This week we investigated professional portfolios. Quite honestly prior to my research, I had never understood what an eportfolio was all about. Now that I've started looking, I'm finding it interesting the various types of portfolios in existence and I'm starting to think how I will want mine to look. So in addition to looking at samples, I'm trying to find information and recommendations for creating my own. One such site is 5x5 Model for Electronic Portfolios contains a rubric structure for the various types of portfolios as well as graphics and multimedia that can be added as well. This is a great resource when in the brainstorming stages of designing the portfolio. In addition, How to Create Your Own Electronic Portfolio takes the 5x5 model and breaks it down even further. What I like about this site is that each section contains a "you will know you're ready for the next stage when" bullet summary that acts as a sort of checklist for that section. In this age it makes such perfect sense to establish an online portfolio. When I see examples that date back to the early 2000's, I also get that feeling of being in the dark. I had no idea that this was a happenin' thing for so long, and I wonder how many employers look to the eportfolio when considering candidates. There's talk all over the news these days about getting one's resume together and tricks to applying for jobs, but I have yet to see one discussion focus on the eportfolio. Do we have a bunch of employers out there who are not aware that these exist and are still glued to the ol' hard copy? Seems that way, doesn't it?
Like anything else, I guess my big question is how much is enough? Some of the sample portfolios I viewed were real sketchy while others were what I'd call over-kill. I can't imagine an employer, for example, trying to link through pages and pages of sites. So I guess one has to think about the purpose of the eportfolio. Is it a living record of my work, or is it something I plan to send to employers? I have also observed how several of the sample portfolios have favorite educational links, transforming the portfolio into a PLN (Personal Learning Network). One person even included a link to Delicious which contained more links, making the portfolio endless. I'm thinking down the road I may want my portfolio to evolve into a PLN, but for now the task seems daunting.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Ced0550: Week Six - Summary
So, now that I've come to the end and have gained the necessary information for taming the world of online learning, I'm left to figure out how I will use the information I have gained over the next thirty days as well as over the next year.
I have to be honest and say that doing ANYTHING over the next 30 days other than the homework for the next class will be a challenge. My initial thought, however, is that I'd like to start building my curriculum for next year. My school is adding a 7th grade, and I am hoping to be able to teach them a few of the Web 2.0 tools that are popular as well as give them a glimpse into what their future learning might be like. Thus, teaching the class about online learning is going to have to be an integral part of my curriculum. It's really this generation of learners who are going to be greatly affected by online learning in the future. Almost just as crucial is teaching their parents about online learning and all it has to offer. For most parents, online learning consists of a conference call and maybe something to look at on a giant screen, along with emails of homework sent. They have no idea the options open to them and their children. I have mentioned before, but I wish I had known of all the great courses kids can take online, especially the AP high school classes. My daughter very much wanted to take AP Psych this year, but her schedule wouldn't allow for it. Little did I know that she could have taken this online instead. And even though I knew online classes existed, I did not realize just how great the curriculum is. So over the next 30 days as I begin contemplating next year's curriculum, I will need to figure out how to include both the student and parent. For example, perhaps I can set up an online night for both students and parents just to give them a brief intro to our class in the fall. That might be kind of fun.
So beyond the next 30 days of integrating the advantages of online learning into my curriculum, I will also be taking what I've learned well into the next year or two. I am in the process of forming a technology committee to look into our school's five year technology plan. Working closely with the public school, I want to make sure that we are also examining online learning as a possibility for our school. That means examining our hardware, our curriculum, and inservicing our staff. Maybe for our school it's not so much a matter of what core classes they could take, but what classes we could offer as a compliment to what we're doing already. One of our frustrations is trying to accomodate the variety of learners we have. Since we're a small school, we don't have the resources that the public school has for our special needs students. Online classes may be a perfect fit for many of our students, especially for those who are falling behind in some of the subject areas.
