Last thoughts

Reviewing your previous blog posts, what, if anything, has changed in your attitude toward online schools and online schooling over the past 15 weeks? 

I think that some of my views have changed while others - though I am more educated on the topics - have not.  To begin with, I still don't think that full time online schools are a good idea.  I am not convinced that it is good for a student to be at home all day working on the computer.  Obviously, if there are extenuating circumstances for that kid then it is a great option, but maybe not for "regular" kids.  Many of the classes offered are great, but I don't think that all of them are.  When I looked at the Colorado school's site, I was not impressed.  I don't think that it is offering any kind of superior education.  Parents who want their kids in full time online schools they need to do a lot of research to make sure the school is good.


I definitely in favor of online courses for students in f2f schools.  For courses the school may not offer, or credit recovery (though I'm not sure about all of them after reading Heather's report) or AP courses the online courses are great options.  Obviously once again, there is a wide range in quality of courses and the school needs to do its research.


I never thought I would say this, but I love the online science labs! I didn't think I would ever support an online lab science course but after my research my view is completely changed.


Overall, I think that my view of online courses are still mixed, but at least I know why!

After the project....

I had a hard time finding research I wanted to use.  To begin with, most of what I found on virtual labs was on college courses.  There was quite a lot of research on that - but that clearly wasn't useful to me.  Then once I found articles, I had a hard time founding ones focused on Biology and K-12 (I found some with examples of Biology).  All in all, I didn't find much with any kind of real analysis of what the virtual lab does.  Our interview was tons of help, giving us insight to how a virtual lab is designed and all the things you can do with it.  However, I couldn't find any literature on how exactly the virtual labs benefited the students besides being "engaging" or "inquiry based."  The detail is not out there yet.  I also wish I could have seen comparisons of different virtual labs.  I spent a lot of time with the labs designed by Brian Woodfield (who we interviewed) and looked around at some other labs.  I don't think without using them I could really compare them.  What makes one better than the other? I'm not as concerned about whether it is a good idea or not - for what it serves I think it is a good idea.  I want to know what makes one better than another.

On the whole, I found the topic interesting - I would consider using pieces of it in my own classroom! There are definitely more things that I wish were available in my research.

Week 11...

There are so many variables! Right now, it seems to be just impossible to really make strong comparisons between face to face or even between different online courses.  What a lot of people have been posting is that instead of always comparing, we should be looking for best practices.  I think it is easy to forget that we often do the same in studying just face to face classes.  A classroom (online or otherwise) is such a dynamic environment that it is impossible to control the variables.  Besides the fact, that unlike lab experiments we don't always want to control all the variables because that isn't in the best interest of the students.  So we study best practices.  As educators we need to embrace this and continue to improve our own practices.

Week 10 thoughts...

What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? Has your thinking changed as a result of what you learned this week? 

This week I thought more about how online schools and classes are great for certain students and maybe not for others.  We can't compare f2f classes with online courses because they are geared for particular students.  Maybe in the future online courses will be more common for "everyone" but now they are for kids who are advanced, or need extra help (or a second round at a course).  So we can't compare them and that's ok.  We need to look at what makes courses good for particular students and run with that.  I get that we don't have the data to compare so we think about why that is (such as the student audience is different).  I now think more about the real differences between the two methods and ways to emphasize them, not downplay them.

Post curriculum writing...

Now that you have seen what other people did in creating their units, is there anything that you might do differently if you were to redesign your own unit? 

Overall I'm pretty happy with my final project.  I have to fight my natural teacher instincts to plan every minute - I think I added to many content lessons because I had a lot of the materials.  The teacher in me can't let go because I need to have everything planned each day, every minute.  With that, I wish I would have spent more time exploring some of the web 2.0 tools.  I tried using some (ie Voicethread) but I think the knowledge of other tools might be more useful for the future.  I did like using Canvas and I would definitely use it again - easy to navigate and it looks good. 

Perhaps I could have used more "virtual visits."  One group used a museumbox, another uised the Met, and I think this a great use of online tools that we can't use in the classroom.  Maybe I could have incorporated a virtual visit to the Natural History Museum.  Living in NYC makes me forget that not all classes have access to all these resources on just the subway.  Online courses are great way to cross distances for students who are not near such spectacular resources.

Project time!

What are you most concerned about as you embark on creating a curriculum unit? 

 I am definitely most concerned about using all the Web 2.0 tools - I am a little overwhelmed by all the suggestions people are posting on the discussion forum! I'm not that concerned about the content.  Though I'll need to convert a lot of it into new formats I feel very comfortable with my teaching and my subject.  That's why when Donna posted saying she had lots of Web 2.0 skills and wanted to share I jumped on board! 


I'm also a little worried about the coordination.  I am super busy with my job right now (I'm directing the school musical that goes up in two weeks) and though I can find time on my own to work I think it could be hard to coordinate that work time.  It makes me think more about how students can do partner work in an asynchronous course.

Week 6

Did you change anything in the Google spreadsheet? If so, what? Has your view of the schools you chose to research changed from the first week you looked at them? If so, how? 

I didn't change anything in the Google spreadsheet, but I wish there was a column even further to the left for Virtual Virgina.  After reading about all the ways that students can interact with each other and how important that interact with each other I realize how little Virtual Virginia does.  It makes me believe even less that VV is providing a quality course to its students.  As far as Insight goes, it is still hard to tell.  I see that it uses chat rooms as a mode of student-student interaction but is that enough? The problem is that Insight's website provides very little.  So I hope that Insight uses other modes of communication but they don't want to share much about it! I do know that every student is issued a headphone/speaker for their computer so hopefully there is some checking in/interacting going on that way? So, I didn't change anything but in some ways I wish there was a column for almost no interaction and one for "not enough information."

Week 5...

