Evaluate 3.1.2 Self-Reflection and Teaching Abilities

Self reflection is one of the biggest ways you can improve things in your life.  But in order to do that, you have to listen to what others have to say and be honest with yourself.  Since I have not started teaching the online classes yet, I don't really have any artifacts and digital feedback to post in the blog.  But I can discuss how I feel this training has been and my reflections on my traditional classroom.

This TOOL training has been quite an experience.  When I began I thought it was going to just be a lot of pointless hoops to jump through.  But as I have worked through the many quests, I have found that I have learned a lot of new things!  I have read about so many new ideas and ways of doing things.  I have also tried out and learned a lot about many new websites that are great for educational purposes.  I hope I have the chance to utilize them even more through the GAVS program.

In my traditional classroom, I always try to step  back and look at what all I do with my students to make sure I am doing them every kind of service I can offer them.  I always have to keep in mind that they are teenagers and are still trying to figure everything out!  I feel like I have a pretty good relationship with most of my students and they have gotten to where they are pretty honest with me.  They let me know when I seem like I am in a bad mood or when I didn't explain something very well.  But I try to take that constructively because, ultimately, they are my audience, so they need to feel good about what we are doing in class and understand the different processes.

As a teacher, we have to be able to change things and be flexible with our students.  And that means we need to regularly evaluate ourselves to make sure we are doing right by our students.  We need to stay up to date with the latest trends and happenings so that we can do what is best for our students.  Below is a link to my website for my traditional classroom.  I want to make everything as accessible as I can for my students, so I keep homework, notes, and announcements up to date pretty much every day.

Mrs. Pruitt's Website

Evaluate 3.1.1 Differentiation

I am not currently teaching any GAVS classes and have not ever had the opportunity to do so.  But I am familiar with differentiation and have read a good bit in the resources provided about the LMS that is used by GAVS.  I think as a teacher, a certain level of differentiation is natural.  I feel like I can typically see my students weaknesses and strengths pretty easily.  As a math teacher, it is easy to notice the difference between careless mistakes and completely not understanding material.  When I give assessments, whether they are formative or summative, if I notice problems areas then I know I need to go back over that material.  Sometimes I have to wait until a little later in the semester to do so, simply because time does not always allow me to take extra time on topics, but I make a note to revisit it later.  Sometimes if there is a small group of students that are struggling, I will get them in a group either at my desk, the hallway, or up front while the rest of the class is working on something else and we can go over the problems they are having.  These are just a couple of simple, but usually very helpful, ways to address problem areas.

As far as grouping students, there are several options.  And it depends on what the goal of the assignment is.  Sometimes it is best to group a higher level student with a mid-level student and a mid-level student with a lower level student.  This will usually help some unusual leaders emerge during an assignment or project.  But there are times when you feel you want to keep your higher learners together and maybe mix the mid-level student and lower level students together.  But like I said, it is all dependent upon the goal of the assignment/project.

Earlier this year, my analytic geometry students were really struggling with factoring quadratic functions and solving quadratic functions.  We had done a good bit of work on it, but I gave them a quiz on it and most of my students really did poorly on it.  So, we took a few days off from factoring and moved on to the next topic.  My students were frustrated, and I probably was too!  But at the end of the following week, we used Friday to go back to factoring and reteach and practice.  I gave them several options for working on the practice.  I had some students working up on my smart board so I could check their work.  I had some others working in groups together.  I had some students that just wanted to work on their own.  I was very flexible with how they could work.  But then they had a 10 question graded assignment that was an independent assignment that I would use to replace their low quiz grade.  I have shown some screen shots of it below.  The grades on this replacement assignment were so much better than the original quiz!  This just reminded me that sometimes you have to change your plans up and make sure you are doing what is best for your students.

Evaluate 2.1.2 Rubrics and Competencies

Rubrics and competencies are great tools for setting up structure for students on assignments and projects.  These tell students exactly how they will be assessed and what is expected of them on the project.  Most teachers have used rubrics to help with this.  It is helpful if the teacher will post some examples of what is a poor example and also an example of an almost perfect project.  This way students can get some ideas of what is expected of them.  If you have developed a good rubric, then there should be no subjectivity for the teacher when grading.  It should all be straight forward and laid out so that the student could actually grade his own project based on what the rubric says.  Below I have a couple of screenshots of a pretty good math rubric that deals with math concepts.

Evaluate 2.1.1 Data Driven Instruction, Analytics, Reporting Tools

As educators, especially online educators, we can gain a lot of knowledge from the LMS about a student's background and achievement in courses.  This information can help teachers make decisions to better help their students be successful.

The enrollments and attendance data shows a student's current course load, basic information about a student's classification such as gifted, special education, ESOL, or regular education.  This also lets the teacher know if the student will be taking an EOCT course and an attendance summary.  There are many ways that all of this information could be useful to the teacher.  If a teacher is having problems with a student, she could contact the student's other teachers to discuss the student's progress in their classes and find out about some different approaches that may work in reaching the student.  Also, the special education aspect of this information is extremely important,  This would let the teacher know to be on the lookout for any accommodations that the student might have.  The teacher can also see the student's attendance information and if he is showing a lot of absence, the teacher would need to contact the parent.

The LMS also features a communication log.  There are some cases where the log is updated by the LMS, but for the most part the instructors will have to manually enter each communication.  As online instructors, it is so important that we develop good, consistent relationships with our students and their parents/guardians since we typically won't meet face to face.  We need to remember that parents and students like to hear good things they are doing too!  They don't like to be contacted just because something is wrong.

The course progress feature is a very valuable tool for data collection for the instructor.  This allows the instructor can see how often and for how much time the students are logging in and working on their assignments.  It also shows the number of kilobytes of data used with the tool.  this means the instructor can tell if the students are actually working or just logging in to make it look like they are working!

The last part is how students can monitor their own progress.  It is particularly important for online students to be able to work independently and be self-motivated.  With this tool the students can see grade and they can also see specific feedback from the instructor or see questions missed on tests or quizzes.

The more the instructor uses the LMS, the more it will become an advantage for him and the student.  Knowing more specific information about each students helps the instructor be able to help the student in the best ways possible.

