Topic+5+-+Student+Page

= Topic5 StudentPage = = Online Teaching and Learning =


 * //Student pages are for submitting your assignments. As a member of this wiki, you have permission to edit these pages. Please feel free to post reminders or important notes that might also assist other class members.//**

Topic 5 Field Experience: Online Teaching and Learning
Contact a K-12 online teacher and interview them (at least 10 questions) about their online teaching experience and obtain a lesson plan for an online learning class. Also, gather information on the training they received to prepare them for teaching in this learning environment. If you know a K-12 student who has completed online courses, you may interview them about their learning experience. Also gather information on how they were prepared for this learning environment. Complete a 250-500 word summary about what an online teacher’s or student’s experience is like. Submit the essay and a copy of the interview questions and answers to the chart below.

Class discussion will be generated on this topic later in the week.

Here is a link to the Google Doc of the questions to pose to an actual online teacher about the whole process.

=Here is Heather's answers to our questions.= 1. Assessments? What kind? We have a myriad of assessment tools- including discussion based assessments that are done over the phone. Worksheets, essays, presentations, an exam at the end of each segment are other examples.

2. Who does the instructor answer to/report to? Our staff is divided into schoolhouses and each schoolhouse is headed by an Instructional Leader (i.e., Principal) that is our direct supervisor. 3. How is the teacher evaluated? How often? We complete an annual performance appraisal at the end of each school year. We are evaluated throughout the year by our Principal who conducts monthly calls and classroom walk throughs with each teacher. We also have Quality Assurance Instructors (QAIs) who complete regular walk throughs and report back to the Principals. We are expected to complete a certain number of credits each school year- when a credit is issued that means a student has successfully completed our course. Each segment (semester) of World History is .5 credits. I am expected to complete 140 credits each academic year. Our school is funded based on the number of students who complete our classes.

4. Is there any consistency among online schools? Not that I am aware of. 5. License requirements? I have a Florida teaching certification and National Board certification – you must be certified to teach for FLVS. 6. Who manages the deadlines on assignments? Teachers manage deadlines- work is to be completed by Sunday of each week. Are there exceptions? Yes- we make exceptions in the best interest of our students. Also, our students are granted two weeks of “floating” vacation time for each semester. 7. How are classes weighted? Not sure about this question. 8. How is curriculum built? We have a curriculum department that composes our curriculum. I would love to say that we have input – but since our school has grown and become more “branded” we have really been left out of composing curriculum for our classes which, frankly, is a growing frustration. We do have Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for each course that should be contributing more to curriculum building- but they end up just pushing edits in the course not composing lessons, etc. We do have input on editing lessons once they are implemented in the course. 9. Are the companies profit or non-profit? Florida Virtual School- although funded by the Florida Department of Education- is a for profit institution. 10. What is the monetary compensation for being an online teacher? Generally it is more than a traditional classroom teacher because we do not have 12 wks off each academic year. We are given 20 vacation days (plus sick and personal time) and one week off for Christmas. We are not permitted to use more than 10 vacation days at a time. is there a pay “scale”? Yes is there added pay for increasing education? Yes is there any security to the position (tenure)? No- we are on annual contracts 11. What was the draw to be an online teacher? Flexible schedule. Not having to put my children in daycare. Not having to deal with behavior issues that you would have in a traditional high school classroom. At the time I took this position as a full time teacher (2004) the pay was better- that really isn’t the case anymore. 12. What other teaching experience do you have?

I taught in public and private schools before coming to FLVS.


 * Hi Everyone, I am teaching a hybrid online class and I thought it would help to see some aspects of an online course.**


 * Kim :-)**
 * ===Student=== || ===Online Experience Questions & Summary=== ||
 * Partial Online Stucture for Eng 9, Quarter 1 Class || [[image:Eng_9_structure.png]] ||
 * Progress Report || [[image:Progress_Report.png]] ||
 * Practice/Homework || [[image:Practice_Homework.png]] ||
 * Quiz || [[image:Quiz.png]] ||
 * Lecture || media type="file" key="Health_video.swf" width="360" height="270" ||

5.1 Online Learning Terminology
When researching online learning you will encounter terminology that is interchanged throughout a document; but do the phrases really mean the same thing? Research and define the following phrases. Determine the similarities and differences between them so that the in-depth research on online education in the following activities will be more meaningful to you. Create a graphic representation of the definitions, similarities and differences using a program of your choice and submit it to the the table below. Class discussion will be generated following submission.
 * online learning
 * blended learning
 * distance learning
 * electronic learning
 * e-learning
 * virtual learning
 * outreach learning
 * ===Student / group=== || ===Graphic Representation=== ||

5.2 Online Learning Proposal
//**(Capstone Project Suggestion)**// After conducting your research you will create a proposal to the school board. Your proposal should include:
 * 1) an overview of the best practices of online learning programs, teacher facilitation, and student expectations;
 * include a compare/contrast table that focuses on traditional learning environments and online environments
 * include how online learning is being used in the K12 environment
 * include educational theories evidenced in the online instruction
 * benefits/disadvantages of K12 distance education
 * 1) best practices of online learning being met by the district;
 * 2) best practices of online learning not being met by the district;
 * 3) recommendations to improve the quality/performance of online learning by the district.
 * include the benefits to the district and its students through distance education
 * include recommendations to the minimize the disadvantages of distance education

Your proposal should in a presentation format using a program of your choosing. You will need an annotated bibliography of a minimum of 5 sources using the APA format. Post your presentation and bibliography to the the table below:


 * ===Student=== || ===Research Notes=== || ===Bibliography=== || ===Online Learning Proposal=== ||
 * Bob || http://bit.ly/ijMacG || http://bit.ly/ieoXGI || [] Bob...Very Appropriate the way you explained this! Pete ||
 * Shannon || By hand - verbal script in video || [[file:Bibliography.doc]] || http://youtu.be/NQJQ9ju5jEM ||
 * Gil || Script in video ||  || media type="custom" key="9847185" ||
 * Bryan || In video ||  || Online learning ||   ||
 * Cindy || Verbal Script -iMovie ||  || http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4B66RkdEH0 ||
 * Brett || in video || in video || media type="custom" key="9857875" ||  ||
 * Rajeeb || In PowerPoint || In PowerPoint || [[file:OnlineLearning.pptx]] ||
 * Kim || [[file:Script for online learning.docx]]



|| In Video || media type="youtube" key="KhHBTbnKL5E?rel=0" height="255" width="350" || Comparison of SOME best practices.

= [|Best Practice for online learning] =

Trina

Jenny's Online Learning Presentation: