owe a great deal to Louis and the MEIT curriculum for teaching me the skills to effectively deal with this potential disaster. Though to be completely fair they are the ones who are making me do all this work in the first place and without them I would probably be tending the garden or playing NCAA 11 right now.
So thanks a lot Louis!!!
Really I owe you most of my sanity!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Week 6 leadership
Here are some belated and quick thoughts about leadership. I am thankful this class was included in our curriculum. The topic was just a semester late but has helped salvage some of you departments transition to a grading and curriculum change that is taking place in the Waukesha school district. I really could have used it about 6 months ago when the change to criteria based grading was proposed to the iQ staff. I asked a bunch of questions and tried to get clarification you know the why, what when kinda stuff and then asked the why some more. I was not satisfied with the answers I received and made some people uncomfortable with my questions. During our class I came to realize just why we were all uncomfortable.
One the district had been working on the transitions for several years (just not iQ) the folks my questions upset the most were the ones new to iq or had worked mostly face to face and had been in the loop as it were. When I realized what was happening I asked for the supportive literature from the powers that be and read through them. They really were quite barren of facts or supportive information for the change but did at least give some vision for the change with some very basic guidance. Secondly I have no control at this point in the process so I can show some trust and move forward with the change.
The new skills I have learned in the culminating experience activity CED0599 give me unique skills to help facilitate the changes taking place with the iQ curriculum. I look forward to developing my role as a leader at iQ and in online education.
One the district had been working on the transitions for several years (just not iQ) the folks my questions upset the most were the ones new to iq or had worked mostly face to face and had been in the loop as it were. When I realized what was happening I asked for the supportive literature from the powers that be and read through them. They really were quite barren of facts or supportive information for the change but did at least give some vision for the change with some very basic guidance. Secondly I have no control at this point in the process so I can show some trust and move forward with the change.
The new skills I have learned in the culminating experience activity CED0599 give me unique skills to help facilitate the changes taking place with the iQ curriculum. I look forward to developing my role as a leader at iQ and in online education.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Week 5 565
Has Cable television ruined America? Well what do you think? Whether you are a radical Tea Party member a right wing conspiracy nut, a ultra conservative right winger, a centrist liberal an anarchist or non political you probably have noticed the polarization found in American politics. You can now glam on to a favorite boutique program on cable that will spout rhetoric you find appealing. Most people do not bother to listen to the other stations as their rhetoric is obviously false and in no way relevant. Sure even when there is absolutely nothing on all 200 hundred channels I still enjoy flipping along the stations and taking in a sentence here and a scene there. My intellect know I would be perfectly fine without all those options in fact I probably only watch about a dozen channels on a regular basis. There is some value in all the options. One unintended consequence however is the loss of a network devoted to finding an audience of or for the majority (at least the majority of 20=40 year old's or whatever the money spending demographic is) Now you find your niche with a few million fervent followers and preach to the choir.
It does make it less stressful listening to just the intelligent and well informed even if it is totally biased and one sided. Most of you probably already realize this but it bears repeating. You are really not opened minded people even those of you who are more open minded than most. Your brain filters information, it actually uses different synapses to process information that agrees with your world outlook than those messages that do not agree with your hard wired brain.
I think the internet while having this great capacity to spread knowledge to the entire world also has the ability to limit an individual world view as we search for similar voices and information that resonates with our views.
ok so this was off topic and tangential to say the least but with a rap up paper and a culminating blog coming this week I did not want to be to repetitive.
thanks for reading the blog.
It does make it less stressful listening to just the intelligent and well informed even if it is totally biased and one sided. Most of you probably already realize this but it bears repeating. You are really not opened minded people even those of you who are more open minded than most. Your brain filters information, it actually uses different synapses to process information that agrees with your world outlook than those messages that do not agree with your hard wired brain.
I think the internet while having this great capacity to spread knowledge to the entire world also has the ability to limit an individual world view as we search for similar voices and information that resonates with our views.
ok so this was off topic and tangential to say the least but with a rap up paper and a culminating blog coming this week I did not want to be to repetitive.
thanks for reading the blog.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Week 4 blog
I often refer to iQ Academy as a start-up company. This description helps when discussing the staff interactions. Most of the staff are from the initial start up and are heavily invested in the school. They are considered risk takers in the district. They demonstrate a passion and common goal. Meeting over the years have been productive.
Last year we hired a new Principal, a teacher with great technical skills and a high degree of motivation. The new principal does have a totally different style than the last principal and there has been several speed bumps in the transition. Though I personally functioned better under the leadership of the last principal the current principal is the right person for the present circumstances. Cuts to staff, slow growth in enrollment etc.
The morale is low at the moment because of the loss of some very passionate qualified teachers. Many feel the best in online education is yet to come and are still hopeful toward the future.
We have a celebration acknowledgment section each staff meeting. I have noticed the number of personal and professional celebration sharing has decreased significantly this year.
We need to make sure we encourage teachers to be involved with the needs assessments, development of changes and there implementation. We are currently working on a mandated change and it is not going well at all.
From my experience as a educator I would say that a positive and productive climate can make all the difference. I have been in situations where there was staff participation and mutual respect. This environment encouraged and maintained an open invitation for faculty involvement. I have also been a part of schools that have used the top down approach, and my experience it has been less effective or beneficial.
