Practicum Reflection

As a student at Lenoir Rhyne in their Online Teaching and Instructional Design certificate program, I am required to do a practicum. This practicum is evidence of the ability to use the material learned throughout the program in a real virtual environment.

My practicum started off at North Carolina Virtual Public Schools (NCVPS). Here I participated in half of a 16 week program where I learned the ins and outs of teaching at an actual virtual school. This was a very informative 8 weeks. I learned about the importance of constant communication; we were required to learned how to create the most effective class announcements that were to be posted daily. I learned about the importance of anonymity; it is imperative that teachers keep there students identity anonymous due to the child identity protection laws. I also learned about creative commons. As educators, we tend to reuse a lot of material that has previously been created by someone else. That is why it important that we understand what material has open rights to share, use, and build upon. Otherwise we may end up in a lawsuit when we genuinely may or may not have had any idea we were in the wrong.

The second 8 weeks of my practicum was held at my current place of employment; North Carolina Connections Academy (NCCA). NCCA is a public charter school that is 100% online. I started working with them in January of 2018. It was an amazing experience. I was able to use the material I learning in my program as well as through my internship with NCVPS. We had to ensure we had constant communication with out students through use of webmail and phone calls. We were also required to hold Live Lesson (LL) sessions at least once per week per course. Fortunately, I only taught one course, math 1. One of the major issues that I ran into as an instructor at NCCA was getting all of my students to attend the LL sessions held on Wednesdays. As a department, our most successful session was the one session that we made mandatory by attaching a quiz grade to it. Although we had major success with this, we are working toward finding ways to achieve the same success without taking away the flexibility that an online course offers.

I plan to remain in the virtual world for the rest of my life, if I can help it. I thoroughly enjoy teaching online. I am excited to see what more I can learn as I continue to expand my knowledge of online teaching.

Week of April 22nd Reflection

Last week I mentioned that I was thinking of making the Benchmark review Live Lesson a mandatory quiz grade. I brought this idea to my department and they agreed that this was a good idea and that everyone should try it. However, one small change was made. We wanted to see how we could maximize the amount of information we could get out to our students. Since we do two Live Lessons for math 1 on the same day, we decided to cover two different sets of material. Now, usually we cover the same information so that students are able to choose which LL to attend. This fosters a sense of choice and gives students some type of control over their learning environment. But we came to the conclusion that the students will attend whichever session they choose, and although they may not get all of the required information, any information is better than none.

I have to say, making the LL mandatory was the best decision that we could have ever made! My attendance was at an all time high. 100+ students both attended and participated. It was amazing!! There were plenty of great feedback from each student and they enjoyed playing the kahoot game. There are truly some competitive students here at NCCA! I was very happy and excited to teach class this Wednesday.

Looking back and reflecting on this, I'm pulled in both directions. One one side, I'd love to get this same amount of attendance and participation on a daily basis. So it would seem that I should make each LL mandatory for every student. But on the other hand, many of these students attends this online charter school due to the flexibility that it offers. So we would be completely wrong to try and take that away from them. Maybe as we continue to grow as a school, we can determine better ways to make the students feel a strong sense of responsibility for their LLs.

Week of April 15th Disucssion.

 This week started off a little rough. I live in Greensboro North Carolina for the first time since I’ve ever been here, we experienced a  tornado. The tornado hit literally one street over from my house. Luckily I was at work at the time, so I wasn’t there to experience the physical tornado.  When I did finally get home from work, I searched the house and came across a broken window, a few patches in the roof, and some of the metallic siding missing at the top of the roof. I know it may not seem like it, but I was blessed. Houses just the next street over we’re completely destroyed.  We were without power for about for five days, and my Wi-Fi was out for about a week. Now I know the Wi-Fi may not seem like it’s that big of a deal. But for someone like me, who works completely from home, that is a major inconvenience. So I had to spend the entire week searching for different locations to sit in, in order for me to go to work that week. On top of the tornado, my brother had to be hospitalized for a couple of days. His hospitalization had nothing to do with the tornado, just other health issues.  So as you can see this was a very stressful week for me. Nevertheless, I pulled myself together because I knew I had students that were counting on me.

Being completely honest, I had to put this lesson together at the last minute. I was so overwhelmed with the different events of my week, that I let my weekly Wednesday lesson creep up on me. So I was very nervous as I entered class that morning. This lesson was the last lesson of the semester before we start reviewing for the EOC. I still was not able to get the attendance numbers that I'd hope for, but those that did come, gave a high level of participation. The students did very well with the questions I prepared for them.

Next week I plan to make the Live Lesson (LL) mandatory. I really need to do something about the low attendance numbers, esp at such a crucial time of the year. Since next weeks LL is specifically a review of the material needed to pass the benchmark exam leading into the EOCs, I will require the students to attend. I think I may assign this as a quiz grade and allow them to earn extra credit through participation. I haven't decided if I will add the extra credit to the attendance quiz grade or to the benchmark, but I do know there will be an extra credit opportunity. Let's keep our fingers crossed that making the LL mandatory will be the motivation needed to get the students to attend!

651 Foundations of Distance Education Reflection

Week of April 8th Reflection

This week is the first week back from spring break. The students are a little slow to getting back into the groove of things. I sent out a reminder for students to join in on our weekly live lesson, scheduled for every Wednesday. Unfortunately, attendance still suffered very tremendously. What suffered even more, was participation levels. At first, I was not aware of the low level of participation. Many of the students don't participate in the warm-up, so it completely went over my head that participation was so low. It wasn't until I started asking scaffolded questions from the lesson, that Ii realize I wasn't getting too many answers. So in an effort to determine exactly how many students were participating, as well as reward them, I asked the students to send me a webmail. In the webmail, they simply had to say, "I participated". Once I received their webmail, I'd rewarded them with a free 100% discussion grade. It pains me to say, only 5 students sent in that webmail.

