Some students look at online classes as being easier than face-to-face classes. Although “online class” shouldn’t equal “easier class,” it is often the case. I took an online class a summer ago about educational technology. At the same time as teaching the class, the professor was starting a new job. As the class went on, it was clear where his priorities lay. He often apologized to us because of his new job, but sadly we weren’t looking for apologies when we were paying large sums of money for the class. About of quarter of the weeks, the assignments for the week were posted late. Instead of being up by Sunday, they were up later in the week. This obviously cut into our time to work on them. However, the time was really never a problem because the assignments were so trivial, that they could be accomplished in minutes. In fact, several assignments I had completed before this class. For example, one assignment was: Make a delicious account. I already had one. Another assignment was: make a webpage using Google. I had already made one for a previous class and used that one again. There were only about 2 discussions for the whole class. There were only a couple of papers, but based on the feedback from the professor, I wonder if he even read them. I don’t know of anyone who did not get an A in the class. In fact, the professor told us the first day that we would all get A’s (is that good or bad?…). Some weeks the professor would tell us to just “go enjoy the sunshine” and we would have the week off. On the final project, I emailed the professor, telling him that I wasn’t familiar with making a podcast. He told me just to skip the final project. I’m not sure I learned anything in this class, but it was an easy “A.”
In retrospect, I think the professor set the class up from the beginning as an easy class which everyone (professor included) could just blow off. There are several ways the instructor could have improved his online class:
1. The professor, of all people, needs to take the class seriously and set up the assignments accordingly. The assignments cannot be so trivial that they can be done in minutes and no learning is achieved. They need to be meaningful assignments, and not just work to keep the students busy.
2. The professor needs to provide feedback to student as quickly as possible. Any delay may result in frustration for the student.
3. The professor must keep his class current and post assignments on time. This professor eliminated all deadlines for the students, and I guess he did the same for himself.
4. At no time during this class was any new information presented to the students. Podcasts, videos, readings, etc. should be used to present something to the class. Discussions should also be used to help process the information and learn collaboratively.
5. Overall, the professor must show that he cares about the class. When an instructor declares, “everyone will get an A,” it pretty much zaps all motivation to do one’s best.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Project Plan
My goal is to develop instructional materials for my High School Computers class. This class is a general computers class and the last 9 weeks are devoted to creating web pages. I hope to have each student make a web page for a business of their choice. The students will use a CMS like joomla or drupal. I will host their sites via DreamHost. I will also coordinate their efforts through my Moodle site. Students will be responsible for designing and creating their websites. They will also blog regularly (on Moodle) as a way of reflecting on their work. The students will also use a discussion board to comment/critique each others sites. I will construct a rubric which I will use to grade the students. This will be posted so the students know what to shoot for. This project will satisfy several of the METS standards.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
My Online Teaching
Past/Present
For the second year, I am using Moodle to help me teach some of my classes. Last year, I started using it for the second semester, so this is my first full year with it. I have noticed that Moodle can often take a lot of time to get set up (uploading files, making quizzes, etc.). However, now that I am using some material/classes for the second time, it is saving me a lot of time.
I use Moodle the most in my computer classes. I teach computers to 7th graders, 8th graders and a Web Design class. I set up each class by week. I post lessons for each day and attach assignments, links, etc. I also use forums, wikis and quizzes to assess. Another part of Moodle that I utilize often is the file uploading. This saves me from dealing with stacks of papers and eliminates all no-name papers (a big problem in junior high).
Future
I hope to continue to use Moodle in my classes. There are many features which I have not tried yet (lessons, surveys, etc.). I also want to use it more in my Math classes. Currently, I just post the week’s lessons with the accompanying homework assignments. Occasionally, I will post a study guide or cool link, but that is about it. I think I can use Moodle more.
At the junior high/high school level, most of my classes will never be fully online. Thus, the best I can do is get my classes to be some sort of hybrid. I also have to be careful because not all students in my school have access to the Internet at home. Our school has recently looked at an online class about careers. This would be a fully online class which (if it gets approved) would fall under my jurisdiction. It is pretty sketchy right now, but I would probably incorporate Moodle to make this class happen. I am not sure what all it would entail, but it sounds fun. The class would be an independent study class that I would be the facilitator.
