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lauralross

Lesson: Articles on Visual Design - 2 views

  • Instead, it enhances it by engaging users and helping to build trust and interest in the brand.
    • Pam Buysman
       
      I think the key word is enhances. Content has to be most important and the layout and design of the website has to be secondary. It's important to make sure that the website itself doesn't overpower or overwhelm the message. 
  • You should direct the user’s eyes through a sequence of steps. For example, you might want your user to go from logo/brand to a primary positioning statement, next to a punchy image (to give the site personality), then to the main body text, with navigation and a sidebar taking a secondary position in the sequence. 
    • Pam Buysman
       
      Web design is a bit like designing a PowerPoint isn't it? While a web site is certainly not linear, we have to design a way to make sure the content we're sharing is seen by our audience. That does mean figuring out some kind of path for them to follow. 
  • One of my worst habits is making low-contrast text. It looks good but doesn't read so well, unfortunately. Still, I seem to do it with every Web site design I've ever made, tsk tsk tsk.
    • Pam Buysman
       
      There are many things to consider about readability. The thing that stands out for me is that very frequently, simple is better. Fonts might look attractive, but often it is best to stick with tried and true fonts and also tried and true colors. Obviously, if the reader is unable to read your site, they won't see what you want them to. 
  • ...47 more annotations...
  • When a user comes to your site what are they actually trying to do? List out the different types of tasks people might do on a site, how they will achieve them, and how easy you want to make it for them.
    • Pam Buysman
       
      It's important to think like the end user. It might be a good idea to enlist the help of a second set of eyes. Like proofreading an article, having someone "test drive" your website might be a good idea before actually sharing it with the intended audience. 
  • Keeping your design consistent is about being professional. Inconsistencies in a design are like spelling mistakes in an essay. They just lower the perception of quality. Whatever your design looks like, keeping it consistent will always bring it up a notch. Even if it's a bad design, at least make it a consistent, bad design.
    • Pam Buysman
       
      Again, it's so important to keep the end user in mind. Consistency helps the end user know how to use and navigate your site. In web design, and also in Soft Chalk created lessons, users really don't like to be surprised. They want to know what to expect. 
  • Hierarchy does not only come from size. Amazon makes the ‘Add to cart’ button more prominent by using color
    • Pam Buysman
       
      What is your message or goal?  After determining that, you can plan how to prominently place the most important items on your web page. Size and color are two ways of creating hierarchy. I guess I had never really given much serious consideration to this. 
  • In other words, the bigger an object and the closer it is to us, the easier it is to use it.
    • Pam Buysman
       
      Does Fitt's law have something to do with the number of clicks it takes to get to information from the homepage? Is there a rule of thumb that says no more than 3 clicks? 
  • The best images follow the rule of thirds: an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.
    • Pam Buysman
       
      I don't know much about photography, but I have heard about the rule of thirds. Again, something I didn't really think this when I considered adding photos to a web site or to a Soft Chalk page. Not all photos automatically ascribe to the rule of thirds, so it might be helpful to know a little bit about photo editing as well. Just one more thing to consider! 
  • Notice how you could see the dog without focusing on each black spot that the dog consists of?
    • Pam Buysman
       
      Sorry, I don't see the dog. :-)
    • Denise Krefting
       
      In the center below the large dark section. His head is down like he is smelling the ground sniffing toward the upper left.
  • Content is more important than the design which supports it.
    • Pam Buysman
       
      This is essential to remember. What we are trying to say is so much more important than making something "pretty." We always need to start with the message or content. 
  • Users are rarely on a site to enjoy the design; furthermore, in most cases they are looking for the information despite the design.
    • Pam Buysman
       
      Not much more to say about this. It's all about the content!!
  • according to Weinberg’s law, a developer is unsuited to test his or her code
    • Pam Buysman
       
      Collaboration is so important. Ask for another pair of eyes to help you. Make sure as well, that your colleague will be willing to critique your work. Sometimes that's difficult to do, but it key to the success of your design and usability. 
  • A successful visual design does not take away from the content on the page or function
    • Denise Krefting
       
      No matter what is done, the message still needs be visible. Enhancement helps to engage viewers.
  • Texture refers to how a surface feels or is perceived to feel.
    • Denise Krefting
       
      This is something that I have never considered. Surface feel is an interesting concept.
  • the user should be led around the screen by the designer. I call this precedence, and it's about how much visual weight different parts of your design have.
    • Denise Krefting
       
      The designer is in control of what the viewer sees. This reminds me that I need to look at my work from the eyes of those viewing content and what the take aways should be. 
  • Most users search for something interesting (or useful) and clickable; as soon as some promising candidates are found, users click. If the new page doesn’t meet users’ expectations, the Back button is clicked and the search process is continued.
    • Denise Krefting
       
      I have found this to be true for all viewers. It used to be just kids but now adults as well. Once additional component to remember is the load speed. Resize your images before they are uploaded.
  • web-page should be obvious and self-explanatory.
    • Denise Krefting
       
      I would also suggest consistency so they don't need to relearn the site with each page.
    • kelly40
       
      It's important for me to remember all of these tools...moving from a face to face environment to an online setting is vastly different, and these tools are what I as a student need, so I need to be incorporating them as well. Without a good position, color that catches my eye and various design elements I've lost interest. If I've lost interest with the lack of tools, then so will my students.
  • One of the most frustrating experiences you can have on a Web site is being unable to figure out where to go or where you are
  • here you
  • One of the most frustrating experiences you can have on a Web site is being unable to figure out where to go or where you are
    • kelly40
       
      I find this very frustrating as well. I took an online class a few years ago, (not an AEA class:)), and the various links were not embedded. So, when I would click on those links, I'd be taken completely out of the course and would have to constantly log back in.  
  • To achieve precedence you have many tools at your disposal:
  • Hick’s law says that with every additional choice increases the time required to take a decision.
    • kelly40
       
      This is such an interesting statement - as I parent I know and agree with this statement, but it seems we're often encouraged to give students as many choices as possible for assessment and/or project purposes.
  • It should not be considered merely ‘blank’ space — it is an important element of design
    • kelly40
       
      This is so interesting and I've noticed the importance of this "white space" as I've been looking at Softchalk lessons. It also reminds me how we've learned that when designing our lessons, using shorter paragraphs (separated by white space) is better than traditional paragraphs given on a handout in a face to face classroom. 
  • Users don’t read, they scan.
    • kelly40
       
      I know this is true of students, but as adults we are the same way! We know what we need to read well and give our full attention and then there are other things that we scan to find what we need. This is an important skill for students to learn, so having an online lesson set up well will be beneficial.
  • Web users are impatient and insist on instant gratification.
  • Web users are impatient and insist on instant gratification.
    • kelly40
       
      This is so true as well and it's important for me to remember as I move forward with my Softchalk lesson - if they can't figure out how to move around, they will become frustrated and give up. It's not that we should not teach them to problem solve, but the training in how to move around the lesson will be important.
  • White space is an important part of your layout strategy.
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      White space on a page can make the really important content stand out. My issue is that sometimes, I have a difficult time finding images that allow me to hit the "right" amount of white space and the text I want/need to have on the page.
  • the first thing you see is the logo
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      When I'm looking for something, the logo or branding is so important to me. I want to know immediately if I'm in the right spot. Logos help me do this. When I see the logo I'm looking for or that I expect to see, it puts me at ease, because I know I'm in the "right" spot.
  • Buttons to travel around a site should be easy to find - towards the top of the page and easy to identify. They should look like navigation buttons and be well described. The text of a button should be pretty clear as to where it's taking you.
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      Buttons or menus across the top of a webpage are very helpful when it comes to navigating a website. One issue I've had is that sometimes my buttons make sense to me, but to the new visitor the language I use to explain where it is taking the visitor doesn't make sense. Take for example, on our website we have something called "Instructor Center". This is the place our instructors who teach PD for us go to get information. To me this makes complete sense. That being said, I know that we consistently get questions about where to find instructor information. The label, "instructor center" doesn't resonate with the visitor. I have seen websites where there is a brief description appears on the screen when you roll over the button, but before you click. I'm not sure if these things help or if they add clutter.
  • Occam’s Razor states that the simplest solution is usually best.
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      A rule never rang more true, but at the same time it is so hard to follow. So often I find myself getting lost in the complexity of what I'm trying to do. Add this to my love of "little bells and whistles" and I find myself creating things that lack real substance.
  • The higher is the cognitive load and the less intuitive is the navigation, the more willing are users to leave the web-site and search for alternatives.
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      This makes me think of what I call the "learning curve". If the learning curve is to long, people just move on to find something different that doesn't have this learning curve. Take for example graphic design tools. Over the years, I've downloaded gimp and seashore, but for some reason I've never quite gotten the hang of them. Instead I use a web-based tool called pixlr. It is easy and I've met with some success. That being said, would Gimp or Seashore provide me with more options and features, probably, but the learning curve is steeper so I've chosen to use pixlr. When I think of learners, I wonder how we can scaffold things so that the learning curve isn't so steep.
  • Unity has to do with all elements on a page visually or conceptually appearing to belong together. Visual design must strike a balance between unity and variety to avoid a dull or overwhelming design.
    • khageman2
       
      There are lots of ways to achieve unity: theme, banners, fonts colors, and object placement all contribute to a unified feel.
  • Line Spacing
    • khageman2
       
      Also consider the space between chunks of information. Sometimes changing the size of a "blank" line greatly affects the overall design.
  • back and revise earlier pages to match later ones exactly
    • khageman2
       
      This final polish is an attention to detail that really makes a difference in professional looking design and audience appeal. It is worth the time and effort!
  • rank elements on your website based on your business objective
    • khageman2
       
      For educators, this would translate to "educational objective." Is the truly important educational information given prominence?
  • the more choice you give people, the easier it is to choose nothing.
    • khageman2
       
      Yes, choice within limits so as not to overwhelm to the point of inaction...
  • a maximum of 18 words or 50-80 characters per line of text.
    • khageman2
       
      Limiting the number of words per line is a design strategy that I hadn't considered before. 
  • Dominance focuses on having one element as the focal point and others being subordinate.  This is often done through scaling and contrasting based on size, color, position, shape, etc.
    • Judy Sweetman
       
      I have a background in graphic design, and have taken many design courses. It always amazes me how the terms in the elements and principles of design change, depending on who is discussing them. This is the first I've heard of "dominance", as I learned this as "emphasis". Regardless, the elements and principles of design are critically important to all educators, because embedded in the Iowa Core ELA standards is the concept of visually literacy skills. I do include parts learning about the elements and principles of design in several of the online courses I teach.
  • Typography
    • lauralross
       
      "Typography" -https://diigo.com/08f26r I'm curious about different typography.  I was always told to use very readable font and avoid anything fancy. 
  • People won’t use your web site if they can’t find their way around it.
    • lauralross
       
      Students are even less patient than adults, so it becomes imperative that overall flow and navigation makes sense. 
  • White space is good.
  • White space is good.
    • lauralross
       
      This is important to remember.  I don't have to pack every slide/page on Soft Chalk full of stuff.  It was really overwhelming to create a power point presentation and stick an image on every slide - I thought it was too repetitive, esp. based on all the examples we've seen.  
  • reduce the cognitive load
    • lauralross
       
      This idea came up last week - and even in video examples that white space is ok, it is also ok to only have an idea, or a few key words on a slide/page, etc.
  • golden ratio looks like
    • lauralross
       
      I'm not sure if the Fibonacci sequence is the same as the golden ratio, but it reminds of the rule of thirds in photography. 
  • Enough white space makes a website look ‘clean’. While clean design is crucial to communicating a clear message, it doesn’t just mean less content. Clean design means a design that makes the best use of the space it is in. To make a clean design, you have to know how to communicate clearly by using white space wisely.
  • Enough white space makes a website look ‘clean’. While clean design is crucial to communicating a clear message, it doesn’t just mean less content. Clean design means a design that makes the best use of the space it is in. To make a clean design, you have to know how to communicate clearly by using white space wisely.
    • lauralross
       
      Great!  Less pressure to feel like we have to cram a page full of content. 
Evan Abbey

Lesson: Articles on Visual Design - 4 views

  • Depending on how a texture is applied, it may be used strategically to attract or deter attention.
    • rmfredrickson
       
      I never thought about "texture" online; what would be an example of a repeated element? A simple picture, or maybe a repeated diagram?
    • darinjohnson
       
      Texture is an interesting element that I generally disregard. However, I remember a literature professor open poetry discussions with questions about texture and taste. He would use such responses to get to the tone of the work. What taste/texture/tone does this course have?
    • Linda Hoobin
       
      Texture...not something I ever pay attention to or maybe even knew about.
  • Spacing makes things clearer.
    • rmfredrickson
       
      I have found this to be true since starting this class; less is more; and the idea of also adding an element of some kind to every page makes a lot of sense to me too. I think about this now as I create ANY kind of presentation page.
    • denise carlson
       
      "Less is more." That sums up nicely what we've been learning.  I know that I have a tendency to be too wordy and thus the page seems way too cluttered. I need to make a concerted effort to utilize the Less is More rule of thumb. 
  • In the last year or so, I've switched to using CSS to make my buttons and have never looked back. Sure, it means my buttons don't always have the flexibility I might wish for, but the savings in build time from not having to make dozens of little button images are huge.
    • rmfredrickson
       
      What does this mean? That in CSS (which I think I missed what that means...) you don't need to give a direction to click on a button to do whatever it is you are wanting it to do? Rather, it is automatically an apparent clickable button?
    • denise carlson
       
      Good question! What is CSS?  I think this is another rule of thumb we might want to add to our web-design rules: Don't assume the reader knows what the abbreviations or acronyms mean. Spell them out and define them so everyone is clear. 
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  • Everything should be themed to make your design coherent between pages and on the same page.
    • darinjohnson
       
      Here's one element that we can control and that we should control; however, it is also an element that I sometimes have trouble with. Sometimes it takes me awhile to find my style.
  • Font Choices
    • darinjohnson
       
