Online+Learning+Presentation

=Online Learning Presentation=

Leading Technology Change Presentation Summary- Sara Yavorsky

Today's classrooms are full of 21st century learners. Teachers are turning to technology as a way to bridge the gap from traditional learning to learning that focuses on students' strengthens and the dominant learning styles of today. Teachers are beginning to develop online learning communities as an aspect of their curriculum and classroom. This year I am facing larger class sizes which decreases the amount of hands-on /group learning opportunities due to student behavior and decreased class time. With all of that in mind I am still trying to plan and implement engaging science lessons to ensure students are mastering the science content standards. Moodle can supplement my science curriculum while adding meaningful and authentic learning opportunities. Moodle capabilities in my classroom: blog, collaborate wiki, student podcasts, content based quizzes, assignment and projects can be attached to the class website, and students work can be assessed.

While presenting my presentation to my team members and administrator I was met with excitement and hesitation. My team members agreed that there is never enough time in each class and by implementing an online learning environment as part of our curriculum that would free up some class time. Students would be able to complete assignments and projects through the class site. My fellow team members were eager and willing to see how they could incorporate aspects of Moodle into their content area and curriculum. One aspect my team members and administrator worried about was getting each students permission to use the online learning environment. They also brought up the point what if a student does not have access to a computer at home or their parent will not give their child permission to participate in the online learning environment. My team members were also nervous about trying something new involving several different aspect of technology without attending a training or having a lead technology teacher available.

Sara,

The concerns of your team members are good ones. I understand the worry about using a new technology without adequate training or experienced users available for support. The main [|Moodle] website has many forums and information pages which can be helpful. However, sometimes they are written for a user who is more familiar with “tech speak” than I am. I did find that there are many useful [|You Tube]videos which are more user-friendly and focused on specific components of Moodle. Perhaps they could help your team feel like they have a virtual technology teacher available to support them.

Good luck! Sheryl Wolfe

Moodle Presentation - Sheryl Wolfe

I presented an introduction to Moodle to interested staff at my elementary school. Although the district had provided a one hour training prior to the start of school, for various reasons the staff had left more befuddled than enlightened about Moodle. My training provided information about what Moodle is and how they might begin to use it to enhance their instructional practices. The bulk of the training involved creating a website, making some design decisions, and beginning to add content. The teachers all indicated that they felt they now had a better understanding of the potential for Moodle, were excited to begin using it in their classrooms, and appreciated the time provided to begin to design their site with support readily available. They requested additional trainings throughout the year to introduce new features, explore ways to use Moodle, and provide time to continue to build content. Also, the technology coordinator and I are committed to providing “just in time” support as teachers explore the possibilities with Moodle. The one troubling comment referred to the fact that teachers who did not attend the training preferred to use easier online tools for web creation because they lacked some of the functionality that Moodle provides. In essence, they are afraid to use Moodle because they believe they will be required to make use of the many features it provides if they do.

Sheryl-- Your last statement speaks highly to the attitude that many teachers have regarding the use of new technology in the classroom. I do not understand why people are so afraid to try something new if it is going to help their students be successful. It was good that you were able to release some of the confusion that your teachers had from the beginning of the year and can now use Moodle in a more successful way. I really want to encourage you to reach out to those hesitant teachers and try to encourage them to begin making small steps using Moodle or other online learning sites with their classes. They do not have to totally replace what they are doing; just find one way to enhance it in some way as a beginning point. -NZ

