Tools:

Blog's

Blog's are a great way for student to collaborate and some site offer free accounts. I use
http://www.blogger.comfrom google. It is simple and easy to use. Students can create their own blog or contribute to a class blog. Blog's are an excellent substitute for journal's. Another option is http://kidblog.org/home/ it is safe and easy for younger students. It also does not require the students to have an email address to access it. Blogs are a tool teachers can use to check student comprehension. They also allow students to reflect on there learning and the learning of their classmates. Student can question each other or simply encourage each other.

Wiki's

Wiki's are an excellent tool for authentic assessments and collaboration. One site www.wikispaces.com is easy and free. Whether students collaborate on a class wiki or a group wiki they will be able to add edit and work as a team. Even as an individual student wiki can show understanding.

Webquest's

Wedquest are a great way for students to discover learning on their own or as a group. There are many sites that offer free accounts but my favorite is www.zunal.com. It is free and from what I've see from other sites, it is very easy for teachers and students to use. Webquests allow students to visit prescreened site for information, and you can upload worksheets for them to complete. They can be set up as a guide to creating an authentic assessment. There is an example of a webquest I created for an 11th grade US History class about the 1920's 
http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=160757

Googledoc's

Create and share document, spreadsheets, and images using google drive. www.drive.google.com/ Google docs can be used to create a formative quiz. If you go into google drive you can create a "form". One the form you can pick the type of questions you want to use like; multiple choice, check boxes, short answer, and fill in the blank. Once the form is created the teacher can have the information sent to a spread sheet. The teacher can then share the form with the students. Once the students complete the form the students answers will automatically be viewable on the spreadsheet. The teacher can immediately tell were students may be struggling or if they are ok to move on to the next topic. They can be used for "quiet" class discussions. The teacher can open a simple PDF ask a question and have the students contribute on the same PDF. They can be used for projects as well. If the students are given and assignment and do not complete it in class the can continue to work on it as homework because they will have access to it from their home networks. This works very well for group projects. Students may not be able to get to each others houses to finish a project, but google docs allows students to work together from their own homes.

Digital Story Telling

Digital story telling is a great active way for students to create presentations. Here are a few free options:
http://storybird.com/
http://www.piclits.com/compose_dragdrop.aspx
http://generator.acmi.net.au/storyboard
http://www.slidestory.com/
http://domo.goanimate.com/studio
http://animoto.com/education/
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/
http://www.pixton.com/
http://voicethread.com/
http://www.comicmaster.org.uk/
Picture Book Maker
http://www.mapskip.com/about/index.php

This sites range in the level of knowledge needed to complete a digital story. They also address the different types if story telling students can create. They can create a video with voice over or music. They can create a picture slide show with voice over or music, create a cartoon or even a comic strip. This allows for students to create an authentic assessment that will showcase there strengths and interest as well as showing comprehension and critical thinking.

Jing
Jing is a program that allows you capture images and video on your computer.  This is a great tool that can be used to create digital stories and presentations.  Jing can be downloaded to your computer at http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

Prezi

Prezi's are great for presentations wether teacher based lecture or student presentations.  They are interactive and some templates are 3D.  The movement from one slide to the next is a great way to keep the attention of students.  http://prezi.com/

Example of Technology Integrated into a Lesson

Non-Technology:

At the end of the unit on the Black Plague students will be required to showcase they're learning.  Students will use notes and worksheets to create a poster showing how the Black Plague spread through Europe, how it effected Europe's economy, and what impact it had on the everyday life of Europeans.

With Technology

Students will be given an overview of the Black Plague that wreaked havoc on Europe during the 1300s.  They will be placed into groups and assigned a city or town that was impacted by the plague.  On the internet they will research the effect of the plague on their assigned city or town.  In the groups they will use the green room to record a "news broadcast" explaining how the plague came to they city or town, and how it effected the economy and life of their people.

Professional Development Wiki

This wiki was created for a team of teachers and could be added to based on subject area.  It could be expanded to in include a whole grade or even an entire school.  Another option to show Professional Development towards NETS-T standards would be to create an individual website that each teacher would be responsible for updating.

NETS Competency

E-portfolio’s are a great method for tracking any kind of professional development.  Teachers can use online programs like Chalk and Wire or simply set up a free website, like google sites, to feature teacher competency and professional development.  Teachers and administration can set up a page for NETS-T or NETS-A on their public sites.  They can add sub pages under that page for each competency.  On these pages they will provide a description of what the competency is, how they have met the competency and a reflection.  These sites are public so anyone at anytime can see a teachers progress.  Many school’s have already implemented e-portfolio’s for professional development.  In most cases these are only viewable by administrations within the schools district.  It would not be to difficult to add to existing portfolio’s a section for NETS competencies.  I also feel that making them viewable by the public would help parents and community members see that teachers were actively working towards addressing the needs of the students they serve.

The following is one of the NETS-T competencies:

2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning

Experiences and Assessments

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic

learning experiences and assessment incorporating

contemporary tools and resources to maximize content

learning in context and to develop the knowledge,

skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS·S.

a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that

incorporate digital tools and resources to promote

student learning and creativity

The teacher that has met this competency would write the following on her eportfolio under NETS-A Competency 2.a :

During our unit on the 1920s the students completed a webquest.   During this webquest they listened to blues, jazz, and a current song and compared the messages, tempo, and possible reasons for the differences.  They were placed into groups and read samples of literature, poems, and speeches that were created during the Harlem Renaissance.  Each group was given a specific piece and used animoto to create a short digital story relaying the message or story that they read.  Next the students participated in an online cultural investigation on an important event or topic of the 20’s.  Each group became an “expert” on their topics, and used power point, prezi’s, or any other digital story software to create a presentation for the class about their topics.  I was able to use multiple digital tools as well as address students differing learning styles.  They were able to create presentations using the tool or program that they wished and created very differing styles of presentations.