Evaluate 1.1.3 The Summative Assessment

Summative assessments are a tool used to measure what a student has learned in a particular unit of material and to what extent they learned it.  In math the formative assessments are, usually, a great way to measure students readiness for a summative assessment.  Formative assessments in math can be the daily homework assignments, quizzes, and tickets out the door.  All of those things give the teacher an idea of where the students stand with the level of knowledge dealing with that particular topic.  Typically, formative assessments tend to correlate pretty well with the summative assessments.  If I have a student that doesn't do any homework and makes a 40 on a quiz, then I am not surprised when he makes a 50 on the summative assessment.  However, if I have a student that consistently does the homework assignments and makes a 80 or 90 on a quiz, then I expect them to do well on the summative assessment as well.  To measure the validity of a summative assessment, I use the attached spreadsheet (I couldn't get the actual file to attach, so I had to do a screenshot of it).  This spreadsheet is designed to tell you how many questions of each standard you need to have on the test based on the amount of time you spent on it.  This is a very helpful tool to make sure I am not putting too many of a certain type of question on the assessment.  To measure the reliability of an assessment, I check to make sure that the formative and summative assessments line up, for the most part.  To evaluate security, I give two or three different versions of a test.  I also check students work to make sure it matches up with the answer that they actually wrote down.  If it doesn't, then I know something has compromised the security of that test.

I have also included some screen shots of the assessment I created based off this spreadsheet earlier in the school year.

Evaluate 1.1.2 Quality Feedback

As discussed in previous posts in my blog, feedback is essential to a student's education, especially in the area of math.  If a student doesn't know what they are doing wrong, they will just continue doing it wrong.  But as a teacher, we don't want to just be critical and tell students they are doing things incorrectly.  When I give feedback, I try to say it in a way to let them know I appreciate how hard they are working but they just got a certain thing mixed up or maybe did one operation incorrectly, which affected the rest of the problem.  I also try to balance out corrective feedback with complimentary feedback.  I like to try and point out the things that a student did correctly, especially if it was a difficult problem.  In my current traditional classroom math classes, I have a lot of students that will write me little notes on their papers about how bad they thought their graph is or how they think my bonus question is impossible.  I always like to respond to them in a fun way too!  It helps them feel more comfortable with me and know that I have a sense of humor too!  Since I don't currently have my own virtual classes, I do not have any examples of digital feedback to share on here.  But I have linked a few of my previous posts on feedback to show the importance that I think it plays in education.

Communicate 4.1.1 Evaluation Methods and Communication Practices

Communicate 4.1.2 Rubrics 

Communicate 4.2.1 Feedback

Communicate 4.2.2 Digital Feedback

Evaluate 1.1.1 Formative Assessment

Formative assessments are an essential tool to check your students progress and understanding of material.  There are many different types of formative assessments that can be used in a variety of different ways.  It all depends on needs of the students as to what I would decide to use as a formative assessment.  In math, in most cases, the students have to understand the current material before they are able to move on and be successful in the next lesson.  If I see that a student or group of students is struggling with a particular topic on a formative assessment then I know that they are not ready for the unit test and we need to spend some more time working on that.  Or I may need to reteach something in a different way.  Formative assessments are very useful to teachers and students.  Below I have taken some screen shots of some short formative assessment (ticket out the door) type activities that I have used this year in my analytic geometry class when graphing and writing equations or circles and parabolas.

Circles Formative:

Parabolas Formative:

Create 4.1.3 Aggregating Lesson Material

Edmodo - This is a free way for students and teachers to come together and collaborate.  Students typically prefer edmodo due to the fact that it functions much like the other social media that they are used to.  Also, teachers and students can store a wide array of digital content including pictures, podcasts, videos, projects, and more.

Moodle - This is a learning management system (LMS) or platform that allows you to build courses, lessons, and student-centered activities for free.  I was trained on Moodle a few years ago but have never had the chance to use it in an online course or a traditional setting.

Haiku Learning - This site is a good learning management system.  Teachers can create their own classroom pages, add and organize content blocks, change layouts, and publish them whenever they are ready.  You can create your own content simply by using the third-party services that are involved with Haiku.  However, Haiku is not a free site for the full version.  Teachers are free for up to five classes with 2GB of storage but you can upgrade for a fee.  For a school or school district, depending on how many users there are, there is a free trial, but after that it is anywhere from five to ten dollars.

Create 4.1.2 Principles of Building Portable Learning Objects

A portable learning object is the arrangement of content, examples, or any kind of test items into one manipulative object that students have access to.  Most portable learning objects are things like websites, videos, or interactive materials such as games or puzzles.  These are designed to reemphasize the standards that are being taught in the class.

To complete this quest, I focused on a topic that my students has some struggles with in my Analytic Geometry class.  I used the topic dealing with angle relationships and parallel lines.  The first learning object I built using Quizlet.  This was my first experience with quizlet and it is so cool!  It is very easy to use and does so many great things!  I created a simple set of 7 vocabulary words dealing with angle relationships and parallel lines.  From entering those the site created flashcards, fill in the blank definitions, a test with mutiple choice, free response, and matching questions.  It also created a couple of games that the students could play to help review the words.  Below is a link to the quizlet that I created.

Angle Relationships Quizlet


The other learning object I created was using USA Test Prep.  With this site you are able to select the domain and strand of information that you want to focus on.  You are able to take practice tests, do review questions, and play a variety of different games.  I set up a one player game that also focused on angle relationships and parallel lines.  If you get a question wrong, you get an explanation on why it is wrong and what the correct answer should be.  It was brief and a lot of fun!  Below are a few screen shots of the game I created.  I was not able to import the link because you have to have a subscription to use USA Test Prep.

Create 4.1.1 Define and Explain Learning Object Authoring Tools

1) Smore - This is one of my new favorite sites to create cool and engaging news pages for announcements and even reminders of upcoming events.  It is free for all users for the limited version.  You can pay for the upgrades.

2) Class Tools - This is a free site that instructors or students can use to create games, puzzles, quizzes, and diagrams.

