Time flies, it is time to go back and reflect on what I have done so far on this assigment and the course.
1.What five adjectives do you feel best describe your participation in this course?
Passionate, lurker at times, enthusiastic, responsible and doubtful sometimes.
2.What strength(s) do you feel that you brought to this course? How/when was that strength exhibited?
To this course I brought my experience as a teacher and my love for education and the desire to improve myself so I translate that into my everyday teaching.
3.What area(s) of weakness, if any, did you discover in your own learning?
During this course I tried to improve my writing. Julie offered invaluable advice and my mentor gave me some tips to improve my skills. I know that I need to get better and I will keep on taking courses to help me with this disadvantage.
4.Describe one thing that you learned about yourself as an online learner through your participation.
In this course I felt I connected more with my classmates and I am fascinated to “see” what theory says about collaboration and how students learn from each other. When I read my classmates’ posts I tried to understand what they were trying to say and I asked for clarifications in some cases. I learned I could openly ask for explanations if I wanted to and not to feel ashamed to ask questions. During this course I also tried to be more critical and to just answer a question. I may not be as analytical as some of my peers but I surely hope I’m in the right path to be more successful in my future classes.
I found a newspaper article in the Sunday paper of the Wall Street Journal and i decided to summarize the most compelling details
What is happening right now regarding virtual schools from Kindergarten to 12 grade?
Virginia has authorized 13 new virtual schools
The state of Florida requires students to take at least one class online
30 states allow students to all courses online
There are 250,000 students enrolled in full-time virtual schools
Some states are in charge of their virtual schools however some others hire corporations to provide curriculum and monitor student performance
What do critics have to say?
Some experts mention the savings for state governments if more states adopt this trend. Other experts prefer hybrid schools. An interesting example of hybrid classes is mentioned. Some California children who are either poor or belong to a minority have taken classes online and as a result their performance in standardized tests has improved substantially and their scores are comparable to those kids in richer school districts.
The positive…
Students enjoy the 3D activities, online tests and quizzes. The use of different media such as videos and games in lesson plans. Lastly, flexibility for those students who may experience different circumstances such as athletes, actors or advanced students, who may not have time to attend a regular school.
Iprep Academy is an example of a hybrid school that provides short class instruction and individual attention. According to the article, most of the learning is self-directed which could present a fabulous opportunity to move towards a learner-centered environment.
The downside…
The lack of interaction with the real world according to some critics is a very important to consider when enrolling in virtual schools. Additionally, a study done in Colorado suggests that students are not performing better in standardized tests, more importantly they are falling behind. Equally important, not all students are prepared to attend virtual schools and need and support to acquire discipline and strategies for learning. It is important to mention Drop-out rates are higher in distance education. Lastly, unions are fearful for their jobs and assure that online learning is not the answer.
Conclusion
After reading this article I conclude there are many challenges ahead. What is best for the students? How to deal with budgets and fearful faculty? How to support those students who want to enroll in distance education and how to diminish the drop-out rates?
There are many questions to be answered, nonetheless there is no time to waste virtual schools are not going anywhere. States have to work with faculty and the private sector to provide a holistic education for students in a hybrid mode or online environment.
Banchero, S., & Simon, S. (2011, november 12). My teacher is an app. The Wall Street Journal, pp. C1-C2.
A video from Iprep in Miami. The newspaper article mentioned this school several times. Take a look at the video. What do you think?
According to George Siemens Learning analytics is the use of intelligent data, learner-produced data and analysis models to discover information and social connections, and to predict and advise on learning. However EDUCASE lists other institutions such as private companies and government agencies that could potentially benefit from these tools.
While reading The Horizon Report I became interested on this matter. If developed and used properly this could have a positive impact on curriculum mapping, personalization and adaptation, prediction and intervention (Siemens, 2010).
As the author states this tool could start a change on the way schools see curriculum and students would see a positive change on the way schools design and plan courses because there would be an input from the students. According to EDUCASE learning analytics could also help students to assess their own learning and could improve communication between learners and teachers. In previous classes we discussed how support it’s important in distance education and I see learning analytics as another way of supporting learners to perform well in school and to reach their goals. In 7 things you should know about analytics an EDUCASE article they give the example of Purdue University, currently the University is using a program called Signals which track student progress and directs students to support programs.
Nonetheless, there are some concerns regarding these tools. A need to reorganize how universities handle privacy and security records will arise (EDUCASE, 2010).
Learning analytics presents a magnificent opportunity to improve education and distance education in particular. It could help the student to become a more independent learner with assessment tools and could additionally help those struggling students to have a successful education. Besides it could help faculty and instructional designers to improve courses. On the other hand, disadvantages should be considered and solved.
Siemens , G. (2010, August 25). What are learning analytics?. Retrieved from
According to Paul R. Pintrich metacognitive strategies enable students to learn and perform better at school, however there is a need to teach these strategies because most students are not aware of how to use them. Metacognitive strategies are useful in any subject and could aid students who in any environment, nonetheless it is clear that distance education allows students to find ways to make the learning process more manageable.