Usually in a top down deployment you will not have as much buy-in and you may develop individual or group resistances. I found even if the change was successfully implemented the staff did not feel the same way about the process.
Teachers that feel they are being supported and are a part of the change process are going to be more motivated and experience a greater degree of satisfaction. This could ultimately determine the success of the proposed change.
In principal at IQ we do have a methodology in place for a continuous improvement plan. It is called Summer Academy and supporting that is the establishment of Professional Learning something that start with a C I believe( it is not cheese). PLC's. ah that is right communities.
We do have discussion and set SMART goals and review them each year. But this Summer Academy takes place in July. So some of the same dedicated folks attend each year. They supply a small stipend which comes to 5$ an hour so here we see those informal leaders we have discussed previously coming together. (due to contract dispute I fear this year's SA will not be well attended)
While the summer academy is helpful it needs to be carried through throughout the school year and it has been my experience that this happens some years and some years more pressing issues interfere with the follow through. More time needs to be found for PLC's and follow through on established SMART Goals. I also find it very interesting how teachers are expected to develop curriculum, continue their own education, meet in teams and oh yeah almost forgot Teach and be responsive to individual students and their families. Within a Calendar school year. Obviously this doesn't happen within the school day most of it happens outside the school day, just something to reflect on. Interesting model we are working with.
Last year we hired a new Principal, a teacher with great technical skills and a high degree of motivation. The new principal does have a totally different style than the last principal and there has been several speed bumps in the transition. Though I personally functioned better under the leadership of the last principal the current principal is the right person for the present circumstances. Cuts to staff, slow growth in enrollment etc.
The morale is low at the moment because of the loss of some very passionate qualified teachers. Many feel the best in online education is yet to come and are still hopeful toward the future.
We have a celebration acknowledgment section each staff meeting. I have noticed the number of personal and professional celebration sharing has decreased significantly this year.
We need to make sure we encourage teachers to be involved with the needs assessments, development of changes and there implementation. We are currently working on a mandated change and it is not going well at all.
From my experience as a educator I would say that a positive and productive climate can make all the difference. I have been in situations where there was staff participation and mutual respect. This environment encouraged and maintained an open invitation for faculty involvement. I have also been a part of schools that have used the top down approach, and my experience it has been less effective or beneficial.
Usually in a top down deployment you will not have as much buy-in and you may develop individual or group resistances. I found even if the change was successfully implemented the staff did not feel the same way about the process.
Teachers that feel they are being supported and are a part of the change process are going to be more motivated and experience a greater degree of satisfaction. This could ultimately determine the success of the proposed change.
In principal at IQ we do have a methodology in place for a continuous improvement plan. It is called Summer Academy and supporting that is the establishment of Professional Learning something that start with a C I believe( it is not cheese). PLC's. ah that is right communities.
We do have discussion and set SMART goals and review them each year. But this Summer Academy takes place in July. So some of the same dedicated folks attend each year. They supply a small stipend which comes to 5$ an hour so here we see those informal leaders we have discussed previously coming together. (due to contract dispute I fear this year's SA will not be well attended)
While the summer academy is helpful it needs to be carried through throughout the school year and it has been my experience that this happens some years and some years more pressing issues interfere with the follow through. More time needs to be found for PLC's and follow through on established SMART Goals. I also find it very interesting how teachers are expected to develop curriculum, continue their own education, meet in teams and oh yeah almost forgot Teach and be responsive to individual students and their families. Within a Calendar school year. Obviously this doesn't happen within the school day most of it happens outside the school day, just something to reflect on. Interesting model we are working with.
Friday, June 4, 2010
So this week I am writing down my ideas I though through while cutting the grass yesterday. I have found it very productive to cut the grass this year. I get some exercise (walk behind mower) I find it almost enjoyable and I tend to think creatively while mowing. I came up with several new story pieces for two of my books I am currently working on I also invented a back pack snorkel air reserve system for holding reserve air for short dives to the bottom.
This week I was thinking about how changes in my school specifically the rewrite to curriculum and the criteria based grading we are planning to implement. WE started by looking at standards, this led us to creating our own as we had some rather big difficulties with the ones the district wrote over the last several years. We then scrapped that as our department head went in a more general direction of looking at the 21st century skills direction. That work is all on hold now.
We developed a more long term goal of implementing the criteria based grading and curriculum writing which is now in jeopardy as well. In yesterday's meeting a very emotional Principal informed the staff of the cuts that had to be made to staffing for the upcoming school year. It is said to see highly professional motivated and passionate people let go or reassigned when there contribution is truly needed. Well we then split up into departments, mine is unfortunately only 3 people instead of 5 as was the case the last several years, though fortunately I am still one of the 3. I will have 7 preps next year and they have increased the student total to 600 students for the year. This will obviously impact our implementation plans as well as my teaching.
Sympathy please, I will teach 6th grade science, 7th grade science, Environmental, Chemistry, Anatomy and physiology, AP biology, AP chemistry.
I understand that as I have described our operation as a start up company we all have to pitch in to make sure we get established and weather the difficult times yet I feel a real disappointment that the numbers of students and preps may adversely effect the educational outcome. Frankly I am also disappointed as I will less time to improve my classes using some of what I have learned in this program.