3) Edmodo - This is a free virtual learning and social multimedia site that is great for students.  Edmodo helps all parties to connect for students and teachers to reach their full potential.

4) Articulate - This is a resource that can be used to create online courses and content that are both interactive.  There are two applications to choose from:  Articulate Storyline and Articulate Studio.  There is a 30 day free trial but it does involve a cost to go further.

 5) Glogster - This is a really good resource to create posters and news items.  It is also a great way for students to create some fun and engaging presentations.  However it is not free, but does offer several types of payment plans/options.

Create 3.1.3 Locating Resources

Below are examples of solving log equations.  One example is a video, the other is text, and the third is a link to a step by step explanation of how to solve log/exponential equations  All of these resources come from Open Educational Resources or Creative Commons.


Video:

posted by Khan Academy



Text:

posted on OpenAlgebra.com



Link to Step by Step Explanation:

Logarithmic/Exponential Equations

Create 3.1.2 Fair Use and the TEACH Act

As an educator it is imperative that we are aware of and follow all copyright rules.  But as an online educator, it is almost more imperative because you are not actually in a classroom with your students.  You are constantly having to come up with ways to engage your students and you want to do so in a way that is not breaking any copyright laws.  If you are ever unsure about any part of Fair Use you can always consult the four big questions that surround it.

1. What is the purpose and character of the use of the material?
2. What is the nature of the use?
3. How much is being used as compared to the whole?
4. The effect of the use on the market of the original work?

Fair Use and TEACH act work together to allow online educators to be able to use more resources without any copyright violations.  There are many cases where educators are excused from copyright laws as long as the material is being used in an educational and instructional manner.  Fair Use and TEACH act work together to help educators gather and use high quality materials to teach with and not have to worry about whether or not they are breaking any copyright laws.  

Create 3.1.1 Open Educational Resources and Creative Commons

There are many open educational resources that are available for teachers to use for free in their classrooms. These resources allow teachers to share information with their students.  However, teachers need to know how to use the resources correctly.  Most of the time when a teacher needs something, they just do a quick Google search for it and then use whatever they find.  This method is typically unethical and not legal.  As teachers, we need to make sure that we are following copyright laws and regulations.  Teachers need to understand how licenses work and what restrictions are placed upon resources.   These resources can be found using the Advanced Search in Google or by searching the Creative Commons website.

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that allows people to share their resources and allows educations to search for and use resources ethically and legally within their classrooms.  There are four different types of restrictions that can be placed on resources.

1) Attribution - This means that someone may use the work, as long as you get credit for it.

2) Noncommercial -This means that someone can use your work as long as they are not making money from it.

3) No Derivative Works - This means that the resource can be used only if the original work is not modified or changed in any way.

4) Share-Alike - This allows people to modify the work as long as they share it with the same terms that were on the original work.  So if the original resources had the attribution restriction and the share-alike restriction, when the person who modified it does to share it, it must have an attribution to the original restriction and share-alike restriction.

These restrictions can be placed on the resource however the original creator wants to do so.  There are eleven different combinations that can be used for these four restrictions.

Lastly, if a person would like to relinquish all rights to their work, they may do so by simply using the creative commons website to make it available to the public domain.  the public domain license allows the person to hold "no rights reserved" to their work so that anyone may use it.

All information from this blog post can be found at http://info.ulright-schrader.de/node/455

Create 2.1.3 Using Web 2.0 Tools to Differentiate Student Assessment

There are many tools available on the web to assist in differentiating student assessment.  I have USA Test Prep pretty often in my traditional classes where I teach.  Another site that is great for differentiating student assessment is Socrative.  This is a quick easy way to assess student's learning.  Another thing to consider when thinking about differentiating student assessment is the needs of a special needs student.  I have had students in the past that needed to verbalize the steps to me instead of write them down.  While i have had other students that were not able to verbalize but wanted to type everything out and email me their work.  These were all acceptable and great ways for the students to still learn the material and be assessed on what they learned.

There are many more out there, but for this quest I chose to use Toon Doo.  This is just like a ticket out the door in a traditional classroom.  This would make a great transition to make sure our students content and process before moving on and before reaching the unit test.

Create 2.1.2 Using Web 2.0 Tools to Differentiate Teacher Instruction

Differentiation is extremely important in the world of  instruction.  If it crucial for us, as educators, to understand that not all students learn the same way and are able to communicate the information they learn in the same way.  The goal of differentiation is to use different paths to end up at the same goal.  I chose to do a lesson on solving quadratic equations where my student could use any form or solving they prefer.  And their end product could be a picture of the graph with solutions marked, a description or the process, or a poster showing the work in detail.  Quadratic functions is a big part of secondary math so it is important that students learn the process for solving them.  I chose to use Prezi for my lesson.  It gives a brief description of what is expected and how the students can go about doing it.

Solving Quadratic Functions Prezi

Create 2.1.1 Web Tools

Presentation:

Prezi - Prezi is a site that I have just recently learned about.  I have only played around with it a little, but it seems very useful.  It is much like PowerPoint but easier to use and a little more appealing to the eye!

Glogster - Glogster is a nice free collaborative tool.  Students can use this to create digital posters.  This could be used by students to work collaboratively on an assignment and then receive feedback from others.

SpiderScribe - This is mind mapping in more detail!  The first 3 mind maps are free.  It is a great organizational tool for writing or projects.

Testing Preparation:

USA Test Prep - This is great for EOCT prep.  There is a subscription fee though.  Our school has purchased the licences for all of our students to have access to it.  Very useful!

Socrative - This is a very useful site to get a quick poll of where your students stand with current material.  You poll the class and they send you their responses from their phone.  Quick results!

Study Island - This is another site that is very useful for EOCT prep.  It does also have a subscription fee.  It has a lot of tutorials and practice problems.

Resources for Sharing Information:

Smore - Smore is another site that I have just recently learned about but it is a great way to share announcements and upcoming due dates with students.  It is very user friendly.

Remind101 - This is an extremely easy way to remind students of assignments or upcoming test, etc.  Students can receive a text message to their phone.  I use this all the time with my students!

Padlet - This is a great site for sharing information.  Students can work together on project using this site or teachers could plan lessons together.