I decided to do more research on this topic because while I was in college I heard about this topic and I wanted to understand the theory behind it. As a distance student I am aware I use different techniques for different competencies, now I know more about the different factors involved. I hope to be able to use the correct techniques for the different tasks and assignments.
Pintrich, P. R. (2002). The role of metacognitive knowledge in learning, teaching and assesing.
College of Education, The Ohio State University, 41(4), 2002.
During week 7th we discussed how Web 2.0 tools are a part of distance learning and the different capabilities of many of these tools.
I found an interesting article called Promoting learner autonomy in the ESL classroom using Web 2.0. The article offers different definitions of autonomy, however I found Holec’s definition as cited in the article more approachable and he states that autonomy is the ability to take charge of one’s own learning.
Cindy Gumm the author of the article explains how important the teacher is in the process of autonomy and also how students need to work collaboratively to achieve this goal.
The author also explains how Web 2.0 tools allow students to be more active and collaborate and interact with others. Students are not just browsing through websites but actually creating content and taking charge of their learning process.
Similar to the article we read for class Cindy Gumm advises to use blogs and wikis to practice reflective writing and insists on the role of the teacher as a mentor.
This article is very interesting because I’m a language teacher and ideas like these give me motivation to go beyond a typical class and use tools available on the internet to make students’ experience more meaningful and authentic. One of the aspects I had not considered to the fullest is the role of the teacher. Even though these tools permit learners to control the contact, teachers have to revise the content and make sure learners are in the right track.
Gunn, C. (2011). Promoting learner autonomy in the Esl classroom using web 2.0. TESOL
Arabia Perspectives, 18(2), 20-23.Retrieved from EBSCOhost
Some advice from younger students and their teacher.
During week 6 when we read about Lurker students I became very interested in this topic because in a way I consider myself a Lurker because I do not feel as confident in my English writing skills.
I found an article that discusses this issue and the following questions will help me to summarize the article.
1.According to the author why are online discussions important in DE?
The authors say that online discussions are a way to develop understanding, share ideas and questions to others (Alley & Greenhaus, 2007)
2.Why do some students become lurkers?
These students are worried about negative responses or students may need more time to analyze the content and may not become as involved in the online dialogue.
3.What are some helpful activities to provide a safe environment to engage students in an online discussion? According to Alley and Greenhaus;
-Introductions: teachers introduce themselves and students do the same. The teacher should model the activity.
-Games:“Who is who” a game where each student sends the teacher 3 facts, one fact should be somewhat obscure, the instructor posts the answers and the students guess who matches the facts.
-Role-plays: allow students to share what they know, to analyze and apply what they learned.
-Debates: students can exchange points of view in an orderly manner.
The authors advise to take into account the students’ background and learning styles when choosing activities to promote interaction and participation. These activities are excellent suggestions to create an engaging environment to prevent those students who tend to be Lurkers to become more involved. In my personal opinion it takes more than activities to attract those students whom for numerous reasons are not as participative in the conference area. Teachers could ask those students directly what their needs are if the teacher or other advisors can help. Nevertheless is the students’ responsibility to participate and to be an active learner.
Alley, J., & Greenhaus, K. (2007). Turning lurkers into learners. Learning & Leading with
On our readings for the 5th week we read an article of the uses of Web 2.0 technologies and we also had to use the Quality Matters Rubric for assignment #2. I found an article called Using Web 2.0 Technologies to Meet Quality Matters Requirements.
Some of the ideas discussed in the article are very interesting. For example, to meet standard 1.4 which is self-introduction by the instructor is appropriate and available online, Also standard 1.5 which is when students are asked to introduce themselves to the class the authors suggest to create an activity called “all about me” in the conference area of the online course. Another alternative suggested by the authors is to use the students’ Facebook page to meet this standard. Nevertheless, the article also highlights some disadvantages when using Facebook one of them is that some students want to keep their personal lives separate and prefer not to mix class work with this social network.
A second suggestion to meet standard 2.3 in QM which is all learning objectives are stated clearly and written from students’ perspective. Pollacia and McCallister advise to use Radio James Objectives Builder a website that offers a tutorial to write proper adjectives using Bloom’s taxonomy. I took the time to visit the webpage and I enjoyed the outstanding tutorial. There’s always a need to refresh one’s knowledge in this case about writing out objectives for a course and the website is easy to use and it’s a marvelous aid for teachers.
A third suggestion is to use blogs to meet standard 5.2 which refers to learning activities fostering instructor-student, content-student and student-student interaction.Pollacia and McCallister mention that students are familiar with blogs and use them to communicate socially and this technology permits the student to keep brainstorming and engaged. According to both authors blogs promote active learning, which is a key component of constructivism and a valuable goal to keep in mind for instructors.
This article presents interesting ideas to meet standards in the Quality Matters Rubric and gives important alternatives for teachers to keep in mind. The fact that all of these options are free and widely used by users especially Facebook and blogs is a plus for teachers and students at the same time.
Pollacia, L., & McCallester, T. (2009). Using web 2.0 technologies to meet quality matters requirments. Journal of Information System Education, 20(2), 155-162.