      What font should we be using? My journalism minor is quite dusty, but I was taught that body copy should be a serif typeface (e.g. Times New Roman, Georgia) and headlines should be a sans-serif typeface (e.g. Arial, Helvetica). Your choice of type might also give you a better grade: http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/19604/does-size-12-times-new-roman-font-receive-better-grades-in-school S
  • Squeaky wheels get the grease and prominent visuals get the attention. 
    • darinjohnson
       
      This is a potent quotable.
  • Pantheon
    • darinjohnson
       
      This is off topic, but I can't let it go. This is an image of the Parthenon. The Pantheon is in Rome.
  • it’s a good practice to never open links in new browser windows.
    • darinjohnson
       
      I'm going to give this some thought because this suggestion is opposite of what I generally try to do. I've always thought it was better for readers to close the new linked area. 
    • denise carlson
       
      My too. I like new windows for new material. This seems contrary to my preferences. 
    • Linda Hoobin
       
      It is not the way I think either. I tend to want to separate things so I am not distracted. New windows keep me focused.
    • Evan Abbey
       
      Same here. Especially with Moodle, I try to have it open in a different window so that they don't lose the original course.
  • A typical example from usability sessions is to translate the page in Japanese (assuming your web users don’t know Japanese, e.g. with Babelfish) and provide your usability testers with a task to find something in the page of different language. If conventions are well-applied, users will be able to achieve a not-too-specific objective, even if they can’t understand a word of it.
    • darinjohnson
       
      I saw a Tweet recently suggesting to do something similar: Turn on speech to see if you can navigate on your site without vision. Is the site usable for all?
  • The basic elements that combine to create visual designs include the following:
    • denise carlson
       
      All of this is what is missing from the powerpoint I created for Mollie 3 in the week 2 lab section. 
    • Linda Hoobin
       
      This could/should be my checklist for design!
    • Evan Abbey
       
      To be clear, these elements are always present, even in their absence. That is, even when one has the ugliest colors imagineable, they still are using a color palette. If you are Picasso, you get paid a lot of money for having the absence of these basic elements.
  • and that the medium changes as frequently as the underlying technology does.
    • denise carlson
       
      Oh no, so what I'm learning now will be different in 6 months or one year. I need a suggestion of a good blog or online resource I can use to keep up-do-date with all of the online design developments.
  • To achieve precedence you have many tools at your disposal:
  • To achieve precedence you have many tools at your disposal:
    • denise carlson
       
      These make perfect sense to me. I'm thinking that if I can remember and use these 5 chunks of precedence I would be taken a giant step toward fine-tuning the online lessons I create. 
    • Evan Abbey
       
      One slight difference between the online lesson and the "webpage" this designer is talking about is that there is going to be more stuff on the webpage. An online lesson doesn't have as many elements vying for attention.
  • some pretty bad examples out there.
    • denise carlson
       
      The DE website is a "pretty bad example" if you ask me. (Although there have been improvements made over time.)  There is just SO much there that is difficult for me to find what I want and need. I guess I could use that website as a non-example of effective navigation. 
    • Evan Abbey
       
      True. Of course, Heartland's old website was bad too. That is one of the occupational hazards of people like us who have our fingers in everything.
  • Adhering to Standards
    • denise carlson
       
      So what are some other things people expect? Where might we learn more about these ideas? The one example here is a good one, but now I'm curious about other expectations that I should be aware of. 
  • good set of CSS stylesheets
    • denise carlson
       
      Hmm. . . .what is a CSS style sheet?  So much unfamiliar content specific vocabulary in this article makes me wonder if I'm actually understanding what is being said. 
    • Evan Abbey
       
      A CSS style sheet is a set of rules (in the shape of a bunch of code) that govern a website. It would look like this: All headlines are in Maroon, 24 point, centered All sidebars have a box that is 100 pixels by 80 pixels. Except... in a language we can't understand.
  • Here’s what the golden ratio looks like:
    • denise carlson
       
      But, didn't we read somewhere earlier in the class to place pictures/photos on the left-hand side of  slide? Do these 2 ideas contradict each other? Someone please clarify for me. 
    • Evan Abbey
       
      Well... in our lessons, we advocated for putting them on the right side, as it helps with wrapping of text. Though putting them on the left is not a design faux pas. The "golden ratio" layout is more beneficial for designing a website, where you have grids to place content.
  • This is similar to Paradox of Choice – the more choice you give people, the easier it is to choose nothing.
    • denise carlson
       
      OK, i can see how too many choices is confusing in web design. But as an educator, I want to assure that my students have the freedom to make some choices regarding assignments and activities I ask them to complete in order to show their understanding. How will I balance these 2 ideas when creating online lessons/courses? 
    • Evan Abbey
       
      I think you already answered your question. Design is different than learning choice. It's like the new textbooks that have so much sidebar information that students aren't reading the main text. Too much design choice. In a lesson, you can present students with different learning options (enrichment, accomodated assignments, etc), but keep the webpage consistent.
  • the right is more interesting?
    • denise carlson
       
      I don't think the image on the right is more interesting? What am I missing? 
    • Evan Abbey
       
      "Interesting" is of course subjective. Typically, the rule of thirds means if you move the subject over to the 3rd-line of the picture, the picture shows more dynamics. Instead of "here's this rock formation", it's "Here's the rock formation, in its habitat, and now your eyes are moving over to this side of the photo to examine what is around it"
  • provide an email address if they were asked for it after they’d seen the feature work, so they had some idea of what they were going to get in return.
    • denise carlson
       
      I so agree. If I'm asked for email or other info to enter a site, I just close out. I want some hint of what the site has to offer me before I give them all my info.  Great tip!
    • Linda Hoobin
       
      I steer away if I am asked for identifying information before I can explore the site's information.
    • Evan Abbey
       
      I hate it too. I have an email site dedicated to these throwaway signups that I never check (unless I need to confirm an account). I grumble every time.
  • he more options a user has when using your website, the more difficult it will be to use (or won’t be used at all).
    • rmfredrickson
       
      I agree with this Paradox of Choice; a few good options is better than a lot of medicore ones.
  • The best images follow the rule of thirds: an i
    • rmfredrickson
       
      I have never given this thought before, or had any idea how layout (in thirds) affects someone's perception of a page; fascinating, yet useful!!
  • Users don’t read, they scan. Analyzing a web-page, users search for some fixed points or anchors which would guide them through the content of the page.
    • Evan Abbey
       
      I admit, I was visualizing the scene from Clockwork Orange when thinking about this activity.
  • Unity has to do with all elements on a page visually or conceptually appearing to belong together. Visual design must strike a balance between unity and variety to avoid a dull or overwhelming design.
  • White space is used around text and between sections to allow the page to breath
    • Evan Abbey
       
      I think white space is probably the most critical attribute for a teacher-designer to master. The simple adding of white space makes the whole thing breathe and makes it look a lot better.
  • Similarity refers to creating continuity throughout a design without direct duplication. Similarity is used to make pieces work together over an interface and help users learn the interface quicker.
  • 9 Essential Principles for Good Web Design
  • Good Web design, perhaps even more than other type of design, is about information.
  • Padding is the space between elements and text. The simple rule here is that you should always have space there.
  • Navigation — Where can you go?
  • Think about user tasks
  • Think about user tasks
  • At the end of the day, your Web design is a tool for people to use, and people don't like using annoying tools!
  • The simplest way to maintain consistency is to make early decisions and stick to them.
  • 8 Effective Web Design Principles You Should Know
  • Design is not just something designers do. Design is marketing. Design is your product and how it works. The more I’ve learned about design, the better results I’ve gotten.
  • So, if your layout width is 960px, divide it by 1.618 (=593px). Now you know that the content area should be 593px and sidebar 367px. If the website height is 760px tall, you can split it into 470px and 290px chunks (760/1.618=~470).
  • With effective web design, you need to make sure things that do NOT go together, are not perceived as one. Similarly, you want to group certain design elements together (navigation menu, footer etc) to communicate that they form a whole.
  • White space is all about the use of hierarchy. The hierarchy of information, be it type, colour or images.
  • Effective web design and art are not the same.
  • Web users are impatient and insist on instant gratification.
  • the web-page should be obvious and self-explanatory.
  • Avoid cute or clever names, marketing-induced names, company-specific names, and unfamiliar technical names.
  • The “keep it simple”-principle (KIS) should be the primary goal of site design.
  • testing one user is 100% better than testing none
  • if you want a great site, you’ve got to test.
  • Incorporating space into a design helps reduce noise, increase readability, and/or create illusion. White space is an important part of your layout strategy.
    • lwymore
       
      The use of space can be often overlooked or just not something that we always pay attention to.
    • Evan Abbey
       
      Lisa, I agree. In fact, my opinion is its the best place to start, since it is one of the easier elements to understand (not sure I can identify what "good Gestalt" is) and one of the easiest to actually do.
  • White space is used to give balance, proportion and contrast to a page.
  • White space is used to give balance, proportion and contrast to a page.
    • lwymore
       
      Using "white space" as a tool to balance, proportion and contrast on a page; also helps with readability; something to keep in mind when editing and trying to avoid text-heavy pages. Consider how can one use white space to prevent the text from looking too overwhelming.
  • You should direct the user’s eyes through a sequence
    • lwymore
       
      This is the same thing we want to do with self-paced lessons.
  • Aligning makes your design more ordered and digestible, as well as making it seem more polished.
  • Simple, minimal design does not automatically mean the design works, or is effective. But in my experience simple is always better than the opposite
    • lwymore
       
      Clean and simple design can help maintain the balance and consistency needed for effective lessons
Melissa Wicklund

Montgomery County Public Schools - Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence - 0 views

  •  
    This website offers many tools for analyzing and monitoring progress.  The website gives an explanation for several tools, as well as, a downloadable form for teachers to use in the classroom or online.  
tmolitor

Lesson: Articles on Visual Design - 0 views

  • Everything should be themed to make your design coherent between pages and on the same page.
    • kmolitor
       
      This makes sense as if you are constantly changing things then people will be distracted by that and it will detract from the information.
  • Applying design principles to the basic elements can seem overwhelming at first but once you start pulling a page or concept together, it becomes easier. 
    • kmolitor
       
      As you do go to create a page, it can be daunting but I like how this breaks down what you need to do in order for you page to come together and be visually interesting.
  • Spacing makes things clearer.
    • kmolitor
       
      Spacing does make things clearer. It makes me think of a paper you might write...if all of the information is in one large paragraph it's harder to read and understand.
    • jennham
       
      What a great analogy! I tend to over-fill every space I can. I am working hard on keeping things more simple.
    • tmolitor
       
      I think that's a great point. It's really easy to forget to space things out, and over complicate things. But when you look at the end result it's always nicer to have the space.
  • ...19 more annotations...
  • Certain parts of your website are more important than others (forms, calls to action, value proposition etc), and you want those to get more attention than the less important parts
    • kmolitor
       
      I can honestly say I have not thought of this before but it makes sense. What you want to highlight needs to be bigger.
  • the web-page should be obvious and self-explanatory
    • kmolitor
       
      Interesting thought here...but again makes sense. If users have to think very much and have questions after visiting your site, then you site needs work.
  • Text spacing and size creates a visual hierarchy
    • annott
       
      The all "caps" makes a big difference and naturally draws my eye towards it.
    • tmolitor
       
      I agree, anytime there is CAPS it instantly draws your attention.
  • This is often because it’s large and set at what has been shown in studies to be the first place people look (the top left).
    • annott
       
      I never realized that our eye are naturally drawn to the top left and that businesses purposely design websites with there logs positioned in the top left.
    • jennham
       
      I didn't, either! I am finding there are a lot of aspects I have never noticed. For instance, in the graphic above, I knew there were different colors but I didn't concentrate on the fact that they "used bars of color to guide the eye."
  • Usability
    • annott
       
      This is so important to make it viable to everyone.Thinking about what you want the users to actually do is important.
  • A lot of white space tends to make things seem more elegant and upmarket, so for example if you go to an expensive architect site,
    • annott
       
      This is interesting, I've always thought of it as wasted space.
  • Many artists and architects have proportioned their works to approximate the golden ratio. A famous example is Pantheon built in Ancient Greece:
    • annott
       
      Being a history teacher for many years and covering the Pantheon in class, I find this fascinating. This is a great example of design proportion.
    • mistermohr
       
      Agreed...Fascinating!!!!
  • Effective web design and art are not the same.
    • annott
       
      Excellent point.
  • Web users are impatient and insist on instant gratification.
    • annott
       
      This is very true and will be helpful to keep in my when planning my own online course.
  • Applying design principles to the basic elements can seem overwhelming at first but once you start pulling a page or concept together, it becomes easier.
    • jennham
       
      I am glad this was mentioned. I feel like there are so many things we have to do and incorporate to make an effective design that I am going to forget most of them.
    • mistermohr
       
      Jenn - I couldn't agree more. Using a critical eye, whatever looks professional and engaging is typically what I go with. If I think something is off or notice an issue others will notice it even more. Remembering all the rules and guidelines seems too checklist-y for me.
    • tmolitor
       
      I also agree. Seems like with most things when you start something it's all overwhelming, but can become easier once you get started.
  • First of all, white space doesn't need to be white.
    • jennham
       
      I am glad they clarified this because I admit I took "white" space literally.
  • Inconsistencies in a design are like spelling mistakes in an essay.
    • jennham
       
      I think this is a helpful way to think of the importance of consistency in design.
  • Can it be used for web design? You betcha. Here’s Twitter:
    • jennham
       
      I read about the Golden Ratio years ago and I think about it from time to time. However, I NEVER considered it in terms of web design! That's awesome!
  • This so-called TETO-principle should be applied to every web design project as usability tests often provide crucial insights into significant problems and issues related to a given layout.
    • kmolitor
       
      This reminds me of peer editing...it's helpful because as you create things you see them one way but the people who look at it don't see it the same so it helps to have other eyes look at it.
  • White space is used around text and between sections to allow the page to breath
    • mistermohr
       
      This is so noticeable when not done well, but such a simple guideline. I am reminded of website 1.0's when many of these guidelines were not followed.
    • tmolitor
       
      I think this is really noticeable as well. Pages can look really bad when you don't have any white space on them. But I think this is something people don't always realize.
  • If you want to learn to use whitespace effectively, go through a magazine and look at how adverts are laid out.
    • mistermohr
       
