Q. What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? Has your thinking changed as a result of what you learned this week?
I learned that researching virtual school is difficult because of too many variables. We could not conclude online learning is better than face to face learning in terms of achievement. According to Hughes et al (2007), "[they] consider [the] achievement data "suggestive" because it was impossible for [them] to get consistent, high-quality data" due to low response rate, small class size, and lack of data which can be used as a statistical control for a prior knowledge.
On the other hand, interestingly, most of the researches indicate that online learning can have the same (or better) effect on academic achievement when compared to traditional learning. In ED PACE final report (Rockman et al, 2007), they found out that students who were taking online class outperformed students who were in traditional class in terms of Spanish proficiency except speaking which was hard to practice online. Also, they report that virtual students are better prepared for the next level of the course than students who were taking same course in the traditional school. Online students are eager to participate, highly responsible, and they feel in control of their learning. Of course, this interview is conducted from the teacher, and need more research to be proven, I think these are interesting results of the online learning research.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Week9 Blog Reflection
Q. Now that you have seen what other people did in creating their units, is there anything that you might do differently if you were to redesign your own unit?
I think I would add two things in my own unit, if I were to redesign mine.
First one is synchronous discussion. My unit only has asynchronous discussion that students post their ideas and respond to others. However, since the model of my unit is virtual classroom and class-paced, I think it is possible that students discuss synchronously using Skype or some other tools, and it gives a chance to meet other classmates and it motivates students.
Another thing is pre-assessment for the unit. I think diagnose students’ readiness is quite important for the students who are taking online course because it is hard to catch up the lessons if they don’t have pre-knowledge of the unit in the online course, especially for the math or science. Therefore, I would add pre-assessment as a gate for taking the course, so that recommending students to take a lower level course which is more suitable for them, if students do not reach certain level.
I think I would add two things in my own unit, if I were to redesign mine.
First one is synchronous discussion. My unit only has asynchronous discussion that students post their ideas and respond to others. However, since the model of my unit is virtual classroom and class-paced, I think it is possible that students discuss synchronously using Skype or some other tools, and it gives a chance to meet other classmates and it motivates students.
Another thing is pre-assessment for the unit. I think diagnose students’ readiness is quite important for the students who are taking online course because it is hard to catch up the lessons if they don’t have pre-knowledge of the unit in the online course, especially for the math or science. Therefore, I would add pre-assessment as a gate for taking the course, so that recommending students to take a lower level course which is more suitable for them, if students do not reach certain level.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Week7 Blog reflection
What are you most concerned about as you embark on creating a curriculum unit?
I'm concerning about how to incorporate interactive aspects in the unit. We've learned interactions between students-students/ students-teacher/ student-contents so far, and I think that the success of the virtual classroom depends on how well design interactive course.
In this interaction, frequency is important because increasing frequency also promotes student's engagement and retention of content. Thus, I have to consider the design of various kinds of interactions forms from simple questions-answers to collaborative problem solving or knowledge construction which promotes high-order thinking.
Also, quality of interaction is important as well, and this can be improved by diagnostic or remedial feedback. It promotes better outcomes and makes learners have responsibility for learning. Therefore, I need to think about how to improve interactions between various elements when I design the course, and that’s the most important key factor of online learning.
I'm concerning about how to incorporate interactive aspects in the unit. We've learned interactions between students-students/ students-teacher/ student-contents so far, and I think that the success of the virtual classroom depends on how well design interactive course.
In this interaction, frequency is important because increasing frequency also promotes student's engagement and retention of content. Thus, I have to consider the design of various kinds of interactions forms from simple questions-answers to collaborative problem solving or knowledge construction which promotes high-order thinking.
Also, quality of interaction is important as well, and this can be improved by diagnostic or remedial feedback. It promotes better outcomes and makes learners have responsibility for learning. Therefore, I need to think about how to improve interactions between various elements when I design the course, and that’s the most important key factor of online learning.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Week6 Blog reflection
Did you change anything in the Google spreadsheet? If so, what? Has your view of the schools you chose to research changed from the first week you looked at them? If so, how?
I was little skeptical about the possibilities of online discussion before this week, because I thought that online discussion had many downsides. For instance, I thought online learning could not have vigorous discussion because it is asynchronous and some student might not care about the discussion if they are not online.
However, after I read the article, and discussed with others, I find out that online discussion can be a powerful tool to make student learn deeply about the topic. Especially, from the asynchronous discussion, students can have enough time for organizing their thought, and developing their deep thinking.
Of course, to make discussion successful, the teacher need to offer clear guidance for students and the learning community should be built before the discussion.
I was little skeptical about the possibilities of online discussion before this week, because I thought that online discussion had many downsides. For instance, I thought online learning could not have vigorous discussion because it is asynchronous and some student might not care about the discussion if they are not online.
However, after I read the article, and discussed with others, I find out that online discussion can be a powerful tool to make student learn deeply about the topic. Especially, from the asynchronous discussion, students can have enough time for organizing their thought, and developing their deep thinking.
Of course, to make discussion successful, the teacher need to offer clear guidance for students and the learning community should be built before the discussion.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Week5 Blog reflection
Q1. Did the results of your TPI fit your image of yourself as a teacher?
My scores are generally fall in the 30-35s. Transmission and developmental perspectives are the highest (34), and social reform is the lowest (27). My profile is almost flat except social reform perspective.
My dominant perspectives are transmission and developmental and back-up perspectives are nurturing and apprenticeship, social reform perspective is actually below the line "Recessive."
