CEDO 550 Week 6

1.	My students are gaining 21st century skills by . . .
	Using technology to create as well as research, collaborating in small and large groups, using higher order thinking skills.

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	2.	I understand the Virtual Schools Legislation in Wisconsin and am concerned/excited about . . .
		I am excited about the potential for students who do not excel in the traditional classroom, or who do not have the resources within their district, to be able to have the option and opportunity to have their needs met through an online program. I am also happy to hear the outcomes of the audit because it supports the idea that online/virtual classrooms are effective and an valuable resource to our students.

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	3.	My district involvement in online learning includes . . .
		From what I could see, it is somewhat limited although I would venture to guess that there is more blended learning going on in today's classrooms without them being identified as "online learning programs."

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	4.	During the module I was excited to learn about . . .
		the Learning to Change video. I found it quite eye-opening and enjoyed getting the perspectives of the panel of highly regarded professionals in the field of education. I think the potential benefits of online learning go beyond what we know up to this point and I look forward to staying informed and learning more about virtual learning as more ideas are revealed.

Week 5: CEDO 550 Reflection

	1. My experience with online communities has been …
	Overall, positive. For example, my experience with the cohort I've been participating in for the past year and a half has been very positive. I've met some interesting people and have had an opportunity to gain some new perspectives from the participants in the program. Because we are able to interact outside of the set class time through the use of discussion boards and small group meetings, I feel like I have gotten to know everyone in my class a lot better than I have ever gotten to know (an entire group of people) in my undergrad traditional setting.

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	2.	I believe the biggest benefit of collaborative groups is …
		Gaining new perspectives and coming up with something better than one can do alone. My experience has been that I come in with an idea based on what I have done and what I've learned over the years, but after talking things through with the group I come out with a much richer result due to everyone contributing to the process.

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	3.	I believe the greatest challenge is/would be …
		If the participants could not come to a consensus. Part of working in a collaborative group means being flexible and open to others' opinions. Consensus does not always mean 100% agreement, but if you agree to consent to the final product then you need to support the decision to go that route. I think that is more difficult for participants not used to working in a collaborative setting.

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	4.	My thoughts regarding the social development and socialization issues are …
		Just like most everything, the way we address social development and socialization needs to reflect today's world. Traditional schools need to actually teach socialization, rather than simply look at it as a by-product of students sharing a physical space. We can't expect kids to just know how to get along and act appropriately without those skills being taught to them. The online setting, because it is so new, does spend time addressing appropriate interaction and teaching students how to "get along" in that format. The fact that many biases or prejudices that can develop in a traditional setting are taken out of the equation of an online classroom (because students can't see each other), relationships are developed around what each student can contribute to the group. I don't think either setting is perfect, but it seems that more learning can happen in an online setting because of the emphasis on learning, developing and applying effective communication skills.

Week 4: CEDO 550 Reflection

Week 4 prompts:

In reflecting on my teaching experiences to date, I would say that the proportion of teacher centered versus student centered lessons has been …

I would say that until recently, my proportion of teacher centered vs student centered lessons was about 70/30. I have done much since beginning this cohort to make my trainings and lessons more student centered and find that my staff enjoys and retains more from that approach.

 

The rubric I created for my lesson clearly defined expectations and scoring for the lesson so that my students could …

 

...know the expectations in advance and understand that lack of participation in the synchronous as well as asynchronous activities would result in monitoring and support in their classrooms.

 

While working on this module I had success/difficulty while doing something new involving …

 

I think I had the most difficulty creating a rubric that was appropriate for my audience. Since I am in a training position with staff at my workplace, using rubrics to assess their participation and understanding is not a common practice. I am not sure how the use of a rubric would go over, but it would take some of the "subjectiveness" of evaluations out of the process.