Distance Education and Virtual Schools

Distance Education and Virtual Schools
1. Pro’s of having a virtual school
§ The student teacher ratio is much more manageable
§ Able to get lots of help if needed
§ Free laptop and money given
§ Allows student to get a good feel for how to use technology in the learning process
§ Allows for flexibility and personalization, can work at their own pace
Con’s of having a virtual school
§ Not having student to student interaction and help on work
§ Parents must have good background knowledge, and be very active with their child’s learning process
§ Student is unable to socialize with others their age
§ Their texts are limited to what their parent chose to purchase
§ Might have limited resources (ex. Don’t have a library in their house)

2. There are many skills that a teacher needs to have to be successful when teaching a virtual school.
§ Hold a Bachelor's degree
§ Flexible schedule
§ Ability to travel throughout the state
§ Appropriate state certification
§ Proficiency in MS Excel, MS Word, MS Outlook, and the Internet

3. I found it interesting that the enrollment for the Florida Virtual School is almost 60% Females and 40% Males. I’m curious to why majority of the students are female rather than males. Would the numbers be different for a different state located let’s say on the west coast?

4. Two to three years from now, virtual schools and online courses could very well become much more popular. Assuming I will have a job and be in a classroom by then, I feel that keeping track of the books and resources that the virtual classrooms are providing and recommending for the parents to teach would be a good idea. This way you could possibly get more ideas of what and how to teach a particular subject area.

Engaging Students with Concept Mapping

1. Some ideas for concept mapping:
· Plant life
· Animal Kingdoms
· Solar System
· Family Tree
· Reflection on assigned book
2. Concept mapping software will impact a class because it allows students to be active with their learning. It also allows students to be creative with new media tool. It is a way to organize and arrange their thoughts and ideas. You are able to take a large lesson unit and break it down into smaller pieces to help identify main parts. You could place students in groups and have each of them compare and contrast their maps that are on the same topic. You could also use concept mapping to do a jigsaw activity, and have students create one on their own on a reading and then have them create new groups to discuss what the their article was about.
3.I feel that concept mapping could be very useful in the classroom setting. It may take a little while for the students to understand all the components to the program, but once the students have it down the program could be used in various lessons and in many different ways. I totally feel that taking the time to learn the program would be worthwhile for the students. It may also take time for me to feel comfortable to integrate it into the classroom, so on my end I would want to take a few weeks to really get it down and understand so I am able to answer any kind of questions the students may have.

Teacher Web Critiques

Teacher Web Critiques

1.I feel that having a class web site could be a beneficial tool. If any student has any type of questions about an assignment they can easily refer to the website for guidance. If any student were to lose their handouts or homework, all the assignments can be found on the website. They are also able to use the class site to see upcoming events, announcements, and projects so that they can better prepare themselves.


2.Students can use the class web site to see and understand the parts of assignments that they might be struggling in so they can improve. A second way students could use a class web site to enhance their learning and provide some justifications is by tracking their own grades. There is an online database with their grades, by typing in their ID numbers each student is able to see their scores for every assignment.



3.The strongest features of the Teacher Web is the About Me page because it allows students to see their teacher outside of the classroom and get an idea of who they truly are. It can be hard for students to realize that their teachers have a life outside of the classroom. The second strongest feature of the Teacher Web I feel would be the web resources page. Having this page allows the students to have a direct link to helpful sources for projects, and homework.

Blogs and Wikis in Education

1. There are many interesting and innovative ways blogs and/ or wikis are being used in K-12 classrooms. For example a blog or wiki can be used to help a teacher or staff member communicate between other teachers within a school, a district, or maybe even over seas. Also with a wiki or blog, you can post different types of lesson plans for an activity or even a whole unit for a classroom, it can allow you to see a step by step procedure on how to carry out an activity. A blog or wiki could also link you to additional helpful websites that a teacher may often visit and find useful. For the higher grades that are using computers more, the blogs and wiki's can become useful for the students themselves to have a class website to be able to see the syllabus and upcoming assignments.

2. You could use a RSS readers/aggregators in a classroom setting by using them for exactly what they do, let you know when there is an update of a website and translate it into its simplest form for your computer to read. This can be helpful for students when they are checking websites for information for a project, or maybe news articles. It allows them to spend less time searching for the latest news and worrying about if you correctly understands what is being said. It allows more time for the important activities and projects that you are doing in the classroom.

3. There are pro's and con's of using blogs and wikis in the education field. An example of a pro of using blogs and wikis in the education field is it allows teachers and staff to be able to get ideas of alternative ways of approaching teaching a lesson, as well as providing a page to get new lesson plans. A second pro of having a blog or wiki for a classroom is it allows the students when they are at home or elsewhere besides the class, to be able to view a calendar of events coming up, due dates, and things that are required of them, it can act as a friends reminder. A con's of having a blog and wiki in the education field is you need to be extremely careful how you are presenting yourself as an educator to the younger crowd, are you pictures and information representing you in a positive role model position? You always need to make sure you are representing yourself and your school in a respectful way. A second con would be you need to remember that you are working on a computer and it is easy to make a mistake when typing instructions or even entering test results, be sure to double even triple check your work and what you are entering on to the internet for everyone to see and respond to.

MI in the Classroom

1.Identify which of the multiple intelligences you have strengths in and then discuss some of the core characteristics of that (or those) intelligences. Discuss which of the core characteristics best describe you and your learning style.

Kinesthetic was my greatest strength at 100, followed by Naturalist and Intrapersonal both at 90. One of the core characteristics for Kinesthetic intelligence is Sensory – internalizes information through bodily sensation. Reflexive – responds quickly and intuitively to physical stimulus. Tactile – demonstrates well-developed gross and/or fine motor skills. Concrete – expresses feelings and ideas through body movement. Coordinated – shows dexterity, agility, flexibility, balance and poise. Task Orientated – strive to learn by doing.

2.Discuss what students with this type of intelligence enjoy, are like, or tend to do within classroom settings.

Students that have a kinesthetic intelligence seek to interact with their environment, and enjoy hands-on activities. The students usually can remain focused on a hands-on task for an extended period of time. At times students may demonstrate strong fine and/or gross motor ability; they also enjoy group games and active learning tasks.

3.Discuss how you will support this type of intelligence within your classroom and within your teaching.

I could support this type of intelligence within my classroom by having hands-on learning centers, and incorporating creative drama into my instruction for my lesson plans to get the students up and involved. It would also be a good idea to allow students to participate in activities where they are able to build and take apart things. Having a kinesthetic intelligence it is also important to keep the students moving throughout the school day.

4.Discuss what technologies stimulate this type of intelligence.
And finally, discuss how you see your attention to multiple intelligences could impact student learning within your classroom.

A few examples of technologies that stimulate the kinesthetic intelligence are; construction tools, kitchen utensils, screw, lever, wheel and axle, inclined plane, and a pulley. Another example of a technology that works well is a stimulation that requires hand-eye coordination. All of the examples listed above are hands on to better fit their learning style.

5. And finally, discuss how you see your attention to multiple intelligences could impact student learning within your classroom.

It is important to understand what intelligence you are so that you can cater to the students with may not have the same as you. Since each person learns in a different way, it may seem natural to create activities that are easy for you to accomplish. Having a variety of lessons can set up all the students for success.

Welcome!!

Hello,
This is my first blog that I have created for a T&L 445 class at Washington State University, for the College of Education Program.