Online Learning Presentation- Nick Zomer
===To be completely honest, I was very apprehensive to give this presentation to the teachers in my science department. There are two groups in the department; those who are willing to find new ways to enrich and adjust their curriculum to meet the needs of their students and those who have done things the same way for years and are not willing to try something new. However, I knew that this could be a powerful tool for my teachers to consider using and so I was also excited to present this to the group. Having worked with Moodle before and seeing the resources provided by another online program in the state of Georgia, I knew how powerful of a resource online learning could be for certain students. I wanted to make sure that my colleagues could fully understand what online learning can do for them and how it can help improve their instruction with their students. === ===At the beginning of the presentation, I could tell that many of the teachers would much rather be spending their time doing anything else other than listen to what I had to say. When I was discussing the theory behind the use of online learning and the related statistics to its use, that did not help to hook their interests. However, once I mentioned the Georgia Cyber Academy and showed them that they could use many of the resources that this online school had to offer to reinforce and enhance what happens in their classroom, I could tell that I had their attention. The discussion continued as I showed them an example Moodle site that I use with another program. Rather than simply hearing what online learning can do, I was able to give them two actual examples for them to actually see as a starting point. By having that to start with, the discussion on how we can begin to use online learning resources with our classes really picked up speed. Now I have the important job of continuing the conversation among my fellow teachers and encourage them to begin using online learning in their classes. I really hope that they understand that I do not expect them to completely replace their traditional instruction with online instruction. However, I do want them to begin to experiment with its use on a small scale to begin to see how it can enhance what they are already doing. ﻿ ===

Nick,

I can understand why your colleagues would be hesitant to try online instruction if it weren't for the numerous success stories. I also have a hard time buying into things just because they are "supported by research." It is also helpful that your team will be slowly trying some elements of online instruction together. Working something out as a team is usually easier than going it alone!

Krista

Online Learning Presentation - Krista Zade

When I presented the slideshow I had created highlighting the benefits of virtual learning environments, I doubted that my colleagues and administrator would be the least bit interested in the information. Though my administrator was formerly a huge advocate for technology in the classrooms, he has since decided that we have more important things to focus on with increasing class sizes and disappearing budgets. My colleagues have never been much into using technology in the classroom, not because they are against it, but because they are happy with what they already do and do not have the time or the desire to try anything new.

It took me by surprise when my audience not only watched and listened to my presentation, but that they were receptive to using Moodle in our school. Their number one concern was money; they were happy to hear that Moodle costs nothing, but advised me to include that in the presentation. Besides that, they were worried about how Moodle, or any VLE, would work with students who do not have internet access at home. Currently, my school does provide students with a chance to use the computer lab outside of school hours. We discussed opening the lab to students before and after school so that they could work on contributing to threads or practicing concepts. There would need to be supervision, and with the already-limited staffing in Salem there are no available employees to supervise before or after school. Together, we talked about recruiting volunteers to help supervise. Using volunteers would mean that we probably could not keep the lab open every day, but having it open even two or three times a week after school would benefit students and give them the chance to participate in asynchronous learning.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Once my colleagues, administrator and I came up with a solution to the problem of students without computer access, we discussed the reality of using Moodle at our school. We realized that not all teachers would be onboard until they could see firsthand the real benefits of using such a program. It was decided that myself and the other 3 teachers present at the meeting would begin using Moodle in our classrooms. In January, when we have been using the program for a significant amount of time, we will present to the rest of the staff how we saw students’ learning increase through the use of Moodle.

Krista, I think your idea about showing teachers first-hand the benefits of Moodle by first using it yourselves will definitely make more of an impact. I know I am more receptive to a new idea when it's been tested and used with success. I am also going to share your idea about utilizing the computer lab outside of school hours. That is a great solution for students without computer access! Erika

Online Learning Environments – Haiku Learning (Erika Yee)

This week, I researched an online learning environment called Haiku. It is free for educators to use, and it is private and user-friendly. Each student has their own username and password through an authentication code. There is even an option for parents to log on through their own authentication code. I really liked the idea that students could collaboratively work on their own wiki’s and blogs all within this one learning environment. It could also be tailored for an individual, small group, or whole class. Differentiating within Haiku made my life a whole lot easier. I started my students in small wiki groups this week with different tasks for each group. Haiku also provided the option of discussions within each group to only be viewed by the group members and the teacher. My students are loving it! Some have started creating their own wiki’s and blogs within our site as well.

Presenting this resource at my site was pretty much what I expected. Very few use and teach technology at my site. One teacher was adamant about cooperative learning only happening face-to-face. The other teacher I shared this site with was more open to the idea. I helped her start an account, and she had her students blogging for the first time this week. That was pretty exciting! We share technology resources at the beginning of each staff meeting, and her testimony for blogging will make a huge impact. I feel that this is how change will happen at my site – a few teachers at a time.