Distance Education and Virtual Schools

Most of the pros of distance education are that this kind of education serves a wider range of students than the traditional high school does. Students who don't work well in the traditional classroom can do this kind of education, those who are working, those who have families, those who work better in the evening, those who are home schooled but want a more challenging curriculum, those who want to work faster or who need to work slower - all of these people benefit from distance education and virtual schooling. Another benefit to teachers would be that the hours are incredibly flexible, and the pay is competitive to regular school districts. A teacher could work from home and complete the same number of classes for the same pay, but on their own time.
There seem to be several cons to online schooling. One that I found interesting was that some of the people targeted for this kind of schooling are those who are less sociable in a high school setting, but I think that if someone is less sociable, then being in an actual school with real people might be beneficial to that student to help them overcome their lack of sociability. Another con is that cheating seems like it would be harder to catch. Since you don't see these students every day - or ever - you don't know them as well, and their styles are harder to determine. I think that a setting like this allows for cheating more than a traditional classroom. Another con, similar to the first one, is a lack of face-to-face interaction. Students learn well when someone can sit them down and explain it to them one-on-one, and with that key aspect missing, I think it would make more difficult curriculum more difficult for students to master if they are having troubles to begin with. Another disadvantage of online schooling is that most of the courses, though varied, don't go as high as many high schools offer. They don't offer the same level of challenging courses as a traditional high school, and their elective courses are also more limited. For instance, one of the schools I looked at had only one art class and only one music class. This, for me as a high schooler, would have been a deal breaker.
Some of the skills needed to be successful when teaching in a virtual school are organization, flexibility, patience, and communication skills. Because of the varied environment, a teacher needs to be organized in order to get things back on time, to grade effectively, and learn about their students. It would be much harder to make excuses about not having papers graded in this kind of an environment. These teachers also need to be flexible, with their teaching hours and environment so radically different from that of a traditional school. Patience is required to help all your students equally and to help students you've never met and whose needs you might never fully grasp because you never meet them. And finally, communication skills are very important because the teacher needs to be able to explain difficult concepts over a long distance rather than in person where communication is much easier.
One key issue that I found interesting was the teaching aspect itself. The competitive pay was something that seemed appealing, along with the flexible hours. Those positives – mostly the sleeping in one! – were very appealing to me. However, a lot of it seemed very unappealing. For instance, I want to get to know my students, something that seems nearly impossible when they’re just screen names on a computer. Making virtually no connection with students that is substantial is something that takes the meaning out of teaching for me, and I’m not sure it would be worth it for me.
Two to three years from now I’m guessing that virtual schools and online courses will become more prevalent. These kinds of classes are appealing to many students, and the flexible environment for teachers is also appealing. With online courses, I’m guessing that many schools will want to expand the classes they offer. These courses could potentially enable schools to offer more classes. As for my own teaching, I’m hoping to stay mostly in the traditional classroom – I feel like I can make more of a difference in student’s lives by actually physically being in their lives. I wouldn’t be opposed to teaching one or two classes a day online – if that’s even possible – but I would much prefer the majority of my classes to be traditional.
I think that video conferencing within the virtual schools is something that could be very important. With video conferencing, it is more like face-to-face interaction, which is my biggest problem with virtual schools. With this addition, teachers can more easily explain difficult concepts, answer questions, and actually have more meaningful contact with the students.

Engaging Students With Concept Mapping Activities

1. This kind of Concept Mapping software is something that can have many innovative uses within the classroom. The most helpful way that this software could be used would be to show visual learners how abstract processes are taking place in a more concrete way. Like in the image below, the process of diagramming and dissecting the symbolism of a poem, a very abstract process that is usually internally done, can be displayed in a visual way to help visual learners understand the topic. Another way this technology could be used would be for planning projects. Students would be able to create mind maps almost through this technology that can visually organize their ideas and help them formulate how they are going to approach specific projects. Also, this technology could be used to show students the relationships between characters and events within a novel. This too takes a very abstract concept and makes it very concrete. Mostly, this technology can be used to translate ideas, and help learners who need to see the whole picture. It helps learners who compute better visually.
2. Concept Mapping is something that could be very helpful in a classroom, especially for students who are visual learners. Specifically, in the area of poetry analysis, such as in the picture below, poems can be dissected line by line for their symbolic and literary meaning with the help of a concept map. By doing this, students are able to see how the poem breaks down line by line, and are able to see connections between different portions of the poem because everything is laid out for the students. Another way it could be used would be to diagram projects or essays. Students, rather than making outlines to organize their writing or ideas, can lay out their ideas visually, and even move them around to where they feel they make the most sense.
3. I don’t think it would take me very long to learn this kind of technology – I tend to pick things like this up fairly quickly. However, I’m not sure that I would go to the trouble of integrating this kind of software into my classroom. The idea I think could be useful, but could just as easily be done on Word. The only difference would be the converting of the image to an outline instantly, which wouldn’t be possible on Word, but I think that if your main goal is the visual, the outline wouldn’t be needed as much. The software is cool, but I think it might also be superfluous.

