e-Learning Reflections on Learning -- #2

The course "Designing and Delivering E-Learning Environments" is coming to a close.  

You know what that means, reflection time!

Consider the following guiding questions: 

• Do you plan to implement the initiative you developed?  Please be honest.  If yes, what are some specific challenges that you foresee in implementing the initiative you developed?  How do you plan to overcome them?   If you do not plan on implementing your initiative, why not? 
• What other thoughts and ideas do you have for developing future e-learning initiatives in your teaching and learning or professional environment?

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My initiative is very ambitious.  It covers the professional development arc of an entire school year regarding technology integration into the learning environments of every staff member at my school.  While I like the plan, honestly, I am already thinking about revising it.  Here's the reason why... Google.

I attended a Google Summit last week and was immersed for 3 days in Google Apps For Education (GAFE).  This was a direction I was considering for our school and now I am confident that we should be moving forward with it.  This will free us from many of the hardware constraints we have now, put us in 'the cloud', enable strong collaboration opportunities, and put us on par with many schools in our area.  Therefore, my initiative framework is solid, but the content needs to shift to focus on a transition to GAFE.

The foundation is in place as I have applied for and received our school GAFE account.  As the administrator of the account, I have begun to build the framework for the system.  Additionally, I have invited some early adopters on staff to begin using the system.

Before the full initiative goes into place next year, I would like to develop some e-learning opportunities for staff that can be accomplished over the summer.  This way they would be ready to jump right into the more detailed GAFE training at the beginning of the school year.

I especially like the idea of school teams being able to connect and collaborate over the summer.  If the e-learning is more casual in nature, the summer 'work' could be less intensive in content and designed towards building strong collaboration skills to use in the GAFE environment.

As for future e-learning initiatives, I would still like to see components from my original initiative take place with some exploration of tech integration strategies for learning environments.  I would also like to see some of my older students modeling skill sets for younger students in a combined e-learning project (a topic such as cyberbullying, for example, could work).  Other ideas include an online book club, professional development for local educators (easier than traveling to a site), and an "Expert in Residence" series in which a different topic expert hosts a weekly session.

e-Learning Reflections on Learning -- #1

Share your thoughts and ideas about the e-learning initiative you are developing.  

• Have you selected a topic yet, and if so, what is it and why did you choose this particular initiative?  
• What knowledge or skills do you bring to designing the initiative?   
• If you haven't selected an initiative, what are you considering?

During one of our JHU team activities (go WolfPack!), we identified a need for professional development to continue beyond the initial excitement of a workshop.  Our team was disappointed that many times the energy from a professional development activity was not sustained beyond the face-to-face (f2f) workshop resulting in little progress or change occurring.  It was suggested that we capitalize on the collaboration and team-building components that an e-learning environment can provide to promote extending the topics beyond the initial workshop. 

Within my own environment, I would like to create an initiative that extends a topic beyond our annual school-year kick-off meeting in August.  During that f2f meeting time, I have the opportunity to present and suggest methods for integrating technology into the K-8 curriculum.  However, this presentation time is limited, provides no personal one-to-one personalization for teachers, and is mixed in with all the other "getting ready for school" topics. 

Tech integration can be very personal for teachers.  It is dependent upon content, pedagogy, personal style/comfort, required support, etc.  In order to differentiate as I present tech integration ideas to staff, I am considering an initiative that is loosely based on "Speed Geeking" (which you could compare to a Speed Dating model).

"Speed Geeking (also known as Speed Dating) is a large group method to quickly expose participants to a new information about any topic: programs, theory, technology, etc.. It can be adapted to other types of content as well, but the focus is on short exposure to something new as presented by someone with deep, practical experience in the topic area, tool or method."

I believe that I can create short lessons on a variety of tech integration ideas and resources (this is where I would be the resident expert with my knowledge base, resources, and experience).  With an available menu of lessons, teachers could choose what best fits their situation and explore the idea.  This also creates opportunities for me to circle back with teachers f2f as they express interest in particular ideas as they move through the short lessons.

For PD credit, teachers would be required to complete a minimum number of topics.  That assessment piece is still in the thinking stage, but I would like to utilize the collaboration and team-building components by activating an online journal for teachers to reflect together, share, and learn.