Discussions are Important

This semester I’m teaching two online special education courses. One assignment is to answer questions at the end of the chapter. One of my students answered the question and since it was an opinion question based on what she had read, I gave her full credit even though I disagreed with her. In the comment section, I posed a question that required further thought about her answer.

After seeing her grade and reading my comments, she sent me an email and I wanted to share one of her comments and part of my response.

She said, “I wanted to email my thoughts to you as we can't meet in class to have a face-to-face discussion, and we can't really discuss new perspectives as we move through this course.”

I answered, “I miss this kind of interaction and discussion that we would have had if we were in a face-to-face class…I think ongoing discussions like this are as important as the actual textbook instruction.”

I have a Discussion board set up with specific questions that they answer and discuss but there is something about a face to face discussion that is very different than this. It involves thinking and talking at the moment. People can read each other's body language and tone of voice. Others may feel more comfortable asking questions that they don’t have to write out in words.

I really miss having these in-person discussions because I think students really can get a lot out of it. I think I may set up a zoom meeting where we can just meet and have a chat online. We don’t have to have a formal agenda but I think it is important that we get together to discuss any concerns that anyone may have.

How do you handle online discussions? Please share.

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Silver Linings

Recently during our Sunday School online meeting, we talked about focusing on some of the positive things that have happened due to Covid-19.

I love attending Sunday School on Zoom and Church services are available through Facebook Live. In the past, when we have traveled, I would just miss Sunday School and Church service but now I’m able to attend both.

One doctor talked about how he thought telehealth was here to stay and how it made life easier for many people who had difficulty leaving work and could confer with the doctor online.

I have been able to connect more with my knitting friends than I ever have. I attend weekly Zoom meetings with knitters from 2 different yarn shops. My knitting guild meets once a month on Zoom which means I don’t have to worry about driving somewhere at night and getting home late. I also attend a knitting retreat in Minnesota in June and the participants are able to meet online once or twice a week. Participants may come from all over the US and other countries.

I am able to attend many educational webinars to improve my teaching strategies. I’m impressed with how more and more webinars are becoming available and how comfortable I am with attending online webinars.

I have also attended environmental webinars through the SC Wildlife Federation. These webinars are recorded and offered free on YouTube. They are educational and informative for me personally and great to use in the classroom.

I love using the internet to stay connected, but many colleagues, friends and family were uncomfortable using technology, so this has really pushed many of them into learning how to incorporate it in their lives.

I believe students are more comfortable learning online now because they have had to learn this way. Teachers are learning how to teach online which can change the way that they teach. This is good because teachers can get stagnant teaching the same lessons in the same way over and over. Even after students attend school in person full time, I believe a lot of lessons learned by students and teachers will impact how and what is learned in the future.

I think it is important to teach students to look for positive outcomes during difficult times. Sometimes if we can change our perceptions, it helps us have better attitudes for coping with the current situation.

What silver linings have you found during this pandemic? Please share.

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Online School

This summer I ran a summer program where my teachers taught children for 2 hours a day twice a week. The teachers did a great job but there were so many variables that cause a lot of obstacles for the children. I’m not sure they were able to absorb instruction like they did when we had face-to-face classes.

Even if they do some kind of hybrid school year, I fear that students won’t get the quality of instruction that is only possible by having face-to-face classes. Students will go face to face part of the week and the other days they will attend class virtually. Students and Teachers are going to find it very hard to remember which day they are doing which classes. Many will be unprepared and confused. Students will be extremely frustrated and this will affect their learning.

I worry about all these hybrid schedules that the districts are making. What about the parents who work? How will parents be able to get childcare for only a few days and those days can vary depending on the Covid-19 numbers in the community?

What will the schools do when most of the teachers test positive for the virus and are out for at least 14 days or more? Where are all the substitute teachers coming from? Will they be willing to risk their health for the low pay that they will get?

My husband believes that students are going to get lazy and not want to go to school. A whole generation of students will become lacking in an education!

