Communicate 4.3.1 The Synchronous Session

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I've mentioned in previous posts my experience as a student in an online gifted endorsement.  While I thrived in the asynchronous discussion forums and enjoyed the autonomy of the course work, I especially came to appreciate and look forward to the weekly small group synchronous session.   I learned from my experience that although a virtual course is a distinctly individual environment, interaction through synchronous sessions is necessary to maintain a "true classroom culture."

Simply put, the synchronous session is the human element of a virtual classroom.  Any teacher's goal is to create a community of learners and the synchronous session is the medium in which a virtual teacher builds such a community.  Whether a meeting with students to discuss a topic or open office hours where students and parents can ask questions and receive real-time answers, the synchronous session is a most valuable component of an online classroom.

Navigate 4.1.1 Trend Impact: Mobile Learning

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If you would have told me years ago that my Nokia 6110 cell phone was the future of education, I might have laughed you out of the room.  Yet, in my 21st Century classroom mobile learning has quickly become more than a trend... it is the norm.  Whether taking notes during class, accessing documents from my course website, using a study app, or playing the latest trivial pursuit-like game, my students devices have become a natural extension of their learning.

As a teacher I have also embraced mLearning.  I use my iPad daily and have it equipped with amazing apps that I honestly don't know that I could live (or teach) without... Zipgrade & Remind to name a few!  I also use my personal phone to access Gmail, Google Drive, and Twitter (@CricketButler) within the context of my professional role as an educator and have even completed the bulk of my TOOL experience on my iPad.

Needless to say, I believe that mLearning is the present trend in education that will continue to evolve and shape the face of eduction and elearning for many years to come.

Navigate 3.2.1 Tools for Deciding on an LMS

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Working through the TOOL Navigate module, I have learned and shared much about Learning Management Systems.   The question left is not whether to use an LMS... the question is which LMS is the right fit for your needs?

Yet, after additional research of the LMS market I am not necessarily closer to an answer.  The optimal LMS for any organization is subjective and based on the specific needs of the institution, teachers, and students.  It is also based on any number of additional factors including: price, available tools, tech support, etc.

Personally, I have experience working with a few Learning Management Systems in various capacities.  First, Moodle and then Edmodo for my own classroom, both in limited scope as our school system switched to and mandated the use of MyBigCampus.  Also, I became very familiar with Desire2Learn as part of my online gifted endorsement through the University of North Georgia and schoology as part of my TOOL experience.  In all, I have the most experience with Moodle and if I had to personally choose an LMS for my own brick-and-mortar classroom, I would navigate there once again.  I especially like the tools, features, and course customization it offers.

Still, the task of choosing the right LMS for any institution is a big undertaking.  So to assist in the decision, I curated a Top 5 List for Learning Management Systems that are popular in the K12 market and that I am personally familiar with.  Some are open source, others are commercial... but all are good choices for teachers and schools.

1. Moodle
2. Edmodo 
3. Schoology  
4. Blackboard 
5. Brightspace, formerly Desire2Learn

 *The LMS listed above are not in any particular order.  Happy LMS Hunting!

Navigate 3.1.4 LMS Reporting

The analytics tool built into schoology earned honorable mention in my last post on the tools within an LMS.   But analytics is becoming a more popular and necessary tool for driving instruction and improving learning experiences at all levels- student, teacher, course, and program.  This is not just the case for the e-learning environment; brick-and-mortar schools are also using analytics to evaluate the effectiveness of a teacher's performance and a student's learning outcome.  For this reason, analytics and grade reporting is worth a closer look.

Within schoology, my LMS of choice for this GAVS TOOL experience, both analytics and gradebook are built-in features.  The grade reporting feature has many options for customization, including the creation of categories, built-in rubrics, and gradebook exporting.  The gradebook in schoology also allows for the organization into grading periods, categories, and due dates of assignments.  Teachers can also click on the members tab on the sidebar to organize members into grading groups.  Beyond this, it was difficult to discern the various levels the gradebook could be broken down to because I do not have any students enrolled in the course.

The actual analytics feature has many more bells & whistles regarding levels and student performance.  The course, user, discussions, and links levels are the basic "click" analytics.  In other words, showing how many visits to the course page and duration of time spent by students, etc.  The element within analytics that is impressive is the assignments level.  I especially like category breakdown and how students performed on the different assignments.  To me, this is the most valuable and useful level because it provides insight to student mastery of content and standards and also highlights concepts that need remediation.

 

With only two posts remaining in my Navigation category for the GAVS TOOL experience, I have come to appreciate the role and functionality of the LMS in a virtual classroom.  Check back tomorrow for my final two posts on Learning Management Systems: Tools for Deciding on an LMS & Trend Impact!

Navigate 3.1.3 Tools within the LMS

In my last post on the creation and investigation of a LMS, I discussed my experience creating a virtual course shell on schoology.  For the next few posts I am excited to continue to explore the tools and reporting functionality of schoology and share what I discover with you. 

[Click here to try out schoology for yourself!]

Virtual teachers need a good toolbox of handy features to effectively manage their online classroom.  Some teachers gather these resources from various sites- Google Drive, Remind, Open Source Software.  While this is not necessarily a taboo practice, a well-developed LMS will offer tools that encourage efficient course management, all in one place.

Schoology is one of these sites.  I mentioned in my previous post how streamlined and easy schoology is to navigate, add to this the impressive toolbox and one can easily see why a LMS is a great option for virtual teachers.

I wish I could take you on the grand tour, showing you each tool that schoology offers... but that would be a near impossible task!  From the tools built into the LMS itself to the "apps" that are compatible with schoology (ie: Remind, turnitin, etc), the tools available seem to be endless.  So the best I can do today is to break down the most valuable, least valuable, and honorable mention tools.

Most Valuable Tool: Calendar

I chose the calendar as the most valuable tool in schoology because it is the one-stop for all groups and courses you are involved/enrolled in.  With a healthy blend of synchronous and asynchronous experiences in a virtual classroom, meeting dates and submission/due dates must be effectively communicated.  In short, a calendar tool is a must have... it is the phillips head screwdriver, the tool you cannot live without.

Least Valuable Tool: Badges
While badges are a cool concept, they are not an essential feature for effectively running an online classroom.  The sample badges provided by schoology are geared more toward K-8 grades and I don't think my high school students would really respond to them as motivators.  Because of this I ranked the badges as the least valuable tool.  On a positive note, you can build and customize badges for your own classroom.

Tools Worthy of Honorable Mention:

• App Center: Add popular apps & widgets to your LMS dashboard and course
• Instant Message: Communicate with ease with anyone in your groups; easier than an email.
• Add Test/Quiz Resource: Provide built-in assessments for students
• Gradebook: Synched with test/quiz and assignment tools
• Add  File/Link/External Tool: Add modules, lessons, articles, and other awesome resources from around the web
• Analytics: For the tech-geeks like me who analyze the page hits on the daily (even broken down as far as student use... hello, awesome!)

Navigate 3.1.2 Creation and Investigation into Courses

Going into this quest I was super excited to try my hand at creating a course shell in a LMS.  I chose  schoology because I've heard so much great buzz about it recently and quickly got to work.  As with the Recorded Session Quest, the hardest and most time consuming component of creating a course shell within schoology was setting up and authorizing my account.

Once logged in, I was impressed at the ease of putting the course together!  Last summer I built a course website from scratch using Google Sites and now feel like I spent a lot of wasted time when there is a resource like schoology on the Web 2.0.  It is streamlined, super easy, and has some really awesome tools!

Upon setting up my course shell, I added a discussion forum as a place for students to ask questions about the course and assignments.  I also tried my hand at posting an upcoming event, an assignment, a folder for additional resources, and an update.  Without any real students, I did not get a chance to test run the gradebook or attendance tools, but a quick glance proved that they are just as streamlined and easy to use as the others.

