Our small group, the Specific Pacifics, forge ahead. It is truly the best team I have ever worked with in an online course and I am counting my blessings! Maybe we are all getting better at the small group format. That's probably part of it, but I know I just ended up with good people too. We are brainstorming our charter, throwing out specific ideas from the readings as well as our own personal thoughts. Everyone checks in regularly and the "work" (if you can call it that, feels more like comfortable conversation) continues to be very equitable. We have begun the process of brainstorming ideas for the content of our paper, online social collaborative opportunities for instructors. I think we will have more trouble with this because it feels a little broad and nebulous. I doubt we have the same experiences, or perhaps even the same definition of collaboration. I'm confident we'll hone it down though and it'll be good.
It's been fun reading the ideas for the individual papers. I'm having a hard time researching mine because I get utterly immersed in it, look up and two hours have gone by. I will need to focus and starting putting the pen to paper (fingers to keys) early this week.
Taking two courses at a time is MUCH harder than taking one of the supposedly more intense 5 week courses. It does not help that we had finals this week and now shift into second semester where I will have 3 preparations. Sleep is suffering and I have succumbed to my first cold virus of the season. Sigh.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Rich with social capital
Our group, the Specific Pacifics, is getting along swimmingly. I wish I could define and record the precise reasons why so I could replicate this experience for myself and also project it onto my students. One factor, I think, is that we are lucky to have personalities and learning styles that mingle and compliment each another nicely. No deliberate action brought that about, so that's just dumb luck. We are all pretty motivated and task-oriented and although we have made our share of "small talk" we seem to intuitively know when to get down to business. Also noteworthy, is that roles shift and morph around the group with remarkable ease and grace. Individuals step up and become downright proactive, with the support and gratitude of the rest of the team and then the next person takes the lead. I think that's the most salient lesson I have learned thus far from my group and message that I could pass on: If you see the opportunity to do something proactive, then do it -- and then welcome the feedback, revision, debate from teammates. That seems to move things forward the most quickly.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Children forming online communities
I teach high school science. This semester all my students are Freshman and Sophomores and range in age from 14 to 17 years old.
Throughout this Master's program, I have been thinking about designing and teaching online courses for high school students. Currently, there is little opportunity for K-12 students to take courses over the Internet in my area, but it is definitely growing. I anticipate it becoming much more commonplace in as little as 5 years. This offers opportunity to me personally, and to my students. I want it to be the best experience possible for all concerned.
Much of the research available, and coursework that we have done in this program, seems to be directed toward teaching adult learners. Children, even teenagers, do not operate like adults. Many principles and concepts of brain research and pedagogy still apply, but not all. Children are cognitively different from grown-ups. And perhaps more significantly, they are emotionally not like adults!
I foresee encountering a whole set of issues that I have not explored, let alone even thought of, when it comes to designing an online course for adolescents. For one thing, there is impulsivity and disconnect between behavior consequences, that often moderates as an individual matures. How will I establish an online community that works for high school kids? Will it be as effective for kids as it is for adult learners? How will I establish norms? Communicate expectations? Facilitate the synergy that occurs between students? These things happen quite smoothly (from my perception and experience) in a college class where students are intrinsically motivated.
I would like to experiment on my current students so I could observe the process more closely. That is, I would have the safety net of f2f contact to redirect behavior or detect frustration. For this, the main barrier will be to set up the forum on which the students can interact and collaborate. My district is very leery, distrustful even, of software applications and to get something installed on the server is a hard sell. I'm up for that, but I would definitely need to know what I want, why I want it and exactly how I will use it.
One reason I would like to implement an online student community is to give every student a voice. There are strategies for encouraging participation in class (like randomly drawing names out of a cup) but this is only semi-effective. I know that I have many students with rich ideas and deep insight who, for whatever reason, choose not to speak up. I think a virtual discussion would elicit thoughts from some of those students.
Throughout this Master's program, I have been thinking about designing and teaching online courses for high school students. Currently, there is little opportunity for K-12 students to take courses over the Internet in my area, but it is definitely growing. I anticipate it becoming much more commonplace in as little as 5 years. This offers opportunity to me personally, and to my students. I want it to be the best experience possible for all concerned.
Much of the research available, and coursework that we have done in this program, seems to be directed toward teaching adult learners. Children, even teenagers, do not operate like adults. Many principles and concepts of brain research and pedagogy still apply, but not all. Children are cognitively different from grown-ups. And perhaps more significantly, they are emotionally not like adults!
I foresee encountering a whole set of issues that I have not explored, let alone even thought of, when it comes to designing an online course for adolescents. For one thing, there is impulsivity and disconnect between behavior consequences, that often moderates as an individual matures. How will I establish an online community that works for high school kids? Will it be as effective for kids as it is for adult learners? How will I establish norms? Communicate expectations? Facilitate the synergy that occurs between students? These things happen quite smoothly (from my perception and experience) in a college class where students are intrinsically motivated.
I would like to experiment on my current students so I could observe the process more closely. That is, I would have the safety net of f2f contact to redirect behavior or detect frustration. For this, the main barrier will be to set up the forum on which the students can interact and collaborate. My district is very leery, distrustful even, of software applications and to get something installed on the server is a hard sell. I'm up for that, but I would definitely need to know what I want, why I want it and exactly how I will use it.
One reason I would like to implement an online student community is to give every student a voice. There are strategies for encouraging participation in class (like randomly drawing names out of a cup) but this is only semi-effective. I know that I have many students with rich ideas and deep insight who, for whatever reason, choose not to speak up. I think a virtual discussion would elicit thoughts from some of those students.
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