      This seems very obvious in advertisements. Something striking, quick, memorable. I don't think this is the case In online lessons/course design. The content and options are so specific and varied. Not to say that there aren't components of advertising in these, but I do think there is a distinction.
  • What happens when a screen is resizes?
    • mistermohr
       
      This has obviously become a huge deal breaker. Not being mobile compatible immediately puts you/your resource at a disadvantage. At the very least, rather than mobile compatibility your resources should be able to be viewed on a mobile device. (I say this without doing it myself. This is an area that I personally need to do a lot of work. I also think the principles of design are different on mobile device viewing)
  • Amazon makes the ‘Add to cart’ button more prominent by using color:
    • mistermohr
       
      Has anyone ever been to a site that sells products and the purchase button isn't the largest/most prominent/highest contrast button? I ask this rhetorical question because I ran into the issue the other day. I quickly became frustrated with the struggle to purchase a product from the company. I cannot fathom why a company would not make that the absolute easiest thing to do on their site.
  • You should direct the user’s eyes through a sequence of steps. For example, you might want your user to go from logo/brand to a primary positioning statement, next to a punchy image (to give the site personality), then to the main body text, with navigation and a sidebar taking a secondary position in the sequence. 
    • tmolitor
       
      I think you can see this any time you go to a well designed website. It walks you through exactly what it wants you to see in the order it wants you to see it.
herdegenk

ollie1: Iowa Online Course Standards - 0 views

  • The requirements for student work, including student interaction, are clearly articulated
    • herdegenk
       
      When you give instruction in class, it is much more convenient and easier for students to ask you to clarify any part of the assignment.  Instructions and requirements given online need to be much more articulated than if they were read in class. 
  • All resources and materials used in the course are appropriately cited and obey copyright and fair use.
    • herdegenk
       
      Can someone clarify something for me?  I was once told that I could post a document to a website for educational purposes as long as the website was password protected.  For example, I could make a copy out of a textbook, convert it to a pdf file and post it to my Moodle website so students wouldn't have to bring their textbook home with them to complete an assignment.  Is this disobeying copyright laws.
marydermit

PLE Articles - 2 views

  • PLEs place a large amount of responsibility on students and thus requires a high level of self-management and awareness. Not every student is ready for this responsibility, so teachers need to have strategies in place to guide and support these learners.
    • moodyh
       
      This is the part that I get stuck on.  Many students are either not mature enough for this yet or have been so put off by school that they think there is no educational topic that interests them.  In a more one-on-one environment, like my alt school, I can usually find something to interest them and get them going.  However, in a traditional school setting, where I see students only for an hour each day for only 60 days, and so many of them, it's hard to work with each student one-on-one to get them motivated.  I think all the comments that the whole school would have to shift (rather than just one classroom) makes sense because the students would have to learn how to deal with this new level of responsibility.  60 hours with one teacher just won't get that accomplished, no matter how phenomenal the teacher is.
    • alissahansen
       
      I definitely agree with you on this. Since I teach freshmen, I feel like a lot of time is teaching them just how to be good citizens (at school, at home, in the community, and in the world)! I only see them for 45 minutes each day, but I do see them all year. I would really like to implement a more personalized learning environment for them, but I know it's going to be an up-hill climb all of the way!
    • alissahansen
       
      Last comment by Alissa Hansen.
    • edamisch
       
      This would be a challenge for me as well, since I only have my 6th graders for 9 weeks per school year, and my 7th and 8th graders for 7 weeks per school year! 
    • Lisa Hackman
       
      Being a teacher in an alternative program, most of my students just want to be done with school as quick as possible. They are so tired of playing the game of school. I must admit, unfortunately, that I may feed that "get-done-with-school-as-soon-as-possible" mentality by pushing students to stay on track or get ahead of the game. However, if the student becomes the driver in their own learning then maybe they will be more motivated. As educators, we need to tap into the "What's in if for me?" mindset that many students have. Find an interest of the students and build their learning environment around that interest. Much easier said than done.
    • dwefel
       
      I agree with this. I also think that parents need to be aware of what teachers are doing as well. A high school teacher at my former school put everything on Twitter and one parent did not want her 15 year old daughter to have a Twitter account. Something to always think about and be ready to have alternative ways to do assignments or simply make it a requirement.
  • professionalism is far more about the effective manipulation– access, evaluation, & applicatio
    • moodyh
       
      This seems to be a recurring theme as well.  Getting students ready for the "real world" isn't so much about making sure they know lots of details about every subject area, but making sure they could find and understand any detail in any subject area that they will need.  The goal of education seems less about passing on information as teaching students how to organize and understand the over-abundance of it.  How then do we balance this with the extreme focus on core-curriculum?  Finding a balance is the challenge.
    • lisalillian311
       
      Yes, it seems there needs to be instruction on how to gather/organize the information and reliable sources, and then instruction on using it.  While the end result is positive, it will take time to jump start students in their own PLE.
  • Symbaloo has created a version of the platform specifically for educators
    • moodyh
       
      We got introduced to Symbaloo at school this year, although I might check into the EDU version.  I got logged in and played for a few minutes, but never had the time to develop something usable because as a district we were on to something different.  I like that our district provides us with many topics and learning opportunities, but I wish that I had more time to focus on one thing.  I think this is probably what it's like for students.  They get exposed to so much, but they need help organizing it and time to explore.  
    • lisalillian311
       
      Yes, Symballoo seems like more than one day of PD.  I haven't started my own yet, but I think it will take time to get a handle on the lingo as well as using the tools within the website.
    • Alison Ruebel
       
      I agree as teachers we would need to be taught or have time to explore this site and learn how to exactly model it appropriately to our grade level. I would love to see how other teachers use this and model it in their classrooms too. 
    • edamisch
       
      I can relate to this feeling, whenever I attend a conference, I learn so much that I need a day or two afterwards to just process and create the new games and activities that I've found, but it is always straight back to teaching. 
    • moodyh
       
      Some teacher as my school went to a conference this year and actually talked administration into another professional development day where they could just process all of their information.  It was pretty cool.
  • ...37 more annotations...
  • Some instructors empower students to use their own mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones as a means to create PLEs.
    • lisalillian311
       
      We have 1-on-1 technology in our district, which is ideal for PLEs.  However, when the student forgets the laptop or has no power left in the battery, the smartphone comes in handy.  It is tougher to monitor the smartphone.
    • lisalillian311
       
      Autonomy is a great concern for me.  With collaboration being stressed in CCS, will students be able to conquer this skill without the use of technology?  At some point, some issues have to be discussed face-to-face, and there is a separate skill set for that environment.
    • lisalillian311
       
      I like the idea of Symballoo--kind of like a favorites list and bookmarks in my Google account.  What will take time for me is learning all the lingo attached to Symballoo!
    • lisalillian311
       
      What is aggregator?
    • alissahansen
       
      I have always been a support of helpful tech resources that students are interested in, which is why I am always trying to learn more about different Apps and tools and explore them myself. Once I play around a bit, I usually introduce it to my students. Sometimes the resources are new, sometimes not, but there are so many wonderful tools out there. I visit Richard Byrne's site once a day! Currently, our language arts department has Chromebook carts for each classroom and the district is allocating more and more to different departments. They are wonderful to have, but students will get bored very quickly if they are only being used for tech sake. I LOVE the idea of having students create a Symbaloo. In fact, my plan is to have them begin one at the start of the school year and then they can add to it as we move through different units. This would have been particularly helpful during our research unit.  I also like the idea of "empower"ing students to use their phones and other mobile devices, but we do have a pretty strict policy on phone usage at our school. Sometimes students' phones work much more efficiently than the Chromebooks. (Alissa Hansen)
    • spfantz
       
      I think my students would love deciding which medium to use. I also have a lot of artistic students who would chose to create a paper/pencil project similar in format to a prezi presentation or blog with pictures.
    • edamisch
       
      Choice can be such a motivator for students, we all have our strengths and weaknesses! 
    • emilyzelenovich
       
      This is something I also worry about with the students I teach. While I appreciate their willingness to use technology and the creativity it lends itself to, I worry about their ability to solve problems and communicate effectively face to face. How do you ensure they are learning these essential skills as well when things are so individualized? 
    • Jessica Athen
       
      This made me think about how difficult it is to have a PLE in a traditional classroom setting. We have 1:1 technology in our district, but students are extremely limited in what websites and programs they can use (You Tube, all social media, etc is blocked for students.) We also do not allow students to use tablets or smartphones in the classroom, with some teachers wanting to enact a school wide ban on smart phones and tablets so that they are not allowed in school at all. I am so excited to be learning about all of the opportunities PLEs offer students, but I also think there are many changes that will have to be made before we can start moving in this direction.
  • The vast array of options and sense of autonomy that lies at the very heart of personal learning environments can also be a huge inhibitor.
    • alissahansen
       
      I also worry about autonomy, as I teach freshmen English and 14 and 15 year olds do not have a "high level of self-management and awareness," at least not many. Like any classroom, however, guidelines need to be firmly in place and I think autonomy would need to be frontloaded before jumping into a PLE. I do think students would do very well in this type of environment. In fact, I often have students telling me about different resources they go to on a daily basis...whether it's to get advice, read a review, write a review, or even write a short story! The possibilities are endless, but I do think structure needs to be in place. At least to begin with. I start the year with my freshmen discussing and reading/watching material regarding civility, we made a code of civility in each class, and then we blog about our practicing of it throughout the year. I would like to implement a PLE in much the same manner. (Alissa Hansen)
  • The idea of having one site to log into daily and then a pre-constructed  dashboard of all the learning tools and spaces available to us seemed appealing to the 7th period students
    • alissahansen
       
      I do think that using a Symbaloo is a great idea to manage resources, and it looks like something my students would enjoy working with. However, my school has really moved towards using Google Classroom and teachers having Google sites, which I spend a lot of time and energy on with both. I think too many tech items can be a cognitive overload for students and teachers alike. I think if I am to use something like Symbaloo, I would need to eliminate at least Classroom or Sites and maybe even some of the other many sites that I have students use (Newsela, NoRedInk, Kahoot, etc.). It's just hard for me, especially with the site that I have created because I have spent so much time on it over the past three years. I just don't think students would benefit from having to click around to a lot of different resources, especially if they are teacher-created. (Alissa Hansen)
    • ascallon
       
      I like the idea of a daily log in for updates.  I think this would work in the Green Belt classroom for relaying information as students don't attend the same schedule each day.
  • Teachers are challenged to provide the appropriate balance between structured lessons and learner autonomy in order to facilitate self-directed learning.
    • alissahansen
       
      Great quote on the benefits of PLE, but getting students who are not "ready" or mature enough to handle this type of self-direction will struggle. A challenge for teachers indeed! I think the classroom (physical environment) setup is the first thing that needs to be changed in order to prepare students for this type of autonomy. What do the rest of you think? (Alissa Hansen)
    • alissahansen
       
      I guess I should also state that I do not think students are getting enough opportunities to be autonomous, which is why they struggle and fear it when they are given the opportunity. (Alissa Hansen)
  • A personal learning environment (PLE) with personal knowledge management (PKM) tools An eportfolio A collection of resources related to a problem-based learning challenge Study group resources
    • alissahansen
       
      I am really looking forward to starting this with students. It's like a one-stop shop for their individual needs. One of the biggest setbacks I have faced in recent years was trying out a multitude of tech resources and although some were helpful, clicking around all over the place was overwhelming! (Alissa Hansen)
    • spfantz
       
      I was devistated when google removed igoogle, and I think this could definitely take its place. I agree that students will appreciate the convenience of this site.
    • Lisa Hackman
       
      Alissa, I get overwhelmed with the amount of resources and tools available. I often don't know where to start, so I opt not to. Thankfully, I'm taking this class and I have the opportunity to investigate and use some PLE tools like Diigo and Symbaloo, things I've never heard of until now!
  • method students use to organize their self-directed online learning
    • spfantz
       
      I think this would be very powerful and I would love to create something like this, personally. I think my accellerated students would thrive, but worry that my lower level students would struggle due to a lack of confidence in themselves and lack of self-awareness. I wonder if there are certain organizational PLE templates that would work better for certain learning styles? Or perhaps a template would defeat the pourpose.....
  • attend to supporting students in developing their skills and motivations for becoming themselves networked and sophisticated online learners
    • spfantz
       
      I love the idea of supporting students individually, I just struggle to envision being able to support all my students adequately within my classroom. I feel like it would be easy to digress with a student over their PLE, but feel it could be difficult to find the time.
    • jroffman
       
      I sooo agree!!!! I would love to watch how an expert teacher teaches in a PLE classroom! I love the concept and the idea I am just struggling to make it work in the classroom.
    • Kristina Dvorak
       
      I like this concept, I think it is easier to do in a classroom that is content specific.  I can see where it would be more difficult if a teacher was responsible for teaching multiple content areas.  At the same time, that teacher doesn't have to be the the information source for all the students, time is just the factor.  
    • moodyh
       
      That's interesting.  I think PLEs would be easier to manage in multiple content areas because they would have to be working on their own thing.  The environment is really suited for it.
  • subscribe to news feeds and blogs, discern the value of social bookmarks, and set up the aggregator to manage all the Internet resources.
    • spfantz
       
      Subscribing to news feeds and blogs would be a great technique to compare and contrast views related to the students' topics of interest. This could be difficult for the teacher to monitor, digo might be a great way to track this!
    • jroffman
       
      This is what I am trying to develop in my preschool class room where the students are in charge of their own learning, and I am more of a resource. What I struggle with is classroom management, I feel like all of the students are demanding my attention and I can't help everyone. 
    • edamisch
       
      Sometimes it is hard to fathom the classroom management of a PLE of 12-22 students, which is what I currently have, let alone 30+ like many districts have.  
    • nwhipple
       
