This has been an interesting week. I think I have learn a bunch of stuff, but hear are a few ideas that stick out:
- The diversity of the class - as Professor Lowe said in her reflection, I am impressed by the geographical diversity and content area diversity that we have in our group. I am in the CCTE program and my classes are normally filled with CCTE students. Since I spend a lot of time working with teachers of other disciplines in my school, it will be great to hear the multiple perspectives here to help me work better with those teachers.
- Hijacking Worries - after reading the article Bracey article and a few news articles on how different groups are hijacking virtual schooling for profit or to circumvent reforms, I am a little worried. How can we help people (teachers, parents, admins) filter out the good from the bad? Also, how can we help teachers do more effective teaching that takes advantage of the capabilities of VS, rather than do stuff that was mediocre face to face in an online version.
- There is some good stuff out there and it is helping kids. I took a look at some of the Florida Virtual School stuff, mostly just articles about it, and I can see some promise there. I went to this Edtechcamp conference in Dec and met these guys from a school in Camden, NJ that is doing some incredible stuff through online schooling. I now have a reason to follow up with them.
The biggest question for me what is working in VS and how can I coop it into my work at my school?
Watch for the hype, though. FLVS is very good at that, but the proof is in the pudding (i.e., the teaching) and unfortunately, that's very hard to see.
ReplyDeleteWhich school in Camden? I have a couple of projects there and would be interested to know. You might also consider a case study of what they are doing for your final project, which includes a requirement for at least one interview.