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.