This was a little discouraging, as I had just had a meeting with my principal about increasing my live lesson attendance numbers. I was sitting there thinking, why is no one participating?”, “am I boring them?”, “am I confusing them?”, “will my principal be upset with me?”, and “What could I possible do to increase these numbers?” I knew I couldn’t keep this from serving the students that were actually participating, so I pushed these thought to the side and finished my lessons.

Despite such low participation, the live lesson went very smoothly. I got through the objectives I set for that day, and each of the students expressed their gratitude for the day’s lesson. For next week’s live lesson, i’ll have to be sure to send out reminders a little earlier than usual. Hopefully this will catch those students that simply forget, or do not check their webmails on a daily basis. With the weather getting warmer outside, I am going to have to sit and really think about ways to get students to want to wake up at 8 am. The 2pm class seems to have much better attendance and participation.  

Practicum Reflection Sept 10

This week in my practicum with NCVPS, we focused on communication between teachers, students and parents. We talked about what an eLA is and why its very important to work very closly with our eLA.

NCVPS is very strict on communication. We must keep a communication journal and keep very detailed notes on any and all levels of communication, even communication through email. Students are to be contacted the weekend before school starts. This is called a "welcome call". These welcome calls are used to gather more information, like parent email, alternate phone numbers, etc.

We also learned how to handle different situations that may require intervention. For example, what to do if a student is in danger of harming themselves or being harmed. If a teacher thinks that a student needs intervention, is it very important to call the instructional director and instructional leader, given it is immediate danger. Email will suffice if there is no threat for immediate danger.

My favorite part of this weeks discussion was the communication scenarios. Were we given scenarios where we had to talk about how we would handle them while staying true to NCVPS standards/protocols.

I'm going to place the questions below (paraphrased versions). You tell me how you would have responded.

1. You have a student with low skill levels. She  usually takes a long time to work through her assignments, but all of a sudden, she is submitting work that far exceeds what you know her ability to be. You have a strong suspicion someone may be doing the work for her. How do you proceed?

2. You are connecting with parents. You reach a parent of a student who is immediately rude and standoffish on the phone. In fact, she tells you, “I have given up on her. Please do not call me again.” How do you proceed in supporting this student and parent? *

Practicum Reflection Sept 3rd

This semester is currently the last semester of my 2nd masters degree!! Exciting right?!!

In December, 2017, I will officially have a MAT (Masters in the Art of Teaching) with a certification in OTID (Online Teaching and Instructional Design). But before I celebrate I must complete a few tasks.

At the top of the list of those tasks is my practicum. I am doing my practicum with NCVPS (North Carolina Virtual Public Schools). I am super excited about this opportunity because it gives me the tools and skills needed to be a successful online educator. In my current face-to-face class, I am working on a gamified model. This model requires a lot of skills that online teachers must master. Which is why I am so excited to be allotted the opportunity to be apart of this year's cohort.

The program is broken up into two, 8-week sessions: course work and student teaching. You must be recommended to move on to the student teaching session before you are approved to student teach. Hence, it is very important to stick to the goals of the first 8-weeks. These goals include learning NCVPS's rules and regulations on:


Week 2: Instructional Model
Week 3: Communication
Week 4: Making Announcements
Week 5: Grades and Feedback
Week 6: Individualization
Week 7: Evaluation and Support

So far things are going well with these goals and I am on track. The course work is very informing and I am truly enjoy learning new information. This week we talked about communication and what things we should and should not include in emails. This practicum is going to truly change my life, and I can't wait to embrace the change

UDLs vs Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction: A Critique and Comparison of Instructional Design Models

Instructional design is the science behind the study and improvement of developing, delivering, and evaluating instruction and instructional practices. (Brown & Green, 2016). Take a look at the excerpt from Brown and Green on the four part definition of instructional design.

Brown, A.H., & Green, T.D. (2016). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting fundamental principles with process and practice (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Over the years, scholars and practitioners have developed multiple models that help explain and map out some of the best frameworks for designing instruction. Two of the models that we will discuss here include the Universal Design for Learning model (UDL) and Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction model.

Universal Design For Leaning (UDL) Model. 

The UDL instructional design model is a model that focuses on what, when, and how people learn. This model focuses on the science behind learning, and applies it to its three main principles: multiple means of representation, multiple means of action and expression, and multiple means of engagement. For an elaboration of these principles, take a look at this excerpt also taken from the text by Brown and Green. 

Brown, A.H., & Green, T.D. (2016). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting fundamental principles with process and practice (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

In Layman's terms, the UDL framework believes that there is not "one type of learner" hence their should not be "one way to learn". This model encourages instructional design frameworks that speaks to everyone; from the purposeful learner, to the knowledgeable learner, and the goal oriented learner.  

Take a moment to view the following  picture as  a visual way of representing the previous information. 

http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.WWWltojyvIU

But why do we NEED UDLs? Now of course there are other ways to design learning, but UDLs are just one of the major concepts that educator have chosen to follow due to this model's design to cater to students with disabilities and setbacks. or high levels of thinking. Listen to the following video as gerontologist, Leacey Brown, talks about the importance of UDLs for all!

 Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction

Some Instructional Design models are built in the form of a checklist, giving the users very specific instructions (or steps, if you will) on how to design their instruction. One of these such models, is Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction.

https://www.slideshare.net/MirandaE23/robert-gagne-learning-and-instruction

Robert Gagne was an educational physiologist that came up with a theory called, "The Conditions of Learning. His theory stipulates that there are several different types of learning and each different type requires different types of instruction. Through this his was able to identify five different categories of learning.

http://oldsmooc1week1learningdesigndefinition.pbworks.com/w/page/62589007/Learning%20Design

Gagne built his Nine Events of instruction based off of these five categories of leaned capabilities. He essentially argues that these skills can be organized into a hierarchy which can be used to identify prerequisites that should be completed to ensure learning at each level. 

