Instructional+Design+5368

Guided reflection
//What benefits do you see in educators knowing how to design and implement online learning?// Educators who can implement online learning will be well-positioned to advance in the educational world of technology. While I believe traditional classrooms will continue, I also believe that online learning will fill in the gaps when students want more in-depth teaching in a particular subject or a greater variety in the choices of subjects they can choose. Online learning can be paired with traditional campus classes, too, by putting the course online but having the students access it in a lab on campus: an environment in which the teacher is a facilitator and consultant. This allows students to be able to access the class from home for out-of-class assignments or make-up work. Also, if an educator has online class design skills, s/he can design an entire course or just a unit that lends itself to computer research and design. It would provide another way the teacher can vary the learning style to appeal to more students.

//How will you professionally use your course that you designed?// I designed my course for my web mastering students and they are already using it for their end-of-the-year project. Some of them are jumping right in and have created their own profiles and are working on the assignments; others are not taking it seriously but instead are using the opportunity to surf the internet. However, they are beginning to see that it is not just a novel way to deliver information but it is a bona fide assignment they must complete in a timely manner. Next year I will use it on a regular basis so that students are comfortable with it as a content delivery system. The hands-on nature and appealing look of online learning should capture the interest of learners who are tactile and/or visual, thus helping to engage students of different learning styles. In addition to web mastering, I intend to develop online course content for computer applications classes, multimedia classes, and desktop publishing classes.

//Will you integrate online learning in your role as a teacher/staff developer?// One way I intend to integrate online learning is through my internship project. This project is to create a staff development workshop in the use of Outlook as our e-mail program and communication/calendaring tool. I plan to develop it both as an online course and as a face-to-face workshop. Having it in both formats will allow teachers who miss the workshop to get the training on their own; it also allows teachers who forget the details to refresh their memories.

NACOL reports that there is "Greater use of Internet technology in the classroom, and a blended model of online learning." (Watson, n.d., p. 23) In the classroom I plan to make my classes hybrids by incorporating online learning in a traditional computer lab setting. To begin class I like to do a cross-curricular activity that helps students hone their writing skills and engages them in current events. This activity is well suited to a blog in which I can post the question of the day and receive their responses; then they can write a short paragraph about what we discuss in the class. In addition to this activity being online, I plan to post assignments, projects, and timelines in a site such as Schoology.

//What questions do you still have about online learning?// There are probably a million questions waiting for me to discover them, but unfortunately I don’t know enough to ask right now. The biggest hazy area for me is assessment, however. I am so stuck in my traditional “exercise and test” method that I am having difficulty with the assessment part, especially when I am required to give specific grades to my students. I think I am one of the teachers that Wiggins and McTighe (2005) spoke about when they said, “To think like an assessor prior to designing lessons does not come naturally or easily to many teachers. We are far more used to thinking like an activity designer or teacher once we have a target.” (p. 150) I plan to study and learn more about assessment through the backward design method. Testing for the outcomes you want the student to have makes a lot of sense, but too often our assessments simply cover the material.

//What will you do with this new learning?// In addition to revamping my assessment methods, I plan to use Schoology more in my classes next year. It is my goal to move from a behaviorist teaching style into more of a constructivist style. One thing I have learned from this class that I plan to change next year is that my style of teaching "assumes a learner is essentially passive, responding to environmental stimuli," (Behaviorism, p. 1) or so it would seem. One of my six classes has an abundance of students who just want me to tell them what to do; they don't want to figure anything out on their own, and my teaching style has done nothing to wean them away from that. Next year I plan to move away from that style of teaching into one that encourages them to work and discover things on their own; i.e., a constructivist style.

I have written a letter of interest to our superintendent asking to be considered as our district’s Technology Director upon the retirement of our current director. Even though this is only my third course I believe this masters program will give me the tools I will need for that position; I am thoroughly enjoying the classes and am learning volumes. A lot has happened in the world of education since I graduated in the 70s! Even though I am a digital immigrant, I enjoy technology and, as Technology Director, I hope to convince other teachers from my era to immigrate, also.

Watson, J.F. (n.d.). A national primer on K-12 online learning. North American Council for Online Learning.  Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.  Learning Theories Knowledgebase (2010, April). Behaviorism at Learning-Theories.com. Retrieved April 9th, 2010 from http://www.learning-theories.com/behaviorism.html