I believe teachers are going to have to work hard to make online schools engaging and interesting. They are competing with gaming platforms and TV! Teachers are going to have to change the way they present material and think of ways to really hook students in!

How do you feel about online schools and hybrid learning? Please share.

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Summer Learning Place 2020 Review

This year my summer program – Summer Learning Place 2020 – was taught virtually. I had eight teachers and 32 children. There were 2 teachers and 8 children per classroom and each classroom was held on Zoom from 9-11am on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I asked the teachers to reflect on whether they achieved their goals, how they may have changed from the first week, a summary of the eight weeks, and whether it met their expectations. I enjoyed reading their reflections and I think everyone felt like they had grown professionally and that the whole experience was better than expected.

My goals were:

1. Help my students (the teachers) as much as possible to make this class meaningful.
2. Give constructive suggestions for online teaching.
3. Look at ways that I can make this online class better for the next time it is taught online.

I believe that I achieved all three of my goals and it was a very positive experience for me also. I think the program went well but I never had any doubts that it could be done.

It was very hard to not be in the classrooms face to face for me. Every year I get to know the children and enjoy seeing them every day. This year I didn’t get to know any of the children very well and I missed that part.

I think it was very hard to teach three subjects in a two hour period and if I have to do this again, I will only require them to teach reading and math. Time management was a major issue for everyone but it may be because they were trying to squeeze three subjects in. In spite of that issue, everyone did a great job of teaching. I enjoyed observing all of the lessons.

I learned a lot about teaching online and how there need to be some adjustments compared to teaching face to face. Here are some things I learned (not in order of importance):

· If using Zoom, set it up so everyone is “mute on entry.” This will help if there is anything inappropriate being said in the background.

· Have students use headphones or headsets. The children didn’t use them and there were a lot of background distractions. I should have enforced this.

· Take time, in the beginning, to go over a checklist of necessary materials (pen, pencil, crayons, blank paper, worksheets, manipulatives).

· Plan at least an hour for every subject. Make sure students have a break every 20 -25 minutes. It may be sooner depending on the age of the children.

· Incorporate as much movement as possible online.

If you have had to teach a class online, what other suggestions would you give? Please share.

Online Conversations

Recently our university was put on an extended break. This gives the professors time to put their courses completely online.

In other conversations on Facebook, many students and teachers are concerned about their online courses. Teachers want to make sure that the students get the information they need, and students want to know that the lessons will be meaningful. Someone was concerned that they wouldn’t have meaningful conversations online like they would during a classroom discussion.

I like having students write something and have students respond to two or three others but I think it is important to give directions for the conversations, so they are meaningful.

When I ask students to read or watch something for the lesson, I ask them to write about what they learned. I ask them to tell me if they agree or disagree with what they learned and why.

Then I ask others to comment on at least two or three other posts, I ask them to tell what they agree or disagree with the post and why.

Hopefully, this will lead to a deeper conversation where others may ask someone else a question for clarification or even begin debating.

This involves critical thinking and discussion. I would conduct the same kind of conversation in the classroom so I believe it would work in an online discussion also.

I also like to have a place for students to post a question or something that they didn’t understand. I would then invite everyone to contribute their answer or explanation.  Again, this can open it up for others to jump into the conversation. There are websites like Padlet where people can post their questions anonymously and others can answer anonymously. This may be a good place for those that are shy or afraid to ask questions.

What other strategies would be good to use in order to have meaningful online conversations? Please share.

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Agreeing to Be Contrary

In 12 Contrarian Statements from Blue Skunk Blog, Doug shares some beliefs that others may not agree with. I agreed with some of them and wanted to share my own examples of why I agree. His beliefs are in bold letters with my opinion following. If you want to read all of his statements, please check out his blog post.

1. “Technology should not transform education. I harbor deep skepticism about the ability of technology to change education in powerful and positive ways. Yes, sometimes technology can support (or even make possible) best teaching practices - but teaching and learning always come before the technology.”

