Thursday, May 13, 2010

EDLD 5368 Self-Reflection

What benefits do you see in educators knowing how to design and implement online learning?


Knowing how to design and implement online learning can provide several benefits to educators. Today’s students, kinder through college, represent the first generations to grow up with new technology (Prensky, 2001) . Therefore, educators that implement online technology could design online courses that cater to the interests of today’s 21st century learners. By implementing online technology, educators can also lower the number of school drop outs. Students could access their courses anywhere with an internet connection, thus providing them with more opportunities to complete their schoolwork. By implementing online learning, educators could also form part of online learning communities in which ideas are exchanged amongst educators for the improvement of the classroom. These online communities create a support system for educators outside of their campus by allowing them to express any concerns they may have, and having others listen to them. Another benefit of online learning implementation would be a cost reduction. By providing students with access to electronic books and online articles, school districts would eliminate the cost of purchasing print materials that are constantly in need of re-purchasing due to changing editions.


How will you professionally use your course that you designed?


Online course enrollment is expanding at a rapid rate. In 2009, the Sloan Contorsium issued a report in which online enrollment was analyzed. According to the report, in the fall 2008 term there was a 17 percent increase in the number of students enrolled in online courses when compared to the previous year (Sloan-C, 2009). As educators, we must learn how to master the implementation of online courses in order to keep up with this growing trend. The online course that I designed provided me with the opportunity to learn how to create an online course and how to implement it into my teaching. It not only taught me this, but also the other educators enrolled in it. Since this professional development online course was created with the purpose of helping educators in my campus align their classroom goals with the district goals, this will make the educators enrolled in it and myself better professionals. I will continue to make use of this online course to help educators collaborate with each other toward the attainment of this goal, thus allowing their students to be more likely to succeed at mastering the district goals.


Will you integrate online learning in your role as a teacher/staff developer?


In my role as a teacher/staff developer, I will fully integrate online learning. If I want to help educators comply with the requirements of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, I must first model for them the skills that are necessary for them to master. As a teacher/staff developer, I will provide my teachers with plenty of hands-on opportunities when introducing them to new technology tools; just briefly talking about these is not enough. I will also continue to work on the creation of online professional developments. Earlier in the school year, I conducted the Texas Distance Learning Association HR survey in my campus. After analyzing the data obtained from this survey, all of the educators I surveyed showed strong interest in participating in new professional developments, including online ones (Texas Distance Learning Association). I will use this finding to create more professional developments that cater to their learning needs. By creating online professional developments, educators would be more likely to actively participate in them due to their anytime, anywhere availability.



What questions do you still have about online learning?


When it comes to online learning, I must admit that I am new to it. I have taken online courses before during my years as an undergraduate student; however, I have never really developed an online course before. I wonder if I have fully mastered all of the skills necessary to develop a successful online course for my students. Another concern that I have is that I teach the lower elementary grade levels. I usually work with kindergarten students. How would I implement online learning into a lower elementary classroom? Usually students only have approximately 30 minute access to computers, and when they do, it is done by assigned groups. Also, another concern I have about online learning is how do I make it accessible to those students that have no computer access at home? I have worked in Title I schools in which the only computer access my students had was at school. Because of this, I cannot fully develop my course online. This will have to be something that myself and the district build up to gradually, until all students can have equal access to online course features.


What will you do with this new learning?


With the new learning I have attained through the EDLD 5368 course, I will continue to work toward making online learning a growing trend in my campus and district. Right now, my district does not offer many online learning opportunities, but with the new knowledge I have acquired, I can inform administrators of the benefits of online learning and how it would positively affect the district and its population. With my new learning, I will also continue to implement Wiggins and McTighe’s Backward Design in my lessons (2005). This is a truly innovative design when it comes to teaching that could benefit not only students, but educators as well by helping them design lessons with purpose. I will use this new learning to teach other educators in my district about Backwards Design. I plan on doing so not only by personally telling them about it, but by also using my Schoology account to create an online professional development course dedicated to Backwards Design. By teaching educators about this design through my online course, they could access the information anytime they like, thus giving them plenty of opportunities to continue their growth as educators.

References

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Sloan-C, Initials. (2009). Learning on demand: online education in the united states, 2009. Retrieved from http://www.sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/learning_on_demand_sr2010

Texas Distance Learning Association. (n.d.). Support staff professional development needs assessment survey. Retrieved from http://www.txdla.org/

Wiggins, Grant, & McTighe, Jay. (2005). Understanding by design [Expanded Second Edition]. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.