This week I was thinking about how changes in my school specifically the rewrite to curriculum and the criteria based grading we are planning to implement. WE started by looking at standards, this led us to creating our own as we had some rather big difficulties with the ones the district wrote over the last several years. We then scrapped that as our department head went in a more general direction of looking at the 21st century skills direction. That work is all on hold now.
We developed a more long term goal of implementing the criteria based grading and curriculum writing which is now in jeopardy as well. In yesterday's meeting a very emotional Principal informed the staff of the cuts that had to be made to staffing for the upcoming school year. It is said to see highly professional motivated and passionate people let go or reassigned when there contribution is truly needed. Well we then split up into departments, mine is unfortunately only 3 people instead of 5 as was the case the last several years, though fortunately I am still one of the 3. I will have 7 preps next year and they have increased the student total to 600 students for the year. This will obviously impact our implementation plans as well as my teaching.
Sympathy please, I will teach 6th grade science, 7th grade science, Environmental, Chemistry, Anatomy and physiology, AP biology, AP chemistry.
I understand that as I have described our operation as a start up company we all have to pitch in to make sure we get established and weather the difficult times yet I feel a real disappointment that the numbers of students and preps may adversely effect the educational outcome. Frankly I am also disappointed as I will less time to improve my classes using some of what I have learned in this program.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Hi Folks, Jason Thanks for the reminder to post to my Blog. Last Thursday I spent time thinking of what I was going to blog about as I was leaving for the weekend. I even included it in my to do list. I went so far as to create a memory of submitting the blog entry. I would have sworn I did even when Louis sent a note reminded folks to post I pretty much ignored it as it did not pertain to me.
Each summer the Waukesha school District host a Summer Academy in which a large portion is given to a data dive and time to set up school wide Smart goals. It will be interesting to see how this summer goes as the teachers union and district are stuck in a contentious contract dispute.
I wondered how difficult it would be to find data like we are given during the summer. I made two email inquiries and a check of the Waukesha website and I had all the data I could possible use. I had taken some time to analyze the WKCE testing and such and we as a school had set a goal to increase our students % of passing classes. As a new school we did not have a bunch of history or data to compare but we could compare our students to the face-to-face students of the Wuakesha school district. We have made great progress in supporting our students to achieve greater percentage of classes passed. It will be interesting to see how this translates to test scores. We may have to look directly at areas of need in the future.
Each summer the Waukesha school District host a Summer Academy in which a large portion is given to a data dive and time to set up school wide Smart goals. It will be interesting to see how this summer goes as the teachers union and district are stuck in a contentious contract dispute.
I wondered how difficult it would be to find data like we are given during the summer. I made two email inquiries and a check of the Waukesha website and I had all the data I could possible use. I had taken some time to analyze the WKCE testing and such and we as a school had set a goal to increase our students % of passing classes. As a new school we did not have a bunch of history or data to compare but we could compare our students to the face-to-face students of the Wuakesha school district. We have made great progress in supporting our students to achieve greater percentage of classes passed. It will be interesting to see how this translates to test scores. We may have to look directly at areas of need in the future.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Blog 1 Leadership and planning 565
Here we are a well over a year from the start looking at the skill and characteristics of good leadership. When I first saw this on the class list frankly it looked out of place. I was taking this course work to improve my online teaching skills. Along the way I have learned how to better communicate and organize my online classroom. I have investigated and explored many helpful online tools. I have learned much about the inner workings of a the computer and how to better use the connectivity of the internet to meet my students learning needs. I could not see how this class would fit in with all the rest.
After working with my cohorts for the better part of two years I do understand how a class on leadership fits in and why it is placed here at the end of the experience. I am not a leader within my district or department but I have read the blogs and have been utterly impressed by the leadership being displayed by many members of this cohort in their home districts.
Many have be driving forces in acquiring and using new proven technologies in their classrooms and at their schools. They have also show initiative in experimenting and implementing more cutting edge technologies as well. I here their passion in their writing and applaud their efforts. It makes sense that after acquiring some skills in this area while not experts in the field we can certainly serve as advocates for proper and productive use of technologies in the classrooms of today and with enrollment of others more of the learning of tomorrow.
After working with my cohorts for the better part of two years I do understand how a class on leadership fits in and why it is placed here at the end of the experience. I am not a leader within my district or department but I have read the blogs and have been utterly impressed by the leadership being displayed by many members of this cohort in their home districts.
Many have be driving forces in acquiring and using new proven technologies in their classrooms and at their schools. They have also show initiative in experimenting and implementing more cutting edge technologies as well. I here their passion in their writing and applaud their efforts. It makes sense that after acquiring some skills in this area while not experts in the field we can certainly serve as advocates for proper and productive use of technologies in the classrooms of today and with enrollment of others more of the learning of tomorrow.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Third Blog for 555.
Building the portfolio using the Google Site has been helpful. After working on this class with so many online application it just seems appropriate and effective to use the online application to display what we have achieved.
Having standards as a guideline combined with the representative work from our master programs should produce a good representation of not only what we have done for the master program but also how we plan or have implemented what we have learned in to our teaching.
I am looking forward to the next couple of years with iQ as we re-write our online curriculum and I can move forward using the tools I have acquired in this program.
