EDLD_5368_Instructional_Design

Teaching Style Inventory:

Learning Style Inventory:

= Week 5: Course Reflection =

**What benefits do you see in educators knowing how to design and implement online learning?** The convenience of online learning is undisputed. The Internet makes learning opportunities available 24/7. Today’s learners are more diverse, and online courses can offer differentiation for various learning styles. And having materials and assignments online can free up the teacher to individualize instruction as needed, almost making it like there is more than one teacher in the room. While some students are working on online assignments, others can be getting the teacher’s attention. My district is in the midst of a budget crisis this year, and while I do not want to lose my job as a technology specialist, I can see providing help via videos and how-to documents in an online learning environment so that teachers could access the necessary training at any time, from anywhere. If educators take the time to develop courses using Wiggins and McTighe’s (2000) “backward design,” where the essential understandings guide the whole course, learners—whether they be teachers or students—will be more successful.

= = =How will you professionally use your course that you designed?= My district applied for and received a T3 (Target Tech in Texas) grant that provided interactive whiteboards for every grade 3-5 bilingual class, with the purpose of improving performance in math. This involves about a dozen teachers on 4 different campuses. My course was developed to provide basic training for using these IWBs as well as providing a forum for communication and collaboration across the district. My online course has teachers joining Promethean Planet, an online resource that provides downloadable examples of flip charts, how-to lessons, and many other resources. My teachers will use my course’s discussion board to share their discoveries as well as ask questions of each other. Teachers will post their flip chart creations to the course, making them available to all participants in this grant. Some teachers have experience using IWBs while others do not. It was important that my course provide materials for beginners as well as advanced users. My course meets teachers where their needs are by providing resources for all levels. This course was introduced at our latest cohort meeting and will be revisited at trainings held throughout the summer.

= = **Will you integrate online learning in your role as a teacher/staff developer?** I’m afraid that my district’s current budget crisis will require that online learning be incorporated much more in my role as staff developer. While I covered the technology training needs of three campuses this year, I will be covering five campuses next year. Being at all these campuses exactly when a teacher needs will be next to impossible, so online learning will be the way to insure that teachers get answers to their tech questions when they need them. Our district has a rarely-used subscription to Atomic Learning, a site that provides video tutorials for all things technology. I will be referring many teachers to the lessons available at this site as well as “beefing up” the how-to resources we make available on our campus web pages. And, as mentioned above, I will continue to use the course I created with the teachers using Promethean’s ActivBoards. My role is changing from one that had me interacting with individual teachers to one that is more district-based. So I know more of my time will be spent in developing online learning materials and making sure my teachers know about them. = =

=What questions do you still have about online learning?= As my work is with elementary-level teachers and students, I have to be concerned with student privacy and what is being shared in postings and assignments. How will I make sure that comments are appropriate? Just recently I had a student post a “wth” that was considered inappropriate. How will we be sure that users of these online learning environments understand digital citizenship and behave themselves in an appropriate manner? My district just surveyed all district households via telephone regarding the technology available in each home. We have to be considerate of homes without computers, printers, etc. before we begin requiring students to access materials and assignments from home. How do we walk that fine line between encouraging and requiring 24/7 access? Within staff development venues, how will I encourage participation without adding “one more thing” to their plate? What types of trainings will my teachers need to successfully navigate and participate in online courses, especially as they come from all levels of experience? How can I encourage and support teachers who would like to provide online learning experiences for their students? There’s a lot to consider, but the idea can’t be ignored or put off much longer. = =

**What will you do with this new learning?** Press on! As budgets get tighter and materials (even paper!) are more scarce, I know that I will need to find ways to get information out to my teachers even while I can’t be there physically as often as they need. I will need to encourage teachers to access the online learning opportunities we already have as well as provide new opportunities through other venues. Our district and campus websites can be used as self-training sites. District technologists, like me, can create our own video tutorials and make them accessible to teachers 24/7. I know that the UBD template (Wiggins and McTighe, 2000) will guide me in developing online staff development that insures that the big ideas are what are actually being addressed through the training. And seeing the benefits and online learning and the ease with which differentiation can be addressed will encourage me to share the wonders of online learning environments with teachers and help them design effective activities for the varying needs of their students. Welcome to the 21st century!