There is a lot of value in teachers putting their courses on-line. This gives students the beneficial experience of what it is like to actively use technology as a tool for educating themselves. Furthermore, it provides students with a valuable resource for further inquiry, to review past material, and for staying informed when they are absent from class. Finally, this will provide another way in which students will be able meet NETS-S standards of using technology effectively and productively.
The way that I have begun to put some of my course content online is by setting up a website in which students can download notes, view assignment details, or download handouts or presentations. There are several ways, however, that I could better improve in putting my courses on-line.
The first is to reorganize my materials and set them up in a web environment that is better organized and user friendly. I like the way our 21 Things class is organized using Moodle and am thinking about switching over or also using Moodle for putting course content online for my students. Furthermore, I could start video taping my lectures and/or make screen recordings of presentations. For example, I'm interested in making video recordings of the teaching component for each of my my middle school math lessons. Even though absent students would not necessarily have the benefit of guided practice or of asking questions as they would by being present in the classroom, yet they would still be able to watch the lesson explanation and consequently stay caught up on the course content. Through these videos students would also have the benefit of being able to re-listen to the explanations from home while completing homework or preparing for tests and exams.
2. Navigating the Land of Online Learning
After navigating through the "board game" as a student, I came across several requirements that need to be considered in order to ensure successful participation for students in an online learning environment. Teaches need to understand and be aware of these things as they consider requiring students to be a part of an online learning environment.
In the first place, a successful online student should be informed of the value of this method for instruction as it meets technology standards, provides them with schedule flexibility, offers them a variety of course options, and develops in them real-world skills. Secondly, the successful student needs to have options for connecting to the learning environment from home and school. Among these options need to be considered whether students can use either platform, use their own laptops at school, and have access to tech support. Maintaining connectivity is essential for an online course to be a reality. Furthermore, the successful student will need guidance in making choices regarding course selection. This is guidance should provide the student with an understanding of how the course is conducted, what it costs, its requirements, and the expectations that it places on the student. Students need to be mentored before and during the course in order to avoid frustration, incompletion, or an unpleasant learning experience for the student.
Content Standards:
Aligned to the NETS-T: 1.a, 1.b, 1.c, 1.d, 3.b, 4.a, 4.b, 4.c
Connections to Marzano Strategies: Cooperative Learning; Questions, Cues & Advance Organizers
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