Growth

While taking MEDT 7464, I have noticed that I have grown both personally and professionally. The growth that I have personally shown has been very significant.  First, I have learned the importance of time management. Getting the most out of this course requires one to understand the requirements and dedicate time to work-on given assignments.  As I encounter tasks in my professional arena, I will use this same strategy to complete those given tasks. Next, I have learned a great deal about collaboration.  During this semester, it was nice to keep the same group members throughout out the course. We were able to learn each other’s strengths and weakness and assign tasks based on such. We were able to meet on a weekly basis. These weekly meetings were very beneficial. We were able to make sure everyone was on the same page, reflect on assignments, and give feedback while working on Google docs. When given a professional task to complete, I will use similar strategies. Although it’s nice to work on a task in an area you are comfortable, growth is also important. In order to grow, I offered to take leadership roles in areas that were not my strongest. This is when I feel like the greatest growth occurred. 

Presenation Night

We had to present our course through an powerpoint presentation. I always get super nervous about presenting. Although I practice repeatedly, my voice always seems to crack. Well tonight was no exception. Screen shot that were didn't fully display the features of our course. Each person took an area to discuss and team work helped to complete and revise this assignment.

The key

There are several key components that make a online or hybrid course successful. Overall, you want to support the learner. Although the instructor has office hours, you want to be easily accessible. The goals of the course should be clearly stated. Assignments should be differentiated by learning styles. There must allow be a wide variety of resources (videos, journals, books, etc.) for students to access information. Students must also be given opportunities to collaborate with their peers. A great way to do this is through discussion post or group assignments.

Course Review

The course review process has been very challenging. One part that I found most challenging was that you are never fully finished completing a course. Their are always, edits, revisions, and additions to be completed.

I enjoyed seeing how my classmates created their courses and going back to edit our course. We all found things that we would like to revise and improve. I am glad that I had this opportunity to review my classmate's courses.

Long Journey

Creating a website has been a long process! Understanding the process of creating a online or hybrid course is ongoing. There are always things that can be done to make the site better, more user friendly, or more effective. As I mentioned before... working  with a great team and delegating task makes the job much easier. I'm so grateful o have experienced this process.

Appreciation

My group has been working great together. Communication and assigning roles had definitely been the key to our success! I have a new appreciation for professors who design online courses. Course design seems to be an ongoing process. There is a lot of checking, double checking and covering your bases. This week I found it difficult to organize the course in a manner that was esthetically pleasing. I believe having a weekly format that stays consistent would be helpful not only to students, but to the instructor, as well.

Constructivist Theory

As I went through my undergraduate program, there was a strong focus on the constructivist theory and theorist. The foundation of my teaching career had a strong constructivist focus. Today, I have slightly veered away from these principles, but strongly believe in their value and worth. I strive to make real world connections with the standards that are being taught! When teaching my money unit, I include items that my 2nd grade students would be interested in buying. The students are instantly connected!

As I began my teaching career, I taught in a brain-based charter school. Each unit had to incorporate a variety of learning styles. The teachers also took a multiple intelligence test to see how they taught and learned. Looking over the results helped me to teach in a way that my students learned.

Although I have moved away from some of the constructivist theories (as I wrap my brain around how to teach and assess the common core standards), I still consider myself a constructivist designer.

Balance

I have acquired a lot of new knowledge over the course of the 2 weeks. I learned the difference between assessment and evaluation. Assessment is a form of collecting data to test student achievement. Different types of assessment include multiple choice and essays.

Evaluation is how you would assess a program. One would evaluate whether or not a workshop/ professional development added value to the knowledge or skills of a teacher. Evaluations are usually done at the end.

I was also able to explore the different features of CourseSite. One of the major benefits include easy of use for the instructor and students. When teaching a full online course or hybrid, student disposition is extremely important. You don’t want students becoming too overwhelmed by the host site, that they lose course content.

Last week, we were introduced to the acronym: DOAICE, which stand for demonstration, objective, assessment, instructional strategy, content, and evaluation. If any one of these area are missing or out of line, your whole course could be DOA (dead on arrival). It is clearly important to carefully plan the course in the beginning, as to avoid any of these pitfalls. Having balance in the course is going to be extremely important.