I believe that technology enhances teaching but will never replace teachers. Yes, students can learn many things on line but the bottom line is that someone had to put those lessons online. Somehow, a real live person was involved in that lesson. They might have put up a document or wiki or video but the lesson wasn’t born on its own. I know that sometimes I learn different things in different ways which may involve technology or it may not. I need to look at the student and the individual needs in deciding how I will teach a lesson and make sure I’m not teaching a one-size-fits-all lesson because someone is going to be left out.

1. “Collaboration is not always a good thing. Fine if it is a means to an end, but not an end in itself as library literature too often assumes. See here and here.”

Collaboration only works if the teacher is comfortable interacting with others. You can’t force someone to collaborate if that is not their personality. Forced collaboration is sometimes worse than no collaboration. I stress learning styles of the students when we teach but it is also important to know our own teaching styles and what we are comfortable doing. Yes, we should stretch our limits and try new things but if we decide that it doesn’t work for us, there is no shame in trying something else.

1. “State/national program standards are irrelevant. School libraries and technology programs should be tailor-made to suit individual schools rather than conform to a set of state or national standards.”

Too many times we try to make education a one-size-fits-all plan and that doesn’t work. Students are all different and unique. If we try to pretend that they are all the same we do the students a disservice as well as schools. Depending on the location and the neighborhoods that the students come from, we need to be flexible and willing to adjust in order to meet their needs.

1. “Face-to-face educational experiences will always be better than online. Sorry, I have personally yet to experience an online class, presentation, MOOC, or meeting that even comes close to the learning I experience when working with others in real time, in the same room.”

My online experiences are a great thing and I love every minute of it. But there is something to be said when I meet an online friend in person. It makes the experience real and more meaningful. It helps make the connections relevant to my life and puts the connections in perspective to what is happening in my life at that moment. We need to offer the students the same opportunities as much as possible.

How do you feel about these statements or the other ones on Doug’s post? Please share.

Image: 'Ritratto di Sebastiano'
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Found on flickrcc.net

Swimming in the Deep End

In You Can’t Be a Lurker in My Class from Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech,  Dean Shareski talks about the lurkers in his online class,

“I wonder if I’m missing something. Maybe I need to structure things differently in order to accommodate the lurker? But if it means an isolated learning environment where good thinking happens behind closed doors, I don't think I can do that. I know many people using all types of online spaces consider themselves lurkers and I don't have a problem with that and yet I do when it comes to my courses.”


I used to be a lurker. I was content to sit in the background and hear everyone else talk, give their opinions, and I was willing to soak up all the knowledge swirling around my head. I didn’t have the confidence to join in the conversations.

But as I tried to expand my horizons, little by little, I started joining in. I started commenting on blogs or leaving a comment on twitter. This was a scary time for me and I really didn’t know what to expect. No one was there to show me how this was all done. No one was there to encourage me. But I was curious and willing to put on a brave front to give it a try. Then people started to respond back to me. Eventually I started skyping with people and even meeting them in real life. Slowly I started to find my own voice! Now I am willing to share my thoughts and opinions with confidence.

I’m not sure I could force my students not to be lurkers. Joining in the conversation is kind of like learning to swim. If they are anything like my husband, when using force, they will surely dig their feet in and refuse to budge. I think it is important for me to make the environment safe and welcoming for students to dip their feet in the water. As they gain small successes, they will be willing to go a little deeper each time. Just like me, with each success, their confidence will build until they suddenly find themselves swimming in the deep water. Eventually the deep water won’t be scary for them and they will jump in the deep end of a pool without even thinking twice. Joining in the conversations will seem natural and exciting.

If expectations are given about the class and how participation is necessary in order to pass the class, maybe students who are enrolled hope that this is the kind of class to get them out of lurking. Many people who take public speaking courses are the ones who are terrified about speaking in public. They don’t want the instructor to accommodate their fears and say, “Okay, you are afraid of speaking in public so you can just write a paper.” The same may be true about students who take an online class. They hope this is the nudge they need to move them out of their comfort zone.