Critique and Compare: My personal Views

Both of these Instructional Design models are of my favorite models. They both agree on the idea that there is not one specific way of learning and that each way needs to be handled differently. However, I do tend to agree or lean towards the UDL model over Gagne. UDLs allots for much more flexibility than Gagne's 9 events of Instruction. With a UDL, order does not matter. You simple build your instruction in the manner that suits your preferences, while being intentional about creating multiple means of instruction and activities. There is no need to be sure to write your objectives before creating your instruction; or recalling prior knowledge before providing guidance. Whatever order works best for you, UDLs gives you that level of flexibility.This ensures that every type of learner is catered to. I also love the fact that it expands the horizons of each learner. Students may be stronger visual learns, but they still have access to the auditory material, inevitably strengthening their auditory comprehension skills. Now students able to both understand and grow!

Gagne's 9 events of instructional is a much more intentional model. It gives very specific steps to follow and what order to complete them in. Unfortunately, it take away the idea of flexibility. However, I will say this: There is nothing more stress relieving than to know that I may not know exactly where to begin or end, but if I follow these steps or use a checklist, I am guaranteed to get it right! Gagne allots for that luxury. Take a moment to view the following checklist created to aide with building instruction using Gagne's 9 Events of Instruction.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/490962796860612408/

Great checklist right?! I was so ecstatic to find such a simple and easy way to ensure that I incorporate all aspects of Gagne's model.

Take a look at the very last section of this checklist. Notice anything familiar? Gagne enforces the same idea that UDLs identified; the idea of choices! Both model realize the importance of ensuring that there is student choice; and not just for assignments and content, but for rewards and challenges. Students love to feel that they have some level of control over their education and I believe that it is important that they do have this small level of control. Student interest begins and ends with choice and it is an aspect of instructional design that I will be sure to always incorporate.

Conclusion

Instructional Design models are used to ensure that instruction is given in the best way to ensure the best learning practices. UDLs focus on research that have been proven to show how, what, and why a person learns. Gagne's Nine Events of instruction focuses on creating a hierarchy of instruction that can be used to develop prerequisites to ensure learning at each level. Both models covers the idea of fostering choice. While one model is deliberate in the process of designing instruction and the other focuses on what to design WITHIN the instruction. I general love both model, but prefer the flexibility of UDLs.

Bibliography

Brown, A. H., & Green, T. D. (2016). The essentials of instructional design: connecting fundamental principles with process and practice. New York, London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Conditions of Learning (Robert Gagne). (n.d.). Retrieved July 12, 2017, from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/conditions-learning.html

The Use of Instructional Design Practices in a Gamified Cirriculum: How UDLs are so important in Quest-Based Learning

What is a UDL?

The way in which one designs their instruction speaks volume about the instructor that they are, as well as the instructor that they will one day become. This is why there has been enormous amounts of research geared toward the best practices to successfully design instruction. These methods include, but are not limited to; Revised Blooms Taxonomy, A.D.D.I.E, and Merrill's First Principles of Instruction. But my favorite of them all is a method called Universal Design for Learning.

Universal Design for Learning is a instructional design framework that intentionally focuses on why, what, and how people learn. This framework uses the knowledge that scientist have both researched and proven to be the most effective ways of learning.

As most people already know, learning is not just a one way street. Everyone takes different routes to make it to the same destination. Hence, the overall goal and three main principles of this instructional design framework is: to use multiple means of representation, engagement, and action and expression to capitalize on ones learning experience. In layman's terms, this framework works to afford each and every student equal opportunity to learn through the usage of multiple learning venues. Take a look at the following picture below. It will give you a visual approach to understanding the above information.

http://udloncampus.cast.org/page/udl_about#.WWUB94jyvIU

Now take a look at this video as well. This will give you an auditory approach to understanding the above information.

This is an example of applying the UDL model. By presenting this information to you in multiple means, I have fulfilled one of the three main principles of the UDL framework; multiple means of representation.

Using a UDL in a Quest-Based Learning Environment.

As a high school math teacher, I am constantly research ways to enhance the learning of each of my students. My latest project is building a fully gamified learning environment, centered around quest based learning.

What is Quest-Based learning.

"Quest-based learning is an instructional design theory that leverages game mechanics and gamer-like learning communities to support student choice within the curriculum, and offers promising pedagogical possibilities in the area" (Chris Haskell, 2013). Simply put, quest based learning is taking the idea of our everyday games and applying those mechanics to an educational curriculum. Haskell points out these very specific features:

• Quest-based learning incorporates game mechanics, and gamer-like learning communities. 

• Game-based feedback tools like experience points, progress bars, badges, and achievements are motivating and meaningful to students. 

• Students in a quest-based course received higher grades overall when compared to traditional course. 

• Students do more work on average using quest-based learning. 

• On average, students complete quest-based learning design courses in less time than traditional courses. 

• Over 65% of students remain persistent in quest-based learning, continuing to quest beyond the minimum required to receive a “A.”

To learn more about quest-based learning, visit Understanding Quest-Based Learning.

Incorporating an UDL.

I began to build my quested-based learning curriculum in the early part of June. This was before I learned about the UDL instructional design. I simply built my framework off of the different experiences I've encountered as a 3rd year math teacher. I had no idea that I was essentially building my framework around the UDL instructional design.

