Online Classes

Online classes are becoming more popular everyday. Colleges are using them to help students that normally could not go to school get their higher education. In taking an online class I found ti to be quite an experience and fun to do. In an online college class your classmates can be anywhere in the world and still be in the same class and that is a very unique experience and makes the world a much smaller place.

Colleges are not the only place online education is happening, but it is becoming a valuable part of high schools as well. In Texas students are required to take 4 years of English, 4 years of Math, 4 years of Science, and 4 years of Social Studies along with a fine art credit, and 3 semesters of physical education which can include athletics or marching band. Because of the new 4x4 as it is called and only 7 periods a day students have found it difficult to get any electives worked into their schedule. To help students some schools have started offering some of their classes online. One high school is offering PE online. It just goes to show that anything can be taken online.

In my district MOODLE is an online application that has been used by a few teachers with their classes to get their credit. MOODLE has been used in this district or at least presented in this district for about 4 years. It has been used by a 5th grade teacher to help students learn about working online, to learn responsibility, and proper etiquette online. The students enjoyed the many different things they could do online like chatting and posting to each other. They were very engaged in the learning. The problem was computer use time because the teacher had to use the lab and could only use it for 3 days in a row. She did stress to the students they could access the lesson at home and work from their. It took some instruction and encouragement but they did learn they could work anywhere. The link below is one of a teacher's website with the MOODLE link that he uses now in his nursing class. He uses this link to give test, help with vocabulary, reference instruction. He has been using this program for the past 3 years but he has not made it officially just an online class. He still has the students in the classroom he just has them access the MOODLE page for information and test. It is basically what he uses to teaches his class.

http://web.mac.com/meddude/HHS_HSTE/Online_Courses.html

I do feel like students could take even my class which is art online. I have discussed it with my principal but he has not taken the hint and let me start it. I envision it being where students can access the class and watch a demo of the instruction and then once they have made their project they can upload it to the website and I can grade it from their. I have found MOODLE to be very easy to use and after taking this class plan to pursue teaching art online. In so doing it would help high school students open up one slot on their schedule to take another elective.

Blog Post 6

In the my courses I have been learning about how to integrate technology more efficiently into my lessons. NESTS are standards set up nationally to show if used technology can help students. My goals have been to incorporate technology more effectively and more often than I have in the past. I am finding new ways to incorporate and I am trying to make things like research more fun with virtual tours. I have used virtual tours of museums to help students see other artwork as it would be displayed in a museum or art gallery. I have also used virtual tours to take my students on a field trip into a cave and see cave paintings. I want the students to learn that there is more to computers than just plain research.

New goals I am not sure about except to find ways to enhance learning for all students and incorporate Universal Design for Learning and help all students learn. I want to find ways that can make it possible for special needs students all the way to above average students learn the same materials on their levels. Computers do help make it possible to level the information for all students.