There are so many online resources that it can often be overwhelming to decide which ones to use and where to find them. The State of Michigan provides a really nice guideline with examples of different resources for the various reasons a teacher would use technology.
There are many technologies that are used for the online experience. The technology that intrigues me the most is the idea of a learning management system such as Blackboard, Moodle, or Edmodo. To myself this is the starting point. I like to keep things in a logical order and often with my students they are always students that breeze through things with technology and others that are as slow as molasses. These systems allow the teacher to keep organization for online learning and they are easy to use!
An online learning management system could be used for any subject at most grade levels. It allows the teacher the opportunities to really use any pedagogical strategies needed. The most obvious would be independent self-paced learning with a teacher available to coach students through lessons that are teacher-directed via internet tools. However, with the ability to create the assignments, add links, and use other internet tools intertwined with these systems you really could have your students use online collaboration with tools such as Google Docs or you could have students learn through Stand Alone Instruction Resources, Webquests, or games. Students would not only be learning subject content, but also be learning NETS standards and online ethics. All of this can be done while being able to manage the business end of being a teacher such as grades and feedback.
Like I stated before, these systems are rather easy to use. I think that most of the technologies that you use within a learning management system would be harder to use. There are various ones listed on the guideline document that seem extremely interesting and applicable to the classroom, but it would take time to learn and make sure you fully understand and are prepared to answer/help your students navigate through these issues.
I like the flexibility and creativity these online programs provide for students to demonstrate content knowledge. I use several resources, but I have not committed to an online classroom environment such as Edmodo, Moodle, or BlackBoard. I am anxoius to fine one that is simple to use for students. I do like wikispaces as a collaboration tool.
ReplyDeleteI implemented Edmodo this year and couldn't love it more! I think that's a great place to start and middle schoolers really seem to take to it well. As you get going with it, it seems like there's more and more that you can do... I'm really liking the feature of kids being able to turn in assignments online. It seems to make grading and giving them feedback more efficient.
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