I am interested to learn how to make changes to my web pages (Culminating experience proposal) and I am excited about having the ability to develop my courses.
Having standards as a guideline combined with the representative work from our master programs should produce a good representation of not only what we have done for the master program but also how we plan or have implemented what we have learned in to our teaching.
I am looking forward to the next couple of years with iQ as we re-write our online curriculum and I can move forward using the tools I have acquired in this program.
I am interested to learn how to make changes to my web pages (Culminating experience proposal) and I am excited about having the ability to develop my courses.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Blog 2 for 555
Thanks for all the support and comments on the last post. Now that we are wading in the muck of the portfolio pond, with the help of John and the rest of my colleagues I feel I am able to keep my head above water.
I am at the point were I am gathering artifacts for my list of standards. Yes as John has pointed out this is a good time to reflect on what I have been doing in my classes. It is also good timing as my district is moving to a criterion based grading system based on common assessments which are all based on common Learning Targets.
I am far from convinced this is a productive education model but I am trying to stay open minded and learn as much as I can as we move forward with the implementation. No matter how I look at it is seems to be a method to find the lowest common denominator (dumbing down anyone)as the standard and make sure students understand those to some level. It may be just me but I kinda always taught each class of students I had individually, pushing just beyond their comfort level, not quite to panic though I did have to coach some of them on how to handle the discomfort of not being able to instantly understand a concept.
Now I am told I can teach more than what is in the Targets I just can't assess the learning...... ah what.......
Clearly I do not get it but as I am being pushed beyond my comfort level I am remaining calm, listening more than talking and working to better understand.
I am at the point were I am gathering artifacts for my list of standards. Yes as John has pointed out this is a good time to reflect on what I have been doing in my classes. It is also good timing as my district is moving to a criterion based grading system based on common assessments which are all based on common Learning Targets.
I am far from convinced this is a productive education model but I am trying to stay open minded and learn as much as I can as we move forward with the implementation. No matter how I look at it is seems to be a method to find the lowest common denominator (dumbing down anyone)as the standard and make sure students understand those to some level. It may be just me but I kinda always taught each class of students I had individually, pushing just beyond their comfort level, not quite to panic though I did have to coach some of them on how to handle the discomfort of not being able to instantly understand a concept.
Now I am told I can teach more than what is in the Targets I just can't assess the learning...... ah what.......
Clearly I do not get it but as I am being pushed beyond my comfort level I am remaining calm, listening more than talking and working to better understand.
Friday, March 26, 2010
First Blog 555
Maybe it is just me, but it seems that I am the only one who has not dealt with portfolios prior to this class, but I asked by very helpful group who seemed to be seamlessly handling all assignments if I were the only one who did not have experience with portfolios and they all told me I am not the only one. I still find that hard to believe as I listened to their conversation and checked out their exemplar portfolio examples. Mine were a hodgepodge of different portfolio examples while theirs were useful actually examples that I would be proud to produce.
Ryan and Kara supplied very helpful examples I will add here.
Ryan example
Kara example
Though I had no Ideas what kind of rubric to put together until I saw examples provided by John and compared my production to that of my teammates it was a very helpful exercise as it made this totally fuzzy far off vision of what the heck a portfolios is a bit clearer, not crystal clear but kind of like when you blink and your contact moves or rotates and everything is slightly out of focus but you can recognize them.
So I think I have got it. I am going to have to put together a online representation of myself as a professional teacher.
So thanks for all the patience and assistance from my cohorts, take care.
Ryan and Kara supplied very helpful examples I will add here.
Ryan example
Kara example
Though I had no Ideas what kind of rubric to put together until I saw examples provided by John and compared my production to that of my teammates it was a very helpful exercise as it made this totally fuzzy far off vision of what the heck a portfolios is a bit clearer, not crystal clear but kind of like when you blink and your contact moves or rotates and everything is slightly out of focus but you can recognize them.
So I think I have got it. I am going to have to put together a online representation of myself as a professional teacher.
So thanks for all the patience and assistance from my cohorts, take care.
Monday, March 15, 2010
550 week 6 reflective blog
• I will use what I learned in this course over the next 30 days by . . .
I use the elluminate online synchronous application tool daily in my work. I have learned some valuable strategies that I can apply to my synchronous teaching. I have also been exposed to some helpful strategies for successful asynchronous strategies that I can use in my course when giving feedback for my discussion boards.
• I will use what I learned in over the next year by . . .
I will be using the techniques learned in this class when putting together the online curriculum for next years and the following years curriculum as we change to criteria based system and gain more control over our curriculum. I will particularly work to improve my student instructions working to make them clear concise and uniform throughout my class and across the science department were possible.
• After completing this course I would like to learn more about . .
Criterion based grading and teaching practices.
I use the elluminate online synchronous application tool daily in my work. I have learned some valuable strategies that I can apply to my synchronous teaching. I have also been exposed to some helpful strategies for successful asynchronous strategies that I can use in my course when giving feedback for my discussion boards.
• I will use what I learned in over the next year by . . .
I will be using the techniques learned in this class when putting together the online curriculum for next years and the following years curriculum as we change to criteria based system and gain more control over our curriculum. I will particularly work to improve my student instructions working to make them clear concise and uniform throughout my class and across the science department were possible.
