Virtual Schooling part 2

I Looked at 3 of the 5 scenarios and compared the requirements in Section 21f of the State School Aid Act.

•  Scenarios 1: You're a rural district with only a few hundred students total. A child wants to take courses like calculus, but they cannot feasibly be offered by your high school.

I believe that rural school faces these challenges every day.  Also, at the rate our public schools’ funding changes so do the ability to take courses online.  For this student, it depends on the technology that in their life. Per the Section 21f of the State School Aid Act, One or more of the following must be met to satisfy the attendance requirement:

• 1.       Pupil attended a live lesson from the teacher.
• 2.      Pupil logged into a lesson or lesson activity and the login can be documented.
• 3.      The pupil and teacher engaged in a subject-oriented telephone conversation.
• 4.      There is documentation of an email dialogue between the pupil and teacher.
• 5.      There is documentation of activity/work between the learning coach and pupil.
• 6.       An alternate form of attendance as determined and agreed upon by the cyber school and intermediate district auditor was met.

•    Scenarios 2: You're a principal of a school. An overbearing parent comes to you. Their first son had Mr. Siko for chemistry and hated him. He's the only chemistry teacher, and now their younger son has him. They want to pull him out and have him take it online. Can you prevent this? Should you prevent this?

As the principal of a high school, they must accommodate all students when it comes to online classes. Also, a district must allow a pupil to enroll in up to two (2) online courses per term, semester, or trimester with the consent of the pupil's parent or legal guardian.  Likewise, the student can take the online class if through, allow pupils in grades 5 to 12 to enroll in online courses where each course can generate credit or a grade while being provided in an interactive internet-connected learning environment.

•  Scenarios 3: A child comes into your class, having transferred from a 'cyber school'. It is clear the quality was subpar. Any of this child's standardized test scores this year are tied to your performance evaluation under the new teacher evaluation guidelines

Gov. Snyder told The Detroit News, “when it comes to standardized testing, scores show students at Michigan cyber schools, many operated by for-profit management companies, are consistently underperforming their peers.”  There are guidelines for the cyber school that must be met for students in order for the class to be acceptable. Enrollment Requirements Per Section 552(2), a cyber school must be available for enrollment to all pupils who are eligible for membership in this state, must offer some or all of grades K-12, and must demonstrate experience in delivering a quality educational program that improves pupil academic achievement.

Virtual Schooling

After reading all the articles, the one I gain the most insight on Virtual Schooling was Barbour, M. K. (2009).  The discussion about generational labels from unit 1.  In the beginning, I thought that maybe I was a Digital Immigrant, but now after reading this article, I came to the realization that I too can function like a Digital Native even though my generation is the baby boomer. 

Here is another part of the article I found interesting.  Synchronous e-learning involves online studies through chat and videoconferencing. This kind of learning tool is real-time. It is like a virtual classroom which allows students to ask, and teachers to answer questions instantly, through instant messaging, which is why it is called synchronous. rather than taking lessons alone, students associating themselves with synchronous e-learning software or online courses can easily interact with fellow students and their teachers during the course.

On the other hand, Asynchronous learning can be carried out even while the student is offline. Asynchronous e-learning involves coursework delivered via web, email and message boards that are then posted on online forums. In such cases, students ideally complete the course at their own pace, by using the internet merely as a support tool rather than volunteering exclusively for an e-learning software or online interactive classes.

Finally, I think that I am more a Synchronous learner because of the learning style that this model offer.

On-line Schooling

I first learned about online teaching when my client was working on her GED.   The state of Michigan supplied her with a laptop and instructions on how to study for the GED test.  Also, she was able to practice taking the test and using materials from the web in order to study Math and English subjects.  After learning from the website, she had to schedule the GED test in person.

Secondly, I had an online class before my current one.  I had a very difficult time keeping up with the readings, assignments, and responses online. as well as,  I missed deadlines and got confused about due dates.  As an older student, I do better with a lecture, review, and studying.  I can take exams online but, retaining information from the readings alone is hard.

Twitter and Blobs for PLN

Here are my 3 blogs

Child Development Tracker

www.pbs.org/parents/child-development/

I used to work with parents that really didn't nothing about their child's development.  I needed websites like this one to teach. I was able to explain that while there are many styles of

 parenting, almost all parents have the same basic hopes for their children. We want them to be kind, confident and brave.

How do Children Develop?

https://www.gdrc.org/kmgmt/learning/child-learn.html

This little article is a quick way to teach parents and workers about children development and learning behavior.  It explains how a child's pattern of learning is through physical, social and emotional.  As well as, how to prepare children to be ready to learn with reading, writing and math skills.

