Creating an Online Learning Module

I feel as though I have been working on my Google Site forever, yet seem to be struggling getting anywhere.  I have all these ideas about where I want to take this project, but need to get my ideas organized on my site. Maybe that is what our article last week meant about the time it  takes to teach an online class.  However, I am glad that I am practicing with Google Sites now, so that I am better prepared for online learning in the future.  

I am trying to take some ideas from our class site, as well as from other class sites that I have been browsing.  With my Gifted and Talented students, it is hard to think about it as a course.  I have decided to take something I have already been working on, Math Challenges, and put it into a format suitable for online learning.  I am including weekly Google Docs that can be saved into the student's individual folders and shared with me.  I am also having students do an assessment check with a small group of classmates to check their answers and to discuss them mathematically with others.  This is just the beginning, but I am hoping to slowly continue putting all of the pieces together.  Hopefully I will eventually be able to post a success story about my Google Site!

Synchronous and Asynchronous Tools

I have learned so much about Synchronous and Asynchronous tools this week!  Truthfully, after our last session, I had to Google those words to see what they mean!  Further research showed me that I have used many of these tools as an educator.  Through this class, I have found Blackboard and Google Hangouts to be very valuable Synchronous tools.  Each of these tools have been very easy ways to get together with other members of class without physically being in the same room.  They do, however, require good communication and scheduling.  It is important that all members are on the same page to make these tools successful.  I find personal communication in these forms to be more beneficial to groups of people than instant messaging, which I find works better when communicating with one other person.

I, personally, have used more asynchronous tools in my teaching. Clearly, email is an important tool for communication at school. I have found that blogging can be very successful with students and parents as a form of connecting home and school life.  It gives the teacher a chance to show off all of the hard work being accomplished in the classroom.  I have also used Wikis as a tool for student communication about learning at home.  All of these tools have to be constantly well managed and updated in order to be used successfully.  There were many other tools suggested on these lists that I have never used before.  I will have to do more research to see what they are all about!

Self Reflection for Online Instruction

After completing both of the online instruction assessments, the results were very in line with my thoughts about my strengths and areas for improvement in this area. I have the time and equipment that would be needed to teach an online course. I also have the keyboarding and email skills that are required. Overall,  I consider myself to have a strength in learning about technology.  But that is exactly what I need to improve on, learning about the technology that is available and how to use it.

This class has helped me start taking those steps.  I have already learned so much about programs that I have never heard of or attempted to use before.  I have heard of Dropbox, but never used it before, and now I know how simple it is. I have used Delicious numerous times since learning about it in class.  My family has even attempted Google Hangouts together!  My goal is to continue taking classes that really offer me the training and resources that I received in this class, so that I can continue to stay up to date with the technology available.

Internet Browsers and Social Bookmarking

I thought I had a good understanding of Internet browsers until I completed our homework assignment.  I really learned a lot about the many functions of each browser.  Truthfully, until now, my use of browsers was as the name suggests, to browse the Internet.  I never used the bookmarking features, password managers, or really any of the other features.  As I explained before, I am trying to learn to use Google Chrome to the best of my ability, so I learned a lot of valuable information from this activity.

Social Bookmarking was a new concept to me before this lesson.  I found the differences between the social bookmarking sites interesting.  They all have a strength in very specific areas.  I thought of a lot of possible educational benefits of Diigo that could be used in my everyday classroom experience. One possibility would be a teacher having a specific tag for each of the classes they teach.  Students could access all of the valuable sites related to the class they were taking. I definitely plan on implementing social bookmarking into my teaching next year.

The Vast World of Online Resources

I must say, our class this week was packed with information, and I am feeling a little overwhelmed.  On the other hand, all of the areas of our discussion sound very interesting and spark my curiosity.

First we talked about web browsers.  I have spent my life always using Internet Explorer.  I use Safari when I am on my ipad or ipod, but still always refer back to Internet Explorer when using my computer.  However, our school district is really integrating Google into every portion of our computer use.  Because of this, I have really been forcing myself to use Chrome so I can become more familiar with the browser.  Truthfully, at first, it was a difficult transition.  However, now I have navigated through the differences, and my comfort level  has greatly increased.

Social Bookmarking is something I was recently introduced to, but haven't put to use yet. As we were discussing social bookmarking in class, I was starting to think of all the benefits for both my personal and professional use.  Personally, it would be nice to have my favorites neatly organizing and accessible on all devices.  Professionally, students could use this to collaborate about resources on projects.  It would be a way for them to do the website collection instead of me!  I am looking forward to finding the best social bookmarking website for me and putting it to use.

Now, it is time to research and practice using social bookmarking and different web browsers.  I will write again with my thoughts.

Google Hangout

Yesterday was my first experience using Google Hangout.  As a group, we struggled a little bit getting the program running at the beginning.  However, once we worked out the kinks, it was interesting to learn about the application.  It was also nice to have a face-to-face conversation with my group members.

As we were working together, I was already starting to think about using Hangout in my school.  We have been using Skype at our school, but there were a few parts of Hangout that I liked better.  It was nice to have several people or groups in many locations that can participate in conversation at once.  I also felt like the program itself ran more smoothly.  It seems like Skype has many connection issues, and I didn't notice that with this application.  I can't wait to try this out with my students!

Blackboard and Google and Blogger, Oh My!

Well, I am officially in the throes of my first online course! I consider myself pretty knowledgeable with technology, but any time I try something new, I enter the process with a little bit of hesitation.  This began when logging on to Blackboard. I followed all of the required steps, but was sure it wasn't going to work when the 5:00 class time rolled around.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Blackboard was relatively easy to navigate. I logged in with ease and class time ran smoothly.  

I have had training in both blogging and Google, but I still feel like I have a lot to learn.  So, it was nice to have a refresher.  Google is something that amazes and confuses me at the same time.  I feel like I learn about one aspect and then turn around and struggle with another aspect.  So I am glad this course has this as a primary area of focus. 

Overall, I think this course will offer me a lot of ideas that I can incorporate into my classroom experience.  Our school purchased a bunch of chrome books, and I would like to use them on a regular basis with my Gifted and Talented students. I can also create a blog specific to my program, which is something I have wanted to do.  I am looking forward to the next session!