• After completing this course I would like to learn more about . .
Criterion based grading and teaching practices.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Week 5 reflection 550
My experience with online communities has been . . .
A great learning experience. I teach online and learn online and I have benefited in both arenas.
Almost every online interactions while teaching is working with a student who is reaching out for assistance or actively participating in synchronous or asynchronous activities. There is very little arm twisting or "baby sitting" which for me are real gumption traps. I have energy to make the learning environment better for my students.
The online learning environment has been flexible and very efficient use of my time and energy and the learning has been directly related to what I am doing for my career.
I believe the biggest benefit of collaborative groups is . . .
The bar is usually set higher for the collective than for the individual and peer interaction leads to more understanding for all.
I believe the greatest challenge of collaborative groups is/would be . . .
The greatest challenge that has shown up for me while working in our cohorts collaboratively has been the scheduling of time to work in a synchronous manner.
My thoughts regarding the social development and socialization issues are . . .
The online environment is a very good option for some students and some online socialization is recommended for all students as a skill needed in the future.
With that said the ability and ease of communicating will only increase so the online interactive skills set may be more important for all students in the future not just the online learners.
Most folks who use the internet are using as a learning tool or a communication tool as is.
A great learning experience. I teach online and learn online and I have benefited in both arenas.
Almost every online interactions while teaching is working with a student who is reaching out for assistance or actively participating in synchronous or asynchronous activities. There is very little arm twisting or "baby sitting" which for me are real gumption traps. I have energy to make the learning environment better for my students.
The online learning environment has been flexible and very efficient use of my time and energy and the learning has been directly related to what I am doing for my career.
I believe the biggest benefit of collaborative groups is . . .
The bar is usually set higher for the collective than for the individual and peer interaction leads to more understanding for all.
I believe the greatest challenge of collaborative groups is/would be . . .
The greatest challenge that has shown up for me while working in our cohorts collaboratively has been the scheduling of time to work in a synchronous manner.
My thoughts regarding the social development and socialization issues are . . .
The online environment is a very good option for some students and some online socialization is recommended for all students as a skill needed in the future.
With that said the ability and ease of communicating will only increase so the online interactive skills set may be more important for all students in the future not just the online learners.
Most folks who use the internet are using as a learning tool or a communication tool as is.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Week 4 550
In reflecting on my teaching experiences to date, I would say that the proportion of teacher centered versus student centered lessons has been ....
Career wise it would be about 90 % teacher centered. In fact at Brookfield Academy that was the encouraged style of delivery and it seemed to work for the highly motivated and parent-ally supported student populations of that school if measured by standardized testing, and college completion rates.
How should successful high school teaching be measured?
Currently teaching in the on line environment I would estimate the teacher centered proportion is almost reversed 0 - 33 % depending on the student and whether they few or attend synchronous portions of class or ask questions of instructor.
I was able to identify more than one authentic assessment to measure mastery of a single concept lesson when I .
I think this is the most difficult of tasks in the online environment and I do not have a solid grasp upon it yet.
The rubric I created for my lesson clearly defined expectations and scoring for the assignment so that my students could . . .
Feel very comfortable with the expectations and could then self review there work and modify accordingly prior to submitting.
While working on this module I had success/difficulty while doing something new involving . . .
Setting up a page in my experimental Wiki which may be used as a informational platform in the near future.
Career wise it would be about 90 % teacher centered. In fact at Brookfield Academy that was the encouraged style of delivery and it seemed to work for the highly motivated and parent-ally supported student populations of that school if measured by standardized testing, and college completion rates.
How should successful high school teaching be measured?
Currently teaching in the on line environment I would estimate the teacher centered proportion is almost reversed 0 - 33 % depending on the student and whether they few or attend synchronous portions of class or ask questions of instructor.
I was able to identify more than one authentic assessment to measure mastery of a single concept lesson when I .
I think this is the most difficult of tasks in the online environment and I do not have a solid grasp upon it yet.
The rubric I created for my lesson clearly defined expectations and scoring for the assignment so that my students could . . .
Feel very comfortable with the expectations and could then self review there work and modify accordingly prior to submitting.
While working on this module I had success/difficulty while doing something new involving . . .
Setting up a page in my experimental Wiki which may be used as a informational platform in the near future.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Reflection week 3
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?).
My greatest challenge as an online teacher is making the personal connections with students. To simplify, I have three types of students.
1. Will succeed regardless of what I do.
2. Will succeed with my assistance and perseverance.
3. Will no work enough to succeed regardless of what I do.
I do recognize I have an impact on the # 1 and # 3 groups just not enough to determine their success as measured by whether they pass or fail my class.
Group # 2 is where I feel I have or could have the most impact. If these students are supported, encouraged and given just the right combination of support they can be successful. The difficulty as I see it is each need as unique combination of support, feedback, engagement and communication from the teacher. It is easy to identify the needs of some as they are self advocating. Others present unique challenges that online teaching makes more difficult as there is less interaction in some cases.
I try to open lines of communication and create a open door atmosphere so that students can feel supported. Tools learned in this program and innovation by our staff have been helpful in reaching this second group.
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. . .
Try to engage students and recognize that the audience for this presentation has a ton of expertise in the field of education.
I choose my particular discussion topic because . . .