      Having your students be more independent is wonderful.  This past year I did less large group instruction and more small groups.  I taught my kindergarten students "Ask 3 before me".  They had to ask 3 people for help or what we were doing before coming to me.  When they came to me, especially when i was working with my small group, I asked them "did you ask 3 before me?".  If they didn't, they would just turn around and go find something.  This is a start for having your students become more independent.  BY creating a PLE for young students, they feel more in control of their learning too.  If you, the teacher, set it up and give them access to a variety of things to do, they will enjoy what they are doing and feel they are making "their own choices".  
  • Personal learning environments are beneficial because they support learning anywhere and allow learners to connect the diverse environments of school, home and play. Students can extend their learning into questions to parents, email conversations, Facebook posts or even twitter hashtags.
    • jroffman
       
      I don't want to sound negative in my post here because I really am all for personalized learning. I wonder how we can get administration on board with us. I struggle with old school administration who tell me as a teacher that I can not use my phone during the day, that I can not use facebook, and about passed out when they realized that parents text me, questions and changes in their child's schedule. I did have a secret facebook page and it was wonderful I would use it to include parents with our studies. 
    • Alison Ruebel
       
      Good point. I agree with your post. It is hard to get some administrators going along with this new idea of personalized learning. Even at my other school I taught at Facebook and some other social networking sites were blocked. I like the idea of having a Facebook page with parents and students to keep parents informed with stuff going on at school, and also a way for students to post and communicate with parents and classmates. I think these social websites are necessary in schools, but the big question is how do we get teachers and administration to go for it? 
    • Kristina Dvorak
       
      Our District has blocked a lot of the social sites as well, it comes from the upper levels of administration and not our building admin.  I think they tend to be out of touch with the possibilities and fear the unknown.   It would be great to use Facebook for connecting with parents and students.  The alternative given to us is Canvas in which parents have access to teachers.  But it isn't as easy or convenient as Facebook.  That is certainly one site I wish we could use at work.   I do like the idea of personalized learning environments, especially the concept of students seeking knowledge that is useful for them!  This appears to be the best way to create life-long learners!
    • edamisch
       
      Facebook is blocked at my school as well, which is a shame since it'd be a way to create an immersion like setting in my Spanish classroom.  If I see something cool on the site that related to class, such as photos from a friend's time in Panama with the Peace Corps, I turn the wifi off on my phone so that Facebook will work, and just walk around the class showing kids, which is risky, I know.  I'm sure there is a cord that I could connect from my phone to SmartBoard to make this more feasible.  I should probably get a separate teacher facebook page for things like this.  Some of the articles that pop up in my feed from magazines like Women's Health are not school appropriate!  
  • Students engaging in networked learning have to learn to be more self-directed than in the typical classroom… they are required to take a more active role in the learning process
    • jroffman
       
      by teaching students how to be self learners and how to be active in the learning process I think that as kids and adults these students will want to be life long learners and not someone who only does it because they have to. Or worse yet lets everyone else do it for them. I love the independence PLE classrooms create
    • Jessica Athen
       
      I see so many students who do not understand how to play an active role in their learning because they have been conditioned to rely on the teacher. Many students get very anxious and really don't know what to do when they are asked to complete self-directed activities. I think PLE will provide students with the opportunity to take responsibility for their own learning, which will help them throughout their lives.
  • Personal Learning Environments (PLE) are not to be confused with Learning Management Systems (LMS) that are implemented and maintained by institutions.
    • Alison Ruebel
       
      This is very important! I see the (LMS) approach in our school and in many other schools. I feel like it wouldn't be hard to confuse (LMS and PLE) these different approaches, because they seem so different. The chart gave a good outline of how different they are compared to each other. 
    • Kristina Dvorak
       
      The chart is helpful in understanding the differences.  The LMS could also be a tool in a student's PLE.  
    • edamisch
       
      Agreed, charts and lists make learning so much easier than paragraphs, at least for me. 
  • continue to collect feedback from students on how this learning tool is working for them and how they are using it for themselves as well as within their groups–I’m excited to see what will happen.  I may also informally introduce Symbaloo to some of last year’s Media 21 students and get their feedback on how they think Symbaloo compares to Netvibes and what their preferences are as students.   In the meantime, I’ve created
    • Alison Ruebel
       
      I like the idea of getting student feedback on technology and the use of different resources. You can really learn student interest and their honest opinions through surveys or different forms of feedback. 
  • It’s easy to use A learner can pull information that’s personally useful to him/her Learners can personalize tiles to make them easy to spot Learners can add to, and draw from, a community of webmixes Interactivity + personalization = fun
    • Alison Ruebel
       
      These look like awesome reasons why Symbaloo is a great learning tool for students. I can definitely see this resource being used in grades k-12. Although, for example, I teach 1st grade and I can see my students loving this, but they will need lots of guidance and modeling of how to set it up and use it to help them become independent with it. I can see once it's set up it would be awesome for students to have all of their favorite resources and sites all in one place! 
    • ascallon
       
      I like the idea of having research available at one spot.  So many times when I ask a student where he/she found the information, it cannot be located.  I want to see projects with more detail.  
    • ascallon
       
      I have a concern about distractions.  Students tend to use their phones and computers more for entertainment and chatting with friends over research and presentation.  
    • edamisch
       
      Agreed, a high school I taught at did not have locks on lockers, meaning kids brought their phones to class so that they wouldn't be stolen. Preventing snapchatting was difficult for me!  
    • marydermit
       
      I have experienced the same issues with my high schools students.  I may take a different approach based on one of the side articles that stated, "students are still learning while they are wasting time because they will see consequences are for late work."
  • “learning by doing” and “student as worker,”
    • ascallon
       
      I would like to have some strategies to help students having an understanding of the shift in learning for them to become more involved in their learning.  How do I motivate them to go beyond bookwork to exploring topics?
    • moodyh
       
      When you find the answer, please fill me in too!
    • nwhipple
       
      I feel this is a big struggle right now in our district.  Teachers are wanting their students to dig deep into a topic or their work.  Students are given choices but still only surface the top of the water, doing the bare minimum, when we want them to dive in and go to the bottom.  In my classroom, my students have a writing journal.  We write in this "special" journal once a week.  At the beginning of the year, I give them ideas to write about.  Some write while others will simply draw a picture because they don't know how to write.  By the middle of the year, every is writing something, whether it is a complete sentences or a few words.  I will give them a few choices to choose from or they can write about something they want to.  BY the end of the year, they know to take out their journals and write about anything they want.  I want my students to take control of their own learning and reflect back on their work over the year so by having this year long journal, they can see their progression and how they took control over their writing.  
  • Many students in the first class that tried Symbaloo today commented that they liked the clean, visual interface of Symbaloo and the ease of adding content; they also liked that they could customize the “tiles” they were adding and that their webmixes loaded quickly.
    • Kristina Dvorak
       
      With my limited experience with Symbaloo, I agree with the fact that it does seem easy add and customize content.  I think my students would find this to be a helpful tool.  I also like the idea of encouraging students to use it for tracking both personal and school related information.  
  • learning toward facilitation of students’ “active role in the learning process” and teachers’ provision of the right balance between structured lessons and autonomy; let’s never forget it is an ongoing balancing act.
    • Kristina Dvorak
       
      This is a good reminder.  Students need to take on a more active role, but there is always a good balance.  It probably shouldn't be all one way or all another way.  
    • principalchris
       
      How true!  It will be difficult for some students to lead their own learning.  They have been passive for so long it will be a shock to their systems.
  • a number of tiles to get you started,
    • edamisch
       
      So like the apps that come with an iphone. 
    • principalchris
       
      Just set up my account and can't wait to see what else I can add.  This is a great time saver.
  • teachers must pursue training and be knowledgeable of how to utilize PLEs to enhance learning and ensure that students are using this e-learning tool in a meaningful way.
    • Lisa Hackman
       
      I believe this is where the transformation must start, with good, consistent professional development. The key here is ensuring students are using the technology, whether that be a tablet, laptop, or smartphone, appropriately for learning.
    • marydermit
       
      I very much agree the process must start with PD.  PD needs to be personalized. From a baby boomer perspective we need mini PD sessions for technology applications.  Otherwise I think there will be resistance from this age group because of limited tech skills. 
  • I could stand to be more savvy in my own organizing of online learning and networking: I’ve been slow to use tools and develop skills for managing online resource
    • Lisa Hackman
       
      I can so relate to this comment. Finding time to explore and become comfortable with the vast array of tools avaiable is my biggest challenge. I get so caught up in the day-to-day management of 10+ students attending the alternative program (I am the only adult in the room with the students), I don't often have time to explore what's out there. Even when my admin and tech people pass along a list of resources, it is overwhelming to me. Much of my time is spent tracking down students, following up with parents, and documenting the events of the day.
    • Jessica Athen
       
      I also feel overwhelmed by all of the technology that I "should" be learning about and using with my students. We spend a lot of PD time on technology and incorporating it into our classrooms, but I feel like we just get a quick overview of whatever program they want us to use at that time, and then we never really get time to explore it and develop ways to incorporate it into our teaching.
    • jenniferlb
       
      I'm with you! There are so many cool resources and tech tools I want to learn and use...but actually finding the time to explore and implement is another story!
  • Teachers, she explains, are no longer the primary or even the best source of information available to students
    • Lisa Hackman
       
      As a teacher in a one-room alternative program, I KNOW this to be true. I feel like the jack-of-all trades, master of none on many days. I see myself more as a manager and facilitator of their learning than the direct source.
    • dwefel
       
      I always think this after I watch the history channel. I learn so much from the history channel and it is so much more interesting than listening to a lecture.
    • moodyh
       
      I am in a one-teacher room as well, and while I try to keep up, there is now way to know it all.  Even in the traditional classroom where I teach personal finance, I feel unable to keep up with it all.  But it is hard to let go of the reigns when you have taught that way and everyone else around you teaches that way.
  • I encouraged students to use their accounts as an information dashboard for “professional” or school interests as well as personal passions.
    • Jessica Athen
       
      I really like the idea of showing students how to use this technology and their learning for both "professional and personal use." I think when you tell students that it is "ok" for them to use technology this way, they learn more because they aren't compartmentalizing their usage of this technology as only for school, which means that they are more likely to use the program and play around with it, which will increase their learning opportunities.
  • This encourages students to apply their learning in different venues which creates a culture of lifelong learning.
    • dwefel
       
      This is exactly what educators are going for, to create life long learners. Using PLEs will create that. I am so excited to incorporate this in my classroom and help others do the same.
    • jillnovotny
       
      I completely agree with you that we want students to become life-long learners! When students leave school, we want students to be able to do seek out their own research, contacts, and resources to solve everyday problems. If students are never presented with opportunities to direct and manage their own learning, they will not be as successful. Giving students permission to learn about and engage with things they are passionate about can only lead to positive educational outcomes (with appropriate supports of course)!
  • For example, you can create tiles that link to challenges, quiz questions, polls, discussion forums, chat pages, and other types of content and media that will facilitate more student involvement and creativity.
    • dwefel
       
      This sounds fun. I am looking forward to set up an account. I think kids would really like this. It is nice to have one place for everything.
  • students still needed some kind of information dashboard to manage all of their information streams for the upcoming project.
    • jillnovotny
       
      I think it is a great idea to have a place for students to "store" the information they need to research and interact with their content. My students have used symbaloo in computer class and it has taken away a lot of the management concerns. Students know where to go to find the tools they need to keep progressing with their learning!
    • principalchris
       
      What a great idea!  When that notebook with all the notes is missing, it could be stored and used during class instead of searching or pretending to search.  Maybe we could teach them responsibility again!
  • PLEs give learners a high degree of control over their work by allowing them to customize the learning experience and connect to others, including experts in the field
    • jillnovotny
       
      This is exactly what we want - students to have a high degree of control over their work! By allowing them to customize the learning experience and connect with others, including experts, students are getting real-life experience that will help them solve the problems they face in their everyday lives. A PLE can help students organize this self-directed learning. Students will likely know what they want to learn but organizing that learning is often what students need support in. PLEs are helpful in providing students with tools they need to gather information, conduct research, and present their findings!
  • personalized learning that allows students to direct and manage their own learning experience while pursuing educational goals
    • jillnovotny
       
      In my opinion, this is exactly what we want students to be able to do! By supporting students in their academic endeavors, students learn to view teachers as guides or facilitators rather than "the one who knows all." In thinking about what we want students to be able to do when they leave school, we want students to be able to do seek out their own research, contacts, and resources to solve everyday problems. If students are never presented with opportunities to direct and manage their own learning, they will not be as successful!
    • marydermit
       
      You are right!  If students do not get to practice this skills by doing then they will struggle when they enter the workforce. 
  • The development of PLEs represents a shift in focus from teacher centered classrooms to more learner centered classrooms. As such, teachers must learn to effectively incorporate these social media based initiatives into their lessons.
    • jenniferlb
       
      This sounds absolutely ideal. The challenge we as educators face with students using their own technology during instruction and competing for their attention has steadily increased over recent years. How cool would it be if it were used to enhance their learning rather than get in the way of it!
    • katie50009
       
      I do have some concerns that a lot of the PLE is based on on-line learning. Students use technology constantly, but I have also seen them get frustrated with technology and on-line learning when it seems hard to navigate or they are not receiving adequate feedback.
  • The Symbaloo interface looks a bit like a high-tech Scrabble board with movable “tiles” on it. These tiles give you access to Web pages or other webmixes.
    • jenniferlb
       
      As someone completely new to this type of program, I really like the looks of it.  It appears friendly and seems to lend itself to some really great things.
  • What I do like about Symbaloo is that if I make any updates to this webmix, students receive the updates as well!
    • nwhipple
       
      This is really handy for parents as well.  I send them the link and they can access my web mix at home.  When I make an update, I alert parents via my shutterfly site.  Parents can go to my web mix and have their child show them games we are playing that reinforces our learning goals.  It is also nice because parents don't have to download anything or search for hours on something educational for their child to do because it is already done for them.
  • Because Symbaloo is web-based, you can access your favorite webmixes from different computers.
    • nwhipple
       
      This is so great because I can share this with parents and their child can access my game page at home.  If parents allow screen time at home, I feel that by providing this web mix to them to access will only benefit their child and help them learn and reinforce our learning in the classroom.  
  • The concept of PLE is not a way to replace classroom learning, but to enhance it.
    • principalchris
       
