Meeting Standards Using Online Resources

As part of my instructional technology responsibilities, I try to help teachers use whatever resources they have available in their lessons. Teachers have access to computers, the Internet, some interactive whiteboards and numerous applications so they can create new activities and assessments and/or use SMART or ActivInspire lessons that coorelate with the desired standard.

I have really enjoyed finding resources and helping the teachers learn where to look for different types of activities to compliment the standard they are teaching. The Learning Village resource has been our one-stop shopping experience for finding everything from a grade-level pacing guide, instructional tool such as Thinkfinity, links to subject-area wikis, technology integration activities, and much more. Learn 360 and netTrekker are two resources that correlate the videos, images, etc. to a specific standard. This makes it very easy to develop an activity or assessment. Some of my favorite reading/language arts activities come from ReadWriteThink and Wonderopolis.

Our elementary group has pulled together many of the Elementary Resources into Livebinders by grade level. They are on our DIT wiki and available to the teachers. We update the binders and wiki pages as we find resources for the core subject areas.

If you need an idea for an activity or are looking for a website to reinforce an objective you've taught, why not check out one of the above online resources. I highly recommend any (really all) of them to help make learning fun.

NCVPS OCS Blended Learning Courses

Here is a wonderful opportunity for your OCS students. NCVPS offers 5 courses: OCS English 1, OCS English 2, OCS Algebra 1, OCS Biology and OCS Applied Science. The NCVPS teacher works very closely with your face 2 face OCS teacher in these courses. The EC teacher drives the instruction, owns the grade and enters it into NC Wise. The NCVPS teacher supplies the course content which follows the essential standards. The course content was created by classroom teachers from across the state, course content experts, and OCS & EC teachers. The courses focus on engagement and interaction for the visual, auditory etc type of student. The NCVPS teacher differentiates and individualizes the curriculum based on the needs of the students. Each course is created just for the EC teacher and their students in that specific school. Before a school registers students, the school and the OCS teacher should be willing to teach the courses in the Blended Learning environment.

Counties from all over the state are involved in these courses. If you decide to enroll students in these courses, you would need to complete a short online survey in which they ask you the course you want, estimated number of students and the face 2 face teacher that will be involved.
All OCS f2f teachers will need to go through an approximate two hour online training prior to the Fall semester start on August 25, 2011. Teachers will be able to decide when they want to complete the training but all f2f teachers will need to complete this training prior to the start of Fall semester. The training will be available by May 15.
The NCVPS OCS Blending Learning courses require a true co-teaching experience where the f2f teacher is driving the instructional decisions while working daily with the NCVPS content teacher. The NCVPS teacher will help the classroom teacher individualize and differentiate the instruction for each student but the NCVPS teacher does not deliver the instruction real time to the students. The f2f teacher does this but they will have planned using the online content, the teachers own resources, and the NCVPS teacher to determine the best way to teach the content to the students.
This partner teaching is the most critical piece for schools to understand. The NCVPS teacher will not be providing daily direct instruction; this responsibility rests with the classroom OCS teacher. The online content provides archived teaching sessions that can be used, but the daily instructional decisions are driven by the classroom teacher who plans daily, through an asynchronous document, with her partner NCVPS teacher
Distance Learning Advisors may enroll students into the OCS Blended Learning courses starting on April 5th. The DLA's will see the five courses listed in the registrations system, beginning with the OCS prefix. DLA’s will then register students into the course. At this time, the school DLA will not see a specific section for his or her school. DLA's will only see OCSBlendedAlgebraI, OCSBlendedEnglishI, etc. Eventually, in the registration system, NCVPS will break out the school by course so that it will be the course will be identified with your school name in the title such as this: OCSBlendedDistrictSchoolOCSCourseName. DLA's will only see these sections once registration closes and closer to the start of the Fall semester. DLA's will be asked to provide the name of the OCS classroom teacher for each course before August 2011. DLA's will be contacted by email in order to provide this information. The five course sections (OCS English I, OCS English II, OCS Algebra I, OCS Biology, and OCS Applied Science) will remain open until all the available seats are taken.
If you have any questions about the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program, please contact Michelle Lourcey (michelle.lourcey@ncpublicschools.gov) Curriculum and Instruction Division Director.

Personalize Learning with Online