Create 1.1.3 Appearance

Appearance is a very important aspect of designing an instructional website.  It is usually what gets someone interested or not.  But appearance is definitely not everything that is important about an instructional site.  There needs to be appropriate educational content as well as have media inserted that captures the appropriate age level user.  The site also needs to be easily navigated with properly linked buttons and tools.  Here are some examples of good educational sites and some that are not so good.  This is based on my opinion so feel free to share your comments about them!

Good Examples:

• Khan Academy - The site has great resources mainly for math and science.  It has a lot of tutorials and helpful information.  
• Brainpop - Brainpop has a lot of short length videos that give good introduction to endless topics.  It is a bit on the juvenile side, but I used to use this a lot when I taught middle school math.  But I do believe a paid subscription is required for this.
• PBS Kids - This is a great resource for young kids. It has so many educational games and videos that can be watched.  Excellent use of media and videos.  
• Kids USA - This site has a lot of information from art to healthy eating to math.  Great site!
• Shmoop - This website demonstrates excellent integration of audio and visual representations demonstrating task analysis, math skills, and knowledge.

Bad Examples:

• Cool Math - This site is mostly games that are not even related to math.  They are mostly mindless games.  
• I Know That - This site is not one b it appealing because I couldn't even enter the site because I need to install two news versions of things to be able to do anything.  Not what I want to have to do to see a site.
• Vocabulary - This site is fine, it just seems a bit boring.  There is nothing that would make me want to go back to it.  
• Enchanted Learning - This site has a lot of information.  I wasn't even sure where to start with it.  
• Choose My Plate - This site is a great idea to educate kids on how to eat healthy, but there is just way too much information on it!  It is overwhelming.  It could easily be presented in a simpler manner. 

Create 1.1.2 Creating a Content Map

Before I am able to start planning lessons about what is coming up, I have to have a plan in mind.  I need to have some organization in mind as far as what order things need to be taught.  In math pretty much everything we teach is built upon something that has previously been taught.  All of those things need to be taken into consideration when creating a content map of what is to be learned.

I chose to do my content map on the topic of conic sections in the Analytic Geometry class.  I feel like the first thing the students need to learn how to do is graph the different conic sections (parabolas and circles in this class).  Once they know how to graph then they can work backwards to write the equations.  Then finally they can learn how to use completing the square to convert the equations from general form to standard form.  I created this content map based on those things.  It may look fairly simple, but these topcs are pretty intense!  I use bubbl.us to create this content map.  

Create 1.1.1 Time Management

Learning to manage your time is critical in the busy world that we all live in!  We all have jobs, families, hobbies, etc.  If we do not learn to manage our time effectively, then we will tend to struggle with everything we need to do our our lives.  Here are my top five items that I think help me most with managing my time.


1. Planning/Scheduling - I like to have a plan for the day/week/month.  I like being able to know what is coming and be able to effectively plan for it.  One of the best resources I use is my calendar on my phone.  It is also synced with my outlook calendar from my work email so that I can open my calendar and see any upcoming meetings at work, birthday parties, doctors appointments, etc that are coming up.

2.  Prioritize - It is important to prioritize what really needs to be done and also what is most important to you.  I do not like to do any of my school work until my daughter goes to bed at night because I prioritize my time with her over my school work.  I also have to prioritize chores around the house and what needs to be done within my school work.

3.  Lists - I am a list person!  I like to be able to mark things off my list once I complete them.  I use an app on my phone called "color note."  I love this app because you can make lists, checklists, set reminders in your notification bar, and set alarms to remind you of things.  This helps me stay organized!

4.  Interruptions - When you are trying to get something done or stay focused on something, you pretty much will always have some sort of interruption or distraction.  Like just now, I sat down to work on this quest after putting my daughter to  bed but then heard her on the monitor and went up to check on her and she had a big messy pull up!  So, I ended up getting a later start on this quest because I had to get her all cleaned up and back in bed!  Interruptions always happen, no matter how hard we try to avoid them.  But you have to learn how to refocus once the interruption has been taken care of and complete the task at hand.

5.  Learn to Say NO - It is hard to say no when someone asks for your help.  But when it comes to time management you have to be able to say no because you can't always be available to others.  This goes back to prioritizing.  You have to say no to things that are not necessarily are priority to you.

Communicate 4.3.1 The Synchronous Session

As an online instructor, the synchronous sessions you have with your students are the most "classroom" like interaction that you get with your students.  The synchronous session serves as the time for students to ask questions and get live feedback from the instructor about class happenings and content.  As a math teacher, I would imagine the synchronous sessions would be extremely useful to the student and the instructor.  The instructor would be able to see how the student is doing with material and help direct the student in the right way.  And the student (hopefully) would receive the assistance he/she needs to do the material correctly.  Since I am not currently teaching GAVS, I do not have any first hand experience with this.  But I have been able to participate in a synchronous session that a friend was holding.  It was very neat to see how easy it was to communicate with each other through adobe connect.  I think that the white board tool would be very useful for me to be able to work problems out with my students.  From what I have seen, there are many tools that make the synchronous sessions extremely useful.

Communicate 4.2.3 Discussions

Discussions are a great way to check the mastery of concepts with students.  Students have to show a certain level of knowledge in order to answer questions posted on the discussion board by the teacher.  Discussion boards encourage social interactions among peers.  Also, students who participate in discussion boards tend to have more success in the class because they read others posts and learn to thoughtfully respond.  That helps them have a better understanding of the material as well.

As the instructor, it is important that we model good discussion board habits.  We need to always respond to questions and make sure we are actually answering the question.  We also need to continue to challenge our students by prompting them further with questions.  We also need to encourage our students to make sure they are reading and responding to others posts.  The instructor needs to consistently monitor the discussion board to make sure all students are participating and that all posts are relating to the topic at hand, not unrelated comments or personal attacks.  Instructors must always give appropriate feedback.  We do not want to tell a student they have done something correctly, when they have not.  We have to pay close attention to everything that is being posted on the discussion board.

Communicate 4.2.1 Feedback

Here is an example of a math assignment I found that uses a detailed rubric to grade the students' work.

