julia Spencer

My own children have had assignments with a due time of midnight on a certain day.  I have set some deadlines similarly, thinking I was giving students more time to complete and turn in assignments.  It never occured to me to be available to that time (although I do tell my kids they may email until 9pm the night before a test or major assignment).  The rubric for participation on the discussion boards is great.  I wish my Master's instructors had used something similar, for althought they articulated the same requirements, posts such as "Thanks, you made me really think… >>>

I learned that a key to success is letting students know how often you expect them to check email, post responses, etc.  When we very abruptly transitioned to an online format thanks to COVID-19, I had not coached my kids in what I expected from them.  This resulted in many never answering any email or responding to posts/prompts (it didnt help that our district decided all virtual assignments were not to be graded or "count" for anything).  I wish I had set up some of the tools I am learning about to at least maintain a connection with my kids… >>>

I have printed certain sections of this module so that as I transform my F2F classes into online classes, I am aware of all the obstacles I may otherwise unwitting create for my students.  I will need to transition into a more formal and frequent  feedback system than what I curently am accustomed to.  Finally, testing and evaluating the course layout, appearance, links, and usability is a must.

I think I am up to hat #6 or 7, not just 4, as I review all that I will need to master before starting to teach virtually, and grow into more of a faciliator of learning.  I do think most of the content presumes that the styudents are very active participants in their learning; I hope a future module addresses how to influence those who are not (maybe a third of my population requires a lot of encouragment, chivying, and just flat out sitting down with them to get them started on assignments).

As Korinne Toadvie stated, I think both synchronous and asynchronous teaching will be required. particularly as I teach high school.  My kids will need to be able to see me, even if only on a video screen.  Even the most "self-sufficient" I think will need that, and I am pondering how to do "mini-interviews" individually.  Many of my kids will not ask for help until they are floundering, the weekly "check-ins" with me might help avoid that. 

The amount of organizational work I will have to do to be able to start off as recoomended asynchronously is overwhelming.  In a… >>>

The reminder to always start with the learning goal in mind, before diving into the tools.  I also found the discussion of teaching styles helpful.  I have to scaffold so much for my primary population that sometimes my goal of facilitating their learining gets side-tracked in a traditional classroom.  Ironically,  I think when teaching virtually, if I set everything up correctly and utitlize the proper tools, this should be less of a problem.

In my (high school) course we start with a pretest to judge which units will need more or less time to teach.  That same pretest is used aa a midterm benchmark, and finally as a posttest that shows us how prepared for state testing the student may be.  I am pondering creating pre- and post-tests for each unit.  This will help with differentiation as well-- students who have more knowledge can proceed to different projects or activities while those with signifacant gaps can resolve them without it being apparent to their classmates that they needed the extra work.

As an earlier poster commented, I didn't necessarily learn something "new".  I definitely needed to be reminded of the importance of rubrics and of giving the opportunity for students to use them to self-assess before turning in projects/presentations for a final grade.  I wil comment too that teaching virtually will now eliminate an issue I have of running out of time to do an exit ticket.  

I took many notes on creating a dynamic syllabus.  I wrote word-for-word the disclaimer to make sure I include that in my next syllabus  What is hitting me the most is the reminder to solicit student feedback in order to continue building the learning community and relationship.  I am beginning to realize all my usual ways of "checking in" with students in a physical classroom setting will have to adapt to our new reality of learning virtually.  The student feedback questions provided are good and I will use them at scheduled points (after first module, at the semester halfway point… >>>

Consistency is key when developing the modules. I faciliatate my Professional Learning Community.  We had discussed dividing up the content of the planned modules, assigning parts to each instructor to create or modify and upload.  That may not work, each of us has different styles when creating documents, powerpoints.  I learned it might be better if we collaborate on building the modules within the decided framework, and allow our individuality to be reflected in what we upload to the Laarning Objects database.  I also have marked down the importance of testing the modules to assure students can easily navigate them. … >>>