Week 11 Reflection: Reseaching Online Schools

Blog reflection: What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? Has your thinking changed as the result of what you learned this week?


Once again, there are two main areas that stuck out in my mind this week. The first has to do with assessment. Only this time, it's not assessment of students but assessment of online courses. Which is really what the researchers are all trying to do - assess online learning. My thinking primarily changed because when I began this course I was constantly thinking of virtual schooling (and even courses) as an alternative to traditional f2f classrooms. This type if thinking automatically forces you into comparing the two types of environments. This week I had an A-HA moment when I realized that it's not an alternative but just a different way of accomplishing the same goal. So, to evaluate online courses you simply need to assess whether they are meeting stated objectives and learning goals in the same way that we shouldn't compare one student to another but rather one student against his/her own past performance.


The second realization focused once again on socialization. In particular, what do we mean by socialization? Is a lively discussion in a forum on a particular course-relevant topic socialization? What about a discussion in the "water cooler" forum? Do you think of socialization as only synchronous or can it be asynchronous? And, in today's new digital world, don't we all need to learn how to socialization online anyway? These are some of the questions I will continue to explore as I work on my research project, and beyond.

Week 10 Reflection - Online Schooling Effectiveness

Blog reflection: What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? Has your thinking changed as the result of what you learned this week?

There are two main areas which struck me as particularly important and changed my thinking.

1. Online Only/Blended/F2F Only
While I knew that all of these combinations existed, I hadn't given quite as much thought to when and why one environment might be better than another until this week. Personally, I am a fan of online learning and I've had a lot of success with such classes as I pursue my 2nd Masters. I've also experienced quite a number of blended learning courses and one or two face to face only courses. I've come to appreciate the value of blended learning for the added "time on task" that it allows and for the additional presentation formats it offers. However, after reading the numerous studies and meta-analyses this week comparing (or attempting to compare) the learning effectiveness of these different delivery platforms, I am now much more cognizant of the importance of instructional design and instructional goals. Before considering any platform choice, the learning outcomes that you want students to achieve must be clear and the design elements must be appropriate for the platform (or vice versa!).

2. Online Schooling & Socialization
Again, it's a topic that I've been aware of for quite some time. I know that there are many people who believe that online schooling (and home schooling for that matter) are detrimental to the social development of those students. I had my own (differing) opinion on the matter but until this week didn't have any hard facts to back that up. Now, I approach the conversation with cautious confidence, knowing that the study has it's own design flaws, but aware that that there are plenty of ways to ensure appropriate social development as an online learner. In addition to the discussion aspect, dots in my mind connected almost immediately as I began to read the article. Leverage Web 2.0. Social Networking. Online Communication. It's definitely a component of social development - both in the real world (making friends) and the online world (building your social capital). I became so excited by the idea that I decided to focus my research project on this very topic!

That's about it for this week. But, it was definitely an enlightening one!

Week 9 Reflection - The Curriculum Unit

Blog reflection: How did you and your partner divided the work? Did that work out? What were the pros and cons of working with a partner at a distance?

Curriculum Unit Collaboration
Dividing Up the Work
The division of work was a relatively easy exercise for Cheryl & I because we simply examined the topics of interest that we had posted in the discussion forum and fit those components into the outline that I had suggested so that both of us had a comfort level with the unit. Additionally, Cheryl had proposed using the WizIQ platform so she began investigating that tool as a platform, while I offered to investigate Ning as a platform. In the end, we decided to use both since the former is better suited for synchronous sessions and online tests, and the latter is better suited for asynchronous discussions, online chats, and course organization of materials. We did have a minor hiccup when Stephen decided to join the group but he shared that he was interested in using CCDT as a framework for the course so he ran with that. When he left the group, we still appreciated the work he had done as a jumping off point for framing our curriculum unit using the "Teaching for Understanding (with Technology)" methodology. 


How did it work out?
Cheryl & I worked very well together. We shared the same ideas about what we wanted to accomplish with the unit, how much content should be provided, and the components that should be included. We posted our initial outline to the Wetpaint Wiki but expanded upon the outline to create a working syllabus using Google Docs. We also used Google Docs to create an assignment/web 2.0 tool mapping document. We began using Skype to communicate but faced a few challenges along the way (see below). We also used the Ning chat to share information, Ning platform to demonstrate the course features that were illustrated in the course syllabus, and WizIQ to "record" synchronous session samples and create a sample online test. From a timing perspective, I worked on the initial outline first and then was away for Spring Break. During that time, Cheryl expanded upon the outline (although she did have some down time due to the power outages resulting from the storm!) and when I got back we collaborated together on finishing the syllabus. 


