Jenny Hogg's Blogs

Week 17-Final Project

hoggblog — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:00:37 +0000

Well, I know that several weeks ago I wrote a very generic proposal for my final project. Since then, it has taken more form and is nearly finished. I thought that some of you might like to see it. I know I have invested a lot in it and am happy to share my hard work.

Overview

For my distance education final project, I chose to develop the framework for an online course covering the basics of students with moderate and severe disabilities. This project would serve as a platform for teaching this course at the collegiate level. The structure for the course is based around a weekly blog, which substitutes for the traditional lecture. Each entry is as short and to the point as possible as this course would be an introductory course and more in-depth discussions and projects would occur through any courses that may be taken later on. It would be my desire that this would be a course requirement for general education teacher candidates as well as special education teacher candidates.

Tools

In the development of this project, I referenced my online toolbox that I developed earlier this semester. Most of the tools prove to be essentials in the development of teaching through distance education. Below is a breakdown of each of the tools that were used and how they were used:

Blogs: First, I developed a blog specifically for the purpose of this project (http://teachersofmsd.wordpress.com/). This blog will be the class’s “home base” for collecting information and weekly discussions. A short piece of information will be provided each week to present the students with some basic background information that is necessary for the topic of the week. Many of these blogs include links and documents that serve as supplemental readings. Students will be required to thoroughly read and comprehend the information provided in the weekly blog entries.

Student Blogs: Students will be required to set up and maintain personal blogs. The blogs will serve as journal entries for the weekly assignments. Students will post their writings on these blogs weekly. Students will be asked to share their entries with one another to help promote collaboration between students as well as sharing questions, comments and concerns.

Aggregator: Students will keep track of one another’s blog entries with an aggregator, also known as a feed reader or a “gator.” This requires a small time investment initially to subscribe to the desired blogs but prove to be a huge convenience as updates are provided frequently. I did not specify to students a particular gator that is recommended as many Internet browsers already include one. Students are welcome to use a gator of their liking.

Yahoo! Messenger: Peer communication is very important in the success of distance education courses. Because face-to-face communication does not take place, students often feel disconnected from their peers and professors. When questions arise, they feel that there is no one to ask. When frustrations occur, they feel there is no one to provide answers or suggestions. Messengers help to break down this sense of disconnectedness. Messengers allow students to work together, ask questions to one another and seek help. Messengers help students feel connected. I chose Yahoo! Messenger because I prefer its capabilities. However, any messenger will do. I feel that it is important to specify which messenger so that students are all able to connect. Allowing multiple messengers can divide the group, which defeats the purpose.

Online Quizzes (www.ProProf.com): After most of the weekly readings is an online quiz for students to complete. I feel that these quizzes are important for measuring the comprehension of the key points of the content. Most are quite short and are information recall. I like that they provide immediate feedback to students so that misconceptions can be corrected immediately and not way after the fact. I understand and am aware that online quizzes are not foolproof in terms of cheating. However, I feel that even if students are referencing blogs and other sources for information, they are processing it a second time, which aids in learning. The weekly assignments are found at the conclusion of each quiz. This ensures to me that students have at least completed the reading and quiz prior to beginning the assignment, hopefully allowing them to have a better sense of the content before beginning the course work.

Social Networking Website (www.ning.com): It has been my experience that teaching students with moderate and severe disabilities can be a lonely field. It is almost always the case that there is only one of these teachers in each building and in some cases only one or two per district. Bouncing ideas off of one another and looking for help and suggestions can be quite difficult. Therefore, I developed a Ning social networking site specifically for these teachers. This group is by invitation only since sharing experiences, ideas and recommendations could be dangerous if a parent or community member could access this site and obtain unnecessary information. This website includes discussion boards about some of the hot topics that teachers of students with moderate and severe disabilities might deal with. It also has a chat feature as well as a section where events can be shared.

Supplemental Readings (various websites): The information that I am able to bring to this course is very much experiential. I am able to share information that I have learned through actually being in the trenches of this job. However, this does not mean that all the information that I have obtained is exhaustive. Therefore, many resources have been referenced for students to read in addition to my blogs. Students are encouraged to use these resources to their benefit to help them soak up as much information as possible. Being informed is a huge part of being prepared for a job in this field and I would like for my students to be sponges and get as much information as possible.