Teacher Web Reflections

1.Describe at least 3 ways how you see the use of a class web site could be used to support your future teaching. Provide specific details for each example.

A class website is a totally awesome thing to have for my future teaching. One thing that I always appreciated as a student was when my teachers who had websites posted our grades online so we were able to check them at any time. I also intend to post assignments onto my teacher website, which not only allows students to not use the "but I lost my prompt" excuse, but it also saves paper. Plus, with a teacher website, I would be able to post links to websites that could help my students for every assignment, or for my class in general. It is basically an infinite resource.

2.Identify what you see as the top 2 ways students could use a class web site to enhance their learning and provide some justifications for your selections.

The top two ways that students could use a class website to enhance their learning are the resources that become available, and the access to information pertinent to the class. With the use of a class website, I as a teacher could collect websites that could serve as resources to my students for whatever projects we were doing, books we were reading, or units we were working on. I could also give them general resources, such as the citation machine, that could help them not only in my class, but in all their classes, and in any future education they may pursue. Another way that this kind of a website could be useful to students is by providing them with digital copies of all handouts from class, all assignments and any other information that would be necessary to provide students for my class. This would serve as a place where no matter what happened to their notebooks, or where their backpacks went, they could always access their assignments or information that they needed.

3. Think about the page types and features of the Teacher Web system. What do you feel where the 2 strongest features or page types within the Teacher Web system? Why do you see these as the strongest?

One of the extra pages that I created on my Teacher Web was a question and answer page. It had general questions that students may ask about classroom policies, late work, attendance policies, and other general information that may be found on a syllabus. Rather than answering the question of late work every time a student turns a paper in late, I would be able to direct them to this page, and all the information would already be spelled out for them and available any time they had a question. The other part of the site that I really thought to be the most useful was the calendar of upcoming assignments and events. By putting this on the website, students are held accountable for knowing all the due dates, because they are always available and posted ahead of time.

Blogs and Wikis in Education

1. In classrooms, blogs and wikis are being used in a huge variety of ways in order to facilitate learning. One thing that is being done in our very own classroom is turning in homework via blogs. This is innovative because not only does it cut down on paper waste, but it also allows students the opportunity to look at their peers responses to the homework. Another way that blogs are being used is to create a place where research and resources can be provided to students for whatever project they may be working on. Rather than providing students a list of library books that they can use, teachers are able to create a place with links to resources that are applicable to the project or unit. Educational wikis can also be used to archive units that have already been completed, or keep information available during units. This is helpful for students because it allows them to easily review information covered in order to study for tests.

2. RSS readers can be helpful within a classroom setting because they can keep students updated on current events for any projects that require such updates. It can also update them on blogs that might be relevant to the class studies. RSS is mostly important because it has the capability to keep your class and students connected to current events, and relevant blogs.

3. The pros for using blogs and wikis in class are numerous and often obvious. Blogs and wikis provide all students with an ease of access to information that is relevant to the class or projects. They also have the ability to cut down on paper waste that accumulates due to paper handouts and assignments. However, there are cons to using this kind of technology. One large one is that not every student has a computer or internet access at their home, so it would be irresponsible to require students to access this kind of information at home, requiring that you allot class time for this access. Another con with using this technology is that you will potentially have to train any students who are computer illiterate on how to access blogs and wikis, as well as how to edit and create such technologies.

Multiple Intelligences

I had a three way tie with my multiple intelligences inventory, in the categories of naturalistic, linguistic and intrapersonal strengths, but I’m choosing to focus this blog on the linguistic aspect because I feel it best describes my learning style, being an English major and all. The linguistic strength category means that I have the best understanding of my learning with the spoken and written word. I tend to understand things better if they’re explained verbally, or spelled out for me on paper. I tend to understand concepts better if I write about them – that helps me to understand the way I personally view and understand the concept. Like myself, people with this learning style strength tend to like writing exercises and essays to convey their understanding. I’m the kind of student who will choose an essay exam over a multiple choice test any day because it allows me to best explain my thinking. I also learn well by listening to instructors explaining concepts, and taking notes – the actual act of recording information helps it stick into my head. In my own teaching, this kind of strength will be very easy to work into my teaching, because my subject will be English. In a large part, this means that much of my student’s learning will consist of written assignments (ie. Essays), as well as classroom discussions, where students will be able to discuss their ideas verbally and build on the ideas and views of others through the spoken word. This kind of intelligence is supported by a great deal of technologies, but mainly by the computer. By making the written word easily accessible through the internet, students can learn a wider variety of subjects by reading from their computers than they would be able to in a classroom without one. It also facilitates easier writing, by making the composing of essays easier and faster through typing and word processors. The attention I pay to student’s multiple intelligences within my own classroom could very well determine how well some students do in my class compared to others, simply based on the way they learn. If, for instance, I focused only on the students who learned linguistically, like myself, I would be denying those students whose learning styles are visual, kinesthetic, existential, etc. and not allowing them the advantage of an easier learning environment. By paying attention to these different styles, I can ensure that my students approach their learning from equal ground, and that no student has an unfair disadvantage when it comes to the way they learn.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog for my Teaching and Learning class about technology at WSU. Go cougs!