As you know, the three main priciples of an UDL is to use multiple means of representation, engagement, and action and expression to capitalize on ones learning experience. But what we have not discussed as of yet, is how to apply an UDL. Consider the following checklist to help with applying an UDL:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/490962796860612408/

Which principles did I already incorporate and what can I improve?

One of the best features of the quest-based learning model is the ability to present the information in multiple ways. Before I decided to incorporate a quest-based learning model, I used a flipped classroom model. This is simply changing all lectures into video lesson where the students can view at home, allotting the full class time for practice. Due to my previously recorded video lessons I am able to present the material in multiple representations. Not only are the students given a video lesson to view and hear, they are also given several examples of the material through pictures and discussions. 

In addition to being able to learn the material in multiple ways, Quest-based learning allows me to foster choice in my classroom. For each individual standard, I build multiple quest that range in point value. Now the students can pick and choose which ever quest genuinely sparks their interest. The quest range in activities from writing entries, arts and crafts, online video games, to real world application. 

Another aspect of this framework that I have incorporated through quest-based learning, is ongoing feedback. Students, as they submit quest, are given written feedback on their material that they turn in. In addition, they are constantly earning points, gaining rank, and being awarded badges as they fulfill the desired requirements. Student no longer wait until they take a midweek quiz or unit test, they know exactly how they are doing each and everyday.

Although I have, in my opinion, very successfully incorporated an UDL into my quest-based learning framework, there are still a few aspects that I need to reconsider. One thing to consider is accommodating my EC students so that they are not penalized. One option that I have been thinking about, is building my quest around the priority standards vs the entire curriculum. 

This means that I would like to set up my quest based learning model in a way that each and every student are only "required" to complete the quest associated with the listed priority standards. This allows for the EC students to take their time and truly understand the standards that show up the most on state exams while still have a chance to successfully pass the class. It also allows for those students that have a very clear understanding of the material to keep moving forward to the "non-priority" standards without being held back. I do hope to gain a better insight as to how I can incorporate this change and still make it equitable to every student within my class.

Conclusion

Many teachers do not realize it, but they use bits and pieces of instructional designs that have been scientifically proven to be very successful. As I began to build my quest-based learning framework and research instructional design models, I realized that I was using a Universal Design for Learning frame work. The thee main principles of the framework are to use multiple means of representation, engagement, and action and expression to capitalize on ones learning experience. As I continue to build my quest based learning framework around the UDL model, I need to be sure to incorporate more accommodations so that my students are successful across the board, regardless of any learning disabilities or other setbacks!.

Reflection of Methods for Online Teaching

In the Spring semester of 2017, I was privileged with the opportunity of taking a course entitled: Methods of Online Teaching and Learning. We explored methods of teaching through blended learning and gamification. In addition to teaching through communication and feedback, both asynchronous and synchronous facilitation, and the most promising practices of an online educator.

With such a massive amount of information gained this semester, I want to touch on just a few topics:

Gamification

This was my favorite discussion of the semester. As a previous student in this Professor, Dr. Linton's, class; I was able to personally experience gamifying my learning. I knew then that this was a method of teaching that I would use in my personal classroom one day. Hence, I was very excited to learning more about gamifying. 

Gamification is the idea of taking gaming mechanic ( points, scoreboards, levels, badges etc) and applying them to the given curriculum. Although it does include playing games, it is not centered around playing an actual game; but rather using the "rules and regulations" of the gaming world. There are so many exciting ways that an educator can bring the idea of gamification to life in their classroom. I have already begun to put the plan in motion for a fully gamified curriculum in my NC Math 1 course. I look forward to sharing it!

Blended Learning

Blended learning was a small review for me in this semester course. As a current MAT candidate I have come across this terminology a few times as well as currently use one type of blended learning model in my classroom. 

Blended learning is the idea of taking online digital media and combining it with the classroom methods. The two basic categories: brick-and-mortar and online learning. Within these two categories we have four basic types: rotation model; flex model; a la carte model; and enriched virtual model. The rotation model is the most commonly used model as it includes these learning styles: station rotation, lab rotation, flipped classroom and individual rotation. Many teachers has begun to blend there classroom as a way to bring 21st century learning to their students. 

Synchronous vs Asynchronous Learning.

Finally we have synchronous vs asynchronous learning. This is the idea that asynchronous learning is conducted mainly in a video format where each student is virtually present at the same time, while synchronous learning is conducted through discussion and chats where each student asks and answers questions, in a sense, at their leisure. 

Coming into this class I had no Idea was the difference was between these two learning styles. I just knew sometimes I answered question on discussion boards while other times I was in a live video chat. Learning the difference between the two gave me a chance to think of ways to implement them into my gamification model for this next school year. I plan to have many discussion boards in place for my students to express their way of thinking for the different topics in class. I also look forward to sharing this as well.

Overall this class has opened my thinking when it comes to way to change the way my students are able to learn. I am very excited for the future and look forward to sharing my ideas of education that I continuously learn in course such as this!