Did the results of your TPI fit your image of yourself as a teacher? Do you think the TPI results are different for the same person teaching online and face-to-face?

I guess I wasn't that surprised once I looked at the results.  I am very focused on content and skill mastery in my class.  Many of my students will not pass their Regents Exams to graduate (standardized tests in NY state) unless we do major preparation in class - many are behind in reading and don't do much studying at home.  So when my highest section was Transmission that fit my ideas.  


My lowest score was social reform which makes me a little sad but it is probably true.  I want to work with my students on social reform but there just isn't enough time in the day! I like to add in pieces of real world reform but I rarely spend whole lessons on it.

As far as the middle ones I like to think that for a high school teacher I am nuturing and I care about the social, emotional, and intellectual development of my students.  I spend a lot of time with my students working on issues other than just the content - from study skills to things going on outside the classroom.  Even though these were "middle" I still think that I am "high" on these topics.


I think the results might be different if I were an online teacher.  A lot of the nurturing and developmental aspects might be different online.  How do you nurture a student online? I also think that the social reform area should be higher.  When a class is online you can do so much with current research and social issues on the internet! I hope that online classes are using this more than I do in the classroom!

Week 4 Reflection

What did you learn about the design of online courses this week that will affect how you think about this form of instruction in the future?

I was much more optimistic about these online schools before looking at the classes.  I was really disappointed in Virtual Virginia's classes.  I would never, ever, want to offer those classes to my students.  These classes were like reading a bad textbook.  There is so much information out there on how kids learn - and VV seems to take none of it into account.  On the other hand, I thought Aventa's classes were engaging and well designed - if you are a high level student.  I think that if a student is looking for enrichment beyond the regular curriculum a class through something like Aventa could be an answer.  If a student is looking for extra help I have not yet seen a class that would suffice.  The state schools (not including FVLS) should not have to always make new courses.  If Aventa and other big curriculum designers are actually making good classes - other places can benefit!

I still feel uneducated on whether virtual charter schools are a good answer for homeschooled student.  I don't have a lot of knowledge on homeschooling and I don't feel I can make a true judgment yet.

Week 3 Reflection

How has your thinking about online schools and online schooling changed since the first week? 


After looking at the Virtual Charter Schools I definitely see virtual schools as a viable option for students who would normally attend home school/tutoring (if you are a working actor or athlete).  However, I now think that students who don't have unusual circumstances (those who work, health issues etc) shouldn't entirely enroll in virtual schools.  The socialization factor is still a major issue in my mind for these students.  I don't think that "regular kids" who just enroll in online classes will have the needed social skills to attend college.


As far as online courses, my mind hasn't changed too much.  I still think that it can be a good option especially when a school doesn't have the resources to offer certain classes.  On the other hand, after looking at a few of the virtual courses I am not convinced that they all provide enough interest and support.  Some of the school seem to provide both ... but when I was investigating Virtual Virginia I was not convinced of that.  Overall, I still like the idea but I am not sure if all the programs are worth it - yet.

Week 2 "Paper"

Write a tweet-length paper (140 characters) that describes what you would be thinking if you were a parent choosing a school for your child, or if you were a student looking for an online school.

If I were a parent I would want an online school that maximizes teacher-student interaction - in multiple forms.  I would want the teacher consistently checking for understanding and if my child needed any clarifications.

Reflection on Week 1

First of all, I learned a lot about my own perspective.  I'm finding it really hard to separate my identity as a teacher when looking at the idea of "virtual schooling is a positive innovation."  My thoughts about motivation, use of resources are all linked to my identity as a high school teacher in an under-served neighborhood.  In some ways I think this gives me a good perspective but I need to try in future weeks to also try and take more objective view on the research.  Or, I should try and look at the perspective of someone who works in a very different kind of neighborhood.

Overall I learned a lot that I did not know before - all I previously knew about online schools were graduate school classes! In fact, all this information about K-12 online courses got me so excited that I brought some of the ideas to my instructional leader at school to see if we can start offering some classes online next year.


Further, the idea of disruptive innovation was completely eye opening as far as how the school system has been forced to morph over the years.  Lately in NYC there has been a push to treat the DOE like a business, from how charters schools are run to choosing a business woman to be the new chancellor.  However, this article shows that schools and school systems are NOT businesses and should not be treated like one.  Which leads me to the question of ....why does the government insist on treating schools like a business?


My biggest question so far is probably how can I implement some of these ideas into my school? How can NYC sustainably implement ways for online learning to be widespread and meaningful?

Week 1: About Me

I'm Sara Gerstein and I am a New York City Public School teacher and a student at Teachers College. I am in my fifth year of teaching and I teach 10th grade Science (Earth Science) at a high school in Washington Heights. Over the years I have also taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. I was a Geology major at Cornell (undergrad) so I love Earth Science! I also direct the school musical - this year we are doing Bye Bye Birdie.  I am currently in the Communication in Education program at TC.

When getting my Masters at City College (CUNY) I took two classes online through Seminars on Science (part of the Natural History Museum here in NYC). I got a lot out of those classes and I wanted to try online classes again. The content of the classes were really interesting; that is probably what made the class a positive experience for me. It was a successful model for graduate level classes but I wonder how successful it can be in a K-12 situation.

I'm interested in figuring this out - I'm curious how online learning can complement an in-school education. The school I work at is very small so we struggle with finding time and teachers to offer credit recovery classes for students who fail courses. (We previously had after school courses taught by teachers at our school, but this is not really a sustainable option) I would love to explore ways to offer this online to make it more manageable for all involved.  As far as bringing the online world into my classroom so far - I have not done too much.  I have a rarely updated class website and I'm exploring using some websites (like Study Island) for formative assessment.  Hopefully I'll learn a lot more this semester!