six different models: face-to-face driver, rotation, flex, online lab, self-blend, and online driver
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Creating Successful Blended-Learning Classrooms - Education Week Teacher - 1 views
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Free Technology for Teachers: Common Craft Explains Blended Learning - 1 views
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Common Craft does an excellent job of simplifying new concepts that are easy to understand. Their videos can get conversations started, peek our interests, and ease anxiety about change. This video on blended learning shows how many classrooms are already in the blended beginning stage - teachers just don't label it.
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Free Technology for Teachers: Common Craft Explains Blended Learning - 9 views
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Dare I ask this question in a group of Moodle users? Has anyone had experience using the Otus mobile learning environment?
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I'm interested to know if the degree that this video matches your vision of blended learning? Where does the description match your thinking? Where did it not match or push your thinking?
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The video does a good job introducing the basics of blended learning, including tools and potential options for implementation. The video does not address the challenges brought about by either inequality of internet access or variables of motivation among students, both of which are serious teacher considerations when planning for blended learning.
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I thought it was interesting that the video included a reference to the 1940s. It is very possible that blended learning is even more key here, not just as it is defined, but because some of the resources to understand that time period are found more easily as physical artifacts and not as digital artifacts. Knowing what you are teaching and linking to the best resource is as important as selecting the instructional plan.
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ollie-community: Student-Centered Learning: How to Implement a Blended Learning Program - 1 views
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perseverance, grit, self-reliance, empathy, time management, accountability, planning, mentoring
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In conversations I've had about the Universal Constructs, it has been said that you can't always "teach" them to students. Instead you have to provide them with authentic opportunities to engage them. It sounds like blended learning could provide those opportunities to help students develop them.
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I liked this list also, because it contains the keyword we want to see with student growth.
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perseverance, grit, self-reliance, empathy, time management, accountability, planning, mentoring
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These are the skills I'm trying to teach with my music students everyday. Keep trying, even when its hard. Connect with others. Think before you do. We all do this, and having more blended learning can help develop this? I'm in.
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The "keep trying, even when it's hard" is probably the hardest part for students in my experience. Several would just rather give up and head for something easy. I like that you are teaching the skill of pushing forward. Such an important life skill.
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start out with shorter, subject-defined blocks of time
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Start small, them grow the time period. Don't bite off more than you can chew. How does this look for a class that meets once every six days? How much time do you devote to begin?
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Great questions! Do we get students involved to help with student led accountability by monitoring process between sessions?
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Three Keys to this successful program: I had labeled this with 1) curated software, 2) culture of accountability based on a) student set goals and b) student run accountability groups and 3) peer mentors.
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A culture of accountability is so important. And with that accountability comes common and attainable expectations, right?
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This idea of grades being together has always intrigued me. I went to school and had the same teacher for 1st & 2nd, and then another teacher for both 3rd & 4th. I remember very well observing things going on in the grade ahead of behind me as I was in this type of classroom. I think it makes sense.
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Students build their grit as they work towards a solution to a complex problem requiring them to cycle through multiple hypotheses and plans of actions.
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Experimentation is key to developing a successful student-driven blended learning environment.
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students prove their ability to self-direct and their ability to accept more responsibility, a longer stretch of time can be devoted to individualized,
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Managing time is increasingly difficult as the options for how to use that time increase.
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K12 Launches Foundation for Blended and Online Learning -- THE Journal - 0 views
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K12 has launched The Foundation for Blended and Online Learning, an independent charitable organization designed to advance online and blended learning opportunities and outcomes. The foundation will have three goals: To offer scholarships for post-secondary students; To offer grants for individuals and organizations advancing online and blended learning; and Bringing together stakeholders for collaboration.
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Implementation in a Secondary Classroom (Articles) - 0 views
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in each of the four major academic subjects, students are offered choice as a means to motivate them and to enable them to take charge, even in small ways, of their own education
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This is the ideal, but the logistics are insane. At a former district, the English department tried our own - very pared down - version of this. I like to believe it was a success. We scrapped all the old courses and created entirely new courses based on themes we thought would appeal to teenagers, divided them into 2 framework categories, divided all the 11-12 grade band standards between the courses, and let students choose. They had to take at least one course from each framework before the graduated, so we still covered all the standards. The curriculum and pacing were traditional, but we required at least one literature circle or free choice book per course. At least, in some small ways, students had ownership of their learning.
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let go and allow the kids to experience the consequences of their choices. And maybe there’s a failure. Maybe a kid was trying to do a vodcast and he couldn’t get the video to work correctly on the computer. That’s a learning opportunity for that child. Because it was his choice, he’s going to try to figure out a way to make it work—sometimes with the help of a fellow student.”
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This 1000%! As a society, we are trained to fear failure, yet we learn most when we fail. Sometimes the difference between future success and failure is learning to cope with past failures in a healthy manner. We're going to keep failing in large and small ways our entire lives. The sooner we learn to cope with and learn from our failures in a healthy way, the better off we are as individuals and a society. The hardest part of this is justifying the "failure" to parents or administrators looking at numbers. As a parent and a teacher, I know how hard it is to tell a parent that their child has failed a course. As a parent, when my own children's teachers have communicated a failure on my children's part, it feels like I'M the one who failed. The same as a teacher, when a student fails my class, I feel like I failed them. Maybe we can relearn about failure and incorporate it into a healthier society for everyone.
