K-12 Online Learning Philosophy

As a young educator with a strong interest in educational technology, I know that my online learning philosophy will differ vastly from many others in the profession.  However, I have also come to realize that I am behind the "8-ball" in comparison to many educators who are teaching distance courses already, or have started integrating online learning in their classrooms.  This realization has adjusted my personal philosophy and the goals I have set for myself regarding the ongoing evolution of K-12 education in the 21st century.

As I reflect on my brief 4 years as a practicing high school educator, I have an appreciation for the tried and true methods of teachers before me.  However, there are sweeping changes occurring across the field of education.  Online learning is no longer just an option for college courses, it is now available for students attending comprehensive K-12 institutions.  In my opinion, the development of online learning is crucial to the future of education, and cannot be ignored.  It has significant financial implications that attracts school districts to its implementation.  Furthermore, the students of today are more technologically savvy than any generation that preceded them.  Between their aptitude for utilizing technology, and their need for things to instantaneous, education must begin to adjust.  We cannot expect students to adjust back to a slower, drier instructional pace; rather, we as educators must begin to catch up to the most effective way of reaching every student.

When I search through educational websites, it is mesmerizing to me to see what is out there for us as educators.  Educational games, instructional applications, online polling devices, and more.  There is a growing and constantly improving source of educational tools that most of us have barely scratched the surface of.  It is my goal and my belief as an educator that I must begin to familiarize myself with said tools, and being integrating them into my classroom.  I consider myself to be a teacher who is up with the times, yet I know there is so much out there that I have yet to consider as an educational resource.  All educators must make an effort to reject the status quo and begin to think of their students and their future first.

My concern with K-12 online learning moving forward is the devaluing of the instructor.  Whether we need to do less in the classroom, or there needs to be fewer educators overall, it is of legitimate concern to me.  I believe that there is still a need for someone to facilitate, develop, and monitor online courses.  Regardless, I have witnessed an online course of 120 students with only one teacher, which is far from the traditional classroom size that we are all used to.  It is for this reason that I will strive to keep myself up to speed with all emerging technology as it relates to K-12 education.

LMS Layout Design

For my first time using an LMS, I wanted to keep my layout and design as simple and efficient as possible.  Furthermore, I want to be able to manage it with relative ease and stay on top of all my students within my courses.  Using the LMS that I have chosen, there are many possibilities for a design.  However, given that I am teaching a mathematics course, I think what I have shown on the Google Drawing included above is the best direction.  Begin with the content itself, whether it be in the form of a resource video, a file of selected notes, or a website/webquest for the students to interact with.  From there, I would like to utilize the discussion thread feature with regularity and allow students to share their thoughts, understanding, and responses with one another.  Lastly, the student work will be submitted.  Depending on the material, it will either be a formative assignment in the form of a submitted assignment, or in the form of a summative quiz/poll for the students to complete through the website.  Simple, yet very familiar to structure of what students are used to in traditional classrooms.

Building My Learning Management System

So far so good...

As I am now fully immersed in the creation of my LMS, I must say that I am excited and a bit overwhelmed at the same time.  There is a lot to be done, and every teacher knows that time is the one thing that no educator has enough of.  As you can see in the info graphic in my previous post, there are many decisions that had to be made before I could even begin building the actual LMS.  From content creation to method of communication, there was an overwhelming amount going into this site than I could have imagined.  It is manageable, but definitely something that would be difficult to accomplish in a brief amount of time.  The fact that we essentially have an entire semester and I will then have the summer to work out the bugs is relieving to me.  The only real issue I have dealt with to this point is the limitation in place due to my school's administrative rights over my Schoology.com account.  It is restricting me from creating my courses freely and allowing non-district members to join courses.  I am considering switching to Edmodo moving forward, so I will see how it goes.

As for the excitement, I cannot begin to express how much I have wanted to create my own website focused on education (specifically, for my classes and students).  This assignment is providing me a framework for that, and is allowing the process to go as smoothly as I could hope.  I think in this day and age an educator would be lying if they didn't believe there was value in an LMS for their classes.  One of the main reasons I have wanted to utilize an LMS throughout my educational career is for absent students.  This would enable them to stay on pace with their classmates without requiring me to take time from my day to day lessons.  Now, I wouldn't need to work off to the side with them while the rest of the class is trying to tackle a new task in front of them.  Moreover, from an organizational viewpoint, it is worth it already.  When you then consider the idea of the flipped classroom, and student created content it holds endless value.  I know I have a long road ahead of me before I have everything in place and the student culture needed to succeed in an online learning environment.  However, I am looking forward to next school year and my use of my LMS...and I hope to stay up to speed with all emerging education technology so I can continually infuse it into my class without having to play catch up like I am now.