The last step in creating my course shell in schoology was to upload/import the Introduction to Digital Citizenship content from GAVS.  Just like I would from a Learning Object Repository (LOR), the process of importing content might have been the easiest step of all.  As part of the Add Materials feature is the option to Add File/Link/External Tool.  With one click and the copy/paste of an url, the fully functioning content was immediately available to my students.

Navigate 3.1.1 LMS Tool Categories

As I learn more about the purpose and functionality of a LMS I am also gaining insight into how virtual teachers can effectively and efficiently manage an online classroom.  The features of a LMS are varied and each serve a distinct role in helping a teacher do just that- content, communication, and classroom management.

 

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While there is value to each of the LMS's tools, there are also a set of features that prove to be especially relevant to online instruction.  In no particular order, the following three features are what I believe to be most important in the e-learning environment:

No. 1: Teacher Information
Within the teacher information feature are two tools that are very important for running an efficient online classroom: course calendar and class bulletin board.  Maybe it is my type A personality, always functioning better with a schedule, to-do list, and deadline, but I believe that without this updated information in the hands of your students, your virtual classroom will simply not function for the benefit of you or them. 

Unlike a traditional brick-and-mortar classroom where the teacher has a daily presence to remind students of upcoming dates and pertinent housekeeping items, the teacher information feature within a LMS serves this purpose in a virtual classroom.

No. 2: Communication
Communication is the key... Such a simple statement and yet so true to all things personal and professional.  It is no surprise that my second essential feature within a LMS are the communication tools: email, instant message, and discussion boards.  As mentioned above, a virtual teacher is not in front of her students for the open communication and the natural questions and concerns that a traditional teacher experiences daily.  Communication tools within a LMS serves the instructor by making themselves available to students and parents.

No. 3: ePortfolio
The first two tools mentioned above are essential features for the instructor's effective management of an online learning environment.  Yet, I believe that students would most benefit from the e-portfolio feature.  One of our largest tasks as teachers is preparing students for the world of post-secondary education and work.  With more emphasis being placed on technology to brand and market yourself to prospective colleges and companies (hello, LinkedIn), students must have early exposure to building an impressive image of themselves.  What was once the skill of writing resumes is now the skill of building e-portfolios.

Of course within the online environment, e-portfolios could be utilized as capstone projects, much like my blog for the TOOL.  The biggest purpose is for students to gain experience creating and reflecting on artifacts, as well as organizing those artifacts in a professional manner.

P.S.- Can I tell you how difficult it was to narrow my choices of LMS features down to three?!?!  I am looking forward to exploring what content creation and analytics looks like in the virtual classroom, as well as going into more detail on the role communication in later posts... so be sure to stick around!

Navigate 2.1.4 Lecture Capture Quest

I've had some experience flipping my AP US History class in an attempt to create a more blended environment for my students.  The idea is that by flipping lectures, we can spend time in class for document analysis, discussions, and writing practice.  A number of the flipped videos I use are credible open sources (Khan Academy and Crash Course) and other APUSH teachers like Adam Norris.

I also use the flipped method for creating asynchronous resources my students can utilize at home.  These resources are meant to serve as an extension of class time and are usually built around topics, skills, or housekeeping items that need more time than provided in our brick-and-mortar setting.  Below is an example of a resource I created using screencast-o-matic.com to explain the set up process for a project.  Although it is a crude example of a lecture capture product, it served a valuable purpose for my students and I was quite proud of how it turned out.

Within the online classroom, a Lecture Capture resource would most effectively function with the purpose of maintaining the lecture aspect of a traditional classroom.  Although many progressive educators claim there is no place for lecture in our 21st century schools, I beg to differ.  A good lecture, supplemented by excellent graphics and design, has the promise of making a big difference in the experience of your students.  As long as the Lecture Capture resource is within the 7 minute time frame, students are more likely to be engaged with the content and to deepen their understanding.