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How do we respond to the students who do not handle failure well? I have students who would see failing as a reason to shut down and not move forward. As many times as I have tried to have that conversation with students that failure can be a learning opportunity, a lot of them still can't see past that moment of "failure." I think that the older students become, the less likely they are willing to take risks that may involve possibilities of failure. And for many of them, they are a lot less likely to let their peers know it.
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I’m putting together a wiki where my students will have to respond a certain number of times a week to whatever they’ve read. I am going to give them a series of questions like I always do, but they don’t have to respond to those directly. The response will be very open. They can choose instead to respond to someone else’s views. Everybody will read each other’s responses. They’ll have to post a couple of responses—and post a couple of responses to responses— as part of the class.
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Another key piece in preparing personalized curriculum units and projects includes mandates, such as performance standards, standardized texts, and academy themes. If mandates are seen as “something we have to teach,” they become a discouraging burden on teachers. If they are seen as ways to inspire, inform, and lend coherence to planning, they can be seen as useful. Both vertical departmental discussions and horizontal grade-team discussions are useful in mapping and creatively incorporating mandates into curriculum designs.
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A phrase I hear a LOT is "If we aren't teaching what we're supposed to, then just tell us. Don't make us tie everything to standards I didn't write." Unfortunately it seems, that even as educators, we can't move out of the dislike of requirements. :-P. If WE as educated learners don't like mandates and requirements, why in the heck would we think students would? It always boggles my mind when teachers act like the very students they complain about the most.
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At the end of the project they can choose how they will present their findings
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with one student working one way, another a different way—you get the picture.
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I would gather up the two paragraphs each student wrote and take them home to read, grade, and turn back in, with nobody else getting the chance to read them.
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I am learning a lot of different ways for presentation through the Ollie courses. I like that it doesn't have to be just a written response as this had been a barrier for some students in the past.
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I think that this tool we are using here could also be useful. If you have students post their work to a site like this, and then use this tool, I wonder it you could get students collaborating across different teams or even grade levels I recently used it with the other 8th grade team so they could see how students on the other team were learning the same content. It was really cool for them to make connections to each other's work and I think it helped increase the "realness" because they were explaining their thinking to their peers.
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they loved doing it because it was a break from math!
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It is a messier way to teach, though it takes more organization on the teacher’s part, not less. You really have to be on top of things to allow the students choice since now there is more than one “right” way of doing something in the classroom.
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I think that this is something that both teachers and students likely struggle with at first. Because it looks so different, teachers really have to be prepared to help 28 different students on any one thing. At the same time, students have to be comfortable with knowing that there isn't that one way of doing things to get it right. I've spoken with some of my students and I ask them what they would be interested in studying if they had some more choice and a lot of them give me the traditional "idk" answer. They want choices, but then when asked what they might choose, they realize that the decision isn't as simple.
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I won’t lie. The journey from old school to new learning paradigm was bumpy at first. I tried blended lessons that took less time than planned, had technology failures, chose the wrong method of delivery for various types of content or skills, and generally made every mistake you can imagine.
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I've definitely had some struggles along the way with trying to set up a more blended classroom. Even small things that I thought were set up correctly in Moodle and then when students go to access them, I find out I forgot to do something. However, the small successes when things go well do make the effort to shift thigns worth it. I do try to listen to the students who provide input beyond the usual complaints because they know what works best from their perspective.
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I hear you. I hope 9th graders are little more forgiving when things don't quiet right. Most of my bumps in the road have been setting up different types of forums. I agree the some students have provided good and useful feedback that I've used to make my Moodle site better. I can also relate the authors comment about the wrong delivery methods. I have already gone back and changed some lessons and activity types. Hopefully next year will go smoother.
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There is definitely a learning curve as you begin to blend or flip your classroom. It's great that you are using student feedback to make decisions as you continue to change your classroom.
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Now they have access to the full unit from the beginning, so they can gauge their own pacing and get practice in time management. Completion rules also give me the freedom to have small-group or individual conferences to assess learning and make choices about future instruction.
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This sounds like such a freeing way to operate a classroom. I would love to have students move through things at their own pace so that I have the opportunity to meet with small groups or individual students based on their needs. It makes me uncomfortable though, because I cannot imagine being able to have a full unit ready ahead of time that students can go ahead and dive into. I'm guessing this teacher had a curriculum that was well developed because sometimes I am planning things as I go. I also how this works from a perspective of science teaching? How does a teacher manage multiple labs within one day or anticipate when labs would be needed at times? Perhaps there is more structure that would be needed for those days and deadlines to where all students need to be at a certain point so that the whole group can do a lab and then they go back to moving at their own pace?
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Since the project focuses on student learning that is engaging and relevant, we asked the teachers to tell us about ways they are using choice to involve students in content learning.
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This is such an important part in the path toward helping students take charge in their own education. Getting student voice is key. I think that too often we forget this aspect and for the most part our educational system hasn't changes a whole lot. Most of our classrooms still look like they did 100 years ago and yet the "real world" had moved beyond that. What future will our students have if they can't or won't take a hold of their own education and become invested?