Pros and Cons of working at a distance
The biggest "pro" for me is that we can work within our own schedules. Since I was away for Spring Break, I was able to check messages on my phone to stay in the loop and also work on the unit before and after break. Cheryl was able to work during break and other convenient times for her. The other big "pro" of working at a distance is that we are in the shoes of the students. In creating our unit, we are also experimenting with the tools we will be expecting our students to use in the course and are therefore more aware of obstacles that may arise and can prepare for them. The biggest "con" of working at a difference is actually the technology itself. Yes, I know, I'm a technology geek. But I can still complain, can't it? You'll see below some of the challenges we had with the technologies themselves. However, here I want to mention that even in a synchronous environment like Skype there are visual cues that are missed. If we were working f2f, facial expressions, hand gestures and other subtle cues may have changed the outcome of our final unit. Or, at the very least, may have expediated the production of the unit. The small video screen in Skype doesn't allow for the same kind of interaction although it is better than text-based chat.



Web 2.0 Tool Challenges
I opted to break this section out from the overall reflection above because I wanted to highlight the importance of quality tools and appropriate expectations that students should have of the tools they use. In collaborating on the unit, here are some of the technical challenges we faced:

• Skype - We initially began using Skype to communicate but unfortunately Skype crashed Cheryl's laptop and it was unusable for several days. We had to then resort to other modes of communication like Ning chat. Also, we had quite a scheduling conflict. Between my student teaching schedule (during days), classes (at night) and Cheryl's weekend job finding time to talk was a challenge. At one point, we realized the only time to talk would be as Cheryl traveled to her job on a Saturday morning. This meant no Skype. We had to rely on the good old-fashioned cell phone. However, as my husband reminded me, that still using technology (including the Bluetooth hands-free component!). 
• Wetpaint - Some time during the weeks I worked on the unit, Windows decided it would be a great time to do lots of updates. After the updates, I could no longer copy/paste into Wetpaint because of some new security rule using Firefox. When I tried, I lost all of the data I had just copied in including all the new text I had written (not copied from anywhere) and the site just said "Copy/Paste Not Allowed" or something like that. I had to start all over again. Ugh!!! So, then I used IE instead of Firefox but the formatting was a mess. I finally switched back to Firefox on my laptop (instead of my desktop). In addition to this problem, I found Wetpaint's "EasyEdit" to be anything but. I like to get down and dirty with the HTML code and pretty-up my pages but Wetpaint doesn't let you do that. It's very un-user friendly.
• Ning - I really enjoyed using Ning as a platform although I did not some challenges from a course developer perspective. 
• You can't change the order of the discussion forums once you create them. And you have to create them in reverse order.
• You can't upload documents. You have to add links to the documents as a "Note".
• The RSS feed which I thought would work similar to Netvibes is less user friendly. It does not list the overall feed but rather individual entries on the feed which would make it hard for students to examine each other's blogs. 
• WizIQ - There are also several challenges with WizIQ. In general, I was comparing it to Adobe Connect and while it does offer online tests (which Connect does not) there are several components which are lacking:
• Online tests can not be edited after they are created.
• Desktop & Browser sharing can be used but can not be recorded without a premium membership.
• You can not see the faces of all the students; only the teachers video is accessible. (This may be available with a premium membership).
• In one of our classes, the WizIQ session crashed and everything after the crash was not recorded. The folks at WizIQ (who, by the way, contacted me unsolicited for feedback, told me that this is a technical problem on their end and they are looking into it).
• I do think the whiteboarding capability is a little bit better than Connect. 

Web 2.0 Tools that worked Great

• Google Docs - I know a lot of people are favoring Google Wave which allows for simultaneous edits, Google Docs worked great in our case. It was easy to see what changes had been made and by whom. And, it allowed us to create our curriculum unit at times convenient for both of us.
• Ning - The free platform was easy to use and offered a way for us to demonstrate what the course would look like for the students in our course. We could have also used Moodle which is open source but I've used Moodle before and thought it would be interesting to see the advantages of a social networking platform over a more traditional LMS. The main advantages are a nicer chat interface, photo & video integration, and in general more available features that can be added, moved around, etc...
• WizIQ - While we had problems with the platform, it did offer a free way for us to present examples of what the synchronous course sessions would look like. It also allowed for us to present sample tests which are important in a K-12 environment though not necessarily included in higher education online courses or classrooms. 