What do you think? Are you a lurker? Do you think teachers should accommodate the lurkers in the classroom? Please share.

Image: 'Deep Blue #2'
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Strategies for Online Learning

Last week I had a guest post about the Benefits of Online Degrees for People with Disabilities and Eduardo Peirano left a comment about the disadvantages of this which led to his post on elearning for Students with Disabilities. If you have a chance, please read the points he makes about what is necessary for students with disabilities to be successful with elearning. He gives links to research that supports the points he makes.

I really appreciate Eduardo making this points because it made me realize that when sharing broad ideas as was mentioned in the guest post, I need to follow up with specific strategies to support the ideas mentioned. In Eduardo’s post, I left the following comment:

“This was an awesome post!! Thank you so much for joining the conversation! You make a lot of great points and I appreciate the links to support your ideas. I love when someone makes me think about something from different perspectives. I think you are absolutely right that without the right kind of support and accommodations, online learning could be extremely difficult for students with disabilities. Now I am going to think of some more specifics! (I think I feel another blog post coming on!)”

Now I need to think of ways to implement the things that he mentions.

I know at Furman University where I teach graduate courses, there is a disability coordinator to help those with disabilities reach success. In my syllabus I addressed this by stating,

“If you have a disability that may have some impact on your work in this class, and for which you may require accommodations, please see the instructor or Furman’s Disabilities Services Coordinator, so that such accommodations may be arranged. In order to receive appropriate accommodations this term, it is imperative that you contact the Disabilities Services Coordinator or the instructor in a timely manner.”

I believe if students are going for an online degree, the university offering this degree needs to have a disabilities coordinator to help them. Not only does this person need to be available but also easily accessible. If students have to jump through too many hoops to get help, they will not seek help and just end up frustrated.

Before a student actually takes a course in their field, there needs to be some basic computer instruction to make sure they have the skills needed to complete the course requirements. Specific skills should be identified and the student needs to show that these skills can be mastered before course work can begin. Students need to know how to research for information on the computer. They also need to know critical thinking skills so they can weed through the multitude of information out there in cyberspace and know what is valuable and what is not. A task analysis for each skill needs to be created. These need to be made available for the student to carry with them either as a hard copy or maybe something put on their ipod or cell phone. This will make a great reference tool for them when needed.

Online instructors need to be aware of the possibility of having students with disabilities in their class. Then they need to work with the disabilities services coordinator to see how they can modify the curriculum so that the student can meet the objectives of the class. Many times in public schools, teachers are very reluctant to do this. Material needs to be offered in a visual and an auditory format. If the information is just in one format or the other, the learning style of the student may be ignored. In my course, I am offering information using slideshare with audio, and voicethread with audio.

Universal Design for Learning is a must. In fact, I think this is important for all students and not just students with disabilities. In the course that I am teaching, I have three students who are currently teaching, one who does substitute teaching, and one who has not been in the classroom at all. I cannot expect them all to learn the same way because of their different backgrounds. A lot of the information is online and I need to make sure that all of my students are comfortable in their computer skills to access this information. I will first take a survey so I can see what my student’s beginning level may be.

If the university wants to encourage students with disabilities to attend their school, these are necessary to help a student with disabilities succeed.