I have to be honest and say that doing ANYTHING over the next 30 days other than the homework for the next class will be a challenge. My initial thought, however, is that I'd like to start building my curriculum for next year. My school is adding a 7th grade, and I am hoping to be able to teach them a few of the Web 2.0 tools that are popular as well as give them a glimpse into what their future learning might be like. Thus, teaching the class about online learning is going to have to be an integral part of my curriculum. It's really this generation of learners who are going to be greatly affected by online learning in the future. Almost just as crucial is teaching their parents about online learning and all it has to offer. For most parents, online learning consists of a conference call and maybe something to look at on a giant screen, along with emails of homework sent. They have no idea the options open to them and their children. I have mentioned before, but I wish I had known of all the great courses kids can take online, especially the AP high school classes. My daughter very much wanted to take AP Psych this year, but her schedule wouldn't allow for it. Little did I know that she could have taken this online instead. And even though I knew online classes existed, I did not realize just how great the curriculum is. So over the next 30 days as I begin contemplating next year's curriculum, I will need to figure out how to include both the student and parent. For example, perhaps I can set up an online night for both students and parents just to give them a brief intro to our class in the fall. That might be kind of fun.
So beyond the next 30 days of integrating the advantages of online learning into my curriculum, I will also be taking what I've learned well into the next year or two. I am in the process of forming a technology committee to look into our school's five year technology plan. Working closely with the public school, I want to make sure that we are also examining online learning as a possibility for our school. That means examining our hardware, our curriculum, and inservicing our staff. Maybe for our school it's not so much a matter of what core classes they could take, but what classes we could offer as a compliment to what we're doing already. One of our frustrations is trying to accomodate the variety of learners we have. Since we're a small school, we don't have the resources that the public school has for our special needs students. Online classes may be a perfect fit for many of our students, especially for those who are falling behind in some of the subject areas.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Ced0550: Week Five
This was a big week for me. I had to prepare/finalize my lesson to be taught online. The major challenge was trying to master Elluminate to the point that I could manipulate it for class. I found Elluminate to be extremely user friendly, and I thought the video tutorials were particularly helpful. This week also had us working in groups again. I'm not sure what has happened, but collaborating has become more and more challenging as time has gone on. Seems earlier in the program my groups had very little trouble finding a time to gather online and complete our projects. The last two classes, however, have been a different story. I'm not sure if it's the time of year, or if our lives have gotten even busier, or if we're less motivated to work, yet again, in groups. This collaboration in particular has given me a new attitude about groups in online learning. Not too long ago, a friend of mine was talking about her daughter, a sophomore, struggling with a group project. She was very frustrated that one or two people refused to pull their weight, and so she was doing everything and of course getting extremely frustrated. When asked why she wouldn't just let the others suffer, she said she couldn't because one group was being given, and she didn't want to have a lower grade because of the two knuckleheads. Well, after hearing of some of the same frustration with other groups in our online learning environment, I've evaluated how I would lead collaborative assignments. First, as difficult as it may be to assess, I think it's only fair that each group member receive a separate grade. I understand the one grade is supposed to perhaps motivate the group to do well, but it only works to frustrate the driven members. The slackers, on the other hand, end up benefiting and learn basically nothing. Second, in my opinion in order for group work to actually work, time during class has to be given, at least initially, for the group to get together and get organized. Half our battle was trying to find a time to even meet initially. We ended up sharing a Google doc with everyone getting on and doing what they could when they could. Perhaps 3 were available at a given time. It just seems that when it comes to online learning, people's schedules aren't as flexible. That's the reason why they typically are online in the first place - so that they can learn at their own time and place. Also, as is the case with this cohort, we're all full-timers during the day, so that automatically leaves us with less time to meet. Overall, I think we were able to complete a great presentation, but if the same attempts at collaborating were done with high schoolers, it would be a whole different story.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
CeD0550: Week Four - Assessments
Okay, more confessions from a marginal teacher...
This week we've been examining teacher-centered versus student-centered lessons and authentic assessments. I've quickly come to see that much of my classroom teaching time has been about me. Now normally that wouldn't surprise me since much of my life is about me and discovering ways that others can make me happy, lol. Actually, that's a big, fat lie - My life is centered around my kids with the goal of getting them places and involving them in activities that will ultimately have me praying to Jesus for peace. Anyway, that's a whole different blog. Back to the classroom. I used to assume that because my classroom was a classroom full of little bodies that logically everything I did was about them. My role in the classroom was to teach them. I've now come to realize that my thinking is faulty and a bit reversed. It's not so much my role to teach as it is their role to learn. It almost sounds like the same thing except by simply rewording my thinking, my focus shifts quickly as do my lessons. I remember when I used to teach high school english that my lesson writing consisted of pages of notes. My daily goal was to get as much stuff from my notes onto the students' papers. I really didn't give a rat's behind if they understood, nor did I necessarily provide them adequate means of sucking my information from my papers onto theirs. I simply spoke, and they wrote. Now, in all fairness, I didn't do this everyday. THAT would make me the worst possible teacher around. But when it came to disseminating information, that was my primary method.
