Standard 2.2
The Online learning class was one of my favorite courses. The online unit that was created will serve as my artifact for this standard. This unit was considered a blended online unit because the class was not fully online. There was still regular class time were lecture and or discussion could take place. This unit was a 6 week unit for my tenth grade classes at Moody High School. The curriculum that was covered was the American Revolution coupled with key leaders, ideas that shaped new government, the constitution, the bill of rights, and Americas first political parties. This is a large unit with a large amount of information for students to learn. In this unit students were to have basic computer skills, seventh grade civics, and knowledge of Microsoft Office suite. Students were to participate in daily discussions and weekly reflections. Modes of learning were through text, lecture, webpages, audio, and video. The unit was blended to help small groups of students who lacked access away from school. This allowed these students have ample time during school hours to complete work necessary for the unit.
For each piece of new technology that was introduced to students, there was a class period set aside to model how to effectively use the tool. The whole class period was needed because some of the tools are difficult to learn. After modeling students were given time to practice using the tool, which gave me the ability to help those that were struggling. Students who caught on quick were able to get a good understanding and then move onto their assignments. Alternate assignments were put into place for students with special needs. Throughout this blended online unit students were given class time to work on assignments that required technology. There was a small number of students who lacked access to the internet and needed more time during school hours to complete assignments. Throughout the unit students were tasked with searching out and discovering answers for themselves. Each week students were to complete discussion posts. Students would read the assigned reading and then search out other answers to the topics. Within the discussion students were to answer the question and then engage with two of their colleagues about their responses. To get more than one perspective than the textbooks was the goal of the discussion questions. This allowed the students to use research skills to find credible, factual sources. I was able to model and explain to students how to find credible resources at the beginning of the unit. Students think that all of the answers can be found on Wikipedia, which some can, but this source should be the last source they use. I introduced students to online encyclopedias which is credible and has large amounts of information. I also introduced students to government websites which can be used to see primary source documents. This type of research coupled with the blended online learning, where students are able to work at their own pace, is student-centered rather than teacher- centered. Here students learn responsibility and how to use their time effectively.
This artifact was interesting because of the amount of time and effort that was put into planning. The planning of the unit was key because there needed to be enough resources and information for students to use plus built in time to teach certain tools. I was really tested with getting it all put together so students would have a good experience using it. The best thing I learned is that even when you think you have given plenty of information and assignments, it is still not enough. This is where I would change something about this artifact. I would add more extension activities to the unit. There were always one to three students in each class who were awesome and completed everything in a timely matter. With more extension activities there would not be much free time for those few who finished early. Not only was I introduced to this learning opportunity (as the teacher), but students were introduced to something new. This was new and full of engaging activities so students were put a back by the roles being flipped. Student learning did get enhanced because of this unit. I was able to tell through assessment data and overall attitude in the classroom. While I remained busy helping students, others were sent on a journey that was neat to see. Faculty improvement can impacted by sharing this tool and showing how well the students responded to it. School improvement can assessed in the long run with through ACT scores and observations.
For each piece of new technology that was introduced to students, there was a class period set aside to model how to effectively use the tool. The whole class period was needed because some of the tools are difficult to learn. After modeling students were given time to practice using the tool, which gave me the ability to help those that were struggling. Students who caught on quick were able to get a good understanding and then move onto their assignments. Alternate assignments were put into place for students with special needs. Throughout this blended online unit students were given class time to work on assignments that required technology. There was a small number of students who lacked access to the internet and needed more time during school hours to complete assignments. Throughout the unit students were tasked with searching out and discovering answers for themselves. Each week students were to complete discussion posts. Students would read the assigned reading and then search out other answers to the topics. Within the discussion students were to answer the question and then engage with two of their colleagues about their responses. To get more than one perspective than the textbooks was the goal of the discussion questions. This allowed the students to use research skills to find credible, factual sources. I was able to model and explain to students how to find credible resources at the beginning of the unit. Students think that all of the answers can be found on Wikipedia, which some can, but this source should be the last source they use. I introduced students to online encyclopedias which is credible and has large amounts of information. I also introduced students to government websites which can be used to see primary source documents. This type of research coupled with the blended online learning, where students are able to work at their own pace, is student-centered rather than teacher- centered. Here students learn responsibility and how to use their time effectively.
This artifact was interesting because of the amount of time and effort that was put into planning. The planning of the unit was key because there needed to be enough resources and information for students to use plus built in time to teach certain tools. I was really tested with getting it all put together so students would have a good experience using it. The best thing I learned is that even when you think you have given plenty of information and assignments, it is still not enough. This is where I would change something about this artifact. I would add more extension activities to the unit. There were always one to three students in each class who were awesome and completed everything in a timely matter. With more extension activities there would not be much free time for those few who finished early. Not only was I introduced to this learning opportunity (as the teacher), but students were introduced to something new. This was new and full of engaging activities so students were put a back by the roles being flipped. Student learning did get enhanced because of this unit. I was able to tell through assessment data and overall attitude in the classroom. While I remained busy helping students, others were sent on a journey that was neat to see. Faculty improvement can impacted by sharing this tool and showing how well the students responded to it. School improvement can assessed in the long run with through ACT scores and observations.
unitplan_intro_to_online.docx | |
File Size: | 33 kb |
File Type: | docx |