Cary Gluf

It provided very useful information about organizing communication and assignment data. One problem I see in my students is the simple task of naming a file. Some of my assignments have very specific instructions for this task. Others do not. It looks like I need to turn this into some sort of policy. I have learned not to assume that my high school students are computer literate. It's even more imprtant in an online class.

It was interesing to see that syncronous teaching/learning is less desirable/effective than the asyncronous. When schools closed and we all went onlline, there were visions of lots of Live teaching going on. After just 3 such sessions, I saw that I wasn't going to be able to accomplish much in this manner. This unit reinforced my understanding and benefits of asyncronous online education.

I also think it is very important for your students to actually SEE you. Almost every one of my online college courses that I took, to get my teacher's license, several years ago, had voice-only lectures. 

Having been dropped into e-learning in the middle of a semester (Covid-19), this concept doesn't apply as much as for starting a new course completely online. Fortunately, authority had already been established. Also, all 3 of my classes were Level III courses, so I have had all of the students in class, at least, two times before this class.

Unfortunately, most authority was taken away by state polices that made participation optional at the high school level. This is not going well.

I have been using a CMS in my classes for many years, so, as I read through the information, I tried to stop and think, "Do I know how to do that?" with the system that I use. One thing I will try to do better is add a very formal "How to use it" lesson during the first few days of each semester. And also give a "homework" assignment to make sure they can use it at home and as a record for me that they can.