In terms of the internal consistency, my belief, intention, and action of apprenticeship corroborate each other, and my sub-scores of transmission is not quite similar but more differ from each other.
I think the results of my TPI generally fit my images of myself as a teacher. I always think that the effective teaching usually related to the how to teach the contents well, so teacher’s main role is to teach content efficiently including giving clear objectives, good questions, and proper feedback so that students learn the contents and have confidence with it. Also, the effective teaching is to understand how students think, as well. The good teacher adapts their knowledge to learners’ levels of understanding and ways of thinking. However, when I taught students, I usually didn’t think about the education as a tool of social reform.
Q2. Do you think the TPI results are different for the same person teaching online and face-to-face?
I think it depends on the school, teacher, and subject, but for me, if I teach students online; I might more focus on the first two perspectives, transmission and apprenticeship. Teacher and students do not meet face-to-face setting, it means that teacher don’t know much about the students. Although, they communicate by tons of e-mail or phone calls, there is a limitation if people don’t meet face-to-face. Thus, the teacher will focus more on the contents rather than students’ development or nurturing. It may lead the improvement of the contents’ quality, because the teacher can concentrate more on the quality of the course. Also, the structure of the course might be developed, so it is possible that teacher organize contents from simple to complex one more effectively (apprenticeship perspective).
My scores are generally fall in the 30-35s. Transmission and developmental perspectives are the highest (34), and social reform is the lowest (27). My profile is almost flat except social reform perspective.
My dominant perspectives are transmission and developmental and back-up perspectives are nurturing and apprenticeship, social reform perspective is actually below the line "Recessive."
In terms of the internal consistency, my belief, intention, and action of apprenticeship corroborate each other, and my sub-scores of transmission is not quite similar but more differ from each other.
I think the results of my TPI generally fit my images of myself as a teacher. I always think that the effective teaching usually related to the how to teach the contents well, so teacher’s main role is to teach content efficiently including giving clear objectives, good questions, and proper feedback so that students learn the contents and have confidence with it. Also, the effective teaching is to understand how students think, as well. The good teacher adapts their knowledge to learners’ levels of understanding and ways of thinking. However, when I taught students, I usually didn’t think about the education as a tool of social reform.
Q2. Do you think the TPI results are different for the same person teaching online and face-to-face?
I think it depends on the school, teacher, and subject, but for me, if I teach students online; I might more focus on the first two perspectives, transmission and apprenticeship. Teacher and students do not meet face-to-face setting, it means that teacher don’t know much about the students. Although, they communicate by tons of e-mail or phone calls, there is a limitation if people don’t meet face-to-face. Thus, the teacher will focus more on the contents rather than students’ development or nurturing. It may lead the improvement of the contents’ quality, because the teacher can concentrate more on the quality of the course. Also, the structure of the course might be developed, so it is possible that teacher organize contents from simple to complex one more effectively (apprenticeship perspective).
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Week4 Blog reflection
What did you learn about the design of online courses this week that will affect how you think about this form of instruction in the future?
This week’s assignment that comparing instructional design models from the different provides was a great chance to think about instructional design of virtual learning. By comparing and assessing the sample courses, I noticed that the two big advantages of the virtual learning are individualized learning from one another and proper use of technology.
First of all, students study module by their pace, and take individualized test and quiz. When they take multiple choice or short answer questions, they get feedback immediately, and if they get wrong, they can go back and check their weakness. It allows students reflect their learning.
Also, I like the concept of virtual lab in science class. Although it is not a real lab, student can do experimental work individually in the virtual lab. In the traditional classroom, group of students experiment together due to the limitation of resources and time, so some of the students do not get a chance to do experiment their own and just watch what others do. However, in the virtual lab, each person can do experiment by their own, so it is useful to grasp the concept of the science.
The proper use of technology can be a powerful advantage of the virtual learning. For example, when the instructor explains something, he/she can present it with picture, animation, or interactive multimedia. It is useful when the instructor uses it properly, and virtual learning environment is appropriate for do that. Also, other new technologies which can promote learning (such as mobile phone technology or virtual lab interface) allow students to understand deeply and learn better. However, the instructor should have in mind that using too many technologies can make students distracted from learning core concepts.
This week’s assignment that comparing instructional design models from the different provides was a great chance to think about instructional design of virtual learning. By comparing and assessing the sample courses, I noticed that the two big advantages of the virtual learning are individualized learning from one another and proper use of technology.
First of all, students study module by their pace, and take individualized test and quiz. When they take multiple choice or short answer questions, they get feedback immediately, and if they get wrong, they can go back and check their weakness. It allows students reflect their learning.
Also, I like the concept of virtual lab in science class. Although it is not a real lab, student can do experimental work individually in the virtual lab. In the traditional classroom, group of students experiment together due to the limitation of resources and time, so some of the students do not get a chance to do experiment their own and just watch what others do. However, in the virtual lab, each person can do experiment by their own, so it is useful to grasp the concept of the science.
The proper use of technology can be a powerful advantage of the virtual learning. For example, when the instructor explains something, he/she can present it with picture, animation, or interactive multimedia. It is useful when the instructor uses it properly, and virtual learning environment is appropriate for do that. Also, other new technologies which can promote learning (such as mobile phone technology or virtual lab interface) allow students to understand deeply and learn better. However, the instructor should have in mind that using too many technologies can make students distracted from learning core concepts.
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