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So far the teachers have talked about choice in terms of curriculum, but choice can also, surprisingly, come into play in relation to discipline. In her first years of teaching, Julie, like just about every other teacher, would confront students sitting near each other who either were having too good a time socializing or were fighting. In either case, she would separate them by sending one to another part of the classroom. Not anymore. Now she says, “One of you needs to move. You decide.” It is less stressful to her and focuses the students on what they need to do to regain control. And if students require more serious discipline, Julie again usually offers them choices: “They could be two ‘bad’ choices; for example, one of them might be to go to the principal’s office and the other to stay in a specific teacher’s room. But if they have a choice, they’ll pick one; they take ownership.”
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I just plain like this part. Making the students choose. I use this a lot and for the most part is works. Sure, sometimes the student makes the wrong choice or the choice I wish they wouldn't, but it's their choice. They are the ones who have to deal with the consequences good or bad. It is also nice at the teacher when students want to complain about the situation. You simply say, well that was you're choice, and again you put the ownership back on them.
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Instead of just giving a final exam at the end of each unit, I try to use formative assessment to enable me to give my students guidance and assistance when they need it. I use a variety of methods for this. For instance, my video lectures often include interactive questions to assess their understanding of the material. And our classroom is often noisy and active as we play a round of Kahoot, which gives me ins
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The assess as you go is something I've been trying to do more of this year. I haven't waited until the end to do one big assessment, but rather, I've done several smaller ones. For the most part, student don't always realize they are being assessed as the smaller pieces seem to fit seamlessly with our current activities. I think it is easier for me as a instructor to make needed changes on our learning course before it's too late. What I need work on next would be getting meaningful feedback to students. Getting better, but it's not where I want it yet.
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Low motivation does not need to be a recurring problem in the classroom. Although teachers can draw from myriad strategies to cultivate higher levels of motivation, well crafted choices have the potential to have a powerful impact on students’ attitudes toward classroom work. When promoting student decision making, it is important to remember that some of the most motivating choices are those that promote feelings of control, competence, and purpose. Certainly, giving choice to students often mea
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I would say that this year, I am hurting big time in the area. My group last year loved it and they really excelled. They got to the point that they wanted to explore on their own. My group this year just doesn't want to take charge of their learning and seeks the easiest way out of work. They say things like, "...just tell us the answer or can we just read an article or something". I'll keep pushing them because I know it's worth it, but man it's a struggle.
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All of this guidance helped me find more effective ways to lead my students while empowering them to take responsibility for their own learning.
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they can access and even return to my videos and screencasts when they need them most, as they are working on an assignment or reviewing for a test.
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I feel that I am on this blended learning journey with them, and I truly believe it has made us all more engaged in our work and more focused learners.
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How to Implement the 6 Blended Learning Models | Prodigy - 0 views
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How to Blend Math | Getting Smart - 0 views
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Free Technology for Teachers: Common Craft Explains Blended Learning - 3 views
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blended learning
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earning Management Systems
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Implementation in a Secondary Classroom (Articles) - 0 views
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“We have all these different methods of how kids can present the project, for example, through Photo Story, xtra normal (an animation site where kids create their own animations), PowerPoints, vodcasts, podcasts.
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My biggest struggle with this is the lack of technology knowledge that my students possess. This type of learning would definitely have to begin and be supported at lower levels of education in order to find success at the secondary level. My students know how to use technology for social means but have very little experience with academic applications and websites. We struggle with giving them individual learning opportunities because of the excessive amount of time we have to spend explaining how to use these resources rather than actually applying/demonstrating their learning.
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I agree with your comment completely. I would love to give individuals the opportunity to create their final project in multiple formats. Unfortunately, it requires both them and me to be well versed on each of the options. The individuals I teach are so afraid to hit the wrong button, time constraints and lack of experience play a huge role as to what I can offer for options within the classroom.
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For example, when a teacher assigns a research project, some students will prefer to have a broad range of topics, others will prefer a small list of options, and yet others will prefer to be told what to do. Giving students a short list of topics with an option to create their own topic, with the teacher’s approval, often works well.
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I definitely find this to be true in my own classroom. I have some students who can come up with great, original applications and products to demonstrate their learning. However, I have others who would simply choose to do nothing or throw a project together last minute if it is not clearly laid out for them. I want to strive to be better about fostering a sense of independence in my students' learning and not simply spoon-feed them all of the information that they need. Ultimately, this is going to allow them to be the most successful after leaving school. Now, I just need to figure out the best way to do that!
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Some students chose to remain at their desks, others crawled under the desks, and still others found comfortable places elsewhere.
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I give my students this choice at all times; I have tables, chairs, bean bags, a couch, and two cushioned chairs in my classroom. I don't care if students sit at these locations or even on the floor (though under a desk may not be the best choice!) as long as they are working productively. Most classes want to continue to have this privilege, so they are typically very respectful of our classroom-established norms for behavior.
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Once teachers have planned their methods and strategies, they can fit their work into a timeline. Because the design is flexible and students are responsible for taking charge of their own learning, coverage of the content is ensured and depth of understanding is achieved
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I would like to see an example of such a timeline for a secondary English classroom. I understand the concept but would love to see it in full application to gauge how I can make this work in my own classroom. It seems like a good idea to also have students keep some sort of reflective journal tracking their progress as well. This can be beneficial for the student and the teacher in guiding/creating future tasks.
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The screencasts, which I create with Zaption, Screencast-o-matic and Video Ant,
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“One of the things I had to learn recently was to let go and allow the kids to experience the consequences of their choices. And maybe there’s a failure.
