After School Program #6

This week was the last week for us at the after school program at Hyalite Elementary.  For the activity this week, we put up an educational gaming website called funbrain.com.  We told the kids to have fun and pick whichever game or games they wanted to play.  Some of the kids actually opted to type instead of playing games.  The ones who wanted to type, we set their computer up with word processors and had them either write a quick story, or write a note to their parents.

This activity, overall, went incredibly smooth, the kids had fun, and some of them even wanted to repeat some typing exercises.  There were no major hangups, and I was really impressed with the level of comprehension and decision making they were able to display.  Sometimes, with kids this young, they have a hard time choosing when given multiple options.  No so with this group.  Once they were settled in to a computer, everything just happened and the time flew by.

This whole experience over the last six weeks has been surprising and quite rewarding.  I found myself pleasantly surprised on multiple occasions whenever I caught myself underestimating these kids.  The impact we had may be insignificant in the long run, but I feel like something was accomplished.  I may look into helping out with the after school program in the future...

After School Program #5

This week, we had the kids use a website called "Wordle" that turned out to be a lot of fun.  They got to input words that define them.  We put up on the board some ideas for them to use, such as: favorite food, color, animal, subject, place they were born, places they've been, etc. This took a while, as the kids are not very proficient at typing.  This was ok though, because we gave them plenty of time to input as many as they could.  Once they were done inputting words, the site then takes the words and makes them into a customizable collage.  The kids really enjoyed this and they got to print out their wordles and take them home to show their parents.  Overall, this activity went over really well. The kids got something cool to show off and they also got a lot of practice with typing and spelling, without even realizing it.

Innovations Worksheet

If I were to choose one tool for use as a teacher, it would have to be the iPad. It offers the most options for the cost out of any of the other tools. It can be used as an iClicker, Flip camera, computer, a web 2.0 access tool, and with peripherals and apps, can connect to smart boards, projectors, etc. They can also be used to present rich interactive content to give an astronomical advantage to presentation. Also, with the development of apps and ever increasing computing power, the iPad really has no limitations except the imagination. At their low cost compared to computers and all other devices that it replaces, the iPad is cheap enough to potentially provide one to every student in a district. The cost benefit is what really sells this tool. Instead of buying iClickers, Flip Cameras, document cameras, etc. which can total in the thousands of dollars per student, a district can buy an iPad for $400-500 per student and get all of the functionality of all of these other devices and then some.

link to innovation worksheet notes:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SxtAlh6Zbpht7ikhbY8jN9mx8qYJJ_nR6tq8ubmwOjg/edit

Week #12 Case Study

Discussion Questions:

1. I think the responsibility for paying for a virtual high school should follow this pattern: If the student is of traditional high school age, it could be a part of the school district's responsibility, just like any other school in the district, ie paid for with tax dollars, much like a charter school or alternative school. It could also be funded outside the district via the voucher program already in place. If the student is a non-traditional and wishes to have more than a GED, then tuition could be assessed on an income adjusted basis or incentives given, such as scholarships or employer funding (tuition reimbursement through an employer) as options. As it is, virtual classrooms are in their infancy. In the future, it could be possible to replace brick and mortar high schools, in rural areas for example, to offer a rich high school and AP experience to those in outlying districts. This could also be a preferred method for districts to cut costs while maintaining, or even enriching, the quality of public education provided.

2. I think any responsible school district needs to integrate the idea of virtual learning into the fold, and offered as an integral part of the education experience. As we move forever forward into a technologically advanced future, where literally anything is becoming possible, school districts need to acknowledge the need for technology integration in classrooms and offer distance learning as an option, especially as a viable alternative to possibly losing a student from the district to homeschooling. It can also be an excellent alternative to alternative high schools.

3. If such programs are integrated into a state's education portfolio, parents should certainly be notified of the option and also be well informed of a 'hybrid' classroom of traditional face to face as well as distance learning. Parents are vital to the strength of such a program, and need to be kept up to speed in order for them to provide support to their child in such a program.

4. A degree in teaching online courses is not necessary, however, certification would be an absolute must. For such a program to be successful, it is absolutely vital that the instructor is well versed in the technology and programs to be used, in a very deep way. In the future, though, it could be a degree option, or at least have a teacher education program in universities which have a focus on distance learning and/or virtual classrooms.

After School Program #4

This week we had the kids construct a "how to" story for us. The kids picked their own topic, their favorite thing to do, and wrote a step by step story of how to do that activity. The kids were incredibly creative with this project. We had everything from "how to do gymnastics" to "how to draw a zombie." They also did surprisingly well with forming sentences with a little help from us on spelling. Their favorite part by far was being able to pick a picture to put with their story and they got to print it out and take it home. On another note, something hit me today in a powerful way; and that was the fact that we're really forming bonds with these kids and they really do look up to us. As soon as I came to that realization, everything fell into place. I'm not just doing this after school program, teaching these kids how to utilize technology- they are teaching me as well, in their own way.

After School Program #3

This week we had the kids construct a short powerpoint presentation. On each slide, (which we set up the first few for them) they answered a question, such as their name, favorite food, favorite color, etc. We did underestimate them a bit this week. Almost all of the kids needed additional slides to create to fill the time, so the average powerpoint presentation was 7-10 slides! Again, these kids are kindergarten to first grade in age. It is amazing how proficient they are at navigating a computer interface, even though they still lack in spelling, grammar and speed with their keyboarding skills. It would seem that computers are almost intuitive to them and they have an almost innate ability to recognize how to navigate within software, limited only by their reading skills.