Conics Section Project

Using graph paper, create an image using the major conic sections we have learned about in class:  ellipse, circle, hyperbola, parabolas.  You need to have at least 8 conics in your image.  You may also use lines to complete the image.  Each conic section must then have a correct equation to match it.  You will also need to write the equation of any lines as well.  Creativity, color, and accuracy are important.

Standard Covered:

CCGPS Mathematics Advanced Algebra Standards:

•  MCC9-12.A.CED.1 Create equations and use them to solve problems.

CCGPS Mathematics Pre-Calculus Standards:

• MCC9-12.G.GPE.1 Derive equations of a circle with given center and radius
• MCC9-12.G.GPE.2 Derive equations of a parabola with given focus and directrix
• MCC9-12.G.GPE.3 Derive equations or hyperbola and ellipse given the foci

Communicate 4.2.2 Digital Feedback

There are many methods that can be used to provide digital feedback.  Here are three that I think would be most useful.

1) Audio Feedback - Even though I am not currently teaching GAVS, from everything I have read, it seems like this is a great way to give feedback to your students through the D2L platform.  Especially in math, students need to verbally hear what they are supposed to do to fix something that has been done wrong.  Audio feedback is a great tool to use!

2) Real Time Feedback - Real time feedback can be given during the class synchronous sessions.  This would be a great place to work problems out with students so that they can see how you expect them to do the problems and it would probably give them some help in areas where they may have been struggling.

3) Positive Feedback Images - Even though we think this may be a bit juvenile and kind of silly, everyone loves to know they are doing things correctly.  And they love receiving compliments, in any way possible!  I have 17 year old students that love to get a sticker on their test saying they did great!  It cracks me up, but they love it!

Communicate 4.1.2 Rubrics

Rubrics are a great way to make sure that students understand what the expectations are on an assignment or project.  The rubric used needs to be clear and concise so that there is never a question about why a student scores what he/she scores.  When using a rubric to grade an assignment or project, it is important that the instructor give plenty of feedback to let the student know why certain areas were not met or what the student did that was very good.  In math, rubrics are not as commonly used, unless you are doing some sore of project (typically).  I have not had much experience with rubrics but the few times I have used them, they have been very helpful.

Communicate 4.1.1 Evaluation Methods and Communication Practices

As stated in previous posts, communication is essential to having an effective online learning experience.  Having good communication does not always mean that the teacher is giving effective feedback.  Some teachers are great at making sure students know what is going on in class and when things are due, but never give good individualized feedback on how the student is doing.  Even if they are doing things correctly, it is good to be able to tell them some specific things that they are doing exceptionally well.  It is also important to be able to identify weaknesses in a student's work and help them learn what they are doing wrong.  In math, if a student forgets to change the sign when moving something to the other side of an equation every time they work a problem like that, then that is something that is easily identified and fixed.  Some problems are not so easily identified, but it is always important that we try to help our students find their mistakes so they are able to correct them.  If the teacher does not give effective feedback, then the student may get a false sense of confidence in what they are doing.  As teachers, it is important that we ensure that our students are learning things in the correct way.

If a teacher consistently provides effective feedback to their students, then I would imagine those students have a better chance of doing well in the online setting.  However, if the student has a teacher that does not give much feedback and just expects the students to figure it out on their own, they probably choose to not continue with the online setting.  They would probably feel more comfortable in a traditional setting with a teacher they see face to face.  The instructor has a big impact on how the online setting goes for the students.

Communicate 3.2.2 Differentiation

As we all know, everyone learns differently and it is important that we consistently use differentiation in our lessons and communication to ensure that all learners are getting the information they need and in a way that they can understand.  While working on this quest I discovered some new resources to help with differentiation in communication.  Here are the three that I found to be pretty easy to use and seem helpful to the learner.

The first resource I played around with was Voki.  This seems like just a fun way to get information to your students.  It is not something I would necessarily use in a lesson, but it would be good for reminders and things like that.  Here is a link to the Voki that I created.

Voki

The second resource I learned about is Prezi.  I had heard about Prezi before but never done anything with it.  It seems like it is pretty user friendly, but would take some getting used to.  But again, I think that students would like to see something different than what they normally see, and this would probably be a good way to achieve that.

PREZI

The third resource that I played around with was wordle.  Being a math teacher, wordle is never something that I have thought would be useful to me, but after playing around with the site, I feel differently!  You could use a wordle in a variety of ways, but I chose to create one that went over important terms from unit 5 in analytic geometry (quadratics).  Below is a picture of the wordle I created.

Communicate 3.2.1 Newsletter

There are many ways to communicate with our online students.  Here are my top 3:

Email - Email is usually the most convenient way to communicate.  If you have a quick question or just something simple to let the student or teacher know, then email is a great way to do that.  Also, email is usually very readily available for most people these days.  Most people have access to their email on their phone or tablets, which are usually close by.

Phone Calls - Phone calls may seem may seem silly to some people, but email does not convey tone.  Sometimes emails are taken the complete wrong way because the reader infers something from the email that was not intended.  It is hard to go wrong with a phone call.  The only downside to a phone call is that there is no documentation of what is said on the phone call.

Newsletter - A newsletter is a simple way to communicate upcoming due dates and important items.  I recently discovered the Smore website that lets you easily create newsletters to share with your students.  The site is very easy to use and is free!  Here is a link to the simple newsletter that I created for an Analytic Geometry class.  NEWSLETTER

Communicate 3.1.2 News

As I have stated several times, good communication is extremely important to having a successful online educational experience.  This means communication on the part of the student and the teacher.  If the teacher isn't effectively communicating upcoming assignments, dates, and expectations then the students will be lost.   Below is an example of what a news page could look like.  The news page is not only a tool for communicating, but also a way to show a little of your personality.  Since your students do not see you face to face every day, it is nice for them to get an idea of what you are like as a person.  This is a very simple example, but there are many more things that could be done with this.  

Communicate 3.1.1 Homepages

Here is a sample homepage of basic information that could be posted about how to contact me, the teacher.  This also gives information about how to find other useful course information.

