EDLD5368 Final Reflections

What benefits do you see in educators knowing how to design and implement online learning?
Online classes are here to stay and a benefit for teachers and students as well. Needless to say, this means all educators should learn how to design these classes to help their students advance. There are so many applications and situations in which students could receive specialized education for their specific needs. Gifted and talented students can be challenged with all types of activities and projects to further their education, challenge their intellect and keep them motivated and interested in learning. Special needs students who need their curriculum adjusted to concentrate on specific areas in their education can have their assignment tailored to meet their need. With all the technology available to educate students, all teachers need to learn how to develop online courses, to help students be academically successful. Educators must continue to find new ways to engage students, and keep up with technology to teach 21st century students.

How will you professionally use your course that you designed?
I do not think I will use the exact course I designed for this class, however, I do feel that I learned a lot, and also still have much to learn before I venture out to teaching online classes. I do hope that in the following year I will be able to create a new course for my GT students to add to their curriculum all the extra material they must learn in order to skip 8th grade math and jump into algebra 1. In previous years, al my GT students were combined in one class period, which made it easy for me to teach them all the 7th grade material, and also the 8th grade material they needed. This is the first year, the school decided to split these kids up and integrate them among the rest of the students. Teaching them additional material is defiantly more difficult. Schoology is an interesting program, and I will learn more while I create this course and work on making appropriate assignments. I believe my GT kids will love it and it will keep them motivated and engaged.

Will you integrate online learning in your role as a teacher/staff developer?
Students need to learn how to participate and learn in online classes, and teachers need to be able to teach these types of classes I believe as early as middle school, to prepare students for college and the ever growing trend of distant learning. As a teacher I will try to incorporate this type of education in to my curriculum, starting out with my GT kids. It takes a different type of discipline to schedule time when dealing with assignment in the online class environment compared to actually participating in class. This is not the time to procrastinate and wait to the last minute to do assigned work. Students need to become familiar with this type of learning. As an educational technology leader I would try to create a professional staff development to educate all the teachers about online courses, to get them involved and familiar with the possibilities of new learning ideas. I know many of our teachers like technology and using new teaching ideas, they just do not have the knowledge and technical support they need to implement these ideas.

What questions do you still have about online learning?
When reflecting back on our Schoology assignment, and creating the online course for my math students, I am still slightly confused about students turning in their assignments online. I do realize everything is submitted through the drop box, however, being a math teacher, I generally do not accept assignments, unless I see the work show. How can I achieve this with an online class? In 7th grade we do not allow students use to calculators, how I know they truly worked out the problems. What about academic honesty, how do I know these kids do not cheat from each other? They try to do this now with me looking at everything they do, what would stop them from just submitting someone else’s answers? I guess I want proof that the work done is their own. I need to learn more about this part of online teaching. In addition, I could not figure out how to create an expandable textbox, or anything similar to this for students to enter their answers.

What will you do with this new learning?
Although we initially had many problems and issues with Schoology, I found it exiting to be on the other side of online classes for a change and be the teacher assigning the materials and giving the instructions and leading the discussion board. I know I have much to learn, yet the more I looked and thought about my assignments, the more ideas came to my mind on how these courses could be used. I will try to create on online course for my GT students next year and see how this works out. I would like to go to a workshop and get some instruction on “Moodle”, which I heard many positive things about. I think my student would really enjoy learning online. There are still many issues that need to be worked out, like making sure students have computer access at home and also how can I separate these students from my regular students to allow them computer access at school. I know eventually it will all work out.