That's about it for this week. Overall, I thought the collaboration went extremely well and I am very pleased with the output that we were able to present. The curriculum unit is something that I think I will actually be able to use when I become a teacher.  

Online Schools Wetpaint - Our Unit
Google Docs - Course Syllabus
Google Docs - Quick Reference Guide
Ning - Expressing Yourself Online Course
WizIQ - Sample Session 1
WizIQ - Sample Session 2
WizIQ - Sample Unit Test
CCDT - Course Framework
Sample Rubric

Week 7 Reflection - Beginning the Curriculum Unit

Blog reflection: What did you think about, or worry about, as you began to grapple with creating a unit for an online course? 


For me, I like to start with what I want the students to learn (what is the desired result?). For the purposes of lessons/units created for TC classes I also like to think about the grade level & subject because I am going to be certified K-12 and want to demonstrate a good cross-sampling of experiene. So, I decided that I wanted to target secondary level students for the subject "ELA." Within ELA, I wanted to focus on personal creative writing and my goal was to have students become comfortable expressing themselves through various forms utilizing online tools.


Putting an outline together was a fairly easy exercise for me but what I struggled with is conciseness. In other words, it's very very easy to include too much. I wanted to make sure the unit covered the necessities for establishing an online collection of personal expression without overwhelming students. 


Another concern that I had was finding a partner. I made sure that I posted my ideas on the discussion board early on but it seemed that everyone had the same thought. We were all posting ideas but there wasn't a lot of overlap going on. So, I decided to provide more detail in order to entice someone to join me. Fortunately, this strategy worked out and I am very happy with my partner. We seem to be in synch with the goals we want to accomplish, the tools we want to use, and the level of effort we expect to put into the unit. This is always a concern where group projects are concerned.


Finally, I am beginning to work through how we ensure that the curriculum unit meet iNACOL standards, use the tools that we want students to learn effectively, and properly assess the students based on performance tasks. I am also concerned about how deep to go with regard to the unit design. It would easy (albeit time consuming) to get lost in the details and end up creating too much content for the assignment. On the other hand, I would like for the unit to be usable and valuable, something that I can actually implement in the future (or at least something that can kickstart an actual unit).

Week 6 Reflection - Our Schools

Blog reflection:  Has your view of the schools you chose to research changed from the first week you looked at them? If so, how? (To answer this, you should look over the descriptions of your schools in the wiki and at your blog entries. You should also review how you placed your schools in the Google spreadsheet and see if you want to make any changes.)


To begin with I need to identify the two schools that I researched. The State school is North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) and the charter/for-profit school is AccelerateU run through BOCES. In general, I think my view of NCVPS has remained fairly consistent since the beginning. I was immediately impressed with the comprehensive nature of their website and the clarity by which they present their objectives, offerings and additional resources. They are focused on both academic enhancements and credit recovery, utilize a wide variety of technological tools and provide ways for learners to interact with other learners, as well as the teachers and content. I also believe that my classifications in the "Online Programs" spreadsheet were on target. I am still disappointed that they do not provide a mechanism to search courses or to view a demo course, however I would be inclined to recommend this school for North Carolina residents.  Here is my NCVPS research on WetPaint.


My view of AccelerateU has change a little bit since beginning my initial research. For one thing, I lowered the position of learner-learner interaction on the spreadsheet because it was not clear that much of this activity is actually taken place. There may be some use of discussion boards, and there may be cases where students are accessing the AccelerateU content from the same location (a local traditional school) but this does not seem to be prevalent. Also, most courses are designed to be self-paced (within a range) making for more difficult student interaction. I was also unhappy to discover that although the AccelerateU program seems to be the most comprehensive online offering for New York State students, it is not available to all students in all regions. The local BOCES chapters must be a member of AccelerateU for students in those regions to participate. Here is my AccelerateU research on Wetpaint.


A brief comparison of both schools based on the spreadsheet data indicates the following main differences:

• Students participate from anywhere in both schools, but AccelerateU students may also participate from a local brick-and-mortar school.
• Learner-teacher interaction is stronger at NCVPS than at AccelerateU, although the latter has on-site facilitators. This also means students at AccelerateU have more facetime than students at NCVPS which does occasional phone conversations.
• Learner-learner interaction is much stronger at NCVPS.
• On the learner autonomy measure, classes at NCVPS are course-paced while classes at AccelerateU are self-paced.
• NCVPS is more of a virtual classroom than AccelerateU which provides more virtual courses. 

