I am a EdM student in instructional technology and design at TC and a 7-12th grade technology coordinator at a private school near Union Square. Before becoming a tech coordinator in 2000, I have worked as a software developer and a HS English teacher. My interests include research into STEM education, teaching teachers how to integrate tech, kids making stuff (robots, electronics, software), and online tools that support teachers and students.
What made me interested in this course?
This subject interests me for a few reasons. First, in my job I help teachers integrate technology. We have experimented with hybrid courses (part online, part face to face). I am interested in finding ways to support teachers in making good versions of these courses. Also, I teach a number of courses myself including a new HS programming class that is a hybrid course, so I want to know how online learning can help me teach kids and teachers. Lastly, this is a growing trend in education and I want to find out the best practices, techniques and where online course are going in the educational world.
What experience do I have in this area?
As a student, I have taken two courses at TC that were entirely online. They were a mixed bag. One course was very discussion based. We were divided into discussion groups, had good discussions on reading (which were mostly paper textbooks), and wrote a lot. I found the course challenging (you couldn't fade into the back of the room), but the course offered a coverage of the topic that I could get otherwise. It was intense. The other course focused on using an edtech tool. I found the course more of a series of links to self guided tutorials. I received some feedback from the teacher, but I felt like there was not much offered by the course that I could not get through a lot of online tutorials that were offered for free on the web.
As a teacher, I have had some experience with online hybrid courses and software. I have used and worked with many teachers on how to use Moodle over the last five years. I use Moodle as a companion to all of the courses I teach. I just starting to teach a hybrid class that meets twice a week and has the equivalent of two meeting online (async but I am going to try a couple of sync classes). Online support for face-to-face classes has been a great way for me and many of the teachers that I have worked with to extend the class into a richer experience outside of class. It reaches some kids better than other, but overall it has a positive effect.
Overall, I am on the fence with totally online classes, especially with younger kids. I teach at a private school and many parents would be difficult to convince that online courses are good for their kids. On the other hand, the number of specialized opportunities available for HS students that online classes can provide might change their minds. I think the key for online classes is that students must have a strong motivation to take one. Hybrid courses hold a lot of promise for my school. They offer more scheduling flexibility and allow students to individualize portions of the class with enough scaffolding. As I said, I am still on the fence about totally online classes, but I guess this class will give me time to contemplate on the issues..
Hi Tim. Thanks for sharing your experiences as a teacher who has taught hybrid on-line classes to high schoolers. You piqued my interest with this, as I am in the beginning stages of creating my first online course for high school students. Based on my experiences and interactions with --and observations of -- the students who come into my library daily to work on their online AP courses during the past three years, I lean toward a model that is at least partially hybrid and synchronous. I, like you, have taken two online courses in my graduate work at TC, and both were very different, but one which was both synchronous and highly interactive, I found to be outstanding, so that experience definitely influences my thinking on this project. I suspect I will want to come back and "pick your brain" some more on how your school works their hybrid courses, in terms of scheduling, and what online platform(s) you use if that would be alright.
ReplyDeleteHi Tim,
ReplyDeleteYour experience in the field and quest for further information is compelling. I am especially interested in collaborating with you on how teachers can effectively integrate online learning into the classroom. I would also love to talk more about your experiences, especially as a former HS English teacher. Have you taught English Lit classes online? I have a liberal arts background so this area is of special interest to me. I am looking forward to the course and working with you.
Hi, Tim –
ReplyDeleteI’m interested in many of the points in your post. I started in a technology coordinator position this year, but while a small stipend is involved (like a coaching stipend), I still have full teaching load, so I’m challenged to juggle it all. I’d love, as we go along, to hear about some of the tools you use to teach teachers how to integrate tech and find the best online tools to support both teachers and students. We are using Moodle now at St. Mary’s, but I find that the learning curve for new teachers is quite steep (in setting up their own course). I’d like to find out your methods of disseminating information. I’m also curious about your new programming course. We don’t offer any programming or computer science here at my small high school, and I’m curious about one that is in its new phases. OK. I get the sense I am going a little crazy here. In the spirit of sharing relevant sites and ideas, here is a site that is designed and upkept at a nearby high school by Jerry Fort, their tech integration specialist. The interface is fairly bare bones, but I swear, this guy finds some of the most useful sites out there, and he is constantly updating it: http://www.cchs.ccsd.k12.co.us/teacher_resources/Index.html. I have one specific question for you: do you use or know of a good way to have an online “bulletin board” in order to, for instance, have student posts things like textbooks they’d like to sell or a babysitting service they might want to offer? We haven’t found anything effective that 1. is free and 2. simulates a community bulleting board. Thanks, and have a great week
Hi Tim, it is really nice that you have a lot of experience from both technology and teaching. Please share some of your experience with us when possible. I am sure the rest of us can benefit a lot from it!
ReplyDeleteHi Tim, it was great reading your discussion on the pros and cons and getting to know a little about you here from the blog. I am also interested in STEM education and trying to make life a little easier for teachers with all these techno stuff. Looking forward to hearing more from you.
ReplyDeleteTanya,
ReplyDeleteMoodle - Yes, Moodle can take some time to learn. I both love and hate Moodle. It has such powerful capabilities, but it takes some dedicated teachers to use them effectively. We also looked at Haiku and Schoolology. I introduce Moodle in stages to people. It takes a teachers a few semesters to really get going with it (or any online tool for which they need to create and organize resources). I start them with the easy stuff (posting assignments,questionnaires, maybe a discussion forum) and useful stuff (calendar and assignment collecting). There are good modules that make life easier or do useful stuff (we use a fast file uploader, a custom questionnaire, photo galleries). The new Moodle 2.0 also looks pretty cool. We will implement it next year and integrate our Google Apps with it.
Programming
Scratch is a great easy to use tool to get people started and have kids make games. Games can be quite educational and educating.
Bulletin Board - An easy thing to do would create a forum and connect it to the main page of your Moodle. If you look at Craig's List it has a similar structure and they are searchable. That's all I got. You could probably do something in Drupel, but that would be more trouble than it is worth if a bb is your goal.
Thanks for coming by!
Traveling Art Muse,
ReplyDeleteI never met a muse before. I have not taught English in 15 years or so. I did do some modem stuff then and email. I have worked with some English teachers in developing online stuff at my school.
Thanks for stopping by!
Tricia,
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your online class! Let us know how it goes. I do like the hybrid model, especially if you have the opportunity to actually meet face to face. I would be happy to speak with you about my hybrid class. We use Moodle, and Google Apps for ed (docs,cal, blogger,picasaweb). We also use Voicethread for some stuff (school license) and Noodlebib for notes and citations.
Kar,
ReplyDeleteSTEM is a big interest of mine. Let's keep talking about that. Glad to make your acquaintance!
Wei,
ReplyDeleteYes, let's share ideas and experiences.