Communicate 2.1.3 Ongoing Communication

As has been discussed in this section, communication is the key to having a successful online program.  As an online instructor there are many things that you have to keep  in mind, such as the rules that accompany FERPA.  So, while you may have the best intentions for communication, just remember not to violate the FERPA rules.  Obviously, if a student is struggling, then the teacher would need to contact home.  I always begin with an email to just check in, but if I do not get a response, I then make a phone call home.  But I do not give out personal information in the email or the phone call.  I always remind the parent that the grades can be checked in the family portal.  Also, if I am emailing a student about something, I always copy the parent on the email, so they are aware of what is going on.

There are many ways to stay in constant communcation with your students and parents.  One way that I just discovered is Smore.com.  This is a great site that allows you to create fun, easy to read flyers as reminders for your students.  You can easily add in texts and pictures.  Also, as I have stated previously, Remind101 is a great source for easy communication.  Below is the link to a flyer I created for my Analytic Geometry class.

FLYER

Communicate 2.1.2 Communication Guidelines

When working or participating in an online program, communication is absolutely imperative.  Without the appropriate amount of communication students fall behind and parents are left in the dark.  There are a few guidelines that are generally followed when communicating to your students in an online program.

• Welcome Email - In a welcome email it is important to introduce yourself and the online instructor.  Be enthusiastic about the semester, share tips for getting started and more.  Some instructors like to send out a welcome newsletter that gives more specifics about the instructor and the class.  Also, give some information about when you will be calling home to check in and see if they have any questions.

• Personal Notes versus Mass Communication - Everyone wants to be treated as an individual.  My desire is to always send personal notes, but this can become very time consuming when serving a large number of students.  I do try to send out personal notes when a student seems to be struggling in class and needs some tips on things to do to improve.  I also try to send personal notes when a student does something well, like score a high grade on a test.  I use mass communication when I am sending out general class reminders, tips, or general information.  

• School Policies - Some teachers really like to stick to the policy that all email communication be done through the GAVS secure email accounts.  Another important policy to is to always log any type of communication, whether it is personal notes or mass communication.  

• Tools Available for Effective Communication - One popular tool that is used for communication is Smore.  This makes the information more interesting and easier to read.  I also like to use Remin101 in my classes.  This is an instant reminder for the students that they receive on their phone like any other text message.  

Sometimes it is hard to find the right balance in communication.  And it also differs from student to student.  Some students/parents don't want an email unless the student is failing.  While others want an email every other day just to check in on things and how the class is progressing.  

Communicate 2.1.1 Identifying Stakeholders

I do agree with the definitions of the stakeholders involved in an online program.  I think the description of the student was very good in saying that he must be "proactive."  For a student to be successful in an online program he has to have a good bit of self-discipline and drive.  And overall, communication is the key to having a successful online experience.

I think in an ideal situation, each "home school" for students would have a teacher that would keep track of how the students are doing in the online setting and be there to assist, if needed.  But the bottom line is that teachers are already stretched thin as it is.  We can't expect teachers to keep up with students who are taking online classes that are not in their classroom setting.  That is why it is extremely important for students who do get involved in an online program be very proactive and self-driven to complete the tasks at hand.

In addition to the stakeholders mentioned, I would also add the local school board and the state board of education.  These groups deal with the funding for these programs and ensure that they continue to operate as they are supposed to.

Communicate 1.1.2 Laws of Communication

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act was created to protect students from having their personal information put out there for just anyone to know.  As a teacher, we have a lot of rules and guidelines to follow, but this is an extremely important one to adhere to.  I believe that all of our email communication that we use now is great, but we have to be extremely careful as to what we are saying in those emails.  We do not have control over who is actually reading the emails that we are sending to, what we assume to be, the parent's email address.  We never should send an email with any personal information, such as address, phone number, or grades.  These are things that should be discussed over the phone or in a conference with other people present.

As far as copyright laws, you always have to make sure to give credit where credit is due.  If you did not create something, then you cannot take credit for it.  A good place to find free resources are with open sources.  These have less restrictions than copyrighted sources.  More and more open sources are being added everyday, especially for educational purposes.  

Communicate 1.1.1 Definitions of Communication

After watching Sherry Turkle's video about technology and communication, it made me think about communication in a different way.  I have gotten so used to texting and emailing that I haven't thought about how it has changed my ways of communicating.  My first year teaching (10 years ago) a lot of parents had email, but did not check it all of the time.  The best way to contact parents was by calling home.  Well, now that has changed drastically.  Just like all of us, parents of our students check their email on their phones and tablets all of the time.  Personally, I think this is a great thing for teachers.  One reason is because we can thoughtfully put an email together and make sure it makes sense and says everything we want it to say.  Also, if we can a harsh email from a parent we can take out time to put write an appropriate response, instead of making a smart comment right back to them.  Also, with email, we have documentation of what we have said to the parent in case they try to say they didn't know something.

As far as how this has impacted communication with my classroom, I would have to say nothing but positive things.  I receive more student emails each year.  Students will email me when they are absent to get their work or ask questions.  Another one of my favorite new ways of communication is Remind 101.  This is free service where you can create a class and have all of your students register by texting a code to a specific number.  No one receives an actual phone number of anyone.  But once my kids register for my class, I can send reminder messages to them and they receive them as a text message on their phone.  It is a great way to remind students of tests, assignments, or even to bring their textbook to class!  It is very convenient.

Navigate 4.1.1 Trend Impact

We have seen such huge advancements in technology over the last 15 years.  Our kids today cannot imagine walking around without their cell phone at their side (and honestly, I can't either now!).  Most kids will never talk on a land line phone in their home and most will never know what it is like to not have instant access to the internet.  It is amazing at the things that have been done with cell phones and computers in the last decade.  I cannot imagine what will be next.  But I know there will continue to be new developments and trends in technology.  

With all of these new advances, it has opened up so many doors in the education world.  Some students love the online class format, while others still learn best sitting in a classroom with a teacher right there with them.  I think that as we move into the future that we will have more of a mix of these things.  I actually had a student last year who had a severe bone disease and had to miss school 90% of the time.  So I the days that I was teaching a new lesson, they would bring in a laptop and skype with the student so that she could see the instruction.  It was so cool!