MindMap: Online Learning Environment

Below you will find my mind map for the online learning environment I have envisioned.  My main goals are to foster authentic engagement of the students with the material and their peers.  They must find the interest in the material and online tools in order to eventually take ownership of the content creation and content understanding.  Enjoy!


by aaron.yamamoto

Article Summary "Effective Mobile Learning" by Shelly Terrell

Mobile learning is the present and the future of education, and has implications both inside and outside of the traditional classroom.  Shelly Terrell's article provides some great insight on how we can embrace and become effective with our use of mobile learning devices.

Her guide provides insight, links, and advice for how to get teachers started along the way to a technologically equipped classroom.  She begins with some great advice on which device to choose for your type of classroom and your particular situation.  Shelly also provides some great insight on how to get parents "on board" with the use of mobile devices in the classroom, as well as, how to influence your educational leadership to allow/endorse the movement.

Shelly completes her guide with a great list of educational apps depending on the goal of your classroom and its implementation.  I have used many of the apps myself in my graduate and undergraduate classes (Evernote, puppetpals, storykit, talking tom, etc.), so I am on board for testing some of her other suggestions.  Below is a link to her guide with active links to check our some of her suggested apps and related articles.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/67369598/Effective-Mobile-Learning-50-Tips-Resources-Ebook

Learning Map- Solving Systems of Complex Inequalities

Above I have included my learning map that tackles a difficult mathematical concept that I will be covering in my class in the next few weeks, "Solving Systems of Complex Inequalities".  This mathematical concept requires a multi-faceted solution process, and a learning map helps to keep all steps and skills organized for the learner.  Providing this learning map to the students will help them to better understand the logical process required to solve such problems, and the skills they must master in order to be successful.

Although we were provided the resources to use ExamTime, I chose to use Inspiration.  Inspiration is another version of concept map building software that I have used previously.  You can obtain a free 30-day trial, or pay for a subscription at http://www.inspiration.com/. One of the main reasons I stuck with Inspiration is that it was easy to link more than one concept to the same "node".  This was a task I was not able to accomplish using ExamTime, so it seemed more appropriate given how this concept is organized.  I also enjoyed including some more of the intricate design details that Inspiration provides.

Engaging Learning in an Online Environment

For many years, educational theorists have emphasized the need for student engagement in order for effective learning to take place.  The teacher-centric classroom has been replaced by a teacher-facilitated, student-centered classroom approach.  This is especially the case within online learning environments.  Online learners must be engaged in content collaboration, as well as, content creation throughout the course duration.  Online courses can thrive when it is treated as a learning community more so than simply a classroom.

In Chapter 1: Engaging Learning in an Online Environment, of our class text, Engaging the Online Learner, we are taken through the phases of online engagement.  Phase 1 begins simple with teacher led introductory activities, and the phases build to Phase 4 where the activities and content are being delivered by the learner/student instead of the instructor.  If this progression is successfully implemented, the students will gain confidence and eventually take ownership of the learning that occurs within the online class context.  This is a necessary piece to the online learning experience, because it can be so easy for a student to sit back and take a passive role throughout the course.  Without the engagement, and the responsibility for learning, students will not get as much from the course as would be expected.  However, if they are provided the opportunity to play such a crucial role in the process, they can walk away from the course interested, passionate, and more knowledgeable.

I have taken several online courses in my undergraduate and graduate programs in a variety of subject matter.  Furthermore, I have had a variety of experience within those courses, from impressed to completely underwhelmed.  The key element to my impression was engagement.  When courses develop a learning community with a safe and enjoyable collaborative aspect, it makes learning fun, social, and effective.  However, when I endured a class of weekly lecture videos and quizzes, I never became interested in the content, and I cannot recall a single modicum of information that was disseminated to me during that course.  Engagement and interaction is crucial in the everyday classroom, and is even more imperative in the online classroom.

For more information on how to improve student engagement in the online classroom, visit the site below from ProProfs.com:

http://www.proprofs.com/c/e-learning/improving-student-engagement-and-participation-in-online-classes/