Considering the Outcomes

Social networking, Cloud-based computing, mobile devices, and Internet access offer myriad opportunities for my classroom teachers to explore curriculum on a whole new level. Excitement builds as I evaluate web sites, develop the LMS, and plan the online activities for my back to school welcome session.
Unexpectedly, I hit a policy barricade, beyond that a Family Rights and Privacy Act and Childs Internet Protection Act (FERPA/CIPA funding compliance barrier, and then headlong into firewalls and filter walls. Anticipation turns into frustration. How I will cross these obstacles becomes part of my planning and preparation.
Knowing I will have to have administrative and Board approval, I consider what solutions I will offer to provide relevant standards-based learning opportunities for student success. I have learned from Dawley(2007) that “Organization of information is critical to creating an online class where students are successful.”
I work in reverse order, determining what content is relevant to my course. The Cisco ASA firewall, ESET Anti-virus, and WebSense internet filter work in tandem to protect our network and our users from the obvious risks of offensive subject matter, malware threats, privacy and financial compromise, or illegal activities, but sometimes they also prevent access to desirable or allowable sites. In response, I create a WebPortal which features the sites I have planned to use in my instruction sorted by content area. To avoid syntax errors, I carefully check the URLs one at a time to ensure they are functional. Using the URLs featured in the portal, I submit a whitelist to the filter.
With such a small district, we have 18 certified staff and paraprofessionals joining together for the training. Meeting the diverse needs of these adult learners is going to be challenging. Eric Lawson’s article in the March 28, 2011 Technology & Learning prompted a grant to purchase iPads for a pilot program. The grant was funded. Eager to implement the recently purchased devices, I now have to consider what I must do to add the 3G access to our network. I call our consultants and they walk me through a process that allows our filter to work remotely so students can take the devices home, but remain accountable with publicly funded devices. I work with our administration to develop a new responsible use agreement for staff and students, confident that both parties will “love to use these handheld devices to learn about core curriculum standards within the classroom”(2011).
I’m getting closer to my objectives, but my most important task lies ahead of me. I must address the human element of this course. Even though most of my staff and students immerse themselves in social media at home, their ability to use digital tools as a classroom resource is limited to their activities within the school network. Responding to the findings of a Cengage Learning/Eduventures survey (2010) entitled “Instructors and Students: Technology Use, Engagement and Learning Outcomes, William Reiders, executive vice president for Global New Media (Cengage Learning) states that, “Clearly, students are asking for better guidance, support, and training in using digital tools in the classroom and we, as an industry, need to pay attention and effectively respond to those needs in order to improve engagement and learning outcomes.”
In my opinion, my biggest responsibility is to provide training, model appropriate use, and enforce rules of netiquette, safe browsing, and responsible use of technology so that together we can soar into the 21st Century as learners and leaders in the digital age.
References
Brown, L. (2010, April 7). Debunking the Digital Native Myth: Higher Education Students Ask for More Support in Using Classroom Technology. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from CENGAGE Learning: http://www.cengage.com/trends/pdf/Survey Release and Results.pdf
Dawley, L. (2007). The Tools for Successful Online Teaching. Hershey: Information Science Publishing.
Lawson, E. (2011). iPads, iPod Touches, and iPhones as Assistive Technology in Education. Technology and Learning .

Extraordinary Times for Extraordinary Needs

At any given moment, lives change.
I serve as a volunteer advanced EMT on a rural ambulance. During my eight years of service, I have experienced exhilarating triumph and painful tragedy. With each call I become more acutely aware of both the fragility and the resilience of human life. I have learned that it takes only one act (intentional or unintentional), or one bodily systems failure to change lives. A stroke may leave an individual unable to use his right arm. In most activities, this impairment may be minimal - but in other activities which require the use of both arms, this loss puts our friend at a disadvantage with others - it becomes a disability. If the impairment or disability inhibits the individual from fulfilling a role, it becomes a handicap (Robleyer & Aaron, 2010).
This change impacts the individual, his loved ones, and his environment. The impact can be temporary or permanent.
A few months back I watched an interview with Roger Ebert, a high-profile movie critic who spent a lifetime providing movie goers details about the latest box office releases without giving away the plot. His account of his experience with jaw cancer was touching and inspirational. His face, surgically shaped into a comical expression of happiness, fit well with his positive outlook on life. His voice had vanished and in its place was a technological wonder—a text-to-voice application that allowed this man his vocal contributions, and he was making every word count.
Anyone who performs a comprehensive search of emerging technologies will find that no matter the disability, technology can facilitate a better living experience than one would have had just a decade ago. Astounding!
For whatever reason, human nature causes most people discomfort around those who experience physical or mental disfigurement. In all but rare situations their voices go unheard. It’s about time we listen because in the next moment, the lives that change might be ours.
References:
Robleyer, M., & Aaron, D. (2010). Educational Technology Into Teaching (Fifth ed.). Allyn and Bacon, Pearson.

Bring it On(line)!

Prezi, Moodle, Twitter, and Tweet. If you think I have my head in the cloud, you are right. These apps and more hang out in the cloud and are all a part of 21C, or 21st Century Learning and education has embraced the new technologies as more and more schools adopt hybrid or "blending learning" courses.
In a report titled "The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning: Profiles of Emerging Models," Michael B. Horn (co-author of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns, 2008) and Heather Clayton-Staker (senior research fellow at Innosight Institute) provide 40 examples of what blended learning looks like in today's K-12 classrooms. From course content and policies to infrastructure and delivery, the report analyzes benefits and drawbacks of hybrid courses to help education decision-makers understand the complexities associated with blended learning. (2011)
It is an exciting and troublesome time in education. From brick-and-mortar to virtual schools, online activity has not only expanded our vocabulary, but changed the way we think, we share, and we learn.

References:

Horn, M. B., & Clayton-Staker, H. (2011). The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning: Profiles of Emerging Models. Innosight Institute.

It's a Small World After All

What's not to love about free connectivity and multi-way calling when you live in a remote Idaho canyon and want to talk to your group members in Mililani, Hawaii, and Beaverton, Oregon? Collaboration is a key element in any learning environment, but especially so in the virtual classroom.
Unlike traditional classrooms where I take an active role in class discussions, I tend to isolate myself in my online learning courses - focusing on tasks rather than reflection. David Ellis (2006) points out group members can make learning more effective by teaching one another, comparing notes to make sure everyone understood important information, use open-ended discussions to produce understanding and insight, and take advantage of the group support in personal areas.
My group partners,Damon and Cary, provided all those elements and more! Skype compacted my world and enlarged my insight. I became part of a learning community.


Ellis, D. B. (2006). Becoming a Master Student. Boston: Houghten Mifflin.