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This is something I'm struggling with, particularly with my group of middle schoolers. They're really good at "looking busy" but then I discover they really aren't. I think this is something that easier to fix at the beginning of the year when they don't know any different than it would be at this point in the school year. Will this ever be fixed 100%? I would say frequent checkins or ways for them to demonstrate their progress/learning. Just something I keep thinking about...
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They’ll have to post a couple of responses—and post a couple of responses to responses— as part of the class. That’s going to get them trading ideas about the literature we read in class.”
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But I was simply using technology in place of my normal face-to-face teaching. When asked to explain the “why” behind my choices during professional learning sessions, I realized there was more to creating blended lessons than simply adding technology.
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5. Assess as you go.
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This is a huge part of our professional development this year, but the ELA teachers are having a hard time managing the formative assessments because it's not easy to assess ELA in multiple choice questions. We're finding a few resources that help with question stems for DOK levels and Bloom's but it's not as easy for us as it may be for science or math. We're getting there though...there's a light at the end of the tunnel at least.
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Low motivation does not need to be a recurring problem in the classroom.
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I'm nervous about this aspect, but I feel the more blended or PL that they've experienced the better it will be. Think back to when we first started using Google Docs and all the explicit instruction we had to do to create and share a simple document, and now the kids know more than I do. I feel this is where PL will go. The more this type of learning is the norm, the less they'll question or resist it.
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Teachers must identify the big ideas in their content area, establish essential questions to guide the students toward these ideas, determine what students will need to know and be able to do to thoroughly understand the ideas, then create appropriate tools to assess whether the students are learning what they need to know. Classroom assessments for personalized teaching are always varied, ongoing, and carefully designed to give the teacher useful information from multiple perspectives. Collectively, the measures provide feedback on where students still have misconceptions, where they are learning and applying skills, and where they are recalling and using information effectively.
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Units of study in each learning community are planned around the “big ideas” in each subject area and often have interdisciplinary ramifications.
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Once they feel ready, they can submit their analysis by writing a traditional essay, creating a website, or writing a script for a video that they then record.
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I like what this says about how writing does not always need to be in essay form. I also like how the writer points out that there are several ways students can express what they have learned. My main question is: when do students "feel they are ready?" Eventually, grades are due, how does one motivate those who are not just paced slowly.
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The more meaningful an activity is to the person engaging in it, the more likely he or she will be motivated to continue doing it. A sense of purposefulness or meaningfulness is also heightened if the activity strengthens relationships with others.
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I have always encouraged the kids to ask why they are to do some task. They now are sure to ask how their [writing] task will apply to them later. I tell them the practical application of analysis or persuasion. Sometimes it is just an extension to high school or college, other times it is a real life application. Either way, I think making the project relevant and purposeful gives them more of a buy in.
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Almost all teachers find it emotionally fulfilling and personally energizing when students begin to succeed, especially where they have previously failed.
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ol101-f2019: Iowa Online Teaching Standards - 10 views
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Utilizes a course evaluation and student feedback data to improve the course (Varvel VI.F)
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Aligns assessment with course objectives (SREB I.3, Varvel VI.C, ITS 5.a)
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Communicates with students effectively and consistently (SREB D.1, ITS 1.g)
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Effective communication will help both students and instructors succeed in a course
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Effective and clear communication is necessary in any course...whether it be online or face-to-face. I tend to over-communicate just to keep all stakeholders informed.
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This would be critical, so that the student know what he/she is doing well or needs to improve. I think the voice tool would make this quicker, easier, and be effective. I am going to start using this more in Moodle to respond to students' work.
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Communication is the key in any working environment and essential with students in either face to face or on line. On line students may require more communication.
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Assists students with technology used in the course (Varvel III.C)
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Establishes standards for student behavior that are designed to ensure academic integrity and appropriate use of the internet and written communication (SREB E.2)
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Identifies and communicates learning outcomes and expectations through a course overview/orientation (Varvel IV.A, ITS 3.b)
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This is just good sense. We do this in the traditional classrooms, so it definitely needs to be WELL defined in an online classroom.
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Since I'm currently working on blending my classroom, I definitely don't do this as explicitly online as I have been doing in our face to face environment. It's definitely something I need to build into the online component.
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My District is pushing teachers to be very explicit about this! Has anyone heard of the 5D model? The first dimension is all about naming and explaining the learning that will be taking place. We also need to mention it as we teach and at the end of the class. I know I can do better with this.
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Not only do we need to identify and communicate the outcomes and expectations at the beginning of the course, they need to be restated throughout the course.
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Understands the differences between teaching online and teaching face-to-face (SREB C.1, Varvel V)
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Probably my #1 when it comes to importance. People think they are the same. They couldn't be more different.
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I am still trying to find the balance between what I move online and what I am doing face-to-face and how to inform all of the stakeholders involved. I think that understanding the differences are essential to meet all of the needs of my students.
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• Tailors instruction to meet the different needs of students, including different learning styles, different interests and backgrounds, and students with special needs or whom are language learners (SREB C.7, Varvel V.H, ITS 4.c)
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One of the reasons driving online learning is that it is more personalized to meet the needs of the students.
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However, it will be up to the individual to let the instructor know of difficulties that are being experienced. Communication is a key component of a successful online learning experience - including both the instructor and the student for success.