      This is the comment many teachers were hoping to read.  I understand the hesitation to give students control of the learning environment, but is it working by controlling them?
    • marydermit
       
      PLE research shows there are less behavior issues because kids get to learn based on their interests promoting intrinsic motivation to learn.  I think it would be great to teach in a PLE.  
  • Personal learning environments (PLE) are a new approach to personalized learning that allows students to direct and manage their own learning experience while pursuing educational goals. The idea for PLEs was born from the emergence of Web 2.0 tools and the ubiquity of technology in today’s society. Students now have access to desktop computers, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and game systems that connect them to free online tools that are always available. These tools provide a medium for students to create their own learning space that is more natural and unique to their interests and learning styles.
    • katie50009
       
      One of the key phrases here is "learning goals." I think we have to also explore how to help students define and establish learning goals for themselves. I am not sure they are always able to do this--at least in a way that is pushing and challenging what they already know or are able to do.
  • The social media platform that supports PLEs creates a perfect space for peer collaboration and sharing information.
    • katie50009
       
      I must remember that baby steps can get use to PLE for more students. It is overwhelming to think about changing the traditional model of education so many are used to until I read this line and take a deep breath. The sharing and conducting of "research" students are doing in individual leassons or units is a stgep in the right direction.
  • o horribly wrong if teachers fail to prepare students and set usage parameters.
    • katie50009
       
      I feel so much better reading this. I experienced this first hand. I thought my students were ready for the responsibility I was handing over; I thought I had set the "right" parameters, but, alas, the learning was not as rich as it could have been. In many cases, it turned out to be a huge waste of time. I still feel guilty about it. I guess the positive is that I am still trying to learn more about implementing PLE's effectively.
    • marydermit
       
      Yes, it is a positive because you learned from the experience.  Now you know what worked and what needs to be revised.  
Dennis OConnor

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day… - The Best Listening Sites For English ... - 0 views

  • This “The Best…” list was initially a difficult one for me to compile. A number of my previous lists, including the ones on reading and conversation, can also be characterized as “listening.” I finally decided on the following criteria for sites that would appear on this list. They would need need to: … be free. … be accessible to English Language Learners. … let English Language Learners listen to pretty much anything they would either write or anything they could find on the Internet, OR … have a wide range of listening options that would be combined with comprehension assessments.
  •  
    Thanks Larry for collecting high quality sites to help ESL, ELL, EFL teachers and students!  These sites will appeal to all language and writing teachers as well!
gfrolekclark

Using Jing for Educators - 0 views

  • Click on the following link to learn about Jing:http://www.screencast.com/t/SLWZToscXUSign up for Jing @http://www.jingproject.comView video tutorials @ Help Center
    • gfrolekclark
       
      This will get you started if you aren't familar with what Jing can do.
    • gfrolekclark
       
      This is only a few. It also works with Flickr, Prezi, Skype, etc.
  • What can teachers do with Jing?Create a tutorials for working with new technologies. Demonstrate how to access your class delicious bookmarks, log-in to your class wiki, ning or blog, and how to fill out a Google Docs form you’ve created.Create screencasts to publish student work. Copy to your class website.Create a lesson about Internet safety. Have students show examples of their own “safe” internet practices.…more for teachers.Demonstrate how to edit writing.Model a “think aloud” reading technique.Show parents how to use a class website, how to read a test report, or how to access student grades.Add voice to class photos to share classroom activities on your class website.
Jill Carlson

PLE Articles - 3 views

  • I could stand to be more savvy in my own organizing of online learning and networking:
    • krcouch
       
      This is so me! I really need to create a personal learning environment for myself with everything in one place.
    • Kim Foley-Sharp
       
      I know that I do not take full advantage of these and I should! It just needs to be my go to and make it a habit. It totally makes sense to have everything in one place.
    • dykstras
       
      Right on sisters! I wonder how many of us DON'T feel this way?!?!?
    • brarykat
       
      For me taking the step after doing more of my own PLE would be to help my staff.
    • tifinif
       
      Exactly. How is it that I can create a Symbaloo and resources for teachers but can't find the time to do it for myself. I feel like a chicken with my head cut off some days trying to remember all my favorite places and websites that I use for different lessons.
    • dassom
       
      I am terrible at this to. I have lately been creating folders on my bookmark toolbar to get more organized. There are so many resources that we have learned about from each other and this course that I have forgotten about and I wish I would have come up with some way to organize them as I was learning about them.
    • carlarwall
       
      DITTO! I find myself going through many bookmarks on my computer daily. Need to get things organized and manageable.
  • ou can embed media (images, videos, and Slideshare presentations) in a tile, as an instructor, you can make a webmix quite interactive.
    • krcouch
       
      Love that this can be done especially so kids don't have to go to various websites all the time and try to navigate which can be tricky even for us adults at times.
    • brarykat
       
      Symbaloo has improved options since I was first introduced to it.  I'd like to help staff create their own!
    • Heather Whitman
       
      I agree with the ease of it and having others use it. I think it is imperative they have a full hour or more to work with it. I would recommend they come with sites/images/links they definitely want to include before work time. They may spend more time on that and not finish it. Suddenly, it gets pushed back and not used.
  • allows students to direct and manage their own learning experience while pursuing educational goals.
    • krcouch
       
      Nothing says great learning more than this...they decide how to reach their educational goal. great!
    • brarykat
       
      Agreed.  It makes sense that students with invested interest in their education and ability to make choices will be more successful.
    • emmeyer
       
      Exactly. This would motivate the students more than anything else.
  • ...31 more annotations...
  • Learning isn’t germane to structured classroom environments alone; it occurs in both formal and informal settings.
    • Kim Foley-Sharp
       
      This has been true for centuries, yet our schools still function with the thought that things must be learned in the classroom. That thought is starting to shift and progress has been made, but we still have a long way to go to change some mindsets.
    • brarykat
       
      I love getting updates from friends teaching through outdoor classrooms or non traditional settings.  They always share the successes but also acknowledge any difficulties.  Trouble shooting is key for those making shifts to PLEs.
  • The employ of PLEs in the classroom can go horribly wrong if teachers fail to prepare students and set usage parameters. PLEs place a large amount of responsibility on students and thus requires a high level of self-management and awareness.
    • Kim Foley-Sharp
       
      These are critical steps! We can't just assume students know how to do it. We have to teach them the skills either at first or as you go along. Throwing students into the situation is setting them up for potential failure.
    • dykstras
       
      Agreed Kim! I also made a comment earlier about student motivation factoring into this too
  • What I do like about Symbaloo is that if I make any updates to this webmix, students receive the updates as well!
    • Kim Foley-Sharp
       
      I use symbaloo for my library resources. I am able to embed it on my library page. What I like is that it gives the students the direct link to many of the resources without them having to hunt for them. There are times that I want them to do that, but sometimes it just needs to be quick and Symbaloo works well for that.
    • brarykat
       
      I like the links readily available for a teacher's specific unit. Symbaloo helps students stay connected to assignments and increases efficiency of finding information.
  •  I encouraged students to use their accounts as an information dashboard for “professional” or school interests as well as personal passions.
    • Kim Foley-Sharp
       
      I really like this idea. I have never really explored Symbaloo enough or thoroughly enough to use it with students. I would like to explore that possibility more as part of my personal learning plan
    • brarykat
       
      I thought that was an interesting idea also.  We've discussed Symbaloo for years but I hadn't considered students creating their own.
    • Heather Whitman
       
      I like the clean look of it. People get easily lost in many online sites. Symbaloo forces you to find the key sites. This can really force you to find the best of the best.
  • Students engaging in networked learning have to learn to be more self-directed than in the typical classroom
    • Kim Foley-Sharp
       
      This is definitely a concept that we need to teach our students. Cooperative/group learning was something that I did not like growing up as I was usually the one most responsible in the group and ended up doing most of the work. We need to teach all of our students how this concept works so that it can be successful for all.
    • brarykat
       
      Very true for this to be successful.  I think a step before that is to do an in-depth training for staff.  So many times new methods and teaching tools are dumped in our laps without training, supports, or guidance.  PLEs could have lasting, powerful effects on students so I'd make sure it's all staff not just teachers to benefit from training.
  • A PLE is the method students use to organize their self-directed online learning, including the tools they employ to gather information, conduct research, and present their findings.
    • dykstras
       
      Interesting ... a PLE isn't a physical environment at all, but rather a method ... hadn't thought of it that way before reading this article.
    • blockerl
       
      I think what is also crucial to think about is how to get students to effectively research. We find this as a battle a lot. I wonder, though, if students are picking their own path that we would have more time to teach and reinforce these skills with them.
  • These tools provide a medium for students to create their own learning space that is more natural and unique to their interests and learning styles.
    • dykstras
       
      What? You mean our kids don't like to physically come to school, sit down, listen and learn anymore? And we are to adjust our 'teaching' to best fit their learning, including the delivery methods and mediums?!?!? Now that takes a GROWTH mindset!
    • brarykat
       
      Lol!  I have a small group of students everyday.  Because of the numbers I let them choose where we work each day - comfy loungers, table with rigid seats… I also let them make decisions on as many things as possible every period.  I like to think these students feel empowered, valued, and appreciated because of these simple tweaks to my teaching style.  However, realistically I believe this would be more difficult for me in a class of 30.  I want to learn strategies and then help other teachers to take the leap.
  • This encourages students to apply their learning in different venues which creates a culture of lifelong learning.
    • dykstras
       
      This to me seems like the greatest benefit to a PLE, but still relies HEAVILY on learner motivation. If a student is not motivated to learn (individually or otherwise) a PLE seems like it could be a way lose touch with that student
    • brarykat
       
      I agree with this also.  Motivated students are not my concern.  It's my middle school students that project their lack of interest, refuse or struggle to learn in the traditional setting, and those that show apathy toward any aspect of learning.  These students may benefit the most from PLEs but how to convince them in a class of 30+ is daunting.
  • facilitation of students’ “active role in the learning process”
    • dykstras
       
      I think a lot of modern day teachers (will) struggle with this ... moving from the keeper and giver of knowledge to facilitator of knowledge. We don't 'teach' them anything anymore that they can't learn on their own ... if they WANT to (even the quadratic formula). The challenge to me is how do we motivate and teach today's kids to WANT to learn on their own?
    • brarykat
       
      Yes, how do we instill the intrinsic value of personal growth and learning?  I see one way is connecting to real-world implementation.  Students ask "why learn this" and "when will I ever use this".  I agree that some or many teachers will struggle shifting from keeper to facilitator because it's out of comfort zone and control issue.
    • dassom
       
      I currently have a few students that would be ready and do well with this learning environment. How do we change the mindset of those other students that think school is useless and would do nothing all day long if given the opportunity? I'm afraid the "active" role may need to be more facilated that what we have been reading about so far.
  • The concept of PLE is not a way to replace classroom learning, but to enhance it.
    • bbraack
       
      I think this is important because some people might think that having a PLE for a student, then the teachers role is done. The teacher still has to provide what students need to learn, standards, but it is the student who decides how and the teacher is there to be a facilitator.
    • Heather Whitman
       
      I second this comment. This concept would take a lot of background and professional development. Teachers may feel threatened and some may worry about losing jobs as the internet can replace everything. Understanding it is not meant to replace is essential.
    • carlarwall
       
      So important to know that the teacher still plays an important role in this type of environment. Especially as students who are so used to the traditional learning environment move to a PLE.
  • Teachers, she explains, are no longer the primary or even the best source of information available to students
    • bbraack
       
      This is so true! With all of the ways students can find information using technology, the teacher is more there to help or facilitate a students learning if needed. Unlike "back-in-the-day", when students relied on the teacher or library for almost all of the information or learning.
    • emmeyer
       
      Truth. While the teacher's job has changed greatly, they are still very necessary. Now however, the need to teach students how to find the information and find good and trustworthy information.
  • Not every student is ready for this responsibility,
    • bbraack
       
      It would be nice if all students would be able to have a PLE, but some are not mature enough or motivated enough to work independently. Some students still need to be "pushed" to get work done and stay on task.
    • Heather Whitman
       
      There has never been one way for students to learn. We have to be flexible and offer different ways. I agree, this does not fit all students. We can still integrate pieces of this for students but use traditional means as well!
    • dassom
       
      The concept of PLE's seems really appealing to "lazy" teachers and it will unlikely work. For those of us that use technology frequently in our daily instruction you know that it takes a lot of pre-planning to incoporate technology appropriately. If you add the element of a student not being ready to take this step you either have teachers never try or really really fail.
    • carlarwall
       
      I agree that some teachers may think that using the PLE will be an easy out for them in regards to planning and instruction. If it is done well, the teacher who is part of the PLE actually should have more work to do as they monitor students on their individual work.
    • emmeyer
       
      Even while this does not work for all students, a modified version would still beneficial for all students. Some would need more guidance while still setting goals and completing projects.
    • Jill Carlson
       
      I would totally agree that not every student is ready, but isn't this the point of personalized learning?
  • PLEs give learners a high degree of control over their work by allowing them to customize the learning experience and connect to others, including experts in the field.
    • bbraack
       
      I think when students are able to customize their learning, then they take more ownership of it and are more inclined or motivated to do it, share and work with others wanting to learn the same thing or similar things.
  • clean, visual interface of Symbaloo and the ease of adding content; they also liked that they could customize the “tiles” they were adding and that their webmixes loaded quickly.
    • tifinif
       
      I'm in an elementary school and use Symbaloo in my library site. The kids and teachers love how easy it is to use and find the sites that they use quickly. I even have teachers accounts linked to our school page so that specific ages can go to their own class symbaloo.
    • blockerl
       
      That's smart! I bet it is really helpful for the elementary students! :)
    • carlarwall
       
      I have been out of the classroom for a couple of years. I would love a chance to share these ideas with some of the new teachers I coach in my work.
  • Because Symbaloo is web-based, you can access your favorite webmixes from different computers.
    • tifinif
       
      Teachers and kids love this at my school. I even give families the link so that they can use at home. They know that if I put a resource on it, that it is safe to use and they don't have to be roaming around looking for stuff that may end up being inappropriate.
  • Instead of a teacher providing resources that everyone uses, students can utilize their PLE to acquire information using preferred apps and resources such as blogs, YouTube, Pinterest, Ning or Delicious.
    • Heather Whitman
       
