Week 13

My personal learning network is mostly made up of conferences, webinars videos and wikipedia pages, journals from associations such as CHADD,  Additude, and other groups specifically geared towards special education and math.

For professional reasons I use Linked as my resume and  to connect with other professionals and parents who want to read the recommendations about me. My students normally connect with me through skype, text me and send me pictures. Also I can send them links for extra practice and videos.

I usually do not blog, I am for this class and hope to extend it to my PLN. Facebook I usually use it mostly for social reasons and connect with friends and family.

What I noticed about my students, they create study groups through Google plus. This really helps them become autonomous and efficient learners.

My opinion on PLN is that you have to create your personal learning network that really works for you and you have to be constantly updating to keep up with technology and new trends.

My project is trying to do a PLN using Prezzi for teaching math.

Week 11 Acoss the Universe: Open Education

Online Education has definitely established its place in the world of education, especially at the university level and for homeschoolers.

What makes online classroom so attractive as a course format for students and teachers?

Increased Accessibility- With online classes, learning can happen anywhere, even in the most remote and disadvantages places in the world. For any students who are deprived a chance of higher level education is now available to them. You only need a standard internet connection and a computer to be part of the online education. Teachers must design the coursework so it can be accessible to every type of student. For example, videos with captions, audio only or text to audio. Students can easily access course materials (videos, lectures, exams, quizzes) anywhere, anytime given the right technological tools,

 Flexibility - Teachers can establish their own schedule of which they can balance instruction time and other professional duties (grading, seminars, research, mentoring students), as well as their personal obligations. Students also benefit from flexibility by reviewing and doing the coursework on their own schedule and at their own pace. The ability to review material is an advantageous aspect of online education for English language learners; for students with disabilities and for students who have limited free time.

Assessment - Online exercises and assessments can provide a way for teacher to track individual student learning and progress. This information can help teachers revise and improve the design of their course. Students have real time feedback about their understanding and what they need to practice and to review in order to master a specific skill or a concept.

One of the aspect that online learning has shown to be helpful for a mainstream classroom is that the instructor can individualize/adjust or customize his/her course for each student. In a f2f classroom the pace tends to be the same and some students may easily fall behind if they miss important concepts. In online classroom, the instructor can adjust the amount of work including homework, projects, interactive quizzes and exams that matches the learning potential and maturity of the student, instead of one size fits all learning style.

Weaknesses of online courses

Online classroom is not for every students. It works better for self-regulated and independent minded students and sometimes for ADHD students depending on the course. Another problem is that online may not replicate stimulating class discussions and social community that can be fostered in f2f classroom. Students may miss the the resources normally available on-campus such as tutoring and the resource learning center. The later can be eliminated by introducing mandatory weekly forums and peer responses on online courses. Forums and online  community activities, work well for students who are shy and who rarely participate in a f2f class.

Another weakness is the instructor needs to be knowledgeable with technology tools of the LMS, meaning that he/she has to invest additional time in training (increasing of his or her work load). Students with disabilities may have difficulties in using online tools and may need technological support. Technical problems in online classes can be a problem for instructors and students (student computer can crash, servers problems may cut off connection with students in class, and problems with the LMS) Access can be a limiting factor too since some students may not have adequate internet connection nor a computer.

In conclusion the best of both worlds would be a blended classroom.

Week 10 - Reflections on Teaching and Learning Online

Week 10

Wow! This week's topic, online educational theory is subject to a lot of controversies and extremes. After watching the video about MOOCS, which is an application of the constructivism and connectionism learning theories and reading the article, Does the Digital Classroom Enfeeble the Mind by Jaron Lanier, which gives a negative perspective of using solely a digital classroom instead of a f2f classroom with a creative teacher, I pondered about my role as an educator in the technological age.

As a educator you should know about the different learning theories. Initially, you would like to apply the theory that you are more connected to in your teaching (Cognitivism). However, the reality is that you will have students with different learning styles and background. I am tired of seeing many high school graduates that do not have adequate basic skills to find a job. I am not talking only about academic skills like writing a single paragraph or reading, but they do not have basic skills to survive. Therefore, to reach all the students I would implement the traditional  learning theories (Cognitivism, Behaviorism, and Constructivism) with the digital age (Connectivism) in my classroom. The drawback of this approach is that the students must have the skills and access to technology.

In the 21st century, students require knowledge of Web 2.0 technology not only for entertainment, but also for a career. Most factories are now run by automated systems which use computerized devices. Currently, schools are set up to put students in a box. Students learn everything and nothing at the same time. As a society we should develop programs to help students find their skill set and select courses/classes based on their strengths and learning styles. For example, students who are strong in reading and writing should not be required to take math class beyond geometry (this is a problem specific to Silicon Valley). Technology should be a part of the curriculum so that all students with different economic status can take advantage of its benefits.

In summary, technology is part of our daily life and it should not be seen as a villain, especially in online education. Indeed, technology makes our students more efficient and resourceful. Also, it provides the students with the opportunity to be exposed to extensive free open learning courses (e. g. MOOCS) and to become self-regulated autonomous learners. Kudos to technology!

I will leave you with an article about learning theories, Learning theories every teacher should know about from Educational Technology and Mobile Learning.

Week 10 - Classroom Management and Facilitation

Hi everyone. I am back and refreshed after an emotional week. Nothing is better than to have a good night sleep and family dinner. Now, back to work. As I mentioned previously I am a Web Novice in using CMS/LMS for online classroom at college level. As a result initially, I would use the CMS/LMS adopted by the college/university. Hopefully, I will have a mentor or a tutorial class to help me select the best tools/elements from the CMS/LMS or other online tools, that can provide the adequate environment for the students. As the week went by I decided to learn more about a specific LMS, the Blackboard. After researching I found an article about pedagogical tips, BlackboardPedagogicalTips. This article post a provocative question that every instructor should ponder about. The question is, "Does the content I place into my course enhance teaching and learning?" For me, the design of the course (organization, presentation, and integration of materials) plays an important role in answering that question.  I see the instructor as the artist of his/her course and being responsible for the:

• objectives and prerequisites established through syllabus, course materials (lectures) and assignments
• presentation of  the content of the material. Instructor should use a varieties of teaching practice that values diverse talents and ways of learning  such as  multiple content formats ( images, sound, animations, graphs, texts, games, video
• student participation by implementing warm up and closure questions, group assignments, online guest speakers, and open forum
• testing using different formats. For math, the use of online self-tests after each main topic is a plus for student to practice and apply concepts.  Real word applications is another way to consolidate student's learning as well as promoting collaboration and discussion among students
• Review and Summary  

Another LMS that I am familiar with is Schoology (Schoology). It is free and it is used in the K- 12 schools and higher education institutions. Even though I did not use this LMS to create, manage, and share the academic content for a course, I can share my opinion about Schoology from a user point of view. Schoology is a straight forward system to navigate. You can easily access and download all the files. You (Student) can submit assignments through Dropbox, watch videos, and take online quizzes/tests with immediate feedback. Finally, you can login into Schoology using any mobile devices.

Whatever you have as a tool you have to adjust to the tool while still keeping in mind that the most important piece is that students are learning.