On-line learning week 5

I believe that on-line learning is going to continue to grow and flourish. I don't think that it will replace brick and mortar schools entirely, but I can certainly see more blending for all students. On-line learning really does provide the ability to differentiate learning for all students by providing help and support to those students who struggle and extended learning options to those more advanced students. A district that utilizes the power of on-line learning will be very successful because of this differentiation and the ability to offer courses that they couldn't before because of staffing and classroom space. I see a lot more student portfolio work as a culminating graduation expectation. These e-portfolios will contain artifacts of learning that allow a student to prove that they have the skills and abilities to thrive in their chosen field.

On-line learning week 4

I know that I have skipped week three - but I feel that I need more time to reflect on that topic in order to post effectively. Therefore I am going to move on to week 4 to talk about formative assessments. I'm not exactly sure what the author's point was to the article about using web2.0 tools for formative assessments. A formative assessment can only be successful if the teacher uses it properly. This has so much more to do with the teacher than the tool they are using. A blog can easily be as effective as a written journal if the teacher takes the time to comment and provide feedback. I have known many teachers who just mark down that the students turned in their notebook - how is this effective formative assessment? A good teacher will make use of the tools provided to give substantial feedback and allow their students to grow and improve. A teacher can use discussion posts, google-docs or blogs to evaluate and comment on writing. They can use clickers or google forms to get a quick sense on what the class understands (or doesn't) to determine whether or not they need to reteach or which concepts they need to review. Pixton could be used to evaluate understanding as well. Each of these tools can be revised by the students based on teacher feedback in order to improve.

On-line learning Week 2

Facilitating Online Learning Week 1 post

I love the convience of on-line learning. With 3 kids and a full time job I appreciate not having to spend the extra time commuting to/from class. When I was taking classes at Oshkosh over the last 2 years, I would regularly spend at least 2 hours a week in the car. This is time that could be much better spent:). The biggest drawback to me has been the classroom interaction. My library classes at Oshkosh contained most of the same students each term (similar to this cohort) and we became really close because of the chatting that takes place before class and during the breaks. We didn't have any group work, but I still feel closer to those people than I do to my current classmates. I also feel that students are more likely to participate when sitting in front of the instructor. I think most people find it much harder to stay quiet when the teacher is right there looking at you. Overall, on-line learning was the best fit for me at this point in time but I don't know if I would chooses it over face to face classes if my circumstances were different.