Chapter 6: Fostering Online Learning with Educational Websites and Apps.

What are the advantages & complexities of online learning and virtual schools?

Students and families who enjoy the idea of anytime, anywhere learning are drawn to online schooling. Many students like the freedom from a fixed school schedule that online learning provides. They can also do the work at their own pace thus eliminating pressure to hurry and get an assignment done. Online learning also has the ability to provide learning to anyone from a home schooled student to a student with a medical condition. Another advantage of online learning  and virtual school is that it is less expensive. School who are are facing financial constraints benefit from online schooling because there are fewer teachers which means less people to pay and for the most part online teachers get paid a lower salary compared to their colleagues who are physically present in a classroom.

Critics though say that online schools are very isolating in nature and that because of this students have less social interaction, have fewer opportunities to learn collectively, and receive less individualized attention from their teachers. The lack of full time educators doesn't help. Critics also say that students in online schools are not preforming well on standardized tests. A study from Stanford University found that students in virtual schools and charter schools preformed significantly below their public school counter parts (Center for Research on Education Outcomes, 2009).

Personally I am not a big fan of complete online schooling, especially if you are able to go to a regular school, whether it be public, private or what ever it may be. I took an online health class in high school and I didn't like it. I don't learn if I'm not face to face with a teacher.


**Chapter 6 talked about online learning and different websites and tools to help teachers engage students in online learning. Bookmarks are a great way to organize sites that one may find useful in the classroom or even outside the classroom. I'm sure that we have all bookmarked a website we've found interesting on our computer, but the only time we can access it is when we are on our computer. So if you wanted to show your fellow colleagues a site you found that has great vocabulary activities you couldn't unless you had your own computer with you. Social bookmarking allows you to bookmark your websites but instead of being limited to one computer you can now access your websites from any device. I found both information alerts and RSS feeds to be pretty cool ideas. An information alert is a notice letting you know that new information about a certain topic has just come available in an electronic format. Google has information alerts called Google Alerts and they're free to anyone with a Google account. RSS feeds are somewhat simliar to information alerts except that RSS feeds give subscribers access via email to news and information. Webquests, virtual field trips, and video conferencing are also great tools to use in the classroom. Webquests are inquiry driven activities that are designed and guided by teachers. Students in a webquest move from one web resource to another to gather and learn about a topic. Virtual field trips allow students to visit other places around the world without ever leaving the classroom. Google Earth has an impressive collection of virtual field trips. Like virtual trips, videoconferencing allows students access to places and people they wouldn't otherwise be able to meet or see. Online learning and virtual school have come about like never before. In the year 2000 online learning had a mere 45,000 students to more than four million in the year 2011 (Staker, 2011). As of 2010 27 states including the District of Columbia had full time virtual school serving students statewide, with Florida's Virtual School being the largest. As seen in the above question, there is much debate about the pros and con's of online learning. 

 Google earth picture of the midsection of Florida.

Chapter 8: Communicating and Collaborating with Social Media

If only there was a way to incorporate email and text messages into the classroom.....

Oh wait there is! There are many ways an educator can use emails, or text messages as part of their learning environment. The book gives examples like using email to establish connections with libraries, museum, and other universities where students can pose questions to professionals and receive a knowledgeable response. Of course sometimes it might take a little bit for someone to respond but at least there is interaction between the students and the professionals. The book also gives an example as to how teachers can use text messaging to help students learn spelling. I didn't quite understand how that would help, but instead of spelling you could use texting to take a class vote or a poll about a certain topic that you might be covering in class. For example: Do you see technology as a hindrance or resource in the classroom? Text your answer to 22333 and within your response include the numbers 317609.

Hindrance or resource


Chapter 8 talked about the different type of online resources and strategies that could be implemented in the classroom. Out all the types of communication technology (emails, sms, discussion boards, teacher made websites, blogs, and wikis) the one that i thought would have more impact with students was the Educational Networking. In other words, social networking but for educational and professional purposes. Students and even adults are constantly checking or updating their social media sites, why not incorporate that concept into the classroom? By using "Ning" users can create their own social networks, whether it be private solely intended for students use or public where anyone can join. Teachers can then use this to use this to engage with students beyond the classroom. Teachers could also become instantly available to students by having office hours online. I know that that is something you see more when you get to college but you can apply this to elementary, middle, and high school. Of course the thought of be available 24/7 to students might keep teachers away from this option but you don't have to be available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Teachers have lives you know. You can set designated times when students can reach you just like if you had normal office hours. Educators could also use online discussion boards, whether they be blogs or another type. The issue with this strategy is that there will be times where some or one student isn't actively participating. It is then up to the teacher to make sure that he/she is asking open ended questions so students aren't just answering with one sentence. The teacher must also make an effort to provide rapid feedback to the students' responses otherwise no one will continue participating. A Wiki is another great way to engage students learning. A Wiki is a website or blogspace that is collaboratively edited and maintained by a group of people. By having students create their own Wiki, students work together to solve a problem and discover key concepts for themselves. Below is an example of an educational wiki.
Ah Bon!

Chapter 5: Teaching Information Literacy and Digital Citizenship

Have you ever wondered what Search Engines really are and how they work??

As we all know a search engine acquires information from the internet for our use. A search engine itself is a software program that uses networks of computers to access information from its many databases. With the use of "Keywords", search engines narrow a sear to specific instead of general categories.

                                                                not this ---->

 <--- this!

                                                                      ...and this--->

<--- and this too!









Chapter 5 talks about the the internet and its vast capabilities can change how students, teachers, and even the general public can learn and access information. With all the knowledge and information that the internet has to provide, it is up to educators to teach and learn how to distinguish what information is "good information" and what isn't.  To give you an idea as to how much the internet has grown; " By 2010, the Internet had surpassed newspapers and radio in popularity as a new platform on a typical day and now ranks just behind TV" (Purcell, Rainie, Mitchell, Rosenstiel, & Olmstead 2010. With the power of the Internet at our disposal comes learning certain types of literacy and overall responsibility. As internet users we must understand how to locate, gather, organize, interpret, synthesize, manage, present, use, and evaluate information found on electronic sources. (Small, 2011 pp 2,5,13,21) The evaluation of a website is key in weeding out what information is valid and what is not. Using the five criteria of Accuracy, Authority, Objectivity, Currency, and Coverage one can weed out information easier. Obviously if some guy named Bob is sitting in his garage writing information about tornadoes based on what he has seen in the movie "Twister", we can clearly see that he has not authority or accuracy. Sometimes it isn't that easy though. We might be able to see a bias or objectivity in a piece of information, and not all the time do websites have their "last updated" date posted. It's up to us to use our better judgement and to also realize that not every bit of information out there is ours for the taking with out giving due credit. You may not see taking information from online as plagiarism, but it is. When in doubt, always cite. Whether its from a credible source or some website you just stumbled upon with no author (I would hope you don't use that site).