Clarification

This week has been very productive. I am so thankful to have a group that works well together and collaborates to complete given assignments. After last week’s Wimba session we met in the breakout room to clarify the progress of our assignment. This session was extremely beneficial because we were able to come to a consensus on various topics. We were hoping that this could be a face-to-face course, since each member is eager to share this course with his/her home school. We did decide to use Edmodo as a host site for our course. I haven’t had much experience with this program, but I’m excited to learn a new piece of technology. As far as the discussion is concerned, our classmates were pretty receptive to out topic and felt that we should make the goal more specific. We will include a brief overview of the iPad and really concentrate on how to apply iPad usage to the ELA common core speaking and listening strands.

Fair Share?

This week is quickly coming to an end. My group is work very well together. We turned in Assignment One and we are just waiting for feedback. At the moment, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I just feel like there aren't enough hours in the day.
Discussion Three Week One:
This week we are working together to create a Research Report and discussion on Goals, Objectives, Instructional Strategies, Materials, and Assessments. Since there are four people in my group, we decided to divide the parts and each post on the discussion board. Last week we communicated through email and had an impromptu WIMBA session in breakout room 2. This sessions was very beneficial in  assigning roles and clarifying directions. It's amazing how one set of directions can be interpreted in so many different ways. After a quick session we all came to a consensus and completed the discussion.
This week I focused on the knowledge objectives. Focusing on a different part this week allowed me to get a better understanding of our course. We also created a graphic organizer to complement our part. I used Microsoft Word for Mac. After completing my organizer, I noticed that there is a flow chart tool that would have made my task a lot easier. I'm excited about sharing this tool with my students! It will be a change from creating our hand drawn organizers.

Communication +1

Group
I believe that communication is one of the most important parts of working with a group. This week my group of three became 4. There are many positives about adding another member: 1) Dividing the working into 4th and 2) gaining the expertise of another professional. As long as the expectations are set and clearly expressed... the more the merrier!

Communication
My group is communicating very well together. Some ways that we communicate include: email, Wimba, google docs, and phone calls. I worry about responding in a timely manner. Are there certain rules that apply to responding to emails? I think that 12-24 hours is reasonable :)

The Assignment
I think that our topic of integrating Ipads with teaching the common core standards will be very helpful. One area that we struggled with was which standards to include in the course.  We thought that including the Listening, Speaking, and Viewing standards would be broad enough to benifit most K-2 teacher.

Pulling My Weight

Our groups have been formed and we are in the process of fine tuning our topic. My group has decided to focus on "Implementing the ELA K-2 CCGPS through the use of Ipads." After each Wimba session with Dr. Baylen, we gain more insight on how to create this professional development for teacher. My group is made up of one 2nd grade teacher (myself) and 2 media specialists. This will be a learning process for me. I am pretty knowledgeable about using the Ipad apps. I'm not so great at designing lessons that support the new ELA common core standards. If designed properly, this is definitely a tool that I will use and share with my peers.
This week has been very enlightening. We have created a google doc in order to work on our next assignment. Although the sections have been divided, we will each collaborate with one another to complete the next assignment. I feel excited about our topic, but very nervous about how it will all come together. It is important for me to do my fair share, so I hope that I won't disappoint my team.

 

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my blog. This blog will be used to track my progress and reflection on the development of a course for educators. 
My name is Christina Phyall and I am currently a second grade teacher. I have been teaching for 8 years. I'm currently pursuing my Ed.S. in the area of Instructional Technology at the University of West Georgia. 
I have created this blog as a requirement for my MEDT 7464 course. I will document experiences in designing instruction and in working with my group members.  This is my second time designing instruction. Last semester in MEDT 8461, I worked with a group to design a self-paced lesson on phases of the moon, which was for 2^nd grade students. I’m really eager to develop a course for teachers. In my previous classes, frequent communication has been a key factor in determining the success of the group. I’m looking forward to collaborating with my group members.
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”
~Henry Ford