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• Understands and uses course content that complies with intellectual property rights and fair use, and assists students in complying as well (SREB E.5, Varvel I.B)
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Creates or selects multiple assessment instruments that are appropriate for online learning
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Maintains an online social presence that is available, approachable, positive, interactive, and sincere
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This is critical! Since your students may never see you face-to-face, they must feel that you are there to help them and are accessible in a reasonable amount of time.
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Yes, it can also be the most demanding one. With students doing things at various times of the day, you would have to communicate your "office hours" otherwise you might find yourself always having to be available.
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Provides substantive, timely, and constructive feedback to students
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In my experience, online tools make it so much easier to provide feedback to students. This feels even more important in the online environment where regular, in person check ins may not exist.
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I agree. I feel like feedback is much more a focus with online tools. It IS the interaction. In face-to-face, we have a lot of interaction with students that isn't specific or personalized feedback but in an online setting, that changes.
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The word "timely" sticks out to me here. If students are working somewhat at their own pace, it is important for feedback to be given fairly quickly so that any misconceptions can be addressed right away.
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Utilizes a course evaluation and student feedback data to improve the course (Varvel VI.F)
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This is something that I plan to do now that I am implementing Moodle in my courses. It would be interesting to conduct an online learning survey for students before and after having them learn using Moodle rather than Google Classroom.
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If I am not knowledgeable to use the system, I will not be able to effectively lead students in their learning. Also it would be important to use more than one avenue to be the most effective.
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I'm constantly looking for feedback, although I feel my students are afraid to be honest with me, even when I assure them it is anonymous and nothing punitive will happen. I've tried Google forms and set them up so they do not collect email addresses, stepping out into the hall and having students leave sticky notes on the board...
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Assists students with technology used in the course (Varvel III.C)
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I believe this will be essential so that I can help my students navigate between everything they need in the course. I often find myself double and triple-checking things in my Moodle course to make sure students can access them and everything runs according to plan. It definitely requires patience as well when assisting students with the technology.
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I think this key and sometimes the hardest part. For many students, this new territory for them. There is so much to learn about taking an online class, that it can be overwhelming.
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1. Demonstrates ability to enhance academic performance and support for the agency's student achievement goals (ITS 1)
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4. Understands and uses instructional pedagogy that is appropriate for the online environment and meets the multiple learning needs of students (ITS 4)
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6. Incorporates social aspects into the teaching and learning process, creating a community of learners (ITS 6)
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This seems so critical in the online environment! Written text can be misinterpreted so easily, especially when the reader doesn't actually know the writer in person. Extra time and care will need to go into communication. Additionally, recorded videos could be a helpful tool to add a human element to online coursework.
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Continuously uses data to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of instructional strategies
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As an English teacher, data isn't the first thing I think of, but the use of technology makes formative checks incredibly easier. GoogleForms and other quick check quizzes make sorting those who get it from those who almost do and those who are still out wandering the corn. My struggle is not in creating the data, but in having time to use it effectively. The turn around time needed to make the most efficacy of formative data is often so quick that I struggle to keep up.
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Selects and uses technologies appropriate to the content that enhance learning
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I think sometimes, we jump onto a new technology because it's fun or interesting, regardless of whether or not it's effective. I know I have done this in the past. Just because something is new and great, it doesn't mean it's the best technology for every situation.
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This is what I loved about the Blend/Flip cohort. I felt like it directly addressed that by making the focus on what students need from us and then figuring out how to move some of the other things to digital.
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Understands student motivation and uses techniques to engage students (
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This is where the "gamification" of classrooms could come in. I have not experimented with this strategy as I have some qualms about embedding even further students' seemingly already ingrained desire to always be entertained, however, there is considerable research speaking in its favor. Johns Hopkins University studied and advocated the use of Gamification in education: https://ii.library.jhu.edu/2014/05/13/what-is-gamification-and-why-use-it-in-teaching/
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Creates a safe environment, managing conflict
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This is key for any discussion thread in a blended or online course and it's something we really have to explicitly teach and address.
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It will be important to monitor replies to posts that are inappropriate in order to assist with this. However, managing the environment may be a little more difficult online as instructors may not know if there is conflict occurring if the student does not let them know.
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variety of assessments that meet course learning goals
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Variety is key here. The teacher has to have a good idea of where the students are in understanding but formative opportunities have to be much more purposeful. Plus, I think self-assessment becomes even more crucial in online learning.
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Yes, I agree that a variety of assessments are important. Students can also self-assess their behavior while online: motivation, responsibility (not on games), honesty and integrity
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Demonstrates growth in technology knowledge and skills in order to stay current with emerging technologies
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Designs the structure of the course and the presentation of the content to best enhance student learning, including using unit/lesson overviews and reviews, using patterns in lesson sequencing, and using appropriate visual web design techniques
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Is knowledgeable and has the ability to use computer programs required in online education to improve learning and teaching, including course management software (CMS) and synchronous/asynchronous communication tools (chat, email, web 2.0, videoconferencing, webinar, whiteboard, etc.)
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Without the knowledge and ability, how will I be able to use this format to be successful?
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This is a challenge when changing from face-2-face instruction to online instruction.
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I think you just have to give yourself time. Yes this standard is important, you have to be able use the software, but you can also learn from your students. If you start with a blended approach than you can ask your students face to face for support.