When used effectively, Lecture Capture should not necessarily modify teaching methods but rather enhance them.  First, giving the instructor the opportunity to expand beyond the module format of an online curriculum in order to infuse individualism and personality into the course.  Second, giving students another medium for understanding the content and meeting their diverse learning styles.

In all, Lecture Capture is a powerful tool for transmitting information in any instructional setting and I am inspired to continue to integrate it into my teaching practice.

Navigate 2.1.3 Commercial versus Open Virtual Classrooms

Most individuals would naturally gravitate toward open source software due to their little to no associated costs.  But when compared to their commercial counterparts, open source tools often fall short, especially for larger virtual schools or businesses.

So this begs to question, what are the strengths and weaknesses of open source versus commercial software?  When would an open source application take precedence over a commercial product?

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For synchronous learning in particular, there is a time and a place for both open and commercial tools.  For example, if the synchronous meeting is a mandatory element of the online course in which a large group of students meet with the instructor each week, then a commercial tool is a must. 

In this scenario, commercial software will provide a more mature and extensive platform with better functionality.  Designed by professionals and usually supported by an IT department, commercial software offers many advantages for organizations.  On the flip side, commercial software does not allow for customization and will require a large amount of drive space.

In comparison, an open source tool would be more appropriate for a small group of students who wish to meet and collaborate on a project.  In this case, the biggest advantage for open source is obviously their low cost and accessibility.  However, open source product updates are not always guaranteed and with limited tech support, their functionality can be spotty at best.

In all, commercial and open source software both have their place within the virtual classroom and both present their own set of pros and cons.  Similar to synchronous and asynchronous experiences, open source and commercial software should be blended in order to meet the demands of the course.

Navigate 2.1.2 Recorded Session

I've talked a lot recently on the differences between synchronous and asynchronous e-learning.  In the virtual classroom it is essential to blend the two in order to meet the needs of your diverse learners.  Synchronous meetings serve many purposes in the virtual classroom: instructor office hours, extra help on a difficult topic, a discussion on an interesting article, or an opportunity to introduce and model a skill. Yet, just as important as the synchronous session is, it may also be necessary to record the session for asynchronous purposes later.

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I have had experience recording sessions in Blackboard Collaborate as part of my online gifted endorsement and it was a really easy process.  Once in the platform, you simply hit record and you are ready to go.  When finished with the session, you end the recording and it archives immediately.  Overall, it was a very easy process, at least on the student's side.

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Because I already have experience with Blackboard Collaborate and Adobe Connect is the platform that GAVS uses, I am intrigued to test it out.  I am also excited to try my hand at recording a session from the instructors perspective.

So after setting up the initial free trial account (which took longer than setting up an actual recording), Adobe Connect is up and running.  What surprises me the most is the ease in which to record.  Just a few information boxes and selections and I am ready to roll.  I can see why Adobe Connect, being so user friendly, is the communication tool of choice for GAVS.

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Although synchronous sessions have their obvious place in the virtual classroom, my mind is already racing with all the possibilities for using Adobe Connect, or another online meeting tool, in my brick-and-mortar classroom.  From parent-teacher conferences or special exam review sessions...the opportunities are great and seem endless. Overall, I am very pleased with this experience.

Navigate 2.1.1 Delivery Methods & the Synchronous Vendor Market

Earlier this month I completed my online gifted endorsement through the University of North Georgia.  It was a great experience in the e-learning environment and has been one of the major reasons for my interest in pursuing a classroom in the cloud.  As part of my experience, UNG's gifted endorsement blended both asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities.

For the synchronous side of the program, UNG uses Blackboard Collaborate.  While I was initially nervous of all it's bells and whistles as a commercial collaboration tool, I quickly found my rhythm within its platform.  By the end of the program, I came to appreciate and enjoy the synchronous sessions with my endorsement colleagues.