I feel like the biggest trend in the coming years will be cell phones.  I think they will have the advantage over tablets because you can use them to make phone calls and text, along with everything else!  We have embraced cell phones and tablets in our school system.  We send our student remind101 text messages to let them know when to bring their textbook to class or to study for a test or any other announcement.  It is a great thing.  The cell phones are so useful and they are fit right in your pocket or bag very easily.  I really do feel like the cell phone is going to have the biggest impact on online education in the near future.  

Navigate 3.2.1 Tools for Deciding on an LMS

When an institution is trying to decide on an LMS to use, one of the first priorities has to be the cost of it.  They have to consider the initial cost of the system and the cost to maintain and run the system.  Another thing to consider is the functionality of the LMS.  Is it easily navigated?  Are things organized in a logical manner?  Can students easily find their assignments and announcements?  I would think these would all be extremely important when deciding on an LMS.

I know that GAVS currently uses D2L.  From everything I have read and heard about D2L, it is a great program and has many positive aspects to offer.  I hope to learn more about it in the coming months.  There are so many LMS options out there.  The list that was attached to the open training page is quite extensive!  While I was completing my master's degree online, I used Blackboard.  I felt like it was pretty easy to use overall.  That has been almost 6 years though, so I am sure there have been many improvements to that system.

Navigate 3.1.4 LMS Reporting

There are four level in which analytic grade reporting assists teachers and administrators.

The first in the student level.  This shows information relating to how many times a student logs in and how long they are spending online working on their assignments.  This is very helpful when the teacher is dealing with a struggling student to see a reason why the student might be having such a hard time.

The next level is the teacher level.  The teacher analytics help compare teacher to teacher and class to class.  If one teachers class is performing better than another in the same class, then the teacher level analytics might help identify an area where the teacher may need some improvement.

The third level is the course level.  This helps identify strength and weaknesses within every course.  Certain weaknesses can be identified and then changed to better fit student needs.  This can be very helpful, especially if you are dealing with a newly added course.

The fourth level is the program level.  This is more for administrators as they can use the program level to access all of the above information and make decisions about what classes should be updated and what teachers should be assigned to which class.

Navigate 3.1.3 Tools within the LMS

The LMS has various tools available for teacher use and student use.  These tools are useful in driving instruction by communication and assessment.  All of these tools play a role in content delivery, but some tools are more useful than others.  And part of that depends on the user.  Some users find different tools to be more useful than others.  Getting to know the software and how to apply it to you class will determine its value to you.

LMS Common Tools:

Email: Asynchronous (non real-time) used as a main source of communication.

Notification System: Alerts about course grade, discussions, reply, drop box feedback, and news announcements.

Discussions:  Initial posts; notification of responses

Instant Messaging:  Pager alerts - communication between the student and the instructor in real-time

Blogs:  Blog tools are provided on some LMS

Calendar:  Calendar tools are used to communicate and remind users.

Assessing Learning:

Drop Box:  Upload Assignments

Discussions:  Interaction between instructor and student; student among each other to further dissect the content's topic

Quizzing/Testing:  Used as a "check point" to measure knowledge acquired

Self-Assessments/Surveys:  Both types may be used to check for understanding; a prelude to the actual evaluation

Integrated Rubrics:  Allows the student to know beforehand what to focus on while working on assignments

Grade Book:  Reflects the student's progress and feedback in the course

Navigate 3.1.2 Creation and Investigation Into Courses

Since I am not currently teaching GAVS and do not have access to Desire 2 Learn, I used the program Haiku Learning to create a CCGPS Analytic Geometry class.  This particular program seemed very user-friendly.  I was able to easily create an account through my Google account.  Once you have created an account it has a nice tutorial that walks you through the steps and shows you the important things you need to be aware of.  It helps you create a class and shows you how to add content.  This was a very easy process, I thought.  You could type in your own content, add links to the web, upload different types of files very easily.  I have taken a snapshot of the course shell that I created in Haiku Learning.  I didn't add very much content yet, but the process doesn't seem like it would be too difficult.  However, I do know that adding content for an entire course would take a good bit of time, especially for a course like the CCGPS Analytic Geometry because there is such a huge amount of material that has to be taught in that course.  Again, this is something that I knew pretty much nothing about, but learned a good bit while working on it.

Navigate 3.1.1 LMS Tool Categories

After reading more about the LMS, I would imagine that the tools that would be most useful to me in math education would be those that helps with communicating to the students.  Email is a great way to communicate.  I currently teach math in a traditional high school classroom and I use email consistently with parents and students.  I know it would also be very useful in teaching GAVS.  I also think the synchronous sessions would be extremely useful in teaching math.  Being able to gets instant feedback from the teacher about how to do problems or use formulas, etc. would be very beneficial.  I also think the news announcements would be helpful to remind students about assignments/quizzes/tests.  I imagine I would also use the feedback in quizzes/tests feature to be able to help point out errors to the student.  It you don't know why you missed a question, it is hard to know what to do to fix it!

Overall, I think consistent communication with the student is essential to the student's success!

Navigate 2.1.2 Recorded Session

Since I am not currently working for GAVS, I have had a lot to learn about recorded sessions.  Fortunately, I have a couple of friends who do work for GAVS and they have allowed me to "sit in" on a couple of their recorded sessions so that I could see what they are like.  From what I could tell, it seems like remembering to push the "record" button is extremely important, since all sessions are supposed to be recorded.  And if you forget to hit record, that could be pretty frustrating because you will have to do it over again.  I really like the idea that students can go back and see the recorded sessions once they have been saved.  This is extremely beneficial for students.  I wish I had something like this is my traditional classroom for when students are absent!  This helps students stay caught up, even if they are not able to be synchronously online when the session is going on.  Also, it is a great benefit for students who are able to attend the synchronous session as it is going on because they get instant feedback from the teacher.  Honestly, I do not see that there are any cons to using one of these systems, such as adobe connect.  And it seems like it is fairly easy to use and learn.

