What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? Has your thinking changed as a result of what you learned this week?

The argumentative response assignment was most difficult for me this week because everyone offered such agreeable and well-thought out posts. As I read and reread each post, thinking about and looking for potential arguments, I came to think about the difficulty in measuring the quality of an online teacher. With such an inadequate level of studies available on online learning in its elementary stages, it is quite difficult to assess online teachers beyond standardized test scores. When it comes to content retention rates or application of newly learned concepts beyond a course, we still lack enough data to conclude what really constitutes a good online teacher. For this reason, I see it as all the more crucial that we continue to (though oftentimes inadequately) compare f2f and online courses to determine which, in general, yields more superior students and citizens, and in which disciplines. 

My thinking has not changed, but I continue to learn and adopt new ideas throughout each progressive week.

What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? Has your thinking changed as a result of what you learned this week?

This week's readings has allowed me to realize that there is still so much to research and figure out in the virtual education world. Comparing virtual learning to f2f learning is only the beginning. I'm sure that there are many other areas of virtual education yet to be studied and reflected upon, possibly even at a level unrelated to any type of study we've already done in f2f learning. It looks like virtual learning will introduce this and the next generation a revolutionized way of learning, and along with it may come a whole new set of problems to deal with. 

I wouldn't say my thinking has changed per se, but it did shine light on further difficulties of research in virtual learning.

Now that you have seen what other people did in creating their units, is there anything that you might do differently if you were to redesign your own unit?

I may have used the moodle platform and thought of ways to use its tools more. It's definitely a different platform to use than the one we had thought of (which would most likely require the building of a new learning site). This course (MSTU4050) has been a really engaging and thought provoking class so far, so I'd be interested to brainstorm some of the ways a math course could benefit from this platform. I would like to see a sample math class on moodle, if one exists somewhere.

What are you most concerned about as you embark on creating a curriculum unit?

Gus and I will be creating a curriculum on quadratic functions. While I've taught this topic many times, I have never taught it online. I am most concerned about the efficient online delivery of content, especially because the discussion forum, a virtual classroom tool I'm most familiar with, may be difficult to use heavily in a math class. I also want to make sure that I use online resources to the best of its capabilities, rather than being tethered to the teaching methods effective in a physical classroom. This project should be very interesting and challenging. I hope that we are able to develop an excellent curriculum that can be used.

Did you change anything in the Google spreadsheet? If so, what? Has your view of the schools you chose to research changed from the first week you looked at them? If so, how?

I did not change any of the placements for either of the schools that I'd researched. While I definitely learned a lot more in depth about student-student interactions and online discussions, I still feel that the schools were generally placed appropriately based on the information that I was able to gather throughout the research.

TPI results

Overall, I agree with the results offered by the TPI. Here are my more detailed observations:

Dominant perspective: Transmission

I do agree that my dominant perspective is transmission. I believe that a teacher's mastery of the subject matter is crucial to effective teaching. Students learn in different ways and have varying strengths and weaknesses. When concepts or ideas are presented by a teacher in one way, some students will absorb the information in its delivered form, and others will ask for clarification by offering a seemingly identical idea in a different form or from a different perspective. Without mastery of the subject matter, the teacher will be ill-equipped to offer effective communication and learning.

Back-up perspective: Apprenticeship and Nurturing
Apprenticeship and nurturing perspectives are important, but I may not be practicing these perspectives as much as I could be. Students often ask, "When will I ever use this in real life?" Offering practical advice that students respect can act as a bridge of communication between teacher and student. Also, I find value in hard work, that in many cases, hard work can outperform brains. I do encourage students, whether at the top or bottom of the class, to simply do their best and I would reward those who show dedication.

Recessive perspective: Developmental and Social Reform
Although my TPI result concludes otherwise, I would like to think that I have at least a back-up developmental perspective. I do offer multiple ways to understand an idea and attempt to conduct my lessons from the learner's perspective. I placed right on the boundary line of recessive perspectives. I guess this may be a result of my more definite recessive social reform perspective. While I do think that social reform and challenging the status quo are important, I don't believe that it is appropriate for every student. Therefore, I would rather teach students to follow the status quo and be successful in it. I would like to individually challenge those students who may show the capacity to challenge common practices.

What did you learn about the design of online courses this week that will affect how you think about this form of instruction in the future?

When it comes to online courses, I was most afraid of courses that may simply put a textbook on your screen. That's exactly what I found on one of Aventa Learning's Geometry lessons. This could be a very detrimental learning experience to many students. If students could read (or be read to) from a math textbook and teach themselves the materials, they wouldn't need a teacher. Aventa Learning provided zero interaction (at least in the demo) and read the lessons to you from the screen, occasionally highlighting portions of a diagram, which can also be easily done in a textbook.

Other demos, such as from K12, Inc., offered a little more interaction (I understand that interaction in an online math course is, by nature of the subject, difficult). They used multiple modes of delivery of content and made it very possible for students to really learn at their own pace, referring to previous lessons if reinforcement is necessary and advancing to subsequent lessons when ready. I see such uses of technology to be only the beginning and really look forward to ways technology will not only supplement, but change the way we learn.