EDLD+5368+Intructional+Design

=Creating Online Course Instruction - Reflection= Recently I used www.schoology.com, an open source learning management system, to create on online class as an assignment in my graduate studies. My graduate studies are online, so in a way, I had a sample. Overall my students were excited to use this online tool for learning. Their excitement propelled me, but I still felt hindered by my lack of understanding about using online teaching and by some lingering "old school" teaching habits.

Marc Prensky discusses teaching in relation to the changes with technology in "Adopt and Adapt: Shaping Tech for the Classroom" (Prensky 2005). He outlines four ways of teaching as **1)** dabbling with technology, **2)** doing old things in old ways, **3)** doing old things in new ways, **4)** doing new things in new ways. In my studies, I have moved from dabbling and I think I float between doing old things in new ways and doing new things in new ways. Online learning is a new way of teaching for me, but for the most part, my content was presented in an old way. I was a bit lost on //how// to create the content in the platform, such that my online course tended to be more response orientented than it was learning orientented. Students were asked to post about experiences we had in class, rather than have original learning from the online format.

The reason Marc Prensky feels we need to more to more technology integration is because technology is the tool of these learners. My mother used to quilt and in commenting about hand quilting versus machine quilting, she replied "if we had a sewing machine, I would have used that!" Our world has new ways to connect - and even new connections, so of course we should move forward, not back. I believe teachers should use online learning, even for the benefit of saving baby trees from growing up to be worksheets. Students tend to see teachers who use the computers for teaching and learning as "cool" or "awesome", purely based on using computers, according to student responses. I hear students in my class say "this is my favorite class because we get to use the computers." I don't need to be cool or awesome, my goal is to help students learn, so of course I should teach the way they want to learn (Prensky 2001).

This year I took a fall and missed school for a week. When I returned, I wasn't really ready for full school duties, so my lessons got further behind. In just one simple example, having my course online, could have kept us on schedule. Online instruction would also help students who were out to stay on schedule with the class. Beyond the schedule, though, I believe there is value in learning how to learn online. Online instruction created a not just a new form of communication, but also new communication with my students. My students are learning technology skills that I believe are valuable for further learning. Students already know how to game and text for entertainment and now they extend those skills into learning.

Creating the course online caused me to think from a fresh perspective. What exactly did students need to be able to do at the end of our learning. I used Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe's "Understanding by Design" method (Wiggins 2005). Planning lessons this way is not completely new, but did cause me re-evlauate stale teaching. I had trouble getting started because I wanted more time, time to plan and create. Summer is nearly here and I can do that now, but the learning needed to happen, so I just jumped in. I started the online course with the content we were learning in class, World Music. With more time, I would have created pages with links to audio and visual examples, instead of switching CD's and videos in class. I do use websites, but since I didn't give the links to the students, I presented them. We used class time to play music from other nations and dance to music of other nations. We also held class discussions. I like having class discussions because we learn from each other. Discussion boards and blogs could be the same, but in print. With more practice and clearer expectations, the student responses would have been more developed than "it was cool." It is my plan to further develop the World Music unit through schoology and rethink the way I teach other units to create more online learning.

It seemed a daunting task to create an online course. When I finally jumped in, I was shocked by how excited the students were. Every day since the first day, they asked about getting on schoology, and a few get online at home. Yes, I know they were sending messages not related to class content, but they did post on class content. The did participate in class discussions, even if they didn't type it. One tool I would like to employ for my students who just don't want to type responses is audio responses. I think I could use a sound editing program or even [|www.vocaroo.com] for students to record verbal replies to a post. By attaching the link, we still have the response, but my student didn't have to struggle through the typing and I didn't have to type it either. I wanted my online course to resemble the online courses I have, with video and links, but the execution of that didn't happen as easily. I am still getting help from schoology in trying to get my initial video posted. I am also not fluid in navigating for links and assignments and thus not able to foresee how students get confused themselves.

As a technology leader at my school, it is important for me to practice new skills, but also to understand the teaching that goes on in my school. I would like time to observe the teaching at my school before suggesting more integrated learning. I don't visit other classrooms, but I know teachers are using some tools. I would like to know more, and not just on evaluation day, about how teachers are enriching learning by using technology. We had an in-service at the beginning of the school year about wikispaces, but [|mine] is the only one linked on the [|school's] pages, other teachers abandoned it. It is important for teachers to have time in learning to use a new tool, but to fully understand how it can benefit. Some teachers think worksheets benefit learning. I think if I students can practice the same skill without a worksheet (or a tree), let's do that! The difference is utilizing the tools we have and extending our learning as teachers.

Sources Cited:

Presky, M. (2005). Adopt and Adapt: Shaping Tech for the Classroom. //Edutopia//. Retrieved on July 17, 2009 from []

Prensky, M. (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1. //On the Horizon//. Sept/Oct 2001, Vol 9, Num 5.

Wiggins, G. and McTighe. J. (2005) Understanding by Design, Expanded Second Edition. //Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.// Retrieved on April 20, 2010 from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/lamar/Doc?id=10081770.