One thing that I thought about when developing rubrics for the 2 different discussions is. .
I used the rubric the science department developed for discussion boards at iQ.
I choose to ask the question concerning the perceived importance of socialization in face to face as compared to the online environment because it seemed an issue that has advocates on each side.
My greatest challenge as an online teacher is making the personal connections with students. To simplify, I have three types of students.
1. Will succeed regardless of what I do.
2. Will succeed with my assistance and perseverance.
3. Will no work enough to succeed regardless of what I do.
I do recognize I have an impact on the # 1 and # 3 groups just not enough to determine their success as measured by whether they pass or fail my class.
Group # 2 is where I feel I have or could have the most impact. If these students are supported, encouraged and given just the right combination of support they can be successful. The difficulty as I see it is each need as unique combination of support, feedback, engagement and communication from the teacher. It is easy to identify the needs of some as they are self advocating. Others present unique challenges that online teaching makes more difficult as there is less interaction in some cases.
I try to open lines of communication and create a open door atmosphere so that students can feel supported. Tools learned in this program and innovation by our staff have been helpful in reaching this second group.
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. . .
Try to engage students and recognize that the audience for this presentation has a ton of expertise in the field of education.
I choose my particular discussion topic because . . .
One thing that I thought about when developing rubrics for the 2 different discussions is. .
I used the rubric the science department developed for discussion boards at iQ.
I choose to ask the question concerning the perceived importance of socialization in face to face as compared to the online environment because it seemed an issue that has advocates on each side.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Week 2 online
*
I will be dealing with the week 2 reflection in this weeks blog entry.
1. Identify at least two synchronous and two asynchronous online learning tools that would be appropriate for your targeted online learners. I use elluminate to teach my courses in a synchronous manner every week. Meebo is a instant chat application that I have also used to have a synchronous tool as well as the old fashioned phone call. I also use asynchronous tools such as email, and discussion boards in my on line teaching
2. 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.
I use discussions which employ discussion board threads
I voting as an online tool while in elluminate
I use break out rooms and group reporting in elluinate
I use formative assessments with my students providing links to assessments I find on the internet using my classroom links in black board.
3. Is my initial contact warm and inviting? Are there things I did particularly well or could do better in the future?
I did revise my traditional greeting to make it more informational without making it too hard to read. I hope I have made it more clear and concise.
4. 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?
I think I have improved my initial contact email to be more clear and concise. It was pointed out by Ryan Boylen in our discussion board that he liked the positive reinforcement used. I think having a uniform format is very helpful. I try to make communications within a class uniform. Weekly announcements, format of assignments, where to find written information and reference materials.
This class will be a positive influence on how my communication for my online class is set up next year.
I will be dealing with the week 2 reflection in this weeks blog entry.
1. Identify at least two synchronous and two asynchronous online learning tools that would be appropriate for your targeted online learners. I use elluminate to teach my courses in a synchronous manner every week. Meebo is a instant chat application that I have also used to have a synchronous tool as well as the old fashioned phone call. I also use asynchronous tools such as email, and discussion boards in my on line teaching
2. 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.
I use discussions which employ discussion board threads
I voting as an online tool while in elluminate
I use break out rooms and group reporting in elluinate
I use formative assessments with my students providing links to assessments I find on the internet using my classroom links in black board.
3. Is my initial contact warm and inviting? Are there things I did particularly well or could do better in the future?
I did revise my traditional greeting to make it more informational without making it too hard to read. I hope I have made it more clear and concise.
4. 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?
I think I have improved my initial contact email to be more clear and concise. It was pointed out by Ryan Boylen in our discussion board that he liked the positive reinforcement used. I think having a uniform format is very helpful. I try to make communications within a class uniform. Weekly announcements, format of assignments, where to find written information and reference materials.
This class will be a positive influence on how my communication for my online class is set up next year.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
550 Week 1
Sorry for the delay, I misled some of the first lecture due to fatigue and pain related to my recent ankle surgery, so I was not aware we were continuing with these as well as last weeks reflections that we posted on the e-school network.
As I am getting ready to rock another blog this week I will defer to my thoughts of last week for this week.
I teach online and it surprised me that some in video felt they had a better connection with students teaching in the online environment than in a face to face environment. One high level leader involved with VHS felt that students should only take online courses as part time.
I feel that the biggest area in which online learning meets my students needs are in the flexibility it offers for my students to spend more or little time in different areas. They have access to many different references for receiving the information. Access to teachers time more is also more flexible and therefore more accessible.
My main concerns working in this environment are guaranteeing the authenticity of my students work. Secondly the trend if for the number of students I teach to increase. I have a difficult time creating a community of learners working with over 300 students online and it seems it will only become more of a problem in the
future.
Some thoughts online practice activities and simulations.
• I feel that the combination of Interactive multimedia applications and formative assessments are very powerful learning tools.
• Reference or reading material for the topic should be easily accessed.
• Different levels of exploration, supportive material and formative assesment make a module that much more useful.
Some good science sites you may wish to check out.
http://education-portal.com/articles/10_Universities_Offering_Free_Science_Courses_Online.html
http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/index.jsp
This is a good resource for current science news, especially in video format.