Schools in the Press 

I couldn't find any press releases about AccelerateU. A search in Google just found a newsletter produced by the school called Choices. The newsletter is located on the same domain as the school but interestingly I never discovered it when research all the other aspects we examined. This is a downfall of the site because it would have been interesting to read through some of the articles. The site does not provide any press releases either although they do display a logo for "2004 Center for Digital Education Winner" but clicking on the icon brings you a to a "Page Not Found" message on the Center for Digital Education website.


A search for press releases about NCVPS brought me to a video discussing NCVPS's use of Web 2.0 tools which I was pleased to see. The other thing I found was ScreenToaster's list of NCVPS lessons, like this one from a Digital Photography class. These aren't as good as a demo course, but better than nothing. The Virtual Learning Consultant Blog provides information about what activities NCVPS is working on, like an upcoming presentation on SecondLife and their presence on Twitter. This blog is also linked off the school's website under "Director's Chair." 



Several other articles appeared in the search including: "Discovery Education and the North Carolina Virtual Public School Partner to Provide Services Bringing the Highest Quality Digital Content to Online Students", "Online Learning Report Shows N.C. Virtual Public School Fifth in the Nation in Enrollment", and "North Carolina's Virtual Public School Celebrates First Year". There is also a list of all documents available from NCVPS at Digital Repository of the State of North Carolina. The school also has a presence on Facebook. Finally, the school itself provides a repository of news and announcements on it's site, including podcasts, EdWeek articles and other sources of information. 


NCVPS clearly has a much larger presence and is more well established than AccelerateU and is a model that other schools should look towards.


Wrapping Up 

Overall I think that my research has proven to be indicitive of the many varied options that exist for virtual schooling and I am excited to see what happens as schools evolve and new schools appear. In the meantime, I wanted to share some links that arose this week for future reference.

• Online Learning Institute 
• Journal of Interactive Online Learning 
• Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning (book) 
• Millenials Quiz

Week 5 Reflection: Management

On the topic of how to manage online teachers, I appreciated how the article "Evaluating Online Teachers is Largely a Virtual Task" explained that there is a lot more data to examine, in a more timely fashion, than for traditional teachers. I wonder how TC teachers who teach online classes are evaluated. I know that we do course evaluations at the end of both online and face-to-face courses so I assume that is part of it, but I wonder whether the evaluations differ in other aspects depending on the forum. The article also noted that administrators can take steps to immediately help teachers fix the problems they may be experiencing and how much oversight is enough or too much?

In "Managing Teachers You Can't See", the article noted that most online teachers work remotely which creates a unique challenge for supervisors, but this is very similar to corporate organizations that allow individuals to work from home. I was part of a program at Sun Microsystems known as iWork where I worked from home or other remote offices most of the time. Many years, I had supervisors who were not based in the same location as I, and evaluation never seemed to be a problem. I think the same applies to online teachers and their supervisors.

I really like how the article notes that customer service is a big priority at virtual schools (FLVS in this case) because the student is the customer (or the consumer really) and everything we do as teachers needs to focus on that, just as it would in the corporate or retail worlds. FLVS also mentions that accountability is critical for online teachers so they ensure students success. I wonder how different this is than in traditional schools where teachers "pass" students because of underlying politics. Everybody wants students to succeed, and accountability is not specific to virtual schools.  They also mention that the leadership team checks in with instructors on a daily basis. I think this seems like too often. It is a very "hands-on" approach. Personally, I thrive in an environment where the manager is "hands-off", understanding that success ensures a continued need for my skills. 

Week 5 Reflection: Teacher Professional Development

Professional Development:
Of the 6 readings for this week, I chose the following three to review:

• Going Virtual! Unique Needs and Challenges of K-12 Online Teachers
• Professional Development for Online Teachers by our very own Susan Lowes.
• Online Professional Development Models (Webinar)

Going Virtual! Unique Needs and Challenges of K-12 Online Teachers
I was found each of these to be genuinely interesting for various reasons. In the first article, I was initially surprised that only 2% of respondents were brand new teachers, but in looking at some of the virtual schools it seems like a minimum of 3 years teaching face to face is generally a requirement so that makes more sense. I was also surprised to learn that virtual school teachers report professional development in Web 2.0 technologies as less important than brick and mortar teachers do. Maybe because they already feel comfortable with them? I’m not sure though since only 3 comments by teachers reflected a desire for social networking as a collaboration method with other professionals. Similarly teachers in this school think it less important to “incorporate internet resources in course content” than their counterparts, although they are also less like to develop their own content.