Assignments

Weekly assignments will include the reading of my weblog first. While all are available for viewing, if I were to teach this course, I would release one per week. This would help to pace the students. Secondly, students will be required to complete the online quizzes over the reading. At the completion of each quiz, the assignment for the week will be released in the explanation section at the conclusion of the quiz. This requires students to complete the quiz before completing the assignment to promote a better understanding. Thirdly, students will complete additional reading, researching and blogging each week. This will give students an opportunity to expand on what they have learned and develop a more in-depth, complete understanding.

Assessment

Quizzes: Quizzes will be used to assess the students’ basic content knowledge. These are short and are basic recall in nature. Students receive feedback at the conclusion of the quiz and in many cases, explanations of the correct answers. The grade that the students receive on the quizzes will be included in their class grade to encourage students to make an honest effort on the quizzes. Quizzes will be timed, generally allowing ten minutes. This helps reduce the possibility of source referencing so that quiz grades will more accurately reflect content knowledge.
Weblogs: Weblogs will be graded using the following rubric:

	3	2	1	0
Structure Ideas	All or almost all of the entries have a connection to structure.	Most entries have a connection to structure.	Few entries have a connection to structure.	None of the entries have a connection to structure.
Feelings and Thoughts	Feelings and thoughts are revealed in all or almost of the entries.	Feelings and thoughts are revealed in most entries.	Feelings and thoughts are revealed in few of the entries.	None of your feelings and thoughts are revealed in any of the entries.
Format	The proper format has been followed for all of the entries.	The proper format has been followed for most of the entries.	The proper format has been followed for few of the entries.	The proper format has not been followed for any of the entries.
Mechanics	All or almost all of my entries use correct spelling and grammar.	Most of my entries use correct spelling and grammar.	Few of my entries use correct spelling and grammar.	None of my entries use correct spelling and grammar.
Completion	All entries are present, in order, and together.	All entries are present, but are either not together or in order.	All entries are not present, but they are together or in order.	All entries are not present, nor are they together or in order.

Blogs can be graded collectively or separately. For some weeks all blogs will be graded separately, and other weeks only one of the assigned blogs will be chosen at the discretion of the teacher. All students will receive timely feedback on the blogs that are graded so that improvements can be made.

I have released two weeks worth of my project for your viewing that can be seen at: http://teachersofmsd.wordpress.com/

Enjoy!

Week 16-Topix.com

hoggblog — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:03:06 +0000

So have any of you heard of Topix.com? I hadn’t until Friday when our school principal addressed the student body about the inappropriate content that has been posted on this site. Naturally, I went home and checked it out. It seems to me that this site’s origin was to be a sort of community bulletin board. Recent and upcoming events are listed on discussion boards and members are able to comment, add information, etc. However, what started as an innocent, informational website, has been turned into a nasty, raunchy, gossip place. Students have gotten on this website and have written disgusting things about one another, most, I’m sure, is untrue. There are all kinds of inappropriate comments and conversations. Students are able to comment anonymously or under a fake name and address, so there is not a good way for the average person to track these comments. Innocent students are being essentially cyber-bullied through this site. My question is, what do we do about it? As teachers, what do we do to make something like this stop? Where do we draw the line between school lives and home lives? There are obvious consequences for these targeted students in the school setting, even if it does not take place there. I know that gossip and rumors have been happening with middle and high school students for a long time but it has been taken to a new level…How sad!

Week 15-The Stuff of Teaching

hoggblog — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:57:43 +0000

I have enjoyed reading Clarence Fisher’s posts this semester. One of his more recent posts particularly caught my eye. The Stuff of Teaching was written as he processes what items he will take with him should he travel overseas to teach. He writes about the materials that he has accumulated over the years. One of the most significant things to me is how he writes about how many of his teaching materials have been reduced from filing cabinets to CDs. As a new teacher, I began with virtually nothing. I inherited few materials and had little help. The materials I have acquired over the past couple of year have proven to be so valuable to me because I began with so little. In trying to put myself in Mr. Fisher’s shoes, I am not sure what I would pack up in a suitcase, should I go to teach overseas. I do think that digital archives have to be a large factor in the equation. Accumulating digital materials takes up very little (maybe a CD or jump drive) physical space. It is also so convenient. I think that this article has opened my eyes to investing more intentionally in digital materials versus huge curriculum binders. I do not personally plan on teaching overseas at this time but this concept is applicable just as much in teaching from school district to school district in our area. Digital teaching materials have so drastically improved methods that it is hard to imagine a time when this wasn’t so common. I guess I will begin building my digital files should a move ever occur.