Do you know of specific strategies to help students with disabilities succeed in getting an online degree? Please share.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'IMG_4356a'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22077905@N00/1584698904 by: John Martinez Pavliga

Benefits of Online Degrees for People with Learning Disabilities

Online education has revolutionized the way we learn in more ways than one; it has opened up opportunities for people who were hampered by location, cost, and other circumstances in their quest for a degree; it has made possible continuous learning at any age and from anywhere; and it has enhanced the use of technology in the field of education. While most people know and are aware of these benefits of technology, what they don’t realize is that online education is a boon to people who are slow learners or who have learning disabilities because:

· It allows you to set your own schedule: Online education is an opportunity for people who don’t have the time to dedicate to a full-time degree because it allows learners to choose courses that are suited to their schedules. And so you have business professionals opting for degrees that have most classes during weekends and others who prefer flexible assignment and class schedules. This flexibility is a boon for those who are slow learners or have learning disabilities of any kind because it allows them to set and learn at their own pace without worrying about having to keep up with the rest of the class.

· It eliminates the pressure of competition: In a traditional classroom, the slow learners are hampered by more than their learning disability; they’re also restricted by the fear of having to compete with their classmates who have normal or above-normal learning capabilities. This sets them back even more because they’re unable to perform at their usual level when they feel the pressure of having to compete and keep up with the rest of the class. Online education removes this unnecessary stress and allows them to blossom in an environment that is relatively free of competition.

· It facilitates anonymity: And last, but not the least, online education facilitates anonymity which ensures that slow learners and those with other learning disabilities are not subject to the ridicule, scorn or pity of their classmates and staff. Learners are able to grow in confidence because their disability does not cause a bias in the minds of their fellow students which gives rise to preconceived notions and potential cause for mockery or ridicule.

Students who are plagued by learning disabilities can enhance their online education experience by reaching out to their instructors and asking for additional help, enquiring about assistive technology, and setting a schedule that is suited to their pace. Most schools are more than willing to accommodate special needs students, so if you aim to earn a degree, make the most of your experience with a college that understands your limitations and works with you to overcome them.

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Anna Miller, who writes on the topic of online degrees . She welcomes your comments at her email id: anna.miller009@gmail.com

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'MacBook Pro 15" Unibody'
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Learning at Home

In So How Could I Still Teach My Students If School Was Cancelled? from Learning Is Messy - Blog, Brian wrote,

“Think of all the learning time being lost by those students already on leave because of the H1N1 flu issue. What if this did become more widespread and we did have many students out of school for a week or more? My school district has already informed us that if even 1 student is diagnosed at our school with H1N1 then they would close that school for 5 to 7 days AND those days don’t have to be made up at the end of the school year. That’s a lot of lost learning time AND lots of free time on the hands of kids that may lead to other issues.”

I began to think about how I could teach my class if we were out for an extended period of time. I remember hearing about ways that a friend was preparing to teach in China when SARS was spreading around the country. Now would be a good time to think about this before it actually happened and to prepare for it too.

I would have all my students get a gmail address and know how to access their email from any location. If my students didn’t have a home computer, this would enable them to access their email at the local library or other locations too.

Students would need to know how to use Google Docs and access/upload documents.

Students would create a blog to share their ideas/thoughts/feelings.

Students would learn to use twitter and plurk so they could contact me in real time if necessary in order to ask questions. This is another opportunity to talk about online safety and not sharing personal information online. Also good to talk about online etiquette.

I love wikis, so I would prepare my procedures/lesson plans on a wiki to share with my class. Students would go to this wiki each day to find out what their assignment for that day would be.

I would give a variety of assignments that students could choose from according to their ability levels and interests. If students have a choice, they tend to feel more motivated to complete the assignment.

Students would be able to complete individual assignments or group work and turn them in on Google Docs or the wiki. There would be no excuses that “my dog ate my homework.”

I also would encourage students to explore online and look for other “tools” that we could use for class. Some students may feel motivated by this because I encouraged them to try this. This may help too if they are bored because they are not in school.

Students could also look at the goals of the assignment and suggest other ways they would like me to assess their knowledge online. Students love to have input and they will respect me more if they know that I value their input.

These were just some of the things I thought of but if you have any other good suggestions, please let me know. I think this would be successful if students were out of school for an extended period of time.

Original image: 'Desk' http://www.flickr.com/photos/83542829@N00/3025287113 by: William Hook