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Has knowledge of learning theory appropriate to online learning, which may include (but is not limited to) age and ability level, multiple intelligences, didactic conversation, student developmental influences, constructivism, behaviorism, cognitivism, connectivism, and group theory (Varvel V.A)
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Knows and aligns instruction to the achievement goals of the local agency and the state, such as with the Iowa Core (Varvel I.A, ITS 1.f, ITS 3.a)
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2. Demonstrates competence in content knowledge (including technological knowledge) appropriate to the instructional position (ITS 2)
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• Meets the professional teaching standards established by a state-licensing agency, or has the academic credentials in the field in which he or she is teaching (SREB A.1, Varvel II.A)
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• Knows the content of the subject to be taught and understands how to teach the content to students (SREB A.3, Varvel II.A, ITS 2.a)
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Establishes standards for student behavior that are designed to ensure academic integrity and appropriate use of the internet and written communication (SREB E.2)
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Networks with others involved in online education for the purpose of professional growth
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Understands and uses data from assessments to guide instruction
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• Sets and models clear expectations for appropriate behavior and proper interaction
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Provides and communicates evidence of learning and course data to students and colleagues
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Demonstrates effective instructional strategies and techniques, appropriate for online education, that align with course objectives and assessment
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There are so many tools out there. I find this one a bit confusing. Deciding what tools are best for what what assignment or task, at this point is a guessing game for me. Somethings, I think I've been right and others I realized that I wasn't. I wonder if there is resource out there that offers a guideline for what tools fit what practice or task.
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Provides opportunities that enable student self-assessment and pre-assessment within courses (SREB K, Varvel VI.I, ITS 5.d)
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Still working on how to best do this one. It makes so much sense and yet I find it tough to manage in an online environment. I've recently found Edulastic. An online test creator that has question bank of questions created by hundreds of teachers on many topics. I'm experimenting with using it as a way to help students pre test and check where they are at in their understanding.
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Communicates assessment criteria and standards to students, including rubrics f
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Students need to be able to understand and know exactly what their job is and how well they are performing while doing the job. Also, by communicating criteria and standards, students will have a further understanding of why they are learning it also.
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Rubrics communicate expectations to students. Students can see what they need to improve on and are able to set goals.
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Creates a learning community that encourages collaboration and interaction, including student-teacher, student-student, and student-content
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Collaboration and interaction are two very large pieces of the puzzle of employability skills that are imperative for successful employees. By providing students with the opportunity, we are further preparing them to gain and maintain successful employment. Students will work with people of all ages and abilities throughout their lives, so all levels of collaboration and interaction are important - especially online where one is unable to use visual cues to discern the meaning of communication.
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Demonstrates effective instructional strategies and techniques, appropriate for online education, that align with course objectives and assessment
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Tailors instruction to meet the different needs of students, including different learning styles, different interests and backgrounds, and students with special needs or whom are language learners
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Creates or selects multiple assessment instruments that are appropriate for online learning
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Demonstrates growth in technology knowledge and skills in order to stay current with emerging technologies
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Has experienced online learning from the perspective of a student
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Continuously uses data to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of instructional strategies
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Selects and understands how to evaluate learning materials and resources that align with the context and enhance learning
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Demonstrates techniques for dealing with issues arising from inappropriate student technological use
BlendKit Course: DIY Project Tasks | Blended Learning Toolkit - 3 views
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Top Five Ways to Use Screencasting in the Classroom - 4 views
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5. Screencasting & Grading
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I love the idea of using a screencasting software for grading. These comments would be more authentic and likely much more likely to be listened to than read. The teacher could continue the feedback and discuss, question, and still ask for further reflection. This would be a great way to extend learning.
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I love the idea of using a screencasting software for grading. These comments would be more authentic and likely much more likely to be listened to than read. The teacher could continue the feedback and discuss, question, and still ask for further reflection. This would be a great way to extend learning.
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Screencasting in this fashion can be easily transferred to both hybrid (mixed setting with a combination of traditional classroom experience and online experience) and blended learning situations (traditional classes that meet daily but still require online aspects of content delivery and assignment submission).
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This point reinforces all we have learned about blended learning. This tool allows for brick and mortar schools to grow in their development of online learning.
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This point reinforces all we have learned about blended learning. This tool allows for brick and mortar schools to grow in their development of online learning.
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Interesting Examples of... Blended Learning - 0 views
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In Florida, Virtual Classrooms With No Teachers - NYTimes.com - 0 views
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“There is no doubt that blended learning can be as effective and often more effective than a classroom,” said Mr. Moore, who is also editor of The American Journal of Distance Education. He said, however, that research and his experiences had shown that proper design and teacher instruction within the classroom were necessary. A facilitator who only monitors student progress and technical issues within virtual labs would not be categorized as part of a blended-learning model, he said. Other variables include “the maturity and sophistication of the student,” he said.
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Education Week Teacher: High-Tech Teaching in a Low-Tech Classroom - 0 views
www.edweek.org/...barnett_hightechteaching.html
education Low-Tech 21st century skills ed-tech blended learning 21cif
shared by Dennis OConnor on 04 Sep 11
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Take advantage of any time that your students have access to a computer lab with multiple computers.
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Relieve yourself from the pressure of knowing all the ins and outs of every tool. Instead, empower your students by challenging them to become experts who teach one another (and you!) how to use new programs.
