Presenting Technology Research*Online

Education*Setting the Stage for Distance Learning

Sensible Tools of EngagementRevised Framework for Essential Skills

By Natalie Bates

Menu• Setting the Stage for Distance Learning By

Bridget McCrea 12/02/09. http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/12/02/setting-the-stage-for-distance-learning.aspx

• Sensible Tools of Engagement: Three Channels for Online Education, and Why You Should Use Them By Debra Beck. http://www.elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=best_practices&article=60-1

• CoSN Issues Revised Framework for Essential Skills By Scott Aronowitz 12/01/09. http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/12/01/cosn-issues-revised-framework-for-essential-skills.aspx

Setting the Stage for Distance LearningBy Bridget McCrea

12/02/09• Jean Smith is an English and ACT college-entrance exam prep teachers who is using an interactive distance learning video link to communicate by teaching lessons to students in different counties. By using this new advanced technology, Jean is able to share information with students and teachers while experiencing the convenience of working at home. Click the computer to see this article!

Setting the Stage for Distance Learning

• With the touch of a button, Smith can teach lessons to two different classrooms miles apart. She can conveniently cover a wealth of information to twice as many students in a shorter period of time.

Distance Learning Personal Reflection

• Although this emerging technology is a great resource for educators and students everywhere, it worries me that the student-teacher relationship will be negatively effected. In this article it mentions nothing about how students are to interact with the teacher. Many students learn more effectively if they have someone there to discuss the lesson with. As a student, I enjoy the convenience of having a teacher there if I have a question or comment, instead of waiting for an e-mail that may not come for a few days/weeks. The student teacher relationship may be dramatically effected by the “convenience” of the educator not having to meet with their class each week. It also makes me wonder how effective it is to have twice as many students. Is there enough time for each student to get the attention they deserve?

• McCrea writes "Hancock is over an hour away, so me traveling there to teach the class is not an option," explained Smith. ” This makes me question whether or not this is a dedicated teacher. I understand the importance of this technology, but if this teacher doesn’t have the time to drive to class, why can’t the school find a teacher that does have the time? Perhaps someone closer to school, who will spend more quality time with their students.

Sensible Tools of Engagement: The

Three Channels for Online Education, and Why You Should Use

Them. 12/03/09 By Debra Beck

• Podcasts allow educators to share information about the class that benefits each students specific learning style. It also gives students the much needed break from the “text-driven content” that is shared during traditional lessons. Click the icon on the left to find out all you need to know about podcasting!

• Wiki-based group activities is a great way to get students interacting with each other through the net. Students can use their creativity to create their own sites and combine their styles with other students. It is an “interactive and media-rich” way to communicate and learn together as a group. Click the wiki icon on the left to check out the wiki website!

Sensible Tools of Engagement

• Social Bookmarking is a great way to retain the information we’ve learned through the internet. Students and teachers can bookmark or save a favorite site in a convenient location on their desktop. Students and educators can share their bookmarks and quickly find the information they’re looking for. Click the heart icon to see a great, easy-to-use website called delicious.

Sensible Tools of Engagement

Personal Reflection• Beck writes from experience “Group projects in any setting stir up anxiety. Group projects in an online setting add an extra layer of panic.”

• I could not agree more with this quote! In this class we had a wiki-based group assignment that really made me panic. Doing a group assignment in class is bad enough, let alone doing one online where you can hardly interact with your group members! The idea of this project alone made me nervous, and as you know I did a horrible job on this particular assignment. Click the angry blonde to check out Beck’s article!

CoSN Issues Revised Framework for

Essential Skills By Scott Aronowitz

12/01/09• Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) was

originally created in 2001 by the CTO Council and is an extensive set of categorized skills that are essential to all educators.

• This article explains that CoSN today has issued a new revised framework for the requirement of essential skills expected of teachers. Aronowitz explains the revisions are required for all K-12 technology leaders, chief technology officers, chief information officers, technology directors, and all other technology executives.

Revised Framework for Essential Skills• Scott Aronowitz writes “the requirements

must be well defined and detailed with regard to leadership and vision, program management, communication and "people" skills, and technology operation and use.” "This gives district technology leaders a roadmap of what they need to be focused on in order to move from technology being a silo to technology enabling the entire enterprise of the district."

Essential Skills Reflection

• Scott writes “The framework is an extensive set of categorized skills, some operational and some strategic, that every district technology leader should either possess or pursue via one of a number of professional development options in order to learn and build.”

• This article goes into detail as to who is suppose to know this newly revised framework and the importance of it, but never even mentioned what the new “essential skills” consisted of. I thought this was very strange, I assumed that was the entire point of the article. Click the question mark to read this article.

Conclusion

• All 3 of these articles are based upon the emerging technology of online education. We’ve discussed the benefits of educating students via online videos, the convenience of helpful online sites such as podcasting, wiki-based group activities, and social bookmarking, and lastly we’ve discussed the importance of the revised framework of essential skills.

• While presenting my technology research articles the first thing I’ve learned about was the new video links and how this new technology makes it easier for educators to teach twice as many students in each lesson. Second, I learned about three major websites and why they are beneficial to teachers worldwide. Lastly, I learned about the Consortium for School Networking and their extensive set of categorized skills that are essential to all educators.

References• Aronowitz, Scott. CoSN Issues Revised Framework for Essential Skills.

December 1,2009. http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/12/01/cosn-issues-revised-framework-for-essential-skills.aspx

• Beck, Debra. Sensible Tools of Engagement: Three Channels for Online Education, and Why You Should Use Them. December 3, 2009. http://www.elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=best_practices&article=60-1

• McCrea, Bridget. Setting the Stage for Distance Learning. December 2, 2009. http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/12/02/setting-the-stage-for-distance-learning.aspx