Internship+Documentation+and+Materials+Collection

** Blog Posting 5/14/10 ** I designed the course, Using Web 2.0 Tools for Teacher Collaboration, as a class that I will be teaching in June and again in August. All secondary ELA teachers in the Cy-Fair district are invited to attend. It is my hope that I will have a full house of 60 interested teachers who want to develop their skills as collaborators and instructors. By providing thoughtful readings, examples of collaborative efforts of others, and interesting assignments, I want to encourage teachers to become collaborators, rather than isolated professionals, who know how to teach by example and practice what they preach. I do not believe that collaboration with professionals beyond the walls of the school building is something in which many of today’s teachers engage. Students are often asked to collaborate, but rarely do they see their teachers displaying the same skills that they are being asked to learn. This provides a disconnect for students who, because of their teacher’s lack of performance, find no value in doing what they see as inconsequential and meaningless. By participating in this course, teachers will find new ways to collaborate, learn, and become the examples they should be for their students.  The course that I have designed, in my own estimation, is fairly adequate. In the design and structure of the class I was able to determine the learning needs, the essential questions, and the expected outcomes fairly easily. Because it is the kind of class that builds knowledge and requires practice, I do not expect earth-shattering results all at once, but rather, I expect teachers to come away from the course with a new-found knowledge of the value of online collaboration and the tools that are available for it. If it reaches only a few teachers, I will count my class successful because as one drop of water in a still pond has far reaching effects, so one or two teachers who begin collaborating regularly can influence others who will then influence even more. The broader influence will be shown in the forth-coming lessons that require students to collaborate online. I felt the Schoology environment was adequate for our purposes, but I do prefer Moodle for high school students because it allows the instructor to hide assignments or attachments until they are needed. Students cannot work ahead unless it is permitted by the instructor. Our district has embraced Moodle as the online class provider. Implementation of classes in Moodle is still in its infancy, but things are moving quickly to include more classes than the one that was begun this year. Hopefully, English will be added to History on the Moodle in the very near future. When that happens, I hope to be assisting in the development of the course. I also hope to become involved as an online teacher of staff development for our district. I have requested information, but as of today, I have not received confirmation on the details of the training for facilitators. Another aspect of online learning that I want to explore is becoming an online facilitator through the Harris County Department of Education. Because of the demands of my master’s classes, I will have to put the final training on hold since it is a six weeks course. A final idea that has come to mind is to approach the administration about offering summer school classes online particularly for high school students in grades 10-12. With the impact of the state’s 4x4 requirements, more and more students are looking for original credit offerings in summer school to make way for other classes that are offered primarily during the school year. I think this would provide a great incentive to students for original credit and for those needing make up credit who also have to be employed during the summer months. As a technology assistant, I would want to be part of the preparation of those courses as well. With the changes that are occurring daily in education, I believe that the Internet is rapidly becoming the classroom of choice. School districts are turning more and more to the online environment trying to keep up with technology and to engage students in the world they know and understand. Online learning, whether through Moodle or Facebook, reaches students where they live. It is, perhaps, the most appropriate meeting place for today’s students because it leaves out the “middle man” so to speak. Online, students have to learn to discipline themselves. There, the teacher is a facilitator who leads students to learn rather than a task master who must force them into a framework that is often unnatural and alien to them. It will be a huge task to prepare teachers for this kind of teaching environment but not an insurmountable one because flexibility is a teacher’s byword. Teachers will reap great rewards from designing online courses because of the variety and excitement that it will bring to lesson preparation. Once teachers are trained in the chosen environment (in my experience, that training was not difficult), I believe they will take great joy in turning tired, old lessons into new, interesting ones. Grading, too, will be a less onerous task as students must meet deadlines, and there will be no papers to handle! Because all tasks are delivered and returned online, teachers can prepare and grade assignments at will. From this view point, the benefits appear outstanding!