University Colorado simulations science
http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/index.php?cat=Featured_Sims
Comparing the size of biological components
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/
very cool interactive lesson on size of bacteria, virus etc.
1. click on link
2. mover slider on bottom of slide for viewing.
Photosynthesis
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.stru.photosynth/
Evolution
http://www.nationalacademies.org/evolution/
http://www.nsta.org/publications/evolution.aspx
http://www.millerandlevine.com/km/evol/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/index.html
Blood typing Game
http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/landsteiner/index.html
Hope these are helpful
As I am getting ready to rock another blog this week I will defer to my thoughts of last week for this week.
I teach online and it surprised me that some in video felt they had a better connection with students teaching in the online environment than in a face to face environment. One high level leader involved with VHS felt that students should only take online courses as part time.
I feel that the biggest area in which online learning meets my students needs are in the flexibility it offers for my students to spend more or little time in different areas. They have access to many different references for receiving the information. Access to teachers time more is also more flexible and therefore more accessible.
My main concerns working in this environment are guaranteeing the authenticity of my students work. Secondly the trend if for the number of students I teach to increase. I have a difficult time creating a community of learners working with over 300 students online and it seems it will only become more of a problem in the
future.
Some thoughts online practice activities and simulations.
• I feel that the combination of Interactive multimedia applications and formative assessments are very powerful learning tools.
• Reference or reading material for the topic should be easily accessed.
• Different levels of exploration, supportive material and formative assesment make a module that much more useful.
Some good science sites you may wish to check out.
http://education-portal.com/articles/10_Universities_Offering_Free_Science_Courses_Online.html
http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/index.jsp
This is a good resource for current science news, especially in video format.
University Colorado simulations science
http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/index.php?cat=Featured_Sims
Comparing the size of biological components
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/
very cool interactive lesson on size of bacteria, virus etc.
1. click on link
2. mover slider on bottom of slide for viewing.
Photosynthesis
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.stru.photosynth/
Evolution
http://www.nationalacademies.org/evolution/
http://www.nsta.org/publications/evolution.aspx
http://www.millerandlevine.com/km/evol/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/index.html
Blood typing Game
http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/landsteiner/index.html
Hope these are helpful
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Last Statistical Blog....
What did I learn? Statistically speaking I learned an high but unquantifiable amount of information about how much information is now our there and available to anyone with just cursory knowledge of how to use the internet. In addition I am fearful of how much information and therefore power could be gained and wielded by an individual or organization.
People have been manipulating people for a very long time and we have evolved defenses if you will to protect ourselves from the interpersonal types of manipulation that takes place from day to day. (Ok some protection, except from women, though I do recognize it but that to is part of the evolutionary game.) In Fact there is a movement to teach our students to recognize manipulation by studying such things as the Nazi propaganda campaigns, and yes even some time spent on the American propaganda being used. Our students are being taught to recognize manipulations in advertisement as well. Still as has been brought up in this course by others what type of training is being done for those students entering the Cyberworld and what implications do the new naivete's have for manipulation of future generations.
Will we evolve technical defenses against the invasion of privacy, ID theft and manipulation by marketers?
People have been manipulating people for a very long time and we have evolved defenses if you will to protect ourselves from the interpersonal types of manipulation that takes place from day to day. (Ok some protection, except from women, though I do recognize it but that to is part of the evolutionary game.) In Fact there is a movement to teach our students to recognize manipulation by studying such things as the Nazi propaganda campaigns, and yes even some time spent on the American propaganda being used. Our students are being taught to recognize manipulations in advertisement as well. Still as has been brought up in this course by others what type of training is being done for those students entering the Cyberworld and what implications do the new naivete's have for manipulation of future generations.
Will we evolve technical defenses against the invasion of privacy, ID theft and manipulation by marketers?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Week 3 blog
How did blog three follow blog 4, well technology assistance that is how. I was misled into believing that I had already completed the 3rd blog when I went to name the blog it gave me the option of naming it "Week 3 blog" which I assumed meant I had completed blog 3 but alas that was a very old blog three not the 520 blog three that I am currently working on.
It is a small thing this tech assistance but I find it very helpful and miss it when I move between my two computers. Each Sunday night I send my students there weekly what to do email. Using my laptop means that when I type in the subject line to the email that choice will appear for each of my classes when I click on the proper field. This saves mere seconds but I become aggravated when using my PC and performing the same task when this particular word processing assistance does not automatically give me the choice.
It is not such a time saver as a mental break from having to repeat a step, I mean it only saves me a couple of seconds but I feel a great relief incompatible with the time saving convenience, very interesting. These may be the simple things that make users happy and from someone who spends most of his time online, the happier the better for this user.
It is a small thing this tech assistance but I find it very helpful and miss it when I move between my two computers. Each Sunday night I send my students there weekly what to do email. Using my laptop means that when I type in the subject line to the email that choice will appear for each of my classes when I click on the proper field. This saves mere seconds but I become aggravated when using my PC and performing the same task when this particular word processing assistance does not automatically give me the choice.
It is not such a time saver as a mental break from having to repeat a step, I mean it only saves me a couple of seconds but I feel a great relief incompatible with the time saving convenience, very interesting. These may be the simple things that make users happy and from someone who spends most of his time online, the happier the better for this user.