      This is such a win, win. The students are finding what interests them, helping others, and also helping the teacher. All too often teachers spend a large amount of time finding the resources. This works much better in the upper levels as it is essential to talk about reliability and good sources. I think it is essential to look at databases provided by the AEA and others purchased. These are reliable and good places to go. In the elementary, I send them here for reading levels and as they don't have the same ability to search online.
  • PLE by creating blogs, wikispaces, prezi presentations and photo collages as final projects; thereby diversifying instruction.
    • Heather Whitman
       
      This is where I get frustrated in the elementary. Most sites are for students ages 13 and up. I won't allow them to create their own prezi, animoto, powtoon, etc. accounts. So I have them use my login & password which is likely breaking copyright rules. These social media platforms (including Pinterest), need to create student friendly ones for ages 7 and up (just threw out an age) so that we can integrate similar style of teaching.
    • dassom
       
      I agree. If we wait until they are in middle school to have them "appropriately" use websites they have already developed their sense of digital citizenship without the proper instruction we know they need.
    • schma3
       
      Heather- I did some digging into Symbaloo's privacy policy and it looks like as long as you have obtained parental permission, students under the age of 13 can create an account- but I would look into a creating a pro account. I know I'm going to check it out! "By making any such personal information available to Symbaloo, you acknowledge that you have obtained the consent of a parent and/or guardian of that individual to provide such personal information, and that you have taken reasonable precautions to prevent individuals under the age of 13 from falsifying such consent"
  • Students can extend their learning into questions to parents, email conversations, Facebook posts or even twitter hashtags.
    • Heather Whitman
       
      Organizations/schools have always tried to increase communication. Parents have always continued to want more understanding of what students are learning. Using this type of format and inviting them into the learning is crucial. They can give feedback, see how to help, and also feel confident in what students are learning and the type of projects/products. The trick- how do we integrate families without internet? That is not impossible (especially if they come pick at school and allowing access in the library), but something to seriously think about. Rural areas can't go to McDonalds 20 miles away to do homework. We must have a policy to help those without internet.
  • supporting students in developing their skills and motivations for becoming themselves networked and sophisticated online learners
    • Heather Whitman
       
      I was elated to read this quote. I think we can focus too much on the what verses how do we grow and improve our resources. The sheer number of resources is overwhelming and can cause people to shut down. I think the key is to teach how to evaluate a resource and think about if it fits the current need. Curating is not like liking or making comments everywhere. We need to teach people how to decide.
  • teacher centered classrooms to more learner centered classrooms
    • dassom
       
      When we can get teachers to put the focus back on what the student needs, ideas and classroom revolutions like PLE's or flipped curriculum become much more likely.
  • teachers must pursue training and be knowledgeable of how to utilize PLEs to enhance learning and ensure that students are using this e-learning tool in a meaningful way.
    • blockerl
       
      This is extremely important. If we want to do something well, we must have good support and good training. It makes more sense for the teacher to initiate the training because there will be more buy-in.
  • I decided to revisit Symbaloo, which I first discovered about a year or so ago through my colleague and friend Wendy Drexler.
    • blockerl
       
      Our teacher librarian uses Symbaloo to organize the library resources like databases, the library link, etc. It's a nice visual.
  • Personal learning environments are beneficial because they support learning anywhere and allow learners to connect the diverse environments of school, home and play
    • carlarwall
       
      I think it is great that this type of learning will help to shift the mindset of the students to one in which they think learning can happen anywhere.
  • Study group resources
    • schma3
       
      I saw this being used with Freshman- this was a way for them to organize their resources for a research paper.
  • Symbaloo EDU
    • schma3
       
      I was doing some research on Symbaloo EDU and it looks like they have created something called Learning Paths- https://www.symbalooedu.com/learning-paths/ This would be a way for students to move through learning at their own pace.
  • You can share with the public or with a select group of individuals (via email).
    • schma3
       
      I like how easy it is to share web mixes with others. You could use Google Classroom to share different symbaloo's with different sets of students.
  • let’s never forget it is an ongoing balancing act. 
    • emmeyer
       
      This is true of teaching in general, especially when they are doing PLE!
  • sharing with others.
    • Jill Carlson
       
      This reminds me of the first grade blogs, I used to have my students do years ago. They loved the feedback from their parents and grandparents.
  • The social media platform that supports PLEs creates a perfect space for peer collaboration and sharing information.
    • Jill Carlson
       
      What would be the best social media platform to use for lower elementary students?
  • Symbaloo
    • Jill Carlson
       
      I love Symbaloo and the fact that it is user friendly enough for first graders to use!
d YM

ollie1 (Peterman): Assignment: Community: Sharing Resources via Diigo - 0 views

shared by d YM on 09 Oct 12 - Cached
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    website / portfolios
d YM

Google - 0 views

shared by d YM on 09 Oct 12 - Cached
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    website - artistic
renaudr

http://www.bakeru.edu/images/pdf/Res_facultystaff/Faculty_Moodle_Tutorial.pdf - 0 views

  •  
    This website has been SOOOO helpful!  It is a very detailed tutorial for Moodle users.  It has everything from the most basic Moodle tips to setting up the most complex and intimidating features Moodle has to offer. This will be really nice once the class is over and I still have questions!
stitesm

PLC at Work™ | Solution Tree - 0 views

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    Use the Solution Tree Website to dig further into the importance of PLC as well as ho to set up an effective PLC structure.
stitesm

MTSS | RTI Action Network - 0 views

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    RTI Website with resources and articles
disneygal

Training design ideas from Cathy Moore - 0 views

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    This website has lots of resources for the creation of content by the author of the article we read, "Dumping the Drone."   Ideas to engage adults- if you work with adults, this is a must read
bkoller86

"Personalized" vs. "Personal" Learning - 2 views

  • Educators at the EduCon conference hosted by Science Leadership Academy eagerly discussed the merits and challenges of personalizing learning. Dozens of teachers agreed that a truly personalized learning experience requires student choice, is individualized, meaningful and resource rich. This kind of learning allows students to work at their own pace and level, meets the individual needs of students, and perhaps most importantly, is not a one-size fits all model. Technology was strikingly absent from these conversations. Instead, the common view of personalization focused on giving agency for learning to the student and valuing each individual in a classroom.
    • anonymous
       
      So do the students get the necessary skills first from the teacher then are able to choose what they want to learn about? How would a teacher then keep track of how they are learning?
    • djarends
       
      I wonder that. Would they use the portfolio method? I also wonder about the choice issue. How is this being accomplished? Are they given the assignment / task and have choice within the project or do they have complete choice over what they learn? 
    • kbolinger
       
      I was wondering some of these same things too. How do students get the necessary prerequisite skills needed to complete their chosen task...the teacher? a computer? If you have 25 students and they all want/need to learn about a concept in different way or they choose different projects at multiple levels of learning, how does one teacher possibly manage that? Are young students able to have as much choice as older students or does that increase as students grow and understand more about themselves as a learner?
  • However, in order to navigate the system of accountability in the U.S. educational system, many school district leaders require public school educators to teach a specific curriculum that will be evaluated on standardized tests, while at the same time telling teachers to be innovative and creative within their classrooms.
    • anonymous
       
      I would think there would be math and science teachers asking about how personalized learning would help students improve standardized test scores for those areas. Should the specific curriculum in the U.S. educational system be tweaked to allow more personalized learning? 
    • bkoller86
       
      I think there is a balance between personalized learning and standardized learning. I would like the end goal would be the same for everyone, but the road to get there would be personalized. 
  • Give them opportunities to learn personally, to create their own texts and courses of study, and to pursue that learning with others in and out of the classroom who share a passion.
    • anonymous
       
      I love this idea! As a Spanish teacher, I want to give them the skills for communication but then let them explore and learn what they want to learn how they want to learn - can't wait to explore that option!
    • Denise Tatoian
       
      I agree! Students need to have the skills first then explore what and how they want to learn.
    • kkoller
       
      I like this idea because it teaches students to take ownership of their learning. It might also motivate those kids who constantly encounter on a daily basis that hate school. I wonder though from an elementary perspective, how do we change how we do things to better prepare our students for this kind of education?
    • bkoller86
       
      Whenever students and apply the skills to a passion of theirs students are able to see the purpose of courses they have taken. Students who struggle in math and science learn many of those skills in my agriculture class because they are engaged in a passion of theirs. 
  • ...25 more annotations...
  • From what I’ve seen, flipping doesn’t do much for helping kids become better learners in the sense of being able to drive their own edu
  • the best thing we can do for kids is empower them to make regular, important, thoughtful decisions about their own learning, what they learn and how they learn it, and to frame our use of language in that larger shift, not simply in the affordances for traditional curriculum delivery that the tools of the moment might bring.
    • anonymous
       
      Teachers need to think about goals & practices but students should also be thinking about their goals and how they learn and process information in the classroom! 
    • djarends
       
      Agree! 
    • Denise Tatoian
       
      I agree, but the skills to do so need to be there first.
  • Personalized’ learning is something that we do to kids; ‘personal’ learning is something they do for themselves.”[4]
    • anonymous
       
      This is the second reference I've seen for this quote - should we then be gearing students towards a more "personal" learning concept?  
    • kbolinger
       
      I was thinking the same thing. It looks like the actual definition of Personalized Learning is widely debated. It would be nice if there was one term that, when spoken by educators, we would all be on the same page as to what it refers to. Either way, and no matter what it is called, the outcome that we are looking for should be the same - learner-centered schools that give students complete voice and choice.
  • A personalized environment gives students the freedom to follow a meaningful line of inquiry, while building the skills to connect, synthesize and analyze information into original productions.
    • djarends
       
      I like how this is worded. Students have freedom and choice. The task / learning is meaningful. Many high school students become frustrated because they do not see a reason for doing something. They learn skills that goes beyond just memorizing materials. They have to synthesize and analyze the information. Well worded.
  • lend themselves well to the computerized, modular and often very standardized system of “personalization” many ed-tech companies are offering.
    • djarends
       
      I become frustrated when I hear about this programs or are being pushed by administrators. I know they work for some students, but even those students need some guidance. I feel learning is more than just reading and completing material on the computer. It is interacting with people. The business world wants students that graduate with people skills (communication, cooperation, collaboration, etc.). Will this happen in a ed-tech "personalization" program only? 
  • It’s a dramatic shift that requires new literacies to navigate all that access and, importantly, new dispositions to take advantage of it for learning.
    • djarends
       
      "Ah, ha": As a person who has been teaching for a while and one who did not even know what a computer was until having to take a course at college for education, this rang true for me. It is a literacies that has to be learned by the older generation. My students are so immersed in this technology literacy. They navigate the web very quickly. They do not usually have the fear of the web which needs to be taught. Most of my students just laugh at me when I ask for help but do it willingly and are great teachers. I have learned a lot from them and appreciate their technology literacy skills.
  • “personal” learning is something they do for themselves
    • djarends
       
      I had not considered the differences before. I like that the students do it for themselves. I think they are more willing to learn when they have a purpose and the learning is much deeper. 
  • But if the point is to help kids understand ideas from the inside out and answer their own questions about the world, then what they’re doing is already personal (and varied).
    • djarends
       
      Facts are nothing without the understanding. What do the students THINK about their learning. The five Ws. Students become frustrated at me when I ask my favorite questions "How" or "Why" do you think that. It is hard to express our thinking. It is easy to spit out facts. 
  • because of the larger preoccupation with data data data data data.
    • djarends
       
      IEPs!
  • in the best student-centered, project-based education, kids spend much of their time learning with and from one another. Thus, while making sense of ideas is surely personal, it is not exclusively individual because it involves collaboration and takes place in a community.
    • djarends
       
      I am glad this was added. I worry about not having students that can work well with other. 
  • Dozens of teachers agreed that a truly personalized learning experience requires student choice, is individualized, meaningful and resource rich. This kind of learning allows students to work at their own pace and level, meets the individual needs of students, and perhaps most importantly, is not a one-size fits all model.
    • Denise Tatoian
       
      When discussing the merits and challenges of personalized learning, it's alarming to me that technology was absent from the converstations when most of what I read includes the use of technology.
  • many school district leaders require public school educators to teach a specific curriculum that will be evaluated on standardized tests, while at the same time telling teachers to be innovative and creative within their classrooms. When that happens, the structures around the classroom leave little room for the kind of authentic, whole-child personalization many teachers dream of offering.
    • Denise Tatoian
       
      I like that conversations are getting serious about personalized learning, but how do we get school districts on board when training, planning, technology, etc., are driven by time and funding?
  • In a world where we can explore almost every interest or passion in depth on our own or with others, it’s crucially more important to have the dispositions and the skills to create our own educational opportunities, not be trained to wait for opportunities that someone else has selected for delivery.
    • Denise Tatoian
       
      Comes down to training. Not all students have the skills to create their own personal learning.
    • albertscarr
       
      I remember in 4th grade when my teacher got mad at me when I couldn't finish my math paper "on time." It would have been so much easier to go at my own pace!
  • She cautions educators who may be excited about the progressive educational implications for “personalized learning” to make sure everyone they work with is on the same page about what that phrase means.
    • albertscarr
       
      In reading these articles there does seem to be a lot of individual definitions of "personalization." However on the flip side it is personalized, so everyone is going to have their own definition.
  • Personalization promises better student achievement and, I believe, a more effective delivery method than any one teacher with 25 or 30 students in a classroom can compete with. It’s a no-brainer, right?
    • albertscarr
       
      With a class that size its hard to see any growth of any student with traditional methods. Personalization would help the teacher keep tack of each child's progress
  • The main objective is just to raise test scores
    • albertscarr
       
      Then we need to rethink the way we test!
    • bkoller86
       
      I agree test scores carry to much weight, but they aren't going away anytime soon. To many people in powerful places want to know where their money is going. 
  • it is clear that all children don’t learn the same way and personalization seems to honor those differences
    • kbolinger
       