After what we've done this week, however, I'm doing what I can to shift that focus. In some ways, a huge burden is lifted from my shoulders. It's okay if my students don't know EVERYTHING I do about computers. That's not my purpose. What is my purpose is to teach them skills so that their brains will know how to explore and fend for themselves. Does this make any sense??? How to put it? Rather than spend an entire school year teaching them how to use Word, for example, I want them to investigate for themselves and in doing so, become proficient in problem-solving. I also want them to be able to think creatively so that they will want to branch out and discover and play. Finally, I want them to be able to communicate and collaborate with each other. In order to do these things, obviously I cannot just stand in front of them and talk at them all day long. They have to do for themselves.
I have had so many parents comment and question how it is that I went from a high school english teacher to a computer teacher. After all, I went to college in the 80's, so, for me, technology was the dinner roll to my meat and potatoes education. What I tell people is that somewhere along the line I discovered that I was mechanical and enjoyed playing and problem-solving. I honestly can't remember how I evolved, but I know it had everything to do with exploring and satisfying my curiosity. No one taught me computers. I taught myself. I want that same experience for my students, so this is why I need to shift from my leading all discussions to guiding them to discover for themselves. This, however, is no easy task, and the time it will take to plan these lessons and assessments will be enormous. But for once, I think I'll feel completely satisfied that I've truly done my job as an educator.
This week we've been examining teacher-centered versus student-centered lessons and authentic assessments. I've quickly come to see that much of my classroom teaching time has been about me. Now normally that wouldn't surprise me since much of my life is about me and discovering ways that others can make me happy, lol. Actually, that's a big, fat lie - My life is centered around my kids with the goal of getting them places and involving them in activities that will ultimately have me praying to Jesus for peace. Anyway, that's a whole different blog. Back to the classroom. I used to assume that because my classroom was a classroom full of little bodies that logically everything I did was about them. My role in the classroom was to teach them. I've now come to realize that my thinking is faulty and a bit reversed. It's not so much my role to teach as it is their role to learn. It almost sounds like the same thing except by simply rewording my thinking, my focus shifts quickly as do my lessons. I remember when I used to teach high school english that my lesson writing consisted of pages of notes. My daily goal was to get as much stuff from my notes onto the students' papers. I really didn't give a rat's behind if they understood, nor did I necessarily provide them adequate means of sucking my information from my papers onto theirs. I simply spoke, and they wrote. Now, in all fairness, I didn't do this everyday. THAT would make me the worst possible teacher around. But when it came to disseminating information, that was my primary method.
After what we've done this week, however, I'm doing what I can to shift that focus. In some ways, a huge burden is lifted from my shoulders. It's okay if my students don't know EVERYTHING I do about computers. That's not my purpose. What is my purpose is to teach them skills so that their brains will know how to explore and fend for themselves. Does this make any sense??? How to put it? Rather than spend an entire school year teaching them how to use Word, for example, I want them to investigate for themselves and in doing so, become proficient in problem-solving. I also want them to be able to think creatively so that they will want to branch out and discover and play. Finally, I want them to be able to communicate and collaborate with each other. In order to do these things, obviously I cannot just stand in front of them and talk at them all day long. They have to do for themselves.
I have had so many parents comment and question how it is that I went from a high school english teacher to a computer teacher. After all, I went to college in the 80's, so, for me, technology was the dinner roll to my meat and potatoes education. What I tell people is that somewhere along the line I discovered that I was mechanical and enjoyed playing and problem-solving. I honestly can't remember how I evolved, but I know it had everything to do with exploring and satisfying my curiosity. No one taught me computers. I taught myself. I want that same experience for my students, so this is why I need to shift from my leading all discussions to guiding them to discover for themselves. This, however, is no easy task, and the time it will take to plan these lessons and assessments will be enormous. But for once, I think I'll feel completely satisfied that I've truly done my job as an educator.
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