Week 14-Blogging Ecosystem?

hoggblog — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:35:42 +0000

Stephen Downes writes in Blogging Ecosystem that to “become somebody who is followed and read, it is necessary to become a part of the ecosystem.” Downes piggy-backs off of another blog entry by Lilia Efimova titled ” How to become part of a blogging ecosystem?” She writes about the interconnectedness between blogging and community. It is quite an interesting concept and I have actually realized this relationship without putting a name to it. I have had periods of blogging when I have intentionally interacted with peers. I regularly commented on their posts, asked questions and participated. In turn, peers were more engaged in my postings. I was seeing more comments and there were more conversations taking place as a result. Putting the word “ecosystem” with it makes a lot of sense to me. This makes blogging a lot more fun and rewarding when there is some feedback and a sense of knowing that there are viewers out there reading. It is quite frustrating and disappointing to invest in writing something that means something to you and to feel like there are no viewers or readers. Downes and Efimova have definitely made me realize that I need to consistently be more intentional about my interactions with others and their blogs. Thanks guys!

Week 13-80gigs of Google Space

hoggblog — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:08:09 +0000

So I was reading this post and it is fairly insignificant. Basically the writer, Miguel MGuhlin, has an account on Google Spaces. This means that he pays for online storage space. He is excited because Google sent him a message stating that they are increasing his storage space ten times! This will give him the capacity of 80 gigs. I nearly read over his post and went on to the next one. Then it clicked, 80 gigs! 80 gigs! That is some major space. It wasn’t long ago that we got excited about megabytes. Now, for a relatively small annual fee we can have 80 gigabytes of online space. Recently, for my Dad’s birthday, my brothers and I bought him an external hard drive. He likes to take pictures and we thought this would be a good way for him to be able to back up his data. We paid about $60 for 1 terabyte. This will hold over 200,000 jpg files. Wow! Does this blow anyone else’s mind? I know that technology is moving at a crazy pace and just a few years ago, I would not have imagined 1 terabyte of memory available at a reasonable price for the average computer user. Memory space is just one small element to this technology thing. Sometimes I like to stop and think what other ways technology will blow my mind. I can’t wait to find out.

Trends on eLearning

hoggblog — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:31:33 +0000

Find a research article in your aggregator and write about it. Pay particular attention to any unstated assumptions.

I found the article DiigoNotes – iNACOL’s Susan Patrick on Trends in eLearning. For anyone who may still be questioning the validity and reliability of distance education, this article presents some pretty interesting statistics. All of the statistics support online education and learning. I found this information interesting. The devil’s advocate part of me would like to see someone’s posting to counter this article. It is filled with stats and surveys supporting online learning or at least the theory of it. However, the article is so positive, I question the legitimacy. It is obvious that the author is sold on online learning. I agree that a lot of good can come from online learning but I have also learned from personal experiences that the process is by no means perfected. The authors fail to mention any such thing.

In addition to presenting statistics to support online learning, this article also provides some suggestions and recommendations on ways to help make it successful. Some of these suggestions include connecting students globally and equipping all teachers for virtual learning environments. Most of these ideas seem like good ones but they also seem ideal. I think that they can happen but the realist in me knows that this will occur over time.

It is exciting to me to feel like I am investing myself educationally in a field that is current and beneficial at this time. However, it makes me worry about what changes could happen next. Is there technology beyond our imaginations that will arise in the near future that will make distance education obsolete? I know that this is not a very realistic worry, but then again who would have imaged 20 years ago being educated through a computer? All in all, I am excited about the future and about the advances in technology. I just hope that I can keep up!

Kearsley and Research

hoggblog — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:16:08 +0000

What does Kearsley have to say about research? Pick a point or two and expand on it in your blog.

I wrote about Kearsley and his research chapter last week. Below are two topics from last week that I will be expanding on a little.