Teaching Through Communication and Feedback

What is Feedback

According to authors Greg C Lee and Cheng Chih-Wu "The provision of feedback to students is an important aspect of teaching and learning processes. It is often a necessary requirement for the stimulation of self‐reflection" (Leenm,Weinn; 2007). Feedback is defined by Webster dictionary as "information about reactions to a product, a person's performance of a task, etc., used as  a basis for improvement." In lament terms it is the criticism of a person's work, whether positive or negative to increase productivity.  In the classroom  teachers  use feedback to create a  better learning atmosphere for them and their students and vice versa. "Among all instructional development efforts, the most promising way of fundamentally changing post-secondary teaching is to provide faulty with individualized formative feedback. In this process, information about an instructor's teaching is connected, summarized, and fed back to the faculty member.(Brinko, 2016)

What Is Communication

"Educators have become so involved with delivering the curricula that they forget to acknowledge 'how' they deliver the curricula." (Johnson, 1999) In the aforementioned statement Maeetta B. Johnson endeavors to bring up the discussion of how education has become void of  communication and overgrown with testing. According to Webster communication is the imparting or exchanging of information or news. Education is evolving in the sense teachers are using communication in their students learning experience. Tools such as discussion board,  participation grading,  and student rated feedback allow for open discussions in the classroom environment. Generally,student ratings may serve three functions: (1) aiding administrative evaluations of teaching effectiveness for decisions concerning pay increases, promotion, and tenure; (2) providing feedback to teachers for the purpose of improving instruction; and (3) helping students select courses and instructors. (Cohen, 1980)

Communication and Feedback in The Classroom

"Rick Wormelli author of the article "ACCOUNTABILITY: TEACHING THROUGH ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK, NOT GRADING" stated "Grading policies such as refusing to accept late work, giving grades of  such as refusing to accept late work, giving grades of zero, and refusing to allow students to redo their work may be intended as punishment for poor performance, but such policies will not really teach students to be accountable, and provide very little useful information about students' mastery of the material."  Students tend to learn and comprehend,  in contrast to memorization,  when they aren't concerned about testing. Often times students fear the test causing complications such as test anxiety, inability to digest material, even stress to the point of needing medical attention . Other classroom complications include the inability to comprehend intellectual languages. Dr. Robert Williams's B.I.T.C.H. Test discuss how African American testers score lower on test based on Caucasian dialect versus the counter of sciring exceedingly well when information and tests where communicated in terms privy to their culture. In the Article "Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale scores of Black and White police applicants" written by authors Joseph D. Matarazzo and , Arthur N. Wiens when completing their experiment there where "non-overlapping distributions of scores on the BITCH, with no White Ss scoring above Black Ss." This further solidifies that basing the classroom on communicative further opens the classroom dialect allowing students to provide feedback proving their level of understanding the material.

References

Brinko, K. T. (1993). The Practice of Giving Feedback to Improve Teaching: What Is Effective? The Journal of Higher Education, 64(5), 574.

Cohen, P. A. (1980). Effectiveness of student-rating feedback for improving college instruction: A meta-analysis of findings. Research in Higher Education, 13(4), 321-341. doi:10.1007/bf00976252

Johnson, M. B. (1998, November 30). Communication in the Classroom. Retrieved May 05, 2017, from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED436802

Lee, G. C., & Wu, C. (2006). Enhancing the teaching experience of pre‐service teachers through the use of videos in web‐based computer‐mediated communication (CMC). Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 43(4), 369-380.

Matarazzo, J. D., & Wiens, A. N. (1977). Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale scores of Black and White police applicants. Journal of Applied Psychology,62(1), 57-63.

Wormeli, R. (summer 2006). ACCOUNTABILITY: TEACHING THROUGH ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK, NOT GRADING. AMERICAN SECONDARY EDUCATION, 34(3), 14-27

Synchronous Learning and Methods of Facilitation

Asynchronous Facilitation vs Synchronous Facilitation

Approximately two weeks ago, I wrote about methods to successfully facilitate asynchronous meetings. Now we are going to cross over into the world of synchronous facilitation, but before we begin, we need to understand the the difference between the two methods.

http://dejulioa.weebly.com/synchronous-vs-asynchronous.html

According to Stefan Hrastinski in his article Asynchronous and Synchronous E-Learning: A study of asynchronous and synchronous e-learning methods discovered that each supports different purposes, Asynchronous e-learning is commonly facilitated by media such as email and discussion boards while synchronous e-learning is commonly facilitated by videoconferences and chats (Hrastinski, 2008). Plainly stated, asynchronous learning is learning that is conducted mainly in a video format where each student is virtually present at the same time, while synchronous learning is conducted through discussion and chats where each student asks and answers questions, in a sense, at their leisure. O. Marjanovic says it best, "Asynchronous collaborative technologies enable ‘any-time, any-place’ collaboration... Synchronous collaborative technologies enable ‘same-time, same-place’ or ‘same-time, any-place’ collaboration. (Marjanovic, 1991)". The following chart provides a more in-depth view of the differences.

https://www.slideshare.net/XLProTraining/synchronous-and-asynchronous-learning

Benefits of Synchronous Learning

The first of these benefits include the benefit of time. In a synchronous discussion, students are not worried with a time constraint like that of an asynchronous learning session. Students do not have to worry about having 2-3 hours to reach all of the desired objectives and gain the understanding needed to proceed to the next topic. With synchronous discussion, students can research the necessary material and give a very detailed answer to the desired objective.

Another benefit that Hrastinski mentions is psychological arousal. He states that in his research, interviews with his participants shows that synchronous discussions felt "more like talking" creating the psychological arousal. This, in return, also produced a much higher sentence count that asynchronous learning. 

O. Marjanovic, in his article, Learning and teaching in a synchronous collaborative environment, states that synchronous learning enables learning that is more effective and improves group performance and outputs. (O. Marjanovic, 1991). Students report improving mastery of material, critical thinking and analysis skills.

Facilitation Methods

Five Themes of Moderation

In an article entitled Getting in Sync with Synchronous: The Dynamics of Synchronous Facilitation in Online Discussions, Shi, Bonk, Tan, and Mishra gives us five themes to help moderate discussion in a synchronous learning environment: Providing hooks with both ends; Modeling and tele-mentoring; Confronting and conflicting; Setting up norms; and, Social-emotional elements (Shi, Bonk, Tan, &Mishra , 2008)

Providing hooks with both ends 

The idea of this theme is to ensure that every message serves a double purpose: (1) communicating something, and (2) evoking future responses (Shi et al., 2008). This simply means that each question answered within the discussion forum should answer a previous question(s) but at the same time provide a hook for future messages.

