Instructing Virtual School Courses

• I Teaching Online

• II Expectations for Student Participation

• III Building an Online Learning Community

• IV Resources

• V Student Discussion

• VI Learning Styles

• VII Assessment

• VIII Technology Skills

Table of Contents

• Post all deadlines and assignments at the beginning of the course.

• Send reminder emails weekly reinforcing my goals for the week.

• Respond to all emails within 24 hours (a la Florida Online's policy).

• Create and use an email account for online classes that can be synched with my Blackberry (for instant feedback).

• Have an open chat hour every week (maybe Sunday night) in an active discussion forum.

• Add discussion threads for students who report common problems with the weeks assignments.

• Create projects that ask students to apply what they have learned to solve problems.

• Have links to additional practice sites ready for students who feel they need more practice.

• Finally, be a teacher, not a teller. Help students lead themselves to their own understanding of material rather than force them to see it your way.

I Teaching OnlineAs part of my basic responsibilities, I will...

I Teaching OnlineFinding my teaching style

• Rapport is the foundation for all learning

• Modeling honesty, patience, and a sense of humor will help reinforce expectations

• Effective communication is essential to success

• Must get to know a student I may never meet face to face

• Must project core values and expectations clearly through online media

• Must use a variety of new technologies to ensure good communication throughout the course

Similarities Differences

I Teaching OnlineAdapting to new technology

As an online teacher I will have to learn

any new media that could help me connect to my students...

Twitter

Texting

Blogs

Facebook

MySpace

IM

II Expectations for Student Participation

Students will be responsible for...• Readings online with

follow-up questions

• Practice examples

• Participation in 1 of 2 online group chats

• Reading all posts and posting in the discussion forum (1 original and 4 follow-up)

• A cumulative course project

• Midterm Exam after week 5

• Final Exam at end of course

III Building an Online Learning CommunityPairs of students will collaborate on a project that asks them

to create a small business, complete with a budget

Goals of this Project:•Students will understand basic expense math as it relates to credits, debits, loans, taxes, and setting prices.•Math topics involved will include linear functions, exponential growth functions, fractions/decimals/percents, compound interest calculation, and estimation.•Students will work with their partners via different web media; they must communicate effectively in order to successfully launch their new business.•Students must use mathematical research to choose a business they feel will be successful•Students can demonstrate creativity when designing a company logo, slogan, and advertising•Final projects must include a multimedia presentation explaining their company

III Building an Online Learning Community

Other Project Details•Students will be paired at random and be expected to participate equally•Students will be co-owners of their business and expected to offer separate analysis of the business plan•Students will be polled privately to gauge their partners’ level of participation•‘Successful’ businesses will be identified as those whose models seem realistic, with balanced budgets, loan repayment schedules, and accurate sales projections•The final project will be presented using a multimedia presentation that will be evaluated by me and hosted online for other members of the class to evaluate•Evaluation of other students’ projects will be mandatory and count towards part of the project grade.

IV Online Resources

CoolMath.com

FinanceFreak.com

TurnItIn.com

YouTube.com

TED.com

MathaTube.com

MathTV.com

WGHB.org

HoodaMath.com

PBS.org

V Student DiscussionRubric used to assess student posts

Adapted from the EdTech Online Module

Criteria Exceptional Average Needs Improvement

RelevanceResponds directly to the

discussion question and includes pertinent, connected or applicable information

Posting responds directly to the discussion question

Posting does not respond directly to the discussion question

Use of Examples

Makes thoughtful references to previous or current session

material and relevant personal experiences

Posting includes at least one reference to session material

and/ or relevant personal experiences

Posting does not include any references to session material or

relevant personal experiences

Contribution to Learning

Community

Posting offers critical analysis of a key theme or existing post(s) which deepens or extends the

conversation

Engages with ideas from the session or the perspectives of

participants and makes a positive contribution the conversation

Does not critically engage with key ideas from the session or the

perspectives of fellow participants

Comprehension

It is evident from the posting that the participant understands the question and the key ideas from the session material. In addition, the participant employs higher order thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation) when responding to the discussion

question

It is evident from the posting that the participant understands the question and the general ideas

referenced the session material

It is not evident from the posting that the participant understands either the question or the ideas

referenced in the session material

Written Quality Has a coherent structure and the

flow of the writing is easily understood. Grammatically

correct with no spelling errors

Has a coherent structure and the flow of the writing is easily understood. 1 or 2 errors

Does not have a coherent structure and the flow of the

writing is hard to follow. Multiple errors

TimelinessPostings are made on at least 2

different days; at least 1 is made early for others to read and

respond

Postings are made on only 1 day; at least 1 posting is made early for others to read and respond

Postings are made on only 1 day; postings are late for others to

read and respond

Tone Posting has a positive, supportive and professional tone

Posting has elements of a positive, supportive or

professional tone

Posting is negative or flat in tone

VI Learning StylesAddressing multiple learning stylesHumanMetrics.com - Jung/Meyers-Briggs personality test.

Teach-nology.com - How to prepare for online differentiated instruction.

SlideShare.com - DI online:Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences - Gail Taylor M.Ed

Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Levels

VII AssessmentsOnline assessments should take a variety of forms

including:

• Timed quizzes and tests

• Weekly discussion postings rubric

• Cumulative project

• Weekly practice examples

• Surveys to measure comprehension

• Instructor/student feedback

• Open response questions

VIII Technology SkillsCheckHere:

Check off each skill that you already have or that you have learned during this course. Make a note of the skills you still need to practice.

Email with attachments

Creating word processing documents

Locating, evaluating and adding Internet resources to a course

Enrolling students in a course

Creating course announcements

Using assessment tools to create tests and surveys

Creating a discussion forum

Creating groups and managing a group area

Using course gradebook

Adding staff information to the course environment

Using the course chat

Troubleshooting common software and hardware problems

Virtual SchoolsConnecting students like never

before