Navigate 2.1.4 Lecture Capture

After watching some of the videos about the possible options for lecture capture, I am very impressed with all of the things that can be done for the online classroom.  I know in some traditional classrooms, teachers use the "flipped classroom" model where they record their voice and writings from the smart board. Then they post a link on their website to the video.  And the students watch that as their homework and then they do the practice/work in class so that they are able to receive assistance from the teacher.  But being able to capture yourself doing the actual lesson is such a great thing.  To me, this makes the online classroom an even more useful component of education.  This would be especially useful in a math classroom because the student could see the teacher work out problems and could even play them back if they needed to see them again.  I hope to be able to incorporate this tool in my classroom in the future.

Navigate 2.1.3 Commercial versus Open Virtual Classrooms

From what I have read about commercial sources and open sources, it seems like there are advantages and disadvantages to both.  Personally, I would probably prefer a commercial source.  I know there is a cost associated with it, but they tend to have more support and have an IT person that is overseeing things to make sure they are running smoothly.  Also, they seem to be a bit more user friendly.  An open source would probably be useful in some situations but I just don't know that I would trust an open source as much as I would trust a commercial source.  Also, open sources don't seem to support a large group of students at one time as easily as a commercial source does.  Commercial sources also tend to have more options to share things, as in a traditional classroom.  But it all depends on the budget and cost limitations of the program.  Open sources can be very useful and some people think free is more worth the cost of a commercial source.  Open sources can be very useful also because everyone has access to them outside of the classroom.  It is all about preference!

Navigate 2.1.1 Delivery Methods and the Synchronous Vendor Market

There are many synchronized platforms that are available on today's market for online education.  Among those are Adobe Connect, Blackboard Collaborate, Google+ Hangouts, Cisco WebEx, and Big Blue Button.  I am familiar with most of these but have not used them all.  I am aware that GA Virtual School uses Adobe Connect and from what I have seen, it is a great tool.  It seems like it is dependable and pretty user friendly.  I used Blackboard when I was doing my master's degree online.  I am sure it has improved significantly in the last few years, but when I was using it, at the time, it was pretty easy as well.  When looking at the different options, you also need to be aware of the possible costs.  Some are free with stipulations (Cisco WebEx) and some come with a fee that is paid by the educational institution (Adobe Connect).  There are also some that you can get a 30 day free trial (Blackboard Collaborate) and others are free but tend to be a bit slower (Google+ Hangouts).  There are many options for various Synchronous delivery methods.  Here is a link to many of those vendors: Web Conferencing

Navigate 1.3.1 Discussing the LMS and the CMS

While reading Justin Ferriman's article on the difference between a CMS and LMS, I learned a lot similarities and differences between a Course Management System (CMS) and a Learning Management System (LMS).  Both of these things are quite similar but according to Mr. Ferriman, a CMS is a more narrow scope.  It focuses  on the management and distribution of eLearning and instructor led courses.  He said that a CMS is often the main function of an LMS.  An LMS encompasses course management but is more "robust" because it often "implies a subset of learning standards for reporting purposes and lately has started to include learning that takes place outside of a computing environment."

Here are some features of each:

LMS:

• Registration
• Track Participation (classroom attendance, sign-ons, and sign-offs of online course)
• Track Completions (including final scores or grades)
• Testing
• Follow-Up Discussions with Participants
• Aggregated Reports, such as the number of people registered for particular courses
• Course Catalog
• Skilles Management

CMS: 

• Place course materials online. Most CMSs provide pre-programmed buttons for the course syllabus, course schedule and course materials linked to specific lessons, such as copies of readings and PowerPoint slides from lectures.
• Track student progress through assessment features, which enable instructors to give quizzes and tests online, and an online grade book, where instructors can post student grades.
• Discussion board, where instructors and students can discuss readings and continue class discussions between formal class sessions.
• Other communications tools, which let instructors send announcements to classes and communicate individually with students.
• Course statistics, which provide information on the use of the course site, including who used the course site and when.

http://www.learnport.org/AboutUs/Features/LMSCMS/tabid/324/Default.aspx

Navigate 1.2.1 Describe Roles and Functions in Online Learning Environments

In order for any establishment to tun smoothly, it is important that roles and responsibilities be clearly defined.  An online virtual learning community is no different.

Teacher - The role of the teacher is to welcome the student and help with transitioning to a new learning environment.  Also to provide feedback to the student as he/she progresses through the course.  The teacher is also responsible for making the the content is accessible and communicating with students and parents.  And obviously, the teacher has to grade assessments.

Facilitator - The facilitator is a person at the student's school is approves that the student can take the course.  The facilitator also provides local support and retrieves the student's final grade so that it can go on their transcript.

Parent - The role of the parent is to check student progress though the parent account.  The parent also may have to provide accountability, if necessary.  The parent will also need to communicate with the instructor, if necessary.

Administrator - The role of the administrator is to monitor the learning environment, make decisions regarding extenuating circumstances, communicate with facilitators, and provide professional development.

Student - The student is responsible for registering for the course and learning the system and online expectations.  The student must also follow the course schedule and complete assignments.  As well as communicate with the instructor on a regular basis.

Navigate 1.1.1 Delineating Between Synchronous and Asynchronous Content

When it comes to the different types of delivery methods for teaching, I, personally, I used to a traditional classroom of synchronous learning.  I currently teach high school math in a public high school.  But I am hoping to have the opportunity to begin teaching some math classes through the virtual school program.  I was unfamiliar with the synchronous and asynchronous learning until reading through some of the provided resources.  I think that some students would be better suited for a more asynchronous type environment, especially if the student likes to work along and is very self-driven.  But there are some instances where synchronous virtual learning would be very beneficial.  It is always helpful to hear what others have to say and get others' opinions on the topics.  As a math teacher, I would think I would have a lot of students that would probably show up for my synchronous sessions because it always helps student to see someone else work out problems or show a different way to work a problem out.  I believe that we will always need some level of synchronous learning, but I think that a lot of students would still benefit from having more asynchronous learning.  I feel like with asynchronous learning, it puts most of the responsibility on the student to learn and complete what needs to be done.  We need more students that are self-sufficient and self-driven.

I found the picture below that I feel gives a good description of synchronous and asynchronous learning.