Impact on Student Achievement: I think that when we talk about distance education, the most obvious thing that we have to look at is the impact on student achievement. It seems obvious why this must be researched but I will restate it just to be sure. The students are why we are teaching in the first place. Our instructional methods must always be reflected upon to see if what we are doing is effective or in other words if the students are learning what they should be learning. Administrators must assess this because they are the ones in charge of funding. If a program is not being fruitful, it is not likely that they will continue to pump money into it. It is important to research the correlation of success in a classroom versus an online class. We must also assess less obvious things such as participation, work load and content synthesis. Distance education seems to be equal in most areas to a physical classroom. However, it may not be for everyone due to personal preferences and personalities. I think the positive impact on student achievement is prevalent through distance education courses. I think that they offer a very different delivery of information but different can be a good thing.
Learning Communities: Communication is such a major part of education. Communication with teachers and with peers both have significant value. Students learn from one another and establishing open lines of communication between them is very important. With distance education, this can be very easy and it can be very hard. With all of the technology available it can sometimes be way harder to communicate with people. However, there are a lot of tools on the web that make communication an option and these methods continue to improve as they are better supporting video and audio, making communication more real. These interactions between peers can continue beyond the confines on a class, as students share experiences and knowledge. Relationships can be build and assistance can be provided through learning communities.

Distance Education Research

hoggblog — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:52:31 +0000

Pick a topic for research in Distance Education and write a brief synopsis of how you’d study it.

If I were choosing a topic for distance education, it would be assessment. It seems that assessment is the most difficult part of education in general, but especially distance education. It seems difficult to really know if your students understand the content when we are unable to assess nonverbal communication. We cannot read the expression on our students’ faces nor see their posture when they feel defeated. We are unable to know how honestly work is completed.

Therefore, I would research methods for assessing content knowledge, progress and participation in distance education courses. I would like to find how other instructors are measuring success of their students over the internet.

Final Project

hoggblog — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:39:35 +0000

Write up the proposal for your final project. Make sure you answer the following questions.

What are you going to do?

I am going to teach the class about the “low-incidence” population using the tools from my toolbox that I have previously written about. As a refresher, my tools that I included on my toolbox earlier in the semester were as follows:

Basic Toolbox

Internet
Communication method
Class website
Readings

Advanced/Specific Items

Short video lessons
Web site
Instant Messenger
Word Processor software
Gator
Personal blog

How are you going to do it?

I am going to use above tools to complete this lesson. More details coming soon.

Who is it intended for?

The immediate target for this lesson includes my classmates from the EDUC 685 class. Secondarily, I hope to further use this information to communicate to other people such as regular education teachers, non-disabled students and the general public.

Why are you doing it?

I feel that it is important for individuals to be informed about students with disabilities. A lot of individuals experience being uncomfortable or curiosity when interacting with people who are different from us. I think that informing individuals about some of these differences AND similarities will help reduce uneasiness and curiosity. I hope that this project will help to be informative.

How will you know if it’s working?

Option 1: Students will be provided with vignettes in which they must identify the special needs, provide modifications, etc. Responses will be graded using a rubric.

Option 2: Students will be given an online quiz to assess content knowledge.

Option 3: Students will participate in weblogs.

Food Stamps

hoggblog — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:58:08 +0000

In the article “This Is A Tragedy” on the Education Wonks website, there are some disturbing stats. A researcher estimates that nearly half of all children will be on food stamps at one time or another. I personally do not find this as disturbing as the fact that for a lot of these, it becomes a way of life. I am certainly not opposed to paying my tax dollars to assist those who are in need. In fact, I really enjoy helping other people, especially in times of need. However, it has become a pet peeve of mine when people take advantage of the system. It bothers me that there are probably people who make more money off of the government than I do working hard at my job (I do not know this to be true but would not be surprised if totals from HUD, disability, food stamps, grants, etc. would total a great number.) I have experienced students with no dreams. That is what they have had modeled for them and they learn that a trip to the mailbox means free time and things.

I apologize for this little ranting. I do not mean to seem heartless but I am bothered when things like this happen. Do you all think that this is an epidemic of eastern KY or is this a nationwide problem? What can we do to help the situation? Is there anything?