      I agree. Personalization seems to be an almost perfect answer to addressing all of the different needs, learning styles, and achievement levels in our classrooms today. I wonder if this approach will become the norm for schools, and, if so, how long will it take for schools to completely adopt this model.
    • bkoller86
       
      I also agree. In a time we look at test score more and more it is increasingly more important to move every student forward. Not all children learn the same way; we can't expect them to show growth if we don't personalize the learning.
  • Personalization is often used in the ed-tech community to describe a student moving through a prescribed set of activities at his own pace
    • kbolinger
       
      I feel much more knowledgeable about Personalized Learning today than I did a week ago. If someone would have asked me then if an adaptive learning or a computerized program that is tailored to a student's level and progresses them at their own pace is personalized learning, I surely would have said, "Yes!" I have now come to realize that there are many Personalized Learning components that are missing with just an adaptive learning program. Where is the student choice or goal setting? What if a computer is not that student's preferred learning method?
  • The only choice a student gets is what box to check on the screen and how quickly to move through the exercises
    • kkoller
       
      Teachers often use websites that will modify lessons to the student to push them ahead of their peers. I am just as guilty of this because I will often have students who are high in math, and have no one to put them with, so I use a website to help them progress. They make progress because it is personalized to them, but it doesn't tap into their interest and learning style. 
  • For many educators that’s not the true meaning of “personalized learning.” “That has nothing to do with the person sitting in front of you,” Laufenberg said. “It meets the needs of an individual in a very standardized way, but it doesn’t take into account who that kid is.
    • kkoller
       
      I feel teachers turn to technology because that is the quick fix to getting student learning to be ore personalized. We struggle to get enough staff, and numbers keep increasing in classrooms. How are teachers suppose to be creative and innovative when they can't get help in the room? 
  • Our kids (and we ourselves) are suddenly walking around with access to the sum of human knowledge in our pockets and connections to literally millions of potential teachers.
    • kkoller
       
      It is a great thing that we have such incredible access to information and others in our profession. It allows us to make connections, and reach out in education to see how other districts are getting it done. However, we as educators need to teach our students that while the access is wonderful, we need be careful of what we read. Students need to be taught the literacies of technology, and how to be critical of information found. 
  • others
  • opportunities
sarankin

ollie1 (Peterman): Iowa Online Teaching Standards - 40 views

  • Has experienced online learning from the perspective of a student
    • ames726
       
      I feel that this is essential for any teacher of an online course.  Just as a classroom teacher  has at some point been a student in a classroom, so should a teacher of an online course have been an online student.  It is an imperative experience that provides empathy and understanding that would otherwise be absent
    • ljhlaura
       
      I agree with this comment. While I think it is possible to be successful teaching in an environment one has not experienced personally, having that experience makes it easier and more likely. As I take the first steps in designing an online course, I think about how I would experience certain elements if I were the student and am able to draw on personal experience.
    • clmensing6
       
      absolutely! It is very important to me to be able to do what I ask my students to do. If I don't know what they are doing, it is my hope they can teach, or at least show, me how they did what they did.
    • kelleyneumann
       
      I agree.  I think this applies to all teaching, not only online teaching.  Whenever I assign a new project to my students, I like to go through the assignment myself so I can be ready for questions or make adjustments to avoid confusion or frustration for my students.
    • cwhitebotello
       
      The experience of being an on-line learners helps me as an on-line teacher be more sensitive not only to learning to content but also the stress new on-line learners go through.  Am I doing this right? Where do I find this? Learning to "routines & procedures" in the on-line classroom can be stressful!
  • 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
    • ames726
       
      My concern here is with the word "or."  My opinion is that the correct word should be "and."  Although I believe that it is of utmost importance that an instructor have academic credentials in the field in which he or she is teaching, I also perceive it to be just as important that he or she meet the professional teaching standards established.
  • 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
    • ames726
       
      I agree that learning theories are an integral part of teaching.  This ties to the annotation I made under standard 2.  Having this knowledge is an innate feature of meeting the professional teaching standards established.
  • ...47 more annotations...
  • Creates or selects multiple assessment instruments that are appropriate for online learning (SREB H.1, Varvel VI.C)
    • ljhlaura
       
      I agree that administering varying types of assessments is important to ensuring that students who learn and communicate in different ways will have an opportunity to demonstrate what they know. Some might be most successful in responding to direct, objective test questions, while others might be more effective in writing essays. Multiple types of assessments can also reveal the depth of knowledge of any one student, regardless of learning and communication style.
  • Understands and uses course content that complies with intellectual property rights and fair use, and assists students in complying as well
    • ljhlaura
       
      I am curious to learn about complying with intellectual property rights online. While copyright law allows for "fair use" for educational purposes, online courses seem especially suited to drawing material from other parts of the Internet. At what point might a teacher cross from "fair use" into a violation of someone's intellectual property rights?
    • ames726
       
      I am intrigued by this thought.  the term "fair use" seems vague and undefined.  I agree that online courses do seem particularly suited to drawing material from the internet.  Perhaps examples of acceptable use vs. unacceptable use would be helpful.
    • ramonasatre
       
      This is a great question. I don't feel I fully understand "fair use" when it comes to using material from the internet for courses.
    • Adam Cox
       
      I intended to highlight this as well. Perhaps since it is already highlighted I am unable to do so as well. Fair use issues and proper citing of sources is probably something many of us need an update on. Especially now that our content will be online for people to see and perhaps even borrow in their courses, we need to be sure we are legal in what we share and use.
  • Networks with others involved in online education for the purpose of professional growth
    • ramonasatre
       
      I think networking provides great opportunities in all field for learning. Sharing real experiences are some of the best "professional development" I have attended. Just attended the science TIC; wonderful experience of teachers sharing with teachers.
    • stitesm
       
      You are correct.  Networking is the best way to learn.  It isn't always easy finding time to get together face 2 face but technology is enhancing our collaboration across the state in order to learn from each other
  • Understands student motivation and uses techniques to engage students
    • ramonasatre
       
      Wish I had a clear picture of "what" motivates students. This concept in the classroom or online can be a tricky one.
  • content knowledge (including technological knowledge
    • Elizabeth Fritz
       
      great connection to Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) ...attempts to identify the nature of knowledge required by teachers for technology
    • hstaebell
       
      Technical knowledge is a hard one for me. I feel like technology changes at such a rapid pace and with not being in a physical classroom I have to rely on myself to further my tech knowledge. That doesn't happen easily.
  • Promotes learning through online collaboration group work that is goal-oriented and focused
    • Elizabeth Fritz
       
      This can be a most challenging task, online group work that has true collaboration. So often we just want to be anonymous.
  • • Provides substantive, timely, and constructive feedback to students (SREB D.8, Varvel VI.F, ITS 5.e)
    • senoracoffey
       
      As a student and as a teacher, I have found getting my assignments graded online as a student and grading them as a teacher is very time consuming. Sometimes I have even wondered if my assignments were graded by my instructors. It takes a lot of time sitting in front of the computer, opening up each student's assignment, and grading it with quality feedback. I have found that online work tends to take a lot longer to grade. 
    • Adam Cox
       
      We are currently using a lot of Google Docs in our classes at Woodbine, and I too have been a bit overwhelmed by the time it takes to grade work. Some resources like Flubaroo are helping me with multiple choice type work but basic writing stuff takes a long time.
    • cwhitebotello
       
      This seems to be a common theme and something that on-line teachers struggle with. Getting timely feedback as a student is important so new learning is affirmed before I move on to the next topic.  As a teacher it requires allot of time and self discipline to attend to. 
    • sarankin
       
      Getting feedback on student work is key for motivating students to work hard daily.  Google Classroom has made a big difference in face-to-face classes and I believe it could also make a different in online classes.  If the assessment is a paper, then the teacher can give feedback daily or every few days instead of just grading the paper at the end when it is due.  This feedback would allow for students to know if they are on the right track as they are working on it.  
  • • Selects and uses technologies appropriate to the content that enhance learning (SREB M.3, Varvel IV.D, ITS 3.e, ITS 4.f)
    • senoracoffey
       
      Having reliable, quality, affordable software to support learning is hard to come by. 
  • • Has knowledge of and informs student of their rights to privacy and the conditions under which their work may be shared with others (SREB E.8, Varvel I.D)
    • Adam Cox
       
      I think this would be easy to overlook in this type of class offering. Sharing student rights as it pertains to their work and who exactly will be seeing it IS important.
    • Adam Cox
       
      Course evaluations have been interesting to me in the past. If they are not well designed they can create a forum for feedback that is not as "helpful" as you'd hope. Putting a lot of thought into the feedback you are seeking and then asking about those things in particular with carefully worded questions might help a person avoid "extra input" that sometimes is not as helpful. (I've had students use them as a place to judge and criticize. That CAN be helpful, but it is often not the type of feedback that leads to creating change for the overall good of the course.)
  • • Utilizes a course evaluation and student feedback data to improve the course (Varvel VI.F)
    • Adam Cox
       
      Be careful as to the questions used for bringing in feedback and think hard about whether to make it anonymous or not as well. Open ended feedback from anonymous posters is sometimes not as helpful as you'd hope it to be. :)
    • disneygal
       
      My experience is that course evaluations for online or traditional AEA courses are often not completed. Those that are posted often do not have enough detail to help guide changes.  We have tried to send out a separate SurveyMonkey and don't get a good response there either. Would be concerned re: how this criteria would be evaluated.  AND, I would love to know how to encourage more course feedbackk!
    • Deena Recker
       
      When this was trialed in my last course, I found the pre-course evaluation fairly straight forward. The co-teacher and myself had to revise the post-course evaluation a few times as we walked through the course to ask questions that provided us with usable information. 
  • Incorporates social aspects into the teaching and learning process
    • Cari Teske
       
      Collaboration is key to a successful online course.  It is not enough to read content and complete assessments.  A student needs to be actively involved in the learning process.  This is where discussion forums become important as do the activities that you are directly involved with during the class.  Reflecting and responding increase the social aspects and allow for learning to go beyond the content provided.  - Cari Teske
  • 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.) (SREB B.3
    • mcgillicutty
       
      As teachers we need to follow the 21st century technology standards.
  • • Creates a learning community that encourages collaboration and interaction, including student-teacher, student-student, and student-content (SREB D.2, Varvel VII.B, ITS 6.a)
    • mcgillicutty
       
      It is important for students to learn in groups and for them to collaborate with each other, problem solve, and to learn good communication skills.
    • paulboysen
       
      Alignment is very important to make sure that the students are are receiving instruction to meet the local achievement goals.
  • 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)
    • paulboysen
       
      With the implementation of DSI, this area becomes critical for successful implementation of this mandated instruction.
  • Communicates with students effectively and consistently (SREB D.1, ITS 1.g)
  • Demonstrates growth in technology knowledge and skills in order to stay current with emerging technologies (SREB B.5)
    • stitesm
       
      Very important for all instructors on either side of the screen.  Keep current on new research by reading, taking classes, collaborating and networking. 
    • cwdorman
       
      Online instruction is more than just putting print up on a website (the online version of worksheets perhaps!)--one must strive to learn all aspects of the technology and use it to be an effective online instructor.
  • 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)
  • Identifies and communicates learning outcomes and expectations through a course overview/orientation
    • shawnaharris
       
      Just in case the other comment wasn't posted, here it is again...All participants/students should know what is expected of them and how they will be graded and classroom expectations.
  • Understands the differences between teaching online and teaching face-to-face (SREB C.1, Varvel V)
    • shawnaharris
       
      There is a HUGE difference between face-to-face and online learning/teaching.
    • Cari Teske
       
      Very true.  Also, between blended and those mentioned above.  Strategies used need to be developed to provide learning to be at it's optimum.  
    • janevolden
       
      I feel there is a definite challenge that is larger barrier than teaching face-to face.  You must get your thought across without that personal face-to-face and not loosing anything in the interpretation.  you must also feel as though you have your message getting across ....quite a challenge.
    • sarankin
       
      I agree that there is a huge difference between online and face-to-face teaching.  I also believe that some people think it's "easier" to teach online and takes less time.  Actually I think it takes more time!
  • Continuously
  • evaluate
  • • Demonstrates techniques for dealing with issues arising from inappropriate student technological use (SREB E.7)
    • verploeg
       
      Students believe that copying and pasting from several sites alleviates the worry of plagiarism while never translating the material into their own words.  In addition, sometimes students have the false idea that posts are anonymous unaware that what is said online remains.  And edits and deletions may be impossible.  With this comes responsibility.
    • kelleyneumann
       
      This is a huge concern in our building since going 1:1.  Students don't understand that they can't copy and paste something word for word from the Internet.  I have had students simply change one or two words and think they can all it their own. 
  • Demonstrates techniques for dealing with issues arising from inappropriate student technological use (SREB E.7)
    • paulboysen
       
      https://diigo.com/08anyu This is a test.
  • • Understands and uses data from assessments to guide instruction (SREB J, ITS 5.c)
    • paulboysen
       
      https://diigo.com/08anyu I have found assessment data to be very valuable in seeing if what you are teaching matches the goals of the course.  Data often show gaps in instruction.  It also indicates areas that may need to covered in more detail.
  • Creates a safe environment, managing conflict (Varvel VII.D, ITS 6.e)
    • paulboysen
       
      https://diigo.com/08anyu I have found that dealing with the problem before it escalates usually is the best approach.  If a student is having a problem, talking with the student in a normal calm voice can beneficial.  Sometimes, things just blow up and then the main goal is to keep the students safe.
  • • Applies research, knowledge, and skills from professional growth to improve practice (SREB C.8, ITS 7.c)
  • Knows the content of the subject to be taught and understands how to teach the content to students
    • anonymous
       
      This corresponds to teaching mathematics. One MUST know the content at grade level, what content comes before, and what content comes after.
    • cwdorman
       
      This would seem to be pretty essential as one must know the content well in order to teach it effectively.
  • Selects and uses technologies appropriate to the content that enhance learning
    • anonymous
       
      I believe that the content being learned must be the focus and not the technology being used. The technology should only be a tool that enhances student learning.
    • stitesm
       
      Good comment!  Even with students that we work with face 2 face.... technology should not be a subject or an objective but it should be used to enhance their learning with core curriculum.  
  • presentation of the conte
    • stitesm
       