Week 4 blog
So in a troubling display of the power of Data we were introduced to Bill Trancer. He might be a very nice guy, obviously a very smart guy, but his use of data and trends to manipulate online users and other consumers gives men the willy's. What Willy's are I am not sure (too busy to look up the root, if you know please add a comment.) but the thought that all the key strokes online by everyone are analyzed and dissected with hopes of better being able to sell me products gives me pause.
It isn't that I am particularly naive (though in some ways I certainly am)I understand the capitol economic system and the apparent wealth and value it has given to the American people. I also understand it is the job of the marketing department to manipulate us into buying their products. What worries me is my understanding of brain studies that have shown that we are very susceptible to emotional, visual and other stimuli that bypass what we wrongly believe is our cognitive logical abilities to consider and think.
So it worries me that the Marketers will get ahead of my brain in the arms race that is consumerism. Do I really need that Ford Mustang Convertible or do I just want one? OK so I choose a bad example the Mustang is so obviously a need. In many instances our need for things may be influence with ever increasing sophistication changing our wants into needs. Thanks for reading the ramblings got a go buy some more stuff I just saw online.
It isn't that I am particularly naive (though in some ways I certainly am)I understand the capitol economic system and the apparent wealth and value it has given to the American people. I also understand it is the job of the marketing department to manipulate us into buying their products. What worries me is my understanding of brain studies that have shown that we are very susceptible to emotional, visual and other stimuli that bypass what we wrongly believe is our cognitive logical abilities to consider and think.
So it worries me that the Marketers will get ahead of my brain in the arms race that is consumerism. Do I really need that Ford Mustang Convertible or do I just want one? OK so I choose a bad example the Mustang is so obviously a need. In many instances our need for things may be influence with ever increasing sophistication changing our wants into needs. Thanks for reading the ramblings got a go buy some more stuff I just saw online.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Welcome to the Big Apple!
I was in New York City, Wow! I had planned on writing my week 2 blog while in New York, I figured I was there for four whole days. I would take a walk to a cafe with my computer some morning while my wife slept in. Or maybe sit in a cafe in the afternoon or some evening and reminisce about technology in New York. Well New York was awesome, the only time I set down was to eat! The Technology presence in New York was evident in Time square, where almost every building outside our apartment had some sort of plasma display with vivid pictures and colors displaying all the beautiful items and people money can buy. I was also able to use my BlackBerry everywhere in Manhattan, and I mean everywhere; From the top of the Rock, to the underground subway, on the Brooklyn bridge and on the Staten Island ferry.
With that said, even if for a minute I headed out with my briefcase(or attaché perhaps it's really a satchel, man purse?) I would have been hard pressed to find a place to hook up. (with my wireless that is) It did make me stop and think, how we need a wireless infrastructure in this country. Well need may be a bit strong. I would like one is more appropriate. If it is good for me though it may well be that it is good for commerce in general. How much would it cost, how much would it help? I wonder.
While wondering I wondered as Mic Jagger once said "all over Manhattan" actually perhaps those aren't lyrics in a Rolling Stone song but they are close, related or someone may consider them tangential at the least. Which through the fun of word association and rambling leads me to another New York Minute.
I had just assumed I would hate New York, just in the same way I hate driving in downtown Chicago and just how I hate the Yankees. (Yes I came home with two Yankee hats, what's a fella to do.) Hadn't Jagger told us all about it in that song "Don't mind the maggots" (Now I know they sang that!) Well if you have not been there in a while it is time to go back. It was like a Walt Disney vacation set in a huge city. Really everyone was happy, I even thought I say Mikey Mouse walking around Santa was there in full force it must have been some kind of conference there were hundreds of them mostly in groups of 7-10 and very few sober and it was not crazy expensive though signs of rich people were everywhere. Which was kinda fun though puzzling as well as we never did see anybody who was rich, how do you think they manage that, probably pay folks like me to make sure they don't see folks like me. Interesting huh?
With that said, even if for a minute I headed out with my briefcase(or attaché perhaps it's really a satchel, man purse?) I would have been hard pressed to find a place to hook up. (with my wireless that is) It did make me stop and think, how we need a wireless infrastructure in this country. Well need may be a bit strong. I would like one is more appropriate. If it is good for me though it may well be that it is good for commerce in general. How much would it cost, how much would it help? I wonder.
While wondering I wondered as Mic Jagger once said "all over Manhattan" actually perhaps those aren't lyrics in a Rolling Stone song but they are close, related or someone may consider them tangential at the least. Which through the fun of word association and rambling leads me to another New York Minute.
I had just assumed I would hate New York, just in the same way I hate driving in downtown Chicago and just how I hate the Yankees. (Yes I came home with two Yankee hats, what's a fella to do.) Hadn't Jagger told us all about it in that song "Don't mind the maggots" (Now I know they sang that!) Well if you have not been there in a while it is time to go back. It was like a Walt Disney vacation set in a huge city. Really everyone was happy, I even thought I say Mikey Mouse walking around Santa was there in full force it must have been some kind of conference there were hundreds of them mostly in groups of 7-10 and very few sober and it was not crazy expensive though signs of rich people were everywhere. Which was kinda fun though puzzling as well as we never did see anybody who was rich, how do you think they manage that, probably pay folks like me to make sure they don't see folks like me. Interesting huh?
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