Online+Learning

Online Learning

Vicki Fishman-Online Learning Virtual Online Learning: A New Direction My online learning PowerPoint presentation was simultaneously anxiety provoking, yet exciting. My team of two teachers and a principal observed first hand how best teaching practices that include differentiating instruction, collaboration, rich discussions within a safe environment, and online assessments and record keeping, could all be incorporated into the online learning environment. At the completion of the presentation I was quite satisfied that my audience was impressed by the benefits that an online environment such as Moodle has to offer. The team’s enthusiasm was tempered, however by the immediate concern over the work required to create this type of learning environment. The majority of our staff are technology immigrants, forced to use these internet resources, but uncomfortable with the risk and “messiness” of this undertaking. In order to reduce the fears of my staff and ease them into the implementation of an online environment, we, as a team, agreed to create a model using Moodle that included a differentiated instruction component. Our principal agreed to commit professional development time for grade levels to follow the model with support from the team. As my school takes baby steps to implement an online learning environment, and utilize it with their students, they will recognize how this depository for resources and information can enhance student learning.

Vicki, I think it is great that your principal is willing to give online learning a try. We just had two days of professional development earlier this week, and I am always surprised at the amount of complaining from the teachers. Hopefully the teachers will be receptive to using Moodle; it is quite easy to use. Good luck to you. Jill Capozzoli

Vicki~

Good luck! We have a lot of complainers, too. There are so many teachers who really feel that everything we do is just "too much work." They almost sound like some of the students! I would LOVE to hear how your project works out! At my school, a few of us are going to work with individual Rcampus accounts for a while to pilot some classes for our tutoring center before we can convince our principal to set up a server for Moodle. Moodle is my next step. My goal is to learn as much about it as I possibly can and to become our district expert...I want to learn as much as I can about it so I can demonstrate it to my entire school and district. There are so many benefits to using LMS. Our biggest roadblock is getting enough computers for students to use, but we can work on that little by little. ~Jen

Online Learning--Jill Capozzoli
I presented my online learning presentation to an Art teacher, a Foreign Language teacher, and my principal. My principal is not adverse to technology; he is just not real comfortable with it. All three were intrigued with the idea of online learning in the K-12 classroom. One of the teachers felt that she could relate to this type of a learning environment. She currently seeks more avenues to incorporate technology into her classes. It was mentioned that many teachers are interested in Webquests which may be a bridging strategy to implementing an online program. Although I had mentioned that online learning can be time-consuming, the group felt that the initial investment would take time, but in the long run, it would save time for teachers. The major concern with using this type of learning is the need to have someone who is a leader of technology to be in charge of the program. Before we can implement any type of online learning, my principal suggested that we should seek guidance from the Office of Technology in our county. I recently completed an online learning module using Moodle with the other computer teachers in our county, so I will connect with the two teacher specialists who created the course.

//Jill,//
==== //It's so great that your school appears to be open to online learning. I agree with you about having an expert on board. It would be so helpful. Unfortunately we don't have anyone to get help from so I guess I will have to become one. I'm going to look for some district professional development like the course you took. Do you have any projects from that experience. I would love to look at them. Is there documentation available for using Moodle? Perhaps you could have one group of teachers create the webquestis and then one group that creates the Moodle to house them. Great information! Thanks// ====

Jill~ How did the online learning module work out? Did you create it or did you take the class? I would love more information about it...I am so interested in starting up Moodle for my district, but need to know more. ~Jen

Online Learning - Jennifer Desiderio
My presentation was given before an assistant principal, a language arts teacher, and a math teacher. Everyone was interested and curious about using online learning. The language arts teacher was thrilled about the idea of using eportfolios to track student learning and using online classes to help support and supplement student learning for struggling students. For our struggling math students, we have proposed opening a "tutoring center," which is a guided study hall. Using an online LMS to create support courses for the tutoring center was a very exciting proposition for the math teacher - this is something we can create and roll out to the entire district to support all of the city's struggling students - ANY student would be able to access the course if we can get a Moodle server set up! Overall, the presentation went well. We were interrupted a couple of times due to some administrative issues, but it appears that administration is open to utilizing online learning (at least at the building level.) If we can prove how useful an online LMS can be to our students, perhaps we can convince the city administration to set up a city-wide Moodle server for teachers to use for the benefit of ALL of our city's students. We just need to make sure we have enough computers in our classrooms to provide access for students who do not have computers at home. Working with the city, perhaps we can work to get some grants to provide classrooms with more computers... **Jennifer -**

One of the keys to success when it comes to new technology is having the support of the administration. My building principal has been a leader in our district when it comes to technology, and that has made a huge difference. I would encourage you to talk to your city administrators as this could be an amazing resource for students, particularly those who need extra help like you mentioned. Many students are afraid to ask for help, and knowing that online resources are available might be appealing to students. I know some students who even use forums for help with homework or clarification about assignments.


 * Lauren **

Online Learning- Dan Cleveland

I presented my presentation to the technology department in which I work. Discussing the concepts of the Course Management Systems to my colleauges came quite easily. We have been using Moodle for a little over 3 years now for both professional development and student academic resources. Utilizing this tool in the classroom has provided student with class content in a unique way and helped them to educate themselves through the use of technology, while also gaining class content necessary for their individualized success. I feel that using CMS and/or LMS is incredibly beneficial tool to help student to grow as 21st century learners and certainly aids them to be productive members of a technological society in the future.
 * Dan - **

What percentage of the teachers in your district use Moodle? Does your district provide training to use Moodle? Moodle has been available in my district for several years now, but few teachers seem to use it. What has helped this tool become successful in your district?


 * Lauren **

Course Managment Systems - Lauren Flynn

I presented to several colleagues and my building principal. Moodle has been available in my district for several years now. I was part of a pilot group that used it when it first became available. There was no training provided for us - we had to figure it out on our own. This, coupled with an unreliable server, caused many of us to stop using Moodle. Today, the server is much more reliable and we have more tech support. Over time, and with the help of colleagues, I have become more comfortable with using Moodle. For these reasons, I knew that I would be met with some resistance when presenting to my colleagues.

My presentation focused on the benefits of Moodle and on starting small. While there are many benefits to using a Course Management System, I focused on just a few. From my own experience, I know that one of our biggest challenges is differentiating instruction to meet the needs of all students. We have a very diverse student body. Our classes are made up of English Language Learners who speak little to no English, students on IEPs, gifted students, and other students from different backgrounds. This makes it difficult to meet all of their needs. Moodle allows teachers to scaffold learning and allows students to work at their own pace. My colleages really liked this idea. I also pointed out that most colleges and universities use Course Managment Systems and we are doing our students a disservice by not familiarizing them with this before they graduate. One last benefit is that it allows students to collaborate in a different way. Students who are shy and typically do not participate in class discussions are much more willing to do so in an online forum.

Moodle is just one tool we have available to us, and does not have to be, nor should it be the only tool we use. I suggested using it first as a resource for students who are absent. They can visit the page to get class notes, videos, links and other resources. They can also upload assignments to turn in when they are absent. It is much easier for teachers to tell students to go to Moodle than to sit down with every student to go over what he/she missed. Once teachers get used to using Moodle in this capacity, they can try using it for in-class activities like forums ,wikis, or other collaborative projects. I think that the idea of starting small was a relief to my colleagues. They were really receptive to using as a tool for students who were absent.

Overall, I believe my presentation was successful. My colleagues felt more confident with the resources and know that there is help available if they need it. While I don't expect all of them to use Moodle to its full capacity right away, I do believe that they will slowly start to incorporate it into their classroom. I think they are much more aware of the impact that Moodle can have on the classroom.