Moodle – Pros/Cons
I use Moodle the most for the online portions of my class because it helps me to get organized. I lay everything out day by day, yet am also able to adapt and move things as needed. Moodle is easy enough to use so that kids have no issues. I can figure out how to set most things up. If I have troubles, the help at Moodle.org is great (and speedy). I also like how I can set up a class and then use it again the next time I teach the class. This (and the grading features) saves me a ton of time. I also think Moodle helps me make my class more interesting. I can use different ways to present information and assess. The students like Moodle because it is a lot like the Internet they know and mess with at home (chats, forums, etc.). Today’s kids are the digital generation and Moodle pleases them better than pencil and paper (especially in a computer class). Finally, Moodle has allowed me to make my computer classes almost completely paper free. I hope this makes the administration happy. ☺
Moodle does have its shortcomings. I have not learned how to make weeks disappear for teachers. Thus, as the end of the year rolls around, I have to scroll through a mile of weeks to get to the right one (I just discovered the section links block and it helps a little). Moodle also does not allow me or my students to upload files larger than 2MB. I get around this a little bit by using sites like MediaFire.com to store and share large files with students. Overall, I have been quite pleased with Moodle and I hope to keep using it for years to come.
Barriers
The biggest barriers I face in teaching online at my school are:
1. All students don’t have internet access at home.
2. Our school’s Internet is so filtered, many sites are not available for use.
3. Our school is shifting from Macs to Windows (no idea why…). Thus, tech issues abound. Some computers are Windows only with no access to the server. Some are dual boots with Mac and Windows where the Macs have server access.
4. Kids have a Mac password, Windows password, Moodle password, PowerSchool password and several more and can’t keep track of them.
5. Other teachers are using computers more and more also (which is good). However, we only have one lab and it is in high demand. A small netbook lab which we recently received has helped a little.
For the second year, I am using Moodle to help me teach some of my classes. Last year, I started using it for the second semester, so this is my first full year with it. I have noticed that Moodle can often take a lot of time to get set up (uploading files, making quizzes, etc.). However, now that I am using some material/classes for the second time, it is saving me a lot of time.
I use Moodle the most in my computer classes. I teach computers to 7th graders, 8th graders and a Web Design class. I set up each class by week. I post lessons for each day and attach assignments, links, etc. I also use forums, wikis and quizzes to assess. Another part of Moodle that I utilize often is the file uploading. This saves me from dealing with stacks of papers and eliminates all no-name papers (a big problem in junior high).
Future
I hope to continue to use Moodle in my classes. There are many features which I have not tried yet (lessons, surveys, etc.). I also want to use it more in my Math classes. Currently, I just post the week’s lessons with the accompanying homework assignments. Occasionally, I will post a study guide or cool link, but that is about it. I think I can use Moodle more.
At the junior high/high school level, most of my classes will never be fully online. Thus, the best I can do is get my classes to be some sort of hybrid. I also have to be careful because not all students in my school have access to the Internet at home. Our school has recently looked at an online class about careers. This would be a fully online class which (if it gets approved) would fall under my jurisdiction. It is pretty sketchy right now, but I would probably incorporate Moodle to make this class happen. I am not sure what all it would entail, but it sounds fun. The class would be an independent study class that I would be the facilitator.
Moodle – Pros/Cons
I use Moodle the most for the online portions of my class because it helps me to get organized. I lay everything out day by day, yet am also able to adapt and move things as needed. Moodle is easy enough to use so that kids have no issues. I can figure out how to set most things up. If I have troubles, the help at Moodle.org is great (and speedy). I also like how I can set up a class and then use it again the next time I teach the class. This (and the grading features) saves me a ton of time. I also think Moodle helps me make my class more interesting. I can use different ways to present information and assess. The students like Moodle because it is a lot like the Internet they know and mess with at home (chats, forums, etc.). Today’s kids are the digital generation and Moodle pleases them better than pencil and paper (especially in a computer class). Finally, Moodle has allowed me to make my computer classes almost completely paper free. I hope this makes the administration happy. ☺
Moodle does have its shortcomings. I have not learned how to make weeks disappear for teachers. Thus, as the end of the year rolls around, I have to scroll through a mile of weeks to get to the right one (I just discovered the section links block and it helps a little). Moodle also does not allow me or my students to upload files larger than 2MB. I get around this a little bit by using sites like MediaFire.com to store and share large files with students. Overall, I have been quite pleased with Moodle and I hope to keep using it for years to come.