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Students assist one another in creating digital products that represent or reflect their new learning. It’s a great way to spread technological skills in a one-computer classroom.
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Small groups of students engage in dialogue on a particular topic, then a member uses a digital tool to report on the group's consensus.
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Teachers in one-computer classrooms often invite large groups of students to gather around the computer. Here are a few suggestions for making the most of these activities
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When we are faced with limited resources, it is tempting to throw up our hands and say, "I just don't have what I need to do this!" However, do not underestimate your ability to make it work.
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ollie1: Iowa Online Course Standards - 2 views
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(K-12) • Information literacy and communication skills are incorporated and taught as an integral part of the curriculum.
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Communication is key in online classes. I know I have been lost a time or two. I like checklists of requirements for the course.
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Information literacy becomes even more important as more resources are available for our students. They need the tools to be able to filter through all the information out there and search out what is best. Middle school kids seem very willing to believe it if they saw it on the internet.
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I'm 57 years old. My dad, who had an eighth grade education and would be in his 90s were he still alive used to tell us, "Don't believe everything you hear." He would also say, "Don't believe everything you read." My dad was wise. We need to be skeptics. Everyone needs to ask the questions, Who is sharing this information? Why should I believe them? What is their purpose? How old is this information? Can I understand the context in which it's offered? I'm a teacher librarian. I've been working on this for 16 years and love that information literacy is in these standards.
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Communication is the hardest thing I do as a wife, mother, teacher, and friend. When I think I am communicating well, it's obvious that others are not!!!! HA! The hardest job I will every do is communicating.
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• The course design provides opportunities for appropriate instructor-student interaction, including timely and frequent feedback about student progress based on the learning targets.
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It's important to encourage students to feel comfortable to ask questions especially when they are lost. Quick, easy, multiple ways to contact the instructor are important.
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I would agree so many students are too afraid to ask questions in front of a class. They are just satisfied with not knowing rather than risking embarassment.
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I am involved in a grant program that is about blending the online teaching with face-to-face teaching, which will make the instructor-student interaction easier.
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Obviously this is important, but also challenging when you see as many as 150 students per day. It makes things like clickers and online communicaiton that much more important.
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Technology has made instructor-student interaction easier, while also making it difficult for students to not become involved. Students quickly see that they are accountable and instructors can track their participation.
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Students and instructors both need feedback in order to achieve. Progress can only be achieved with an ongoing, positive conversation
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All resources and materials used in the course are appropriately cited and obey copyright and fair use.
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This is something I would like to know more about in the on-line world. I'm not sure on certain issues relating to this and would like to be more clear on my understanding.
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This is one of the greatest concerns I have in planning an online course. I did find a section in the orientation materials for this course that addressed it. It is called "Copyright BriefNotes" and is available from the AEA. I can't tell you exactly where I found it; explored way too many links to be able to retrace my steps and the printout doesn't have a web address. It was a pdf file on a link.
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It is critical that we model appropriate citing, observance of copyright, and fair use for our students. My middle schoolers have difficulty grasping both the significance and the proper methods of these concepts.
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This is one of the most important details! Yes, middle school students struggle with citing. It is only going to be more important as more and more online resources are available.
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I'm pretty clear on rights for print materials, but less sure when the item in question is a graphic, picture, etc. Does it make a difference that our course is only available to students in our classroom and not going out to the world wide web?
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Sufficient learning resources and materials to increase student success are available to students
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This is where I think Moodle or other similar tools will have an advantage. I like that I will be able to group all relevant resources together for students. I have a lot of resources right now but they are all scattered..
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I definitely agree with you about these online tools making resources more available. Like you, I have many resources in many locations. I am gradually moving the resources to my Moodle course pages and plan to expand this to include Diigo. Grouping the resources will provide students with a consistent location while working and provide me with a better method for keeping web pages current.
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Ongoing and frequent assessments
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Instructions to students on how to meet the learning objectives are adequate and stated clearly.
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AS Stiggens said many years ago, students need to know the target before attempting to hit the target. Trying to hit a moving target is frustrating and difficult for everyone!
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How true! It is important that the students clearly know what is expected of them.
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My nine-year old even undertands this! He recently commented, "This assignment would be so much easier if (the teacher) had given us a rubric."
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If our students don't know what to expect, what are we doing? Students need and deserve to know what they are responsible to know.
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I need to get better about making clear daily objectives. That's new to me, but my faculties have their learning goals posted on their walls each day. It's great for everybody. Kathy, I love what your son said. Kevin, you are right on the money!
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I put my lesson objectives on the board when I teach my elementary library classes, it makes it easier for the students to know what I expect.
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What's amazing to me is when I have a student say, "Give me a rubric, and I can easily get an A with less effort." This scares me....to me it's a way of putting forth mediocre work by "beating" the system. Tha'ts why every rubric I build has a perception component of quality when comparing project/discussions/etc with peers.
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Assessment strategies and tools, such as "self-check" or practice assignments, make the student continuously aware of his/her progress in class and mastery of the content beyond letter grades.
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The course instruction includes activities that engage students in active learning
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The course instruction includes activities that engage students in active learning
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Students today live in a different world than the one most of us in this class experienced when we were young. Sitting for 45 minutes with nothing more than an overhead projector or chalkboard to look at and nothing more than a teachers voice to hear is just completely out of touch with the way students experience things outside of the classroom. As educators we need to keep that in mind or we really will have kids bored to death.
