9-2 Sample Virtual Courses

As I stated in my 9-1 discussion post, I think the virtual schools could mesh well, but should not replace brick and mortar schools.  That being said, our high school is part of the VHS program and “students who are interested in taking a class that [is] not currently offer[ed],” (Hall, 2013) can participate online.  I didn’t realize until now that VHS also offers middle school courses.  The only classes our students have accessed, that we don’t offer at the middle school level, is high school math and Spanish.  In those situations, our kids go up to the high school, which is conveniently on the same street.  

I looked at three, To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM), Physics (Honors), and World War II Through the Eyes of Dr. Seuss.  Both and the Dr. Seuss History course look awesome - in fact, if I may have to contact them about the lessons because I’d love to use Dr. Seuss’ books to connect my kids to history.  Both these course’s syllabuses offered activities (journal entries, research, discussions, and internet explorations) that I’d expect to see in a traditional classroom.  The Physics class, however, just had a list of topics, similar to a textbook’s Table of Contents, so I don’t know how a virtual program facilitates a hands-on based curriculum.  For both the Dr. Seuss and TKAM courses, the students were responsible for acquiring, either purchasing or borrowing, the required texts. 

I did look at a few of the other science courses to investigate the lab/investigation component.  In several the shipped media kit was a textbook; in one the required text was available online.  In regards to the labs, I found a required purchase of a Virtual Lab CD.  I could run a bunch of my labs online, in fact, some of the simulations we’ve found are awesome because kids can push the limits they couldn’t with real materials, however, kids do have a genuine curiosity that only a hands-on lab can encourage.  Also, there is a component of the lab group, the dynamics, collaboration, and problem solving that an online discussion board does not provide.  

Reference

Hall, T. (2013). Welcome Back 2013-14 - YHS. [online] Retrieved from: http://yhs.yarmouthschools.org/Principals-Office/welcomeback2013-14 [Accessed: 23 Nov 2013].

9-1 Educational Value of Virtual Schools

Found on Middlebury Interactive Languages Website

Virtual Schools mesh well with brick and mortar schools but should not become a replacement model. Students who desire flexible scheduling due to outside commitments (gymnastics, horseback riding, skiing) deserve an educational format that recognizes their chosen athletic achievements.  These specific examples either can not occur during the evening or require excessive hours of training so a student's education must adhere to their needs in order to facilitate them becoming well-rounded, educated, successful individuals.  By attending a virtual school, students follow a curriculum, participate in labs and activities, and collaborate with other students. Their school “day” looks different than the traditional model, because it occurs at different hours, but they acquire an equivalent education while still participating in their preferred daytime activity.

While virtual schools do not feature a constant face to face learning experience, some have incorporated a hybrid style that allows students to meet in a facility in order to work on labs, collaborate with their peers, or discuss material with a teacher. An adult or learning coach in the home is also an important function in the virtual experience, however, the “learning coach time typically decreases to about 2 hours per day as [the] child becomes more independent,” (K12, 2013).  Finally, “students who are interested in taking a class that [is] not currently offer[ed] at,” (Hall, 2013) their public school can successfully follow their interests and passions outside of the brick and mortar schoolhouse.

I believe that at certain ages, kids need physical teachers or adults (learning coaches) to educate them. I think that if students miss out on these experiences, they risk losing out on a social component necessary to survive in our society. Schools lay the foundation for the skills and habits that people need in order to socialize with peers as well as colleagues when they get older.  An "employer survey, this one by staffing company Adecco... says ... “44% of respondents cited soft skills, such as communication, critical thinking, creativity and collaboration, as the area with the biggest gap,” (White, 2013, ¶4).  Teachers don’t just teach kids content, we model “honor, respect, integrity, [and] ethics,” (Gollnick, 2013, p. 130).  While virtual schools offer some wonderful opportunities for many kids, it is not a panacea for our current education system.

References

Gollnick, D. and Chinn, P. (2013). Multicultural education in a pluralistic society. New Jersey:Pearson Education

Hall, T. (2013). Welcome Back 2013-14 - YHS. [online] Retrieved from: http://yhs.yarmouthschools.org/Principals-Office/welcomeback2013-14 [Accessed: 23 Nov 2013]. 

K12. (2013). Online Public Schools. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.k12.com/schools-programs/online-public-schools.

White, M. (2013). The Real Reason New College Grads Can’t Get Hired | TIME.com. [online] Retrieved from: http://business.time.com/2013/11/10/the-real-reason-new-college-grads-cant-get-hired/ [Accessed: 23 Nov 2013].

8-3 Library Debate

 (There is sound and viewed best in full screen so you can read the text at the end.)

7-1 Debriefing Technology Usage Statistics

Here is a link to all the data I collected; I created a survey for this assignment.  I initially sent it to family and friends and asked them to send it onto anyone they thought might answer it.  I also sent it to my homeroom students and one of my science classes so I could get some Generation @ responses.  I must admit, I have no idea what to do with this data, which is exactly how I feel about all the test data we collect at school.

I did average all the responses and came up with this graph...

I found this interesting because I assumed that the older generations would have more average calls per week, but found that all generations call and receive about the same amount from friends per week.
I also assumed that the younger generations would have more devices, I'm wondering if my students didn't understand the question and that I should have provided examples.
I also put this data into TimeToast, but don't really see it as helpful as I had hoped.  I think the overall data presents a clearer picture, but I couldn't figure out how to get it into a timeline.  After working with all this data, I remember why I didn't do that well in statistics, although at least this data is relevant, I just have no idea what to do with it.

I surveyed 116 people:

The generation labels stirred some conversation.  My Aunt was upset to be labeled the Silent Generation, as she was pretty involved in politics and knew others from her generation who stirred the pot as well.  I also heard from some people who thought they fell in the Me Generation, which they thought fell between the Baby Boomers and Generation X.  I also thought it was quite funny that several of my students didn't understand the question, I guess I should discuss that in social studies...

I also wish I could have created more pie charts with all the data and then separated by generation.  Once I started looking at the charts, I realized I should have had people choose ranges instead of inputting their own numbers.  In order to organize all the data, I had to use formulas, which was fun.  I then put all these results into the first sheet.  Unfortunately, I don't know where to go from here.

  

Not surprising in this day and age, a majority of the people surveyed find their news from the internet while almost half use a mixture of both seeking it out and having it come to them.

One outlier was in the Generation @ under emails received, over 1000.  It seems that more of that generation text, so I'm curious as to whether or not this number is accurate.  Also, there was a Baby Boomer who receives between 500-1000 emails per week and one who receives over 1000.  My guess, with the population I surveyed that those are either administrators or technology integrators.

One of the most surprising graphs, relates to the number of devices each generation uses on a daily basis.  I expected the younger generations to have more, but when I compared them all, I was startled by the number of Baby Boomers who have multiple devices.  I guess I expected one or two (computer and phone) but my data proved otherwise.

6-1 Technology Configurations

Click here for my matrix.  I rearranged it a little to show how each activity could be adapted depending on the classroom configuration, instead of looking at the potential problems.  I hope this meets the criteria.  I felt like it was a more optimistic approach instead of looking at the drawbacks of each.
P.S.  I misinterpreted BYOD to be a district or school's choice and not whatever the student could bring. In my interpretation, the school, or at least the classroom, would all have the same devices.  In the case where kids may have different platforms, the teacher would have to allow for any program that could satisfy the requirement while letting some kids pair up if necessary.

By the way, I ran across this image recently and thought it aligned with this class very well...

http://www.phoenix.edu/forward/perspectives/2013/01/the-evolution-of-technology-in-the-classroom.html