Barriers
The biggest barriers I face in teaching online at my school are:
1. All students don’t have internet access at home.
2. Our school’s Internet is so filtered, many sites are not available for use.
3. Our school is shifting from Macs to Windows (no idea why…). Thus, tech issues abound. Some computers are Windows only with no access to the server. Some are dual boots with Mac and Windows where the Macs have server access.
4. Kids have a Mac password, Windows password, Moodle password, PowerSchool password and several more and can’t keep track of them.
5. Other teachers are using computers more and more also (which is good). However, we only have one lab and it is in high demand. A small netbook lab which we recently received has helped a little.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Blogging in my Classroom
In my teaching, I usually use blogs only with my computer classes. Since we use Moodle at my school, I use the blog feature on there. Blogs are usually a place of reflection for my students. Whenever we complete a project, I have them create a blog entry where they critique their work. They write about things they think they did well and ways they would have liked to have done better. I like them to write about the difficulty of the project also. They tell me if it was too easy, too hard, too boring, etc. They also let me know which parts were challenging and/or frustrating for them. This helps me as a teacher reflect and critique my own lessons and improve them.
I also let my students comment on each other’s blogs. They are aware that others may be reading their blogs and therefore don’t write anything they don’t want others to know. The students enjoy reading and commenting on each other’s blogs and I think they learn from each other’s struggles and successes.
The blogs my students write in are not available to parents. I keep these blogs private to just our class. This creates a close environment where students are not worried about adults (other than me) reading their work. I know I would be uncomfortable having parents reading my reflections on my own work.
I have not used blogs in my math classes. This is due mainly to a lack of computer time and the necessity of using class time for the core content. I think I could use blogs for reflection in a similar manner as my computer classes. However, at this point, I don’t think the hassle of moving my kids down to the lab is worth the few minutes of blogging. I can still have students reflect on their work in my classroom the old fashion way. If our school or students ever begin to use laptops, I would definitely use blogging in my math classes.
One big issue I have with student blogs is the atrocious spelling and grammar. For some reason, students think that when they are typing on a computer they can use instant messaging shortcuts. I’m not teaching a spelling or English class, but I do want them to get in the habit of writing correctly. I tell the students to write their posts in good English, but then the comments can be however they want. This seems to be a good compromise and has worked out pretty well.
I also let my students comment on each other’s blogs. They are aware that others may be reading their blogs and therefore don’t write anything they don’t want others to know. The students enjoy reading and commenting on each other’s blogs and I think they learn from each other’s struggles and successes.
The blogs my students write in are not available to parents. I keep these blogs private to just our class. This creates a close environment where students are not worried about adults (other than me) reading their work. I know I would be uncomfortable having parents reading my reflections on my own work.
I have not used blogs in my math classes. This is due mainly to a lack of computer time and the necessity of using class time for the core content. I think I could use blogs for reflection in a similar manner as my computer classes. However, at this point, I don’t think the hassle of moving my kids down to the lab is worth the few minutes of blogging. I can still have students reflect on their work in my classroom the old fashion way. If our school or students ever begin to use laptops, I would definitely use blogging in my math classes.
One big issue I have with student blogs is the atrocious spelling and grammar. For some reason, students think that when they are typing on a computer they can use instant messaging shortcuts. I’m not teaching a spelling or English class, but I do want them to get in the habit of writing correctly. I tell the students to write their posts in good English, but then the comments can be however they want. This seems to be a good compromise and has worked out pretty well.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
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