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Students are multitaskers and grow bored when not challenged. Active and interactive learning is one way to keep them engaged. I also feel that as teachers we need to change our " tools" and raise the bar for learning.
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In most classes, I think we have about 10 minutes to direct students toward the learning that we hope will happen that day. Then we have to let them get started on their learning and coach them as needed for the rest of the class. If there is confusion or a common thread shows up during the class time, the coach/facilitator/teacher might stop the student work to explain, or to have a student explain the issue, but otherwise, the focus is definitely not on the teacher. It's not about us. ;-)
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• Academic integrity and netiquette (Internet etiquette) expectations regarding lesson activities, discussions, e-mail communications and plagiarism are clearly stated
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This, I believe, is more and more important because our students really struggle with understanding that once something is on the web, it's out there for good. They also struggle with understanding just the basics of appropriateness.
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Do you think that in many cases students do know what is appropriate and what is not? I think that students sometimes push the limits to see if the instructor cares enough to hold them accountable.
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The course goals and objectives are measurable and clearly state what the participants will know or be able to do at the end of the course
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This one is so simple, yet doing this effectively is probably on of the most important things an instructor can do to avoid problems down the road.
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I agree, Bob. I think sometimes we believe students are suppose to be mind readers when it comes to what they will learn or be able to do.
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My school went to putting the learning target on the board everyday. I think it was good, but should be incorporated with a "ticket out the door" activity.
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Instruction provides students with multiple learning paths to master the content, addressing individual student needs, learning styles and preferences
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I really love the idea that we can tailor courses to meet the needs of individual students. I would like to explore ways to have various paths leading to mastery. Once a student has mastered a concept, he or she can move on to the next concept. A student who needs more practice could be redirected to more learning activities on the same concept. One size does not fit all.
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As I learn more about online learning and using Moodle, I am excited about the possibilities for differentiation. I see this as one of the greatest strengths of the format.
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Technologies are chosen that are accessible to students
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Instructions make clear how to get started and where to find various course components
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As students in this course, many of us understand that it may be easy to be overwhelmed when starting out in online learning. We help our students with simple and clear guidance.
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As time goes on, what we consider to be so difficult, becomes easier as time goes on. We must note that while we teach online learners---and naturally, while they teach us too.
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The requirements for student work, including student interaction, are clearly articulated.
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The course provider offers the course teacher, school coordinator assistance with technical support and course management. .
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I feel this is so important. One of my biggest concerns about going 1:1 next year is the lack of tech support. I haven't seen any plan to increase the tech department, and I often have to wait days to get answers currently from the help desk. Students get extremely frustrated when technology doesn't work especially if there is no one there to help them.
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The course provides opportunities for appropriate student interaction with the content to foster mastery and application of the material.
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Rigor and Relevance is the Characteristic of Effective Instruction that comes to mind as I read this. Good instruction is good instruction, regardless of the teaching modality. In a student-centered environment, as this suggests, students are encouraged to collaborate with others as they take their new knowledge and apply it.
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The course accommodates multiple school calendars; e.g., block, 4X4 and traditional schedules
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The course provides opportunities for appropriate instructor-student and student-student interaction to foster mastery and application of the material and a plan for monitoring that interaction.
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This is one I'm excited about - I'm hoping by mixing online with face to face learning I can have more interaction with quiet students - though I know from taking online classes it can be easy to just do enough to get by if there aren't a lot of opportunities to interact.
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I am hoping that is portion of the "face to face" is built in to help accomodate learning for students who are having trouble mastering the content. My worse fear of online learning is making the material move too quickly for students to keep up, making them frustrated and not positive learners.
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The course structure includes a wide variety of assessment procedures to assess students’ mastery of content.
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This is something I feel like I need to be careful about - I think it's easy to get so excited about new ideas I throw a lot of projects at students at once - I need to think really hard about what I want to assess them on.
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Glad it isn't just me, I find that I also get pumped about something, throw it out to the students to "try" and then I realize at the end that I had no way to measure whether it was really effective or not.
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21st century skills in the course, including: using 21st century skills in the core subjects, 21st century content, learning and thinking skills, ICT literacy, self-directed learning, global awareness
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Courses being online in and of themselves are 21st Century learning skills. However, I believe, online instruction should include more than just being posted on the internet. It should push students to be self-directed and global learners. Fulfilling this standard will take work, but I believe it is one of the most important goals of learning.
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Hardware, web browser and software requirements, as well as prerequisite technology skills are specified.
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Specific and descriptive criteria, including rubrics, are provided for the evaluation of students’ work and participation.
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The course provides opportunities for students to engage in higher-order thinking, critical-reasoning activities and thinking in increasingly complex ways
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instructional materials are aligned with the content
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The course content and assignments are aligned with state’s content standards or nationally accepted content standards
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Free Technology for Teachers: Common Craft Explains Blended Learning - 2 views
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I have seen this video, but what I appreciate about things like sharing boards is the incident of serendipity. In my current work, I like to explore LMS platforms out there, including ones that have a mobile application attached. I now have a new one to add to my list--Opus. This is one of the fabulous pieces of online collaboration--often, I find what I need, but I also find what I want before I need it. BONUS.
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