The Importance of the Home Learning Environment 

www.scottishbooktrust.com/bookbug/.../the-importance-of-the-home

I had learned that the interaction between parent and child at home can have a significant impact on a child's language and literacy development. One of the hardest things for a family to understand is the necessity for an home environment be conducive to growth and learning.

Twitters (5 twitters)

Dr. Marcia Tate‏ @drmarciatate  

Dr. Marcia Tate inspires and educates our communities. She is an acclaimed educational 

consultant, author of 8 bestsellers and speaker on 5 continents.

Oskar Cymerman@focus2achieve

HS Educator with a book called Crush School is a guide to learning anything http://bit.ly/crushschool 

Katy Ackley

@Kackley77

TPS Dir of Teacher Dev, 3rd gen TPS teacher, dedicated to the success of students, helping empower effective educators through powerful professional learning!

The Kind Leader

Jay Dubois‏ @Jay__Dubois

Lucky husband, dad and elementary school teacher in Ontario. Embracing power of

 edtech. Ss not just consuming content but creating content. GCE Level 1.

Kenny Frederick‏ @kennygfrederick  Feb 22

A former secondary headteacher & now an Education Consultant. Most recently a PhD student at Brunel University. A lifelong learner! Exciting times!

The Pros and Cons of Wikipedia

Cons of Wikipedia

• Less popular topics will most always contain less trustworthy information because fewer people are editing them.
•  Easier resources, like Wikipedia, do not equal academic resources.
• ·Because the content is free, there is a chance that less research is involved in creating the       articles.
• ·Anyone (literally, anyone) with access to the Internet can edit the articles.
• · Entries tend to be fragmented and unsubstantiated
• ·People's names/pictures are used without their permission.
• 
  

Pros of Wikipedia

• ·Saves time and eliminates face to face meetings
• ·Adds variety to the educational process
•  Reading what others have written could provide insight for other students.
•  Chance to teach students how to form judgments on accuracy of information on the internet
• ·Promote student-to-student participation
• ·Would allow parents to view what their children are working on and see the thought process and development of their child at work. 
• · Promotes collaboration.                                   

Understanding New Technology with RAT Model 

I had to figure out how I was using the RAT model in my past career working with children. This model stands for Replacement, Amplification and Transformation.  I used to work with special needs children under the age of three years old. My job was to assess the child to see if there were any developmental delays.  I evaluated them in 5 domains of development:Gross (large muscles) and fine (small muscles) motor skills.  As well as, language, problem-solving and emotional/social skills.  After the assessment, I would then write a report showing the results.  If the child was delayed in any domains, I would get the required intervention services.

         

    Over the years the assessment process was replaced with new and improved technology that calculated the results from the information I input about the child’s development. This process improved the reliability and clarity of the results.  Next, I was able to explained the results in a simplified way to the parents without losing focus of the primary reason for the assessment. The amplified completion of the evaluation assisted with getting the interventions necessary for the family’s needs.  Likewise, the results offered computer-generated ideas for the parents regarding the particular interventions for their child’s delays.  Lastly, my former co-workers stated that now the assessments are also accepting up-to-date progress on how the interventions are benefitting the child on a monthly basic.  This is truly a transformation from what having to record everything intervention and progress by hand into the computer.

Finally, I never really consider how technology operated in the work I did.  I always used to fight against new technology and preferred to do the work in the “original” way.  Now I am willing to try ways of organizing all my different programs (Web 2.0) in a more efficient system.

Generation Edge

I do not teach a class, but, I’m able to observed some of my “Generation Edge” classmates.  I am amazed at how they are able to “switch tasks.”  For instance, taking notes, sending text and watching a movie on the laptop without missing any of the content in class. 

Up until this class I favored the classical teaching style for Boomers/Generation X like myself.  I am very comfortable with the professor lecturing while I took notes and asked questions.  When I must take a class online, I’m like a fish out of water.  However, I am a big fan of new technology and trying the latest phones, tablets, and smart TV.

One of the characteristics I did not see in Generation Edge is selfishness and lack of enthusiasm. Students still find a way to believe in tomorrow and have passion for today.  For instance, they can operate their technology and still find time to socialized with their friends, be in study groups and active on campus with different causes. 

Finally, I have gain knowledge and understanding from M. Prensky”s article.  I do think that is some truth to “digital natives” and “digital immigrants.”  Being a Boomer, I find it a little hard to adjust to all the new ways of communicating with all the technology.  Also, students today are able to figure it out quicker than myself.  Even my 5-year-old nephew show me how to do certain applications on my tablet J.   Still, I love the new direction technology is taking us.  I feel my future is in good hand with GenEdgers.