Online+Learning+Presentations


 * Please click on a name to jump to their contribution. Names have been arranged alphabetically:** **Bryan | David | Deanna| Jennifer | Katie | Sara | Susan**

 The presentation of the enrichment program went extremely well. I was able to present the PowerPoint at a third grade meeting in which the Principal was present. It was very interesting hearing the feedback from my colleagues and hearing how positive they felt about my idea. Springville Elementary School has always been very on top of getting the lower students to improve and reach on-level. What they are not too aware of though are the higher level students who may get bored and complacent. This is where my idea of using a learning management system such as Moodle comes in. My colleagues and administrator were so on board with my idea that we have some Professional Development dates in the works to train different teaches on using Moodle.My idea is to have at least one teacher from every grade level develop a Moodle curriculum that covers topics above level for the grade level. It will include activities and games that will challenge the students and give them different ways to express themselves creatively. If my colleagues and I follow through on this idea, I know it will do great things in our school and truly challenge the upper level students to go above and beyond. The best way to challenge students is to use as much technology as possible. “Computers offer a way to customize instruction and allow students to learn in the way they are best wired to process information.” (Christianson & Horn, 2008, p. 13)

I look forward to hearing from all of you, David Broom [|Prezi] This week I presented to one teacher who is confident and competent in the use of the school's learning management system: Moodle, to one teacher who is open to the idea but is not confident and does not yet use it, and to our new lower school principal (LSP). The presentation went well, although I do hate hearing myself talk so much. There was a lot of information to share in a small space of time. However, it was the debriefing, collaborative session afterwards that I found to be most rewarding.

Here are some of the main points we raised:
 * Setting up the LMS in the first instance can be time consuming and daunting
 * All the features can be overwhelming. More professional development (PD) on how and why to use online learning is needed.
 * Teachers who are using it have reported increased learning, especially for English Language Learners, students with poor management skills and supported learners who require more thinking time than is generally viable in the classroom.
 * LSP expressed concern on how to provide enough, sustainable PD in an already busy PD schedule
 * LSP suggested creating some basic expectations that would be manageable for all and possibly create a Taskforce to monitor progress
 * LSP said that there has to be some return on the investment

I look forward to reading your responses in the Discussion Forum above. Susan

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Deanna's Prezi

My presentation this week turned out to be very exciting. Initially it was difficult to round up a few teachers and an administrator, but I think they were pleased with what they saw. Of the four people I presented to, one was not entirely convinced an online learning management system was the right way to go. She was concerned that moving to an online teaching platform negated the fact that we are a public school. This started a discussion about the value of providing students an alternate form of education within our school. Because we use a pyramid response to intervention, we are already offering alternate forms of education delivery to our at-risk students. We discussed the merit of offering an online system in attempts to decrease the number of students dropping out or failing due to attendance.

By the end of our discussion, two of the four had created Edmodo accounts and the other two indicated they are likely to use it, but they just do not have the time to learn how. Rather than push the matter, I let them know that I am happy to help them set it up when they decide the time is right.

I was quite excited when another colleague approached me yesterday looking for an online solution for his classroom. He was not part of the group I presented to, so his request was like a brightly wrapped package on Christmas morning. I dropped what I was doing and logged in to a nearby computer to show him my Edmodo account. He was immediately sold and asked if I would help him get set up once we are through with parent-teacher interviews. With three teachers now on board, it is only a matter of time before we can see a growing online learning management system for our students.

When I first read the materials for this project, I never dreamed I would be instituting such a system so quickly. My colleagues are more ready for this than I was aware!

I was able to share my online learning presenation with two teachers and my building prinicipal. The results were better than what I had anticipated. I expected to receive a neutral to negative response, but came away with some very positive feedback. I even found out that we are already using Moodle to offer a summer phys ed program at my school. All three of my colleagues acknowleged that they could see the benefit of using a CMS in some fashion at my school. The biggest question that came up as a result of the presentation and discussion was what purpose the CMS would serve at Elida High School. Should it be used to offer courses that we currently offer, but in an online fashion? Should it be used to offer unique courses? Should it be an extension of our current system or should it be treated as a completely alternative educational opportunity? These are all very good questions and ones that will have to be answered before proceeding with a CMS at Elida.
 * BRYAN **

Katie For this presentation, I discussed the capabilities of Moodle and how we can utilize Moodle in the classroom. I found this interesting and relevant to my district. GFPS has adopted Moodle as an online learning tool. However, in addition to its positive attributes, Moodle has caused some challenges as well. For example, we ran into some issue with cyberbullying through the chat/blog functions. This presented an interesting discussion for my group and I to discuss. One area that I found was a relief to my group was the fact that Moodle affords teachers the opprotunity to take previous work (like a PowerPoint presentation) and add it to the Moodle page. This could help students review that days lesson if they were struggling or absent. I think that this aspect could be really beneficial to the students. I discussed with my colleagues how implementing Moodle can start of simply and minimially then eventually work into a full-scale experience. With my group, I think it is important to feed Moodle to them bit by bit. Slow and steady is far better than quick and burnt out.