Modeling and tele-mentoring

This theme is centered on the idea of scaffolding. "online collaboration itself is a learning process that needs scaffolding from capable experts to smooth the process as well as to guide the content learning to achieve smooth, effective online collaborative learning (Shi et al., 2008). Simply put facilitators should both monitor and model to the students what are the expectation of each discussion. This includes motivating the students, monitoring their performance, providing reflections, etc. Peers and facilitators that are more experienced in synchronous discussion should, in essence, lead the way!

Confronting and conflicting

This theme is based on the social cognitive conflict theory. "The underlying assumption of this theory is that knowledge is motivated, organized, and communicated in the context of social interaction...when individuals operate on each other’s reasoning, they become aware of contradictions between their logic and that of their partner (Shi et al., 2008)." In laymen's terms, a healthy debate is a good way to develop understanding. When a student reads and analyzes the opinions and viewpoints of their peers, it helps them to see the contradictions within their own logic, forcing them to find ways to better understand the topic at hand. There is little argument that learning may be defined as the progressive modification of ideas and behaviors through interpersonal interaction (Shi et al., 2008)." 

Setting up norms

This theme encompasses the idea of creating a healthy learning community with positive group dynamics. Group dynamics contribute to students’ performance in collaborative learning and to their satisfaction with the learning experience (Shi et al., 2008)." Simply put, each student must actively participate within the learning community and “pull their own weight”. Students that are not actively participating within the learning community can disrupt others’ level of motivation and enthusiasm. Participation should be an established norm within the learning community. 

Social-emotional elements

The final theme of moderating synchronous discussions piggybacks off the “setting up norms” theme. As with any social interaction, reactions of all nature will occur. “The social dimension is a crucial factor in determining the “climate” of conferences; that is, the willingness of people to contribute and engage seriously with the effectiveness of the discussion (Shi et al., 2008).” The facilitator should always be aware of the level of interaction within the discussion forum. This level of interaction speaks to the level of interest the students have for the given topic. In addition, the facilitator should also be aware of how the students “feel” within their responses. Are they happily discussing their opinions and perspectives with the full learning community; or are they completing the task with less enthusiasm due to the lack of response from their peers.

Asynchronous Facilitation Methods

An asynchronous online discussion environment may be defined as ‘‘a text-based human-to-human communication via computer networks that provides a platform for the participants to interact with one another to exchange ideas, insights and personal experiences” (Hew, 2008). This simply means that asynchronous discussions are discussions held by individuals online in an effort to share, exchange, or discuss ideas.

Asynchronous discussions are very commonly used in post-secondary courses, to connect peers and create a sense of community within the classroom. Many researchers dedicate their selves to studying the best way to effectively implement asynchronous discussions. Their research has a wide range of focus which extends from the types of questioning to the relationships among each participate.

Research by Hew and Cheung in (2008) suggest there are seven facilitation techniques to use as a guide in asynchronous discussion: (a) giving own opinions or experiences, (b) questioning, (c) showing appreciation, (d) establishing ground rules, (e) suggesting new direction, (f) personally inviting people to contribute, and (g) summarizing. Research by Xie and Ke (2011) confirms the technique of showing appreciation and giving opinions and experiences. Their study examined the relationship between student's motivation and their online interactions in a distance learning. Confirming the study by Hew and Cheung, they found that perceived competence and students' relatedness to their peers is a crucial factor that impacts students' learning in asynchronous discussions.These seven techniques not only enhances the student trust in each other but it also creates a certain connection that allow the student to create, what some may call, learning communities.

Research by Rovai (2002) goes a little more in-depth into classroom communities. This study was to determine if a relationship exists between sense of community and cognitive learning in an online educational environment. Results showed that graduate students feel connected to their virtual classroom community, students with stronger sense of community tend to possess greater perceived levels of cognitive learning, etc. 

Asynchronous discussions are a way for students to express who they are and allow their voices to be heard. Research gives multiple techniques that help enhance the discussion experience. Ultimately, students should feel comfortable, safe, interested and by the end of the discussion, enlightened.

Refernces

Hew, K. F., & Cheung, W. S. (2008). Attracting student participation in asynchronous online discussions: A case study of peer facilitation. Computers & Education, 51(3), 1111-1124. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2007.11.002

Rovai, A. P. (2002). Sense of community, perceived cognitive learning, and persistence in asynchronous learning networks. The Internet and Higher Education, 5(4), 319-332. doi:10.1016/s1096-7516(02)00130-6

Xie, K., & Ke, F. (2010). The role of students' motivation in peer-moderated asynchronous online discussions. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42(6), 916-930. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01140.x

Emerging Technology in the Classroom: A reflection and a plan!

One of the most incredible aspects of human nature is our ability to learn. With each  and every class I have taken, I truly take something away that affects my life. So it is with no surprise that I learned so much this semester as a student in my "Methods for Integrating Technology" class.

As an educator, it is my job to differentiate each lesson in order that I may reach each and every student. One of the most commonly researched and sought after ways of differentiation is through the use of technology. This class that I recently attended has afforded me the opportunity to learn so many different ways of integrating technology. The class itself was taught entirely through technology through a process called gamification.

info.esparklearning.com

Gamification is simply the ability to earn rewards for successful completion of tasks.  Take a second to visit the Knewton website to get a more in-depth knowledge of gamification.  I will definitely be incorporating this idea into my class. It helps with grading time and it gives the students the opportunity to have a goal to reach.

