Online Collaboration

I have now taken a number of online courses and all of them seem to have some component for collaboration. Often this is simply through a discussion forum or message board. Some of my past courses used wikis for collaboration, or synchronous live chat, or even Moodle laboratory. All of these tools have a role to play in establishing successful communication among the members of a class. But in this module I have found that the collaboration in our group has been unparalled. I think that this is in part because the group itself is small. Furthermore by only having one group there is less pressure to expound upon the creations of other teams. It also seems that the rapport created among the members of this small class is much deeper than what might exist in a much larger group.

The creation of our team toolbox was in itself a learning process. But the activity also opened up an exploration of new tools that could be incorporated into online learning environments very easily. I am very excited about hosted systems such as WebEx that contain a variety of programs that enhance communication between group members and also allow an instructor to use vitually any application on a PC to present class materials. This is a whole new world that can extend online education into new roles for the future.

Week 3 Ends

This week's discussion of emerging technologies and tools that might be applicable to education is quite thought-provoking. The tools that allow for peer-to-peer collaboration are beginning increasingly more sophisticated, even allowing instructors to create break out groups and then virtually drop into those groups. This is truly interactive. Within new tools such as WebEx are many of the features that previously were only available as separate applications. So the advent of simulations, mmogs, and fully hosted applications is extending the capabilities of online teachers without the need to provide their own Internet servers and tech support programs.

I think this is a very exciting time to enter the world of online teaching simply because the possibilities and capabilities are making online education, whether it is a one day webinar or an ongoing class, much more equitable with face to face classes. Students who previously were unable to physically attend classes for a variety of reasons now have a world of educational opportunities available to them.

The Second Week Reflections

I can't believe that 2 weeks of class are already finished. Time is going so quickly. There is always so much to absorb that I feel like I haven't grasped all the nuances and implications of the strategies yet. I will freely admit that although I created a blog for Dennis' class I had not gone back to it since class ended. In setting up a blog for this class I decided that I wanted to try a different venue and so chose Blogger. It was relatively easy to set up and manage. I'm even setting aside some time to add new blogs on a fairly consistent basis.

The reflective nature of a blog was fairly evident from my first exposure. Even though I've used a variety of reflective and personal response logs and journals in my f2f classes as a means of assessment, it never occurred to me to make the transition to the online environment through blogs. It seems to me now that I've had some time to work with the tools and to think through its uses, that my learning disabled students could especially benefit from the use of blogs. First of all writing is always a chore for them usually due to their poor mechanics. The computer would help with spell check and grammar check to alleviate some of their concerns. Additionally poor motor skills can make the actual physical writing process difficult and typing could address that concern. Last but not least, the fact that blogs are published on the Internet means that there is an immediate real world audience out there that could provide feedback. This is a more authentic audience than simply the teacher in the classroom.

...to introduce myself

It is my great honor to introduce to everyone Pat Hutton.Pat is certified to teach nursery school through 8th grade (talk about a diversity of cognitive levels) and a k-12 special education teacher (tons upon tons of patience). She taught 1st grade for one year, but has spent the majority of her time in the middle grades in a SPED program in NJ (my husband's from there- which exit where you at?). She's taught all major subjects, but has spent the majority of her time teaching English.One school related memory that makes her smile was being chosen to study "New Math." She felt that being able to use manipulatives and learning set theory was more of a game than actual studying (meanwhile, I'm not even sure what set theory is).She would like to use her online experience to help prepare future teachers prepare for their classroom experiences. Pat functions well in the online environment because she learns best independently which makes her more condcious of the descions she makes as an educator- something I'm sure her students, both online and in the traditioanl classroom, will definitely appreciate.On another note, she believes that most people who know her might be surprised to learn that she is very much in touch with her psychic self (I too believe in psychics and the spiritual realm- I have to, I live in the most haunted country in the world...just ask the spirit that politely turns on the downstairs light nearly every morning around 5:30-6 am to ensure that my husband and I get up on time- I'm really not kidding about that either).

Please allow me.....

Good evening fellow classmates. I'd like to introduce you all to Joy Nehr. She is presently teaching 7th grade Language Arts in England but has taught both 6th and 7th grade in a number of states here in the US. As a student she had a memorable experience in the 2nd grade. She attended a DoDDS school in the Phillipines where even the young students changed classes. Her social studies teacher blamed her for everything that went wrong (once even when she was absent!) and so Joy used that experience to her students' advantage. She makes a real effort to go out of her way to listen to students' points of view. Joy enjoys the flexibility of being able to take online classes anywhere because her husband is often moved to new stations as an active duty member of the military.On a personal note, Joy really loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books that made the world retreat as she read them. Her 2 pet peeves are people whistling indoors and rudeness. Like most of us, the rudeness is defined in our own terms. I'd also like to add that Joy is generous, volunteering to work with 2 partners for this interview.

What is alternate???

Alternative assessment has become something of a buzzword within educational circles ranging from elementary through tertiary school systems. There is a real need to connect the educational system to the world of work where traditional school assessment is of little value. What educational theorists are referring to as alternate assessment is actually much closer to the elements of job evaluation present in a majority of real world settings. Employers have specific points they look for in performing an evaluation and the product they examine varies depending on the job. This is increasingly true in America where our economy is transforming from industrial to service based. The resulting emphasis on team work and collaboration over strictly individual performance has great impact on our schools today. Measuring the delivery of a service cannot be gauged with pencil and paper and objective questions.For me as a learner the survey provided an area of comfort and familiarity. It gave me the opportunity to control just how much information I would divulge in relation to a concept or experience. As an instructor I prefer the wiki because it allows me to examine the work in progress of all my students rather than just those who might dominate in a class discussion. It also provides an opportunity for me to intervene if I see problems developing befor any more formal assessment.

Survey Interaction

My own experiences in the classroom have lead me to a point where I view the assessment process as much larger in scope than when I was a new teacher. Young teachers must learn to be the center of their own little universe in order to get tenure. It is only with experience that you can begin to see the real value in self-assessment and reflection, both higher order thinking skills. The learning process is circular or spiral in naterure with objectives, assessment, evaluation each repeating over and over as learning is monitored and adjusted along the way.

February 5, 2007

In reading the articles for this module, it seems that blogging is quickly being incorporated into the educational environment. In the f2f classroom reflective journaling has long played a part in many lessons from novel responses through problem solving activities in math, and even within the social studies to create personal ties to curricula. I have myself had middle schoolers create journals as historical characters and describe, using actual historical facts, their own personal reactions to events that occur. This creates an immediate human connection with materials that can be difficult to access for younger students especially.

What the readings this week propose is taking the many uses of reflective journaling from the f2f classroom into the virtual realm. The main difference gives rise to the main caution. Blogs are public, not private and can be accessed as well as critiqued by anyone. Students need to be able to understand the impact and context of such critiques. As an educator part of my responsibility in using blogs would be to address this concern. I might, depending on the age level and maturity of the students, start by setting up strict guidelines for using a blog, perhaps as a tool to respond to specific questions where I can control the content and thus some of the critiques. I might also have my students practice responding to other people's blogs in a constructive manner under my guidance so they can judge the quality of responses. An additional protection might be to create my blog on a site such as edublogs where the content is not wide open (think My Space!) and you must register to read the blogs.

Welcome to my world!!

Here it is Super Bowl Sunday and I'm still at work creating a new tool to use in my work. Trying out a blog is very similar to journaling and we all know I could not be consistent with that. I guess the key for me is taking the time to write the thoughts that rush through my mind. I think I'll get the hang of this pretty quickly.