With regard to facilitation, the study noted that more experienced teachers placed a higher importance on classroom management strategies, while newer teachers though innovative thinking and promoting student reflection were more important. My initial instinct was that this might be a factor of “burnout” by more experienced teachers. Beginning teachers are generally more excited by the prospect of their new career, the difference they can make and have a bit of “not knowing what they don’t know” going on as well. Burnout of experienced teachers might also account for their lower rating regarding community building activities. I also noticed that newer teachers place more emphasis on team teaching, which makes sense since this is a focus area being discussed in pre-service programs these days.

From an assessment standpoint, the big point that stood out for me was that across the board participants though peer review was least important. In corporate, being able to give and receive peer review is a large portion of individual’s evaluations with regard to promotions and raises. I would think that this is a skill we want to develop within students.

I surprised to see very few comments with regard to concerns about copyright/plagiarism given all the hype about it and online learning. I also noted that across program model and online teaching experience levels, the “need and challenge” listed in every single category was time management. I have to wonder if this just isn’t a problem for everyone these days in this high-interaction, fast-paced digital economy.

Professional Development for Online Teachers
I really enjoyed reading this article, and not just because it was written by our own professor, but because the distinctions listed really cleared up some of the more confusing topics for me, especially around virtual courses vs. virtual classrooms. I though the comment about creating courses that meet standards while still allowing for the “imprint of the individual teacher” was really on the mark. How else would courses be distinguished from one another?

I’m still a bit disturbed by the virtual schools that insist that teachers have 3 years experience in traditional classrooms. On the one hand, I understand that they are hoping to rely on that experience to transition to this new platform delivery but in this economy when there are no (or few) teaching jobs available in traditional schools and an excess of high quality teachers (many with online learning experience), do schools really want to be that strict?

With regard to ongoing professional development, I think it is insightful that FLVS sets annual goals and created PD activities to meet the goals. This is just like what happens in corporate for promotions, recognizing an individual’s growth. I’m also going to check out COVE which seems a lot like Twitter and/or Facebook groups dedicated to educators in similar fields.

Finally, I thought it was interesting that VHS has created a “Web-extended classroom” helping face-to-face classrooms integrate virtual resources. Should everyone be doing this?

Online Professional Development Models
I decided to listen to this webinar as my third selection to make use of an alternative mode of instruction and because I thought it would be good to hear how schools present their PD models. There are some similarities and differences among the schools.

• Wisconsin eSchool network provides just-in-time training, an “online facilitation” course for teachers, an “investigating K-12 online learning” course for administrators and the general public, and self-paced ongoing “build-on” modules for teachers. These seemed to be comprehensive enough but not that inspiring.
• Boise State University offers two online Masters program for educational technology, 3 advanced certificates and a K-12 program. The K-12 program offers a class called Teaching Online in the K12 Environment using Adobe Connect, an Advanced Online Teaching Methods course and a choice of numerous electives (Online Course Design, Multimedia, YouTube for Educators, Technology-Supported PBL, Online Gaming, and Teaching and Learning in Second Life). They also offer customized training. They are also the ones doing research having produced the “Going Virtual” series of studies. This program seemed very comprehensive and I would definitely like to investigate these options further.
• The Virtual High School Global Consortium offers a 6 credit NetCourse Instructional Methodologies course (10 weeks, all online) for its global teacher network. They learn pedagogical methods and adapt an existing VHS course to teach. They also have a 12 credit Teachers Learning Conference (22 weeks) where teachers write an online course from scratch. I love this idea although it was unclear whether this was an online or in-person class. Finally, they have ProGrEss for ongoing PD (Professional Growth Essentials) with a focus on integrating web 2.0 tools in online courses which I’d be interested in learning more about. They also have a practicum teachers as part of a 6 week course called Become an Online Teacher – 21st Century Teaching Best Practices designed for traditional classroom teachers.
• The EDC (edc.org) has an EdTech Leaders Online program where they offer a teacher PD and virtual schools program which includes an online facilitator class, an online course developer class and over 60 online workshops. The online facilitators course includes integration of Web 2.0 tools for learning. They also offer an Advanced Facilition and Web 2.0 course. More information can be found at edtechleaders.org. I will check this out as well.

I think all of these resources will be a great reference to have in my pocket when I eventually get a teaching job (online or face-to-face).