Graphic Organizer

CCC GraphicOrganizer

For content, I chose Environment, Choice, and Assessment.  The learning environment is critical in student engagement.  It also has to be aesthetically appealing in order for students to feel comfortable.  Student choice makes the content relative for students to connect to the information.  When students have choice of how to show their learning it makes the content come alove for them personally.  Some students have test anxiety.  Some students have language differences or learning disabilities.  Also, some students need to be challenged in order to try their very best.  Therefore, assessments have to look different for different students.  As the teacher, we need to know that every student GOT the standard and c an apply it inthe way they know how, NOT the one way cookie cutter type of traditional assessments.

For communication, I chose Email, FaceTime, and Text.  Although, these are not the easiest modes of communication nor are they examples of newer technological advancements, they are more apt for my group of students (4th grade) to have access to and feel comfortable using.  Email is a great mode of communication as it makes communication real at any time of day.  You can send pictures, videos, or text to communcate a thought.  FaceTime is a way for students to interact with one another via phone or iTouch.  They can interact with one another while viewing their faces, body language, hand gestures or items that another student may be using to discuss whatever the conversation is about.  Text is another communication tool that allows students to interact with short phrases and convey meaning with instant messaging. 

For collaboration, I chose Wikispaces, Blogs, and Group Assignments.  Wikispaces allow for a group of learners to add information that they know to be true. Students can log on and add information from wherever they are and collectively create a group of posts to inform others about a common topic.  Blogs are very similar.  Students can log on, view other posts and share their idea about the topic as well.  Although, I do see how this could be a form of communication, especially for personal blogs, I believe educational blogs provide a safe forum for students to use other students post as a means of confirming their own understanding thus making it a collaborative concept.  Group assignments obviously lend themselves to collaboration.  A small group of students can come together with their own strengths and collectively show their learning in a powerful way making it possible for each other to gain more understanding from each other. 

Revised Storyboard

Learner Engagement within Distance Education STORYBOARD

1 Title Screen Shot	2 Picture of an example of a traditional way of assessing student engagement within F2F format. (hands on application)	3 Picture of another example of a traditional way of assessing student engagement within F2F format. (students showing you)
4 Picture of an example of a traditional way of assessing student engagement within F2F format. (feeling the experience)	5 Picture of an example of a traditional way of assessing student engagement within F2F format. (doing the processes)	6 Picture of an example of a traditional way of assessing student engagement within F2F format. (using technology)
7 Picture of an example of a traditional way of assessing student engagement within F2F format. (experiencing different realia)	8 Picture of an example of a traditional way of assessing student engagement within F2F format. (teacher observations)	9 How different would learner engagement look within the distance education format? (title slide)
10 Key aspects of learner engagement within distance education. Video clip showing different methods of capturing online learner engagement.	11 Voice Narration slide	12 Best practices and authentic application of learner engagement. Video clip of students using technology actively engaged.
13 Conclusion to leave the audience wanting to hear more from the keynote speaker.

Module 3 Responses

http://sandralogan.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/module-3/#comment-14

http://ssmoore.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/34/#comment-12

Module 3 Assessing Collaborative Efforts

Participation in a collaborative learning community should be assessed by actual “time on task” as stated by Dr. Siemens (Laureate Education, 2008).  This can be monitored by various online technologies that displays time on sites and actual movement between other classmates sites.  Dr. Siemens (Laureate Education, 2008) discusses the need for rubrics to be “fair and direct, have stated outcomes, and be equitable for all.”  I also agree with his acknowledgement of tracking student growth.  Personally, I am driven by feedback.  I, too, view a student assessment as an instructor assessment as well.   I do NOT wear my heart on my sleeve.  I welcome any constructive feedback that I could apply and change to make me a better person or make me interact with others more affectively.  If my students, as a whole, do not do well on a test then I would be doing them an injustice if I were not to take the blame for that. 

Dr. Siemens (Laureate Education, 2008) brought up a subject that continues to be debated about how “not every assessment has to result in a mark.”  This very topic makes my job very difficult as an elementary school teacher.  I spend all day conferencing with students, re-teaching skills, addressing weaknesses, and checking for understanding again and again.  I know where my students are and where they need to go.  However, parents feel the need to know a score of where they’re child is today in terms of an average grade.  The pressure to be able to give a mean score ends up sending me in a panic “Do I have enough grades by the end of the term?”  Really mean scores mean absolutely nothing in terms of showing what weaknesses (specific standards) within subjects a particular child has. 

If a student does not want to network or collaborate in an online learning course, the instructor must share how the course will be a “balanced diet,” as Dr. Siemens (Laureate Education, 2008) referred to as the mix between independent and community interactions.  The instructor must also present the pedagogy for the expectation to work amongst a community of learners and its implications for the real world.  The student must be able to slowly work their way into the network.  I see them working independently for a couple weeks, then posting their work on a board for others to view and perhaps comment on, then a small group setting first to eventually become part of a bigger community. 

Another Blog poster about Assessing Collaborative Efforts

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer) (2008). Principles of distance education. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Learner Engagement Storyboard

Still in progress...