      This can be scary for on-line instructors because it is important that you apply the correct presentation of content for students to learn and engage.
  • Understands and uses data from assessments to guide instruction
    • verploeg
       
      Teaching is all about constantly tweaking the material to meet the students' needs.  What worked a year ago may not work at all with the current students.  
    • Cari Teske
       
      Yes, reflection is always good.  But, often times it needs to happen during the course.  As instructors we often assume that others will be able to follow along with the instruction.  When that is not the case, material needs to be retaught.  In a face-to-face classroom, one can observe the students.  In an online class, it may be more difficult to see and the method of gathering understanding from participants may take a different approach.  
    • Deena Recker
       
      I find it very helpful to document immediately following a lesson with a student before going on to the next. It helps keep data clear and immediate.
  • Establishes standards for student behavior that are designed to ensure academic integrity and appropriate use of the internet and written communication
    • verploeg
       
      Some students are under the mistaken impression that copying and pasting from several different websites and compiling this info is NOT plagiarism.  Translating into their own words hasn't been done and yet they don't understand that they are stealing content.  We, as educators, must establish the guidelines for writing with integrity.
  • Maintains an online social presence that is available, approachable, positive, interactive, and sincere
    • verploeg
       
      Knowing you can get a teacher's feedback quickly is important in keeping students engaged so frustration does not set in.
    • kelleyneumann
       
      This is essential to any online course.  Unfortunately, I have taken courses in which the instructor is either unavailable and/or unapproachable and it is extremely frustrating.
  • Demonstrates effective instructional strategies and techniques, appropriate for online education, that align with course objectives and assessment
    • verploeg
       
      With all the technology available free, it seems it would be easy to throw in elements that really don't enhance the learning of a topic.  Prudence would need to be taken.
    • disneygal
       
      The details in this criteria include 2 items that are recognized as cornerstones of good teaching and likely share common definitions-overviews & reviews and patterns in lesson sequencing. "Appropriate visual web design techniques" on the other hand does not have a widely held definition. Where will this come from? How can online instructors keep up with what are appropriate techniques?
  • Understands student motivation and uses techniques to engage students (Varvel V.D, ITS 4.d)
    • abbys213
       
      It is very important for an online student to be engaged. Instructors can help by adding interactive pieces to the course.
  • Assists students with technology used in the course (Varvel III.C)
    • abbys213
       
      This class is helping with that!
    • mikedemario
       
      This is important.  I try to go through each evaluation to improve the course experience - but would love to spend some more time creating a more thorough evaluation document
    • mikedemario
       
      I try to have any assignment where teachers create a lesson, worksheet, unit plan, homework activity, etc - contain a component that allows them to evaluate the impact on student learning.
  • Knows and aligns instruction
    • deb loftsgard
       
      It is imperative that teachers (whether teaching online or face to face) has alignment with their standards, instruction, and alignment
  • instructional strategies
    • deb loftsgard
       
      In an online course, instructional strategies can get tricky, but it is important to keep things fresh, and keep participants engaged in the learning process.
  • planning, designing,
    • Cari Teske
       
      When starting an online class is important to design it with the end in mind.  What do you want students to know by participating in this course?  Planning and designing how to get to those goals is critical.  It can often be difficult for instructors to 'unlearn' what they are already know.  In a regular classroom they pick up clues by observing the students as to whether they understand the content.  That is much harder to do in an online environment.  Therefore, it is important to carefully review your course throughout the planning and designing stage in order to deliver a clear message of instruction.
    • janevolden
       
      I really feel that I am working on aligning my course to the Iowa Teaching Standards.  I LOVE standards....think it is such a great thing for all. 
    • matt66ludwig
       
      If instruction is not aligned to the achievement goals of the district and/or state, I again would question the intent of the lesson. Alignment ensures that we are teaching and monitoring what students need to know and be able to do.
  • Demonstrates ethical conduct as defined by state law and local policies or procedures
  • Communicates assessment criteria and standards to students, including rubrics for student performances and participation (Varvel VI.D, ITS 5.b)
  •  
    As a yearbook advisor, I've always taught students that you can mention film, media, music, games, etc. and you can use portions of lyrics but not whole songs or poems. Attribution is important, but doesn't necessarily let you use whatever you want. If kids want to use pictures in our book from Facebook or Instagram, I make them ASK permission from the person who took the picture. As an Art teacher, I explain to students that it gets a whole lot messier. No one blinked when Warhol parodied advertising labels or art masterpieces or when Marcel Duchamp recreated the Mona Lisa with a mustache, but Shepherd Fairy was sued by the Associate Press for basing his Hope/Change/Progress posters of Barrack Obama on one of their news photographer's images from a press conference. I encourages students to use Photoshop, Pixler or Google Drawings to create their own graphics and MeMes rather than simply downloading preexisting material, but I don't think I'll ever manage to stop them from looking up pictures on the internet to draw or paint.
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  •  
    Okay, but don't we also need to have a feel for each individual student's learning styles, cognitive abilities, behaviors & intelligence strengths & deficits? Anyone who's been a classroom teacher for very long can also tell you that every group seems to have a "chemistry" or personality or relational dynamic which is unique too. Every year I've had to adjust because of how groups get a long or work together or respond best to. I would like to know if the social/group dynamics play as much of a role in online teaching if any. Is it like classroom teaching, something that you gain instincts about through experience? It there just as much art and science to teaching with moodle or in a chat room as in an actual school?
  •  
    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 (SREB C.14, Varvel V.F)
  •  
    I agree to be the best teacher you have to experience the lesson from the students perspective. Having been on both sides give the educator a much better understanding of how things should be taught.
Carol Price

Digital Citizenship - 0 views

  •  
    This Website will provide teachers and parents with important information about how to use technology responsibility.
Brooke Maine

ollie1christensen: Iowa Online Teaching Standards - 6 views

  • 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 (SREB C.14, Varvel V.F)
    • Peggy Steinbronn
       
      The structure of the course is very important to whether or not a student succeeds in an online course environment. If the course structure is very "scattered or disorganized" students have a harder time understanding what is expected and may drop out.
    • Lorilee Hamel
       
      The same as a classroom situation. The key is having clear learning targets, structured purposeful instruction, and the strategies/tools that most effectively engage the learning/learner.
  • Understands student motivation and uses techniques to engage students (Varvel V.D, ITS 4.d)
    • Peggy Steinbronn
       
      Engaging students in the online environment is very challenging, but also a challenge that I see as an important one to meet--engaged students will learn more and have a better online experience.
    • Peggy Christensen
       
      I agree with you, Peggy. If students (even adult students) aren't engage there is very little learning going on.
    • Erik Columbus
       
      I think this one is very essential - with all the new online tools at teachers' disposal, hopefully some are not using technology just to "say" they are using technology/ online learning - motivation is key in any type of instruction.
    • William Bird
       
      In a f2f classroom or an online classroom it still comes down to building relationships with students who are not engaged in the learning process.
  • Has experienced online learning from the perspective of a student (SREB F.1, Varvel II.E)
    • anonymous
       
      I'm starting to understand why it's so important to understand this component. It's very frustrating at time when something isn't clicking right away and there isn't anyone to run to and ask a question.
    • Erik Columbus
       
      Couldn't agree with you more Bethany - to be in the "shoes" of an online student learner is very educational. I share your frustration as well......although I'm 100% certain my students are way more web/tech savvy then myself :-/
  • ...20 more annotations...
  • Maintains an online social presence that is available, approachable, positive, interactive, and sincere
    • Erin Payne-Christiansen
       
      I think an instructor of a course that was completely online could find him/herself overwhelmed with the amount of communication taking place. It takes time to navigate around, read everyone's posts on each topic, and comment, all while working to be both professional and approachable. In a face-to-face class, you can visually monitor how long it's going to take the instructor to respond to you. (How many other hands are in the air? How many people are lined up?) The instructor can also view facial expressions and body language to determine if his/her students are "getting it" and buying in. It seems like this element, in an online course, would have to be done entirely by computer interactions. I'd be completely overwhelmed if I had to teach a course completely online!
    • Peggy Christensen
       
      It is challenging at times. I've had a few of you call me, if you have a Moodle problem. I also agree that you need to be very clear when you communicate online because you don't see those facial expressions and body language. You also have to be careful about joking with people online, because again you don't see facial expressions, body language and hear tone of voice.
  • Tailors instruction to meet the different needs of students, i
    • Janet Wills
       
      This is where I think online learning can really be utilized to the benefit of every student. Online learning can be personalized for each student's need.
  • Provides substantive, timely, and constructive feedback to students
    • Janet Wills
       
      I think that Moodle is great for providing that immediate feedback. It lets students know if they are on the right track!
  • Creates a learning community that encourages collaboration and interaction, including student-teacher, student-student, and student-content
    • Kristin Meyer
       
      I think collaboration and group work is great for students in preparing them for life after high school if done correctly. Too often I see groupwork done where one or two students do the majority of the work while other students do little or nothing. Online classes can can either help or hurt group projects depending on how they are set up and the work required by each individual student.
  • 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
    • Kristin Meyer
       
      I think more teachers would add an online component to their classes if they felt more comfortable. I was hoping my school district would choose one online platform (Moodle for example) and then train all of our staff to create pages. Some teachers have created their own websites but it would be much easier for the students if all teachers had the same online set up for their classes.
    • Brooke Maine
       
      I completely agree with having all teachers use the same website. It seems easiest, most cost-efficient, and just smart, best practice for a district to do that. Good call!
    • Lorilee Hamel
       
      I too agree--and my district is trying to move forward on the decision making path. BUT deciding which of the CMS to go with is challenging/daunting.
  • different learning styles
    • anonymous
       
      I believe this is an important element of online learning. There are so many tools that can be used to get the same point across, and if it engages the students they will be more likely to want to learn it.
  • Demonstrates techniques for dealing with issues arising from inappropriate student technological use
    • anonymous
       
      Brings up a good point. Most districts have the right to keep students off the internet if they have abused it in the past. What happens when it is required for a class?
    • Brooke Maine
       
      That is a good question Bethany! What does happen??
    • Peggy Christensen
       
      I think policies need to be developed by schools and school districts to address such issues.
  • Understands the differences between teaching online and teaching face-to-face
    • Robert Hanson
       
      This statement is interesting. I understand we would need to know the difference in delivery but at the same time we are teaching students, just like in the classroom.
    • William Bird
       
      Somethings are easier in face2face like being able to see the confussion on a students face and ask follow up questions for understanding. In the same way in the onlne classroom in discussion groups all students get the amount of "wait time" that they might need. This will give some rich responses from students who may not even talk in a f2f classroom.
  • Selects and uses technologies appropriate to the content that enhance learning
    • Jodi Leimkuehler
       
      I think this is important even in a face-to-face classroom. We need to make sure that the technology we are choosing to use enhances the learning; and we are not just using it to be using it.
    • Peggy Christensen
       
      Jodi, too often I think teachers find a "cool" tech tool and then try to figure out how to use it in their classroom. I know I used to be guilty of that.
  • online collaboration group work that is goal-oriented
    • Jodi Leimkuehler
       
      How much more real world can one get?! Talk about preparing students for the 21st Century. I think if an online environment is used correctly, students have an awesome opportunity to collaborate and learn to work together to achieve a common goal.
    • Kristin Meyer
       
      Great point! This does replicate tasks done in the "real" working world!
  • Sets and models clear expectations for appropriate behavior and proper interaction
    • Brooke Maine
       
      I think this standard is a very important one for online learning. Teachers model and monitor appropriate behavior naturally in a face-to-face class but it is a whole other world to try and teach it in an online class. The students that I have seen many times do not understand what is or is not appropriate for online classes or behavior. It needs to be explicitly taught and modeled and teachers can't just assume that students know what is or is not ok for online behaviors and interactions.
  • Demonstrates effective instructional strategies and techniques, appropriate for online education, that align with course objectives and assessment
    • Brooke Maine
       
      This immediately made me think of last week when we looked at the various tools and discussed how important it is to select the correct tool for a purpose in the online class, and not using tools just to use them or use them in the wrong manner.
    • Kristin Meyer
       
      I agree! Some tools look "fun" to use so we try to find a place in our classrooms to use them instead of finding a tool that will best enhance the learning goals and objectives.
  • Demonstrates growth in technology knowledge and skills in order to stay current with emerging technologies
    • Erin Payne-Christiansen
       
      This seems to be a particularly relevant standard for this field in particular, perhaps more so than in any other area. Not only do "new" technologies enter the educational setting, but familiar ones are updated/upgraded. There is also such a broad range of technology available, as well as slightly different "products" to do similar tasks.
    • William Bird
       
      I agree Erin this is so important and so challenging as an educator to stay on top of the new learning that is needed to teach native tech students in todays world.
  • Identifies and communicates learning outcomes and expectations through a course overview/orientation
    • William Bird
       
      It is so important for students to know what the target (Learning outcome) is if we want them to feel successful. Teachers who are students always want a clear picture of the expectation. We tend to be high level target shooters.
  • Demonstrates ethical conduct as defined by state law and local policies or procedures
    • William Bird
       
      While this would seem common sense, it many times is missed by staff. Our district just added a lot of addtional guidelines for staff as they have opened new portals (facebook etc) to us on district servers. Even administrators miss on this one.
  • didactic conversation
    • Robert Hanson
       
      I had to look up what this meant, still a little confused.
  • didactic conversation
  • Continuously uses data to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of instructional strategies (SREB J.7, ITS 1.c)
    • Lorilee Hamel
       
      As with any teaching....data is vital in both the formative and summative forms for determining the efficacy of your instruction and the learning of the student.
  • communicates evidence of learning
  • Aligns assessment with course objectives
    • Lorilee Hamel
       
      The first most important step to successful instruction--know where you want the students to go!!
  •  
    The vast majority of my teaching experience (22 years) has been with adults in the college environment at three different colleges and in a training environment at the state police academy. The earlier comment about adult engagement is right on. Either the person themselves or their employer is paying out money for my classes and they want bang for their buck. Adults do not want to waste their time in non productive endeavors because they usually have less time available.
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