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The importance of synchronous meetings in the new 21st century world of education and work is obvious.  What is less obvious is the vendor a company or online school should use.  The sheer number of synchronous vendors, with their varying scope and tools can be as daunting as the cereal isle in the grocery store.  So how does one choose the best communication tool?

While I wish I could answer that question for you, the best I can do is offer a few guidelines that I believe one should use in making a decision.  Here are a few points of consideration beyond the basic collaboration tools that you will want to weigh out:

• Price:  How much does it cost?  Is it free or does it offer only limited features at no cost?
• Mobile:  Is there an app for that?  Does the app support both iOS and Android devices?
• Meeting Capacity:  How many people will you have meeting at one time?
• Tech Support:  Is tech support free?  Is tech support 24/7?

Still need more direction?  Check out the synchronous platforms below:

• Adobe Connect
• Blackboard Connect
• Google Hangouts+
• Skype
• BigBlueButton

Navigate 1.3.1 Discussing the LMS & CMS

LMS, LCMS, CMS... acronyms, oh my!  In the world of education, teachers must know the lingo.  In the world of virtual education, teachers must know the types of management systems essential to e-learning.  

This post will compare the functionality of two important types of systems: Learning Management System (LMS) and Course Management System (CMS).  Although virtual education today is experiencing a blurring of lines between the two, there are stark differences worth noting.

First, the LMS is at the core of an effective virtual learning experience.  It is the infrastructure that brings the tools, content, process, and data together for the learner's accessibility.  It's functionality is immense in the virtual learning environment as it serves both teachers and students in the day-to-day management of course content.

Second, the CMS is unlike the LMS in functionality because it serves a completely different purpose.  While the LMS is the platform for content delivery, the Course Management System functions as the creation feature.  The purpose is to create and design the assessment and communication tools, along with other necessary elements to help a virtual course run efficiently.

A final and major distinction between the two is the opportunity for virtual teachers and organizations to customize the platform.  A CMS is designed to be less dynamic and more static, serving the needs of those looking for a file repository.  The larger, more complex LMS has greater opportunities to create a collaborative experience while still having adaptability to function as a simple CMS.

PS- Don't forget to check out my earlier post on the purpose of and roles within a Learning Management System!

Navigate 1.2.1 Describe Roles & Functions in Online Learning Environments

In my last post I compared two models for e-learning: asynchronous versus synchronous.  Today I will dive deeper into the purpose of and roles within the LMS (Learning Management System).

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Simply put, the LMS is the platform used to deliver content and the host to all modules, assignments, and assessments in an e-learning setting.  While a teacher's role in the LMS is content creation and organization, a student's role is content interaction and completion.  Once students submit work within the LMS, teachers are then tasked with assessing work in a timely manner.

In addition to student and teacher roles in a LMS, administrators and content developers are key players.  Whether on the management or instructional side, administrators see to the overall functioning of an institute's LMS.  In all, an effective and efficient LMS requires all of it's members to carry out their respective roles.

To further assist teachers in their facilitation and management of a virtual classroom, they should have access to a SIS (Student Information System).  Compared to the content management of the LMS, a student information system functions to maintain student records, grades, attendance, and all data related information.

The necessity of understanding the purpose of both LMS and SIS is obvious for the virtual teacher and I feel confident that I am one step closer to my classroom in the cloud.

Navigate 1.1.1 Delineating Between Synchronous & Asynchronous Content

As a teacher in a brick-and-mortar classroom I understand the importance of providing a variety of instructional methods to meet the needs of my learners.  Yet, as I continue my quest to become a virtual teacher, my traditional notions of instructional methods are being flipped upside down.  In gaining new insights on e-learning, I am aware of new models that are better suited for the virtual classroom.  In particular, synchronous and asynchronous methods.

Putting the two in a nutshell, asynchronous learning is more student-centered and independent while synchronous is group-centered and collaborative.  I liken them to being introverted vs. extroverted in nature.  To further illustrate the major differences between the two, the infographic below is a great visual comparison.  Thank you mindflash.com for sharing this with the World Wide Web!