Other aspects of the course that were very intriguing include ways to incorporate technology into lesson planning using apps like voice thread,

langwitches.org

screencast,

www.hr.niu.edu

 or padlet.

blog.edtechteam.com

I really enjoyed learning how to use these items, especially voice thread and screencast. One very drastic change I have officially changed in my career in education is my style of teaching. I plan to flip my classroom next semester and these two additions to my knowledge of technology are the perfect tools! Take a moment to watch this youtube video on the idea of a flipped classroom, It may intrigue you as well.

I am extremely grateful to have learned a great deal in such a short period of time. These items share are only a fraction of the marvelous things I learned. This class has officially started my journey to becoming a true 21st-century educator.

TED Talk Hole In the Wall

This morning I sat down and watched a very interesting video from one of the infamous TED Talks. In this video, my thinking on today's form of education was not only challenged, but eternally changed. Bare with me, as I try to do the same for you.

The speaker, Sugata Mitra starts off with the question, "Where did the kind of learning we do in schools, come from?" This question intrigued me. I honestly never took a moment out of my life to actually stop and think, where did this school system idea originate? Mr. Mitra tells us how today we have the physical computer, but in the times of the largest and last of the empires, all they had was people. Hence, the need to create a system, the school, where everyone was identical. Everyone would have the same handwriting, be able to read, and know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, in their head. Now the victorian empire could flourish whether the connection was in Canada or New Zealand.

So how are taking that same idea of identical people and applying it today? With so many socioeconomic classes, are we allotting the same opportunities to the low-class citizens as the high-class citizens? Or are we allowing the rich to be seen as gifted while the poor gets labeled incompetent?

Mr. Mitra put this question to the test with his hole in the wall experiment. He placed a computer in the hole of a wall in the slums of India, testing to see if those so called poor and incompetent children were really as incompetent as they were being labeled. Not only did the children teach themselves English but they also taught themselves how to use this, to them, foreign object; a computer. This sparked Mr.Mitra interest and so he continuously repeated his experiment. Ultimately he found that we as homo sapiens have a natural desire to learn. We don't have to MAKE learning happen, we simply need to LET learning happen.

This is the way learning must be facilitated in today's school system. Educators must stop feeding children loads and loads of information that simply test their foundational skills. Instead, simply give students a question and allow them to teach themselves. Allow the learning to emerge within them. This is what Mr. Mitra calls S.O.L.E, Self Organized Learning Environments.

http://uniqed.com/2014/05/building-schools-cloud/

The teacher no longer drills students with the chore of learning and memorizing. Instead, he or she give students the question, tools, and necessary encouragement to collaborate with each and allow learning to organize all on its own. In doing this, we take the idea of the identical student from the victorian empire and mold it into the need of our students today. Every student learns the same information because they explore it together.

Students no longer need to be able to simply write and simply read. They now need to be able to read and understand, write and create, multiply and build. They need to keep the idea of knowing and understanding alive. Otherwise, the technological era will cause students to become less of an innovator and more of a regurgitator. Then learning will become obsolete. I encourage you, dear reader, to stop teaching your students and allow them to teach themselves. facilitate their lerning, direct their learning, but allow them to explore the reasons why all on their own!

Real or fake

Today’s generation is a generation that revolves around social media. Every day someone reports and snaps a picture or quote that has gone viral. But are these pictures and quotes legitimate? I have to admit, I am one of those individuals that do not always check the validity of a picture before I repost it. To be perfectly honest, there are times when I have thought about whether it was real or fake but did not know how to check the validity. That is why I am glad I participated in a "real or fake" challenge for my class.


Real or Fake Challenge:The challenge began with looking at a picture, 2 hotel reviews, and 3 quotes, which I needed to determine whether or not it is real or fake. I saw a few obvious things on these items so I was able to make a hypothesis. The picture still contained the cursor and a few of the items were much bigger than they should have been, so I knew it was fake. For the hotel reviews, I was completely stumped. Lastly,the quotes, they were the easiest to determine validity, I simply googled these.

After making my inferences, I went to the blog post with the answers. My thought process for the picture and quotes was correct. However, I learned something new when it came to the hotel reviews. There is a website, reviewskeptic.com, that determines the validity of quotes. But you could also do your own personal research. Google the reviewer and learn about their review history. Read some of their other reviews and determine if the tone of their review is consistent with the other reviews posted. Turns out, both reviews were real!

Knowing whether a post is real or fake is very important. As I was googling the validity of one of the quotes, I came across an article about Ben Carson. Ben Carson,a very prosperous surgeon, used a quote allegedly spoken by Thomas Jefferson. Unfortunately for Mr. Carson, the quote was fake, and he received grand amounts of backlash for his lack of research. This is why it is so important to be very thorough in your knowledge of real versus fake. Especially when you are in a position that has such a heavy effect on those around you.

This is why, as an educator, I believe it is important to teach my students to be able to tell the difference. My students will write research papers or even simpler, repost posts on social media. They must know what is real versus what is fake. Many of my students will grow up to be the next doctor, teacher, basketball player, or even CEO of a company. They must know how to pass on the right VALID information, to those in their care and circle. As humans were are already judged our appearances, I will not allow my student to subject themselves to judgment for their lack of knowledge on real versus fake!

Maker Revolution

One of the main things that school systems try to focus on is the preparation of students for life after high school. We, as educators, want our students to be ready and able to live a very prosperous and successful life from the moment they cross that stage until the day they retire. Unfortunately, this goal is very hard to reach due to the very scripted school system we are forced to subject our students to. It is almost like we have to choose between high test scores and the building of character and successful life practices. Fortunately, the day has come where teachers have a movement they can merge into their everyday lesson plans; The Maker Revolution.

