In week one I was able to get into the program and start to look at the documents within.
My greatest surprise was not just in the first week, but as I moved into the week two readings. I am not American, and not in America (perhaps this is justification for the next comment): I had no idea that virtual schools existed for K-12.
I had a feeling that we were discussing hypotheticals here, and that in the future should such situations arise, we could think about the pedagogy for the future. I am quite surprised that there are indeed schools that exist today - schools which not only supplement education - but offer it full time.
What I am puzzled about is 1) are diplomas granted? 2) how can we be sure that students are indeed doing the work themselves, and 3) is this really the way to to?
I am fascinated and excited when I think of these issues, the things I wonder, and hope to move further along a continuum of understanding - and still need to work out how to be a good online student myself. I have a lot of energy to study. I have decided to take this TC Masters as I can go and do most of my courses on campus - and I have, and find it more difficult to be a good online student.
I am a great distant school student. Give me a list of A,B, and C to do and off I go. Here, as there are weekly A,B, and Cs to do I get caught up between work, family life, my running/photography and course work. So, this course is more than just the content for me. This makes it all the more exciting.
Kind regards
Steve R. Pellerine
Friday, January 29, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Introduction
It is great to be in this class and I am excited to get going.
I am a Canadian and have been involved in education for 12 years now, so I still have a lot to learn. I am a second language educator and had ventured on a pathway, about 6 years ago to specialize in what we refer to as CALL or Computer Assisted Language Learning. I have taught in Tanzania, Japan, and the Middle East.
What I had noticed very quickly was that international language teachers actually lacked a lot of educational training - and this became very obvious when looking at the sites offered for language learning. I have a very deep interest in Cognitive Psychology and memory. What I discovered was that a lot of sites catered to "only" the working memory system and affordances offered to learners via online learning platforms were merely screen deep. A lot of activities, that I had examined, may have been fun - but I'm not sure the goals of the activities (i.e. jeopardy like games) were intertwined with some higher order overarching goals. It's not to say we shouldn't have fun - but it is to say online learning platforms need a solid grounding in webpedagogy.
I love to teach. Sadly, at a college where I am now, you can see the failure rates soar regarding literacy development. Our college is a laptop campus and the traditional sit down and read activities are slowly being replaced with time online - and I am concerned. Just two months ago results came in from a international proficiency test in English and 54 out of 79 students failed the reading component of the exam; hence, failed. I acknowledge that this course is for K-12, but am excited because these are the things I'm after: teaching basic literacy via online platforms.
I coach online courses in differentiated instruction and Teaching for Understanding for WIDE, a division of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I love this role as we help educators develop globally.
I could go on and on and on. So, should stop.
Kindest regards to all
I am a Canadian and have been involved in education for 12 years now, so I still have a lot to learn. I am a second language educator and had ventured on a pathway, about 6 years ago to specialize in what we refer to as CALL or Computer Assisted Language Learning. I have taught in Tanzania, Japan, and the Middle East.
What I had noticed very quickly was that international language teachers actually lacked a lot of educational training - and this became very obvious when looking at the sites offered for language learning. I have a very deep interest in Cognitive Psychology and memory. What I discovered was that a lot of sites catered to "only" the working memory system and affordances offered to learners via online learning platforms were merely screen deep. A lot of activities, that I had examined, may have been fun - but I'm not sure the goals of the activities (i.e. jeopardy like games) were intertwined with some higher order overarching goals. It's not to say we shouldn't have fun - but it is to say online learning platforms need a solid grounding in webpedagogy.
I love to teach. Sadly, at a college where I am now, you can see the failure rates soar regarding literacy development. Our college is a laptop campus and the traditional sit down and read activities are slowly being replaced with time online - and I am concerned. Just two months ago results came in from a international proficiency test in English and 54 out of 79 students failed the reading component of the exam; hence, failed. I acknowledge that this course is for K-12, but am excited because these are the things I'm after: teaching basic literacy via online platforms.
I coach online courses in differentiated instruction and Teaching for Understanding for WIDE, a division of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I love this role as we help educators develop globally.
I could go on and on and on. So, should stop.
Kindest regards to all
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