Online Learning

Try a sample course or see a demonstration of how the materials are delivered to students through either VHS or VLACS. 

I was able to view an instructional video on the VLACS site.  The site seems more complicated then our black board site.  There seems to be many steps to do a simple assignment.  I definitely could see this as a source of enrichment for students especially since they offer course’s that earn college credits as well as High School and Middle School credits, but I can also see students struggling just to keep up with all of the steps they need to do.

Preview the course selections for your state and an adjoining state. 

The course catalog lists do not seem to differ for in state and out of state students.  The same subjects are offered for the same amount of time and are worth the same credits.  The same learning goals are used and for competency recovery the same GSE’s are used for in state and out of state students.

What are the policies for the virtual school regarding accepting students from other states? 

Eligibility

• Have not earned a high school diploma;
• Be able to pay non-resident tuition in full upon admission;
• Complete all coursework prior to his or her 21st birthday
• Not been expelled from a school or diploma granting program;

To complete the admissions process for a full time student, prospective students are required to: 

• Complete an admissions application;
• Participate in the student/parent interviews;
• Receive a recommendation for acceptance from the VLACS admissions team;
• Transfer academic records to VLACS
• Complete one or more half credit segments of a high school English, math, social studies or science course with a grade of 70% or better as a part-time student before becoming eligible for full-time status;

The only difference between in state and out of state is there is a tuition fee, and there is an interview and recommendation process for out of state students.

Do the virtual schools work with local schools? 

There was no specific schools listed on the site.  It just states that it is available to all NH Middle School and High School students.

Can students be part-time students? 

Students can register as part time.  As a matter of fact, VLACS states that they are required to enroll as part time for at least a half a high school credit segment in either English, Math, Science or Social Studies

How you could use these schools for supplemental education and for providing extended learning opportunities for students. Use specific examples to illustrate. 

As I stated above I could see this being used as enrichment for more advanced students or students looking to earn college credits.  I could also see a student who is behind in a subject using it as a way to get caught up.  I do not see it as a way to take the place of a brick and mortar school except under certain circumstances, like bullying or a type of disability that would cause the student to struggle in school.  Or if a child was severely sick and would have been out for an extended period of time.  This could also be a great tool for parents that want to home school but lack the education, knowledge and training to do the job properly.

References:

Welcome to the Virtual Learning Academy. (n.d.). Virtual Learning Academy Charter School. Retrieved from http://vlacs.org/

Virtual Schools:The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Virtual public schools are growing.  These are private companies taking tax money from taxpayers to preform worse than brick and mortar school on state tests and have higher drop out rates. (Brown and Layton, 2011)  I do believe despite these facts virtual or online education can have an effective place in public education.  We are facing a time of severe budget cuts and growing student population.  Our schools are comparable to hamsters running a wheel in a cage.  Something needs to be done.

I believe that virtual schools can be a benefit when used for the right purposes by the right students, and run by the right people.  Most of the students that attend full time online or virtual public schools are students that are in very real danger of not graduating.  These are the students that should not be going to school full time online.  This is usually the population that has no support at home.  These are students who only have and can only get support from teachers and specialist at school.  I just do not understand why we take these students away from the only support most of them have, and try to make them do it all on their on.  Many agree that students that do not have a learning guide at home are the ones that fail or drop out.  Students need that support in the home for online and virtual schools to be a potentially successful option for them.

I do not believe that online schools can replace what a child will receive in a brick and mortar school.  Maybe a hybrid model would be the best option.  Students could spend half the day doing work online and the other half in a school building interacting with peers, teachers, and any specialists they may need.  You could put the school day on a rotation, where half the population goes in the morning and half in the afternoon.  All teachers would have the same prep and lunch periods between these shifts which would allow for easy communication and collaboration among staff.  Think of the one on one time a teacher could give if there classes were to go from 30 to 15.

Another option is to have local or online colleges bid for an opportunity to provide accelerated classes for those students that move faster and need more challenge or simply want to earn some college credits.  For remedial students you could set up additional classes they could do from home to help catch them up to where the other students are.

If online learning where to become an option I would highly recommend that the state or the district invest in creating it themselves.  These private companies are using our tax dollars to make millions.  One company even states in an article written by Lindsey Layton and Emma Brown that, “We understand the politics of education pretty well.” (Brown and Layton, 2011)  These private companies donate thousands of dollars to politicians and are contracted to provide online education to our students, and they do it unsuccessfully.  Why are they not held as accountable as schools?  Maybe if schools were able to make political contributions politicians would support failure and call it innovation as well.  

References:

Layton, L., & Brown, E. (2011, November 28). Virtual schools are multiplying, but some question their educational value. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/virtual-schools-are-multiplying-but-some-question-their-educational-value/2011/11/22/gIQANUzkzN_story.html

Virtual Libraries

Please click here to view my presentation on the benefits of virtual libraries.