The Maker Revolution  is a movement where people are creating and remaking gadgets and devices. This movement is bringing in the era of do it yourself (DIY) and do it with others (DIWO). People are no longer wondering how to use the remote to turn on the tv or how to use the wheel of a car to turn left or right. Instead, they are now wondering why? Why is a remote built in such a way that a sensor controls the tv? Why is the car built so the wheel turns the entire car? They are even taking it a step further to ask themselves, what parts of my new discovery can be used to enhance the devices we already have or even create something completely new.

This revolution is the very thing that classrooms need! Just think of the enthusiasm that students would develop if, after learning how to solve and equation, they were able to apply that to rebuilding a computer. Or after learning lessons of compound interest,they could create their own banking system. Standards are continuously asking teachers to help their students become more innovative and creative. The  maker revolution is the answer to the development of these desired standards. Allow the students to bring in small gadgets and tinker with them. Give students permission to become innovators and creators. In return, the classroom will no longer feel like a chore. Students will value their education and have those successful practices instilled in them. Students have the ability to create, it's our responsibility to set up the correct environment for them.

My classroom webpage

Please take a look to visit my classroom web page. Critiques are both welcome and encouraged.
 Ms. Huggins' EGHS Webpage

Flipped Classroom as a New Form of Learning

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” What was he really saying to educators? It is my belief that Dr. King is making it very clear that true education is a balance of intense critical thinking with a touch of true character? This, dear reader, is the very essence of today’s struggle as an educator. How do we, bound by test scores, teach critical thinking in addition to positive character traits? In what way do we show students that an education is a foundation of a successful life while still attaining scores high enough to keep the school’s grade at a desirable score? One effective model that has been created and successfully executed is the flipped classroom model. With the correct usage and execution, the flipped classroom has the ability to teacher students to think critically and become more responsible for their education.

A Little History:

The Flipped Classroom Model. What is the flipped classroom model? Authors and creators, Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, explains it like this: “…that which is traditionally done in class is now done at home, and that which is traditionally done as homework is now completed in class.” (Bergmann, J., & Sams, A., 2012, pg 13). Students now have the opportunities to learn at home and practice at school with the person that matters most, their teacher! 

But what motivates such a drastic change in education? According to a research study conducted by Emilie Naccarato and Gulden Karakok (2015), three common motivators include: “(1) To focus more on and provide more time for exercises and application problems, (2) to create a collaborative learning environment and (3) to improve higher order thinking and metacognitive skills” (p. 972). Many students say “I get it when I’m with the teacher in class, but then I’m lost when I go home to do my homework.” Hence, the motivator to establish something like a flipped classroom. Now students can understand it as they walk through the lessons at home and also understand it as they try the independent practice in school.

Flipped Classroom Model Implementation: Teachers who practice the flipped classroom model start with the teaching of Cornell notetaking. This way the lectures are more effective. They show the students how to take notes and how to write down questions that they may have through watching the video lectures. Through a prerecording, students watch the videos on their laptops, smartphones, etc. as their “homework assignment”. The teacher then creates activities and practice problems for the student to work on individually throughout class. This flips the usual traditional classroom practices of lectures at school and practice problems at home, which in returns, flips the usual struggle of reaching desired test scores. It is also a good idea to use some form of pre-class assignment versus blindly trusting the students to watch the videos and take their own personal notes. Another suggestion for implementation is the length of the video. Videos should be no longer than 15 minutes. In the event that the class is stuck on a topic, mini-lectures are implemented, in addition to what would be homework problems, in the tradition classroom.

Flipped Classroom Benefits: Flipping the classroom minimizes the amount of things that a teacher must focus on. In a traditional classroom, teachers must review previous material, teach new material, and teach students to understand and analyze the new material. Flipping the classroom eliminates the teaching and maybe even reviewing portion of this very underrated list. Now teachers have more time to focus on teaching students how to thinking critically and understanding their work. As a result, there is an increase in test scores and student understanding. Michelle Crouch (2014) gives three benefits of the flipped classroom model. She says there are more interactions, less stress and high scores (p. 59). According to her article, she found a survey that shows, “nearly 70 percent of "flipped" students had increased standardized test scores as compared to traditionally taught students” (p. 59). The benefits of flipped classroom are also evident in the lower level class of students. Many times the students who struggle the most with their homework assignments are the students who have lower GPAs, IEPs, 504s, etc. This model is also very beneficial to them as well. In an article published by Independent Schools, in which they wrote about Professors Gross’ experience with flipped classrooms; the writer quotes Mr. Gross saying “Women and low-GPA students’ performance gets pushed up pretty significantly, but we feel most students get something more out of this” (2016).

 My Personal Opinion:

As an educator is it my belief that the flipped classroom model is a model that will make a positive change in school systems around the world. Students not only want to learn but they really want to understand too. This method is so beautiful because my students now have the ability to pause, stop, and even fast forward all lectures. They can come to class prepared to ask as many questions as possible. Even better than that, they learn to become responsible for their own learning! Students can and will remain engaged in school when they feel they can be involved and not lectured at for 90 minutes every day. This model really has the potential to change the world and its view of education!

References

Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2012). Flip your classroom: Reach every student in every class every day.

Crouch, M. (2014). The Flipped Classroom. Scholastic Parent & Child, 21(5), 59.

Millard, E. (2012). 5 Reasons FLIPPED Classrooms Work. University Business, 15(11), 26-29.

Naccarato, E., & Karakok, G. (2015). Expectations and implementations of the flipped classroom model in undergraduate mathematics courses. International Journal Of Mathematical Education In Science & Technology, 46(7), 968-978.

Sams, A., & Bergmann, J. (2013). Flip Your Students' Learning. Educational Leadership, 70(6), 16-20.

Study shows female students and those with lower GPAs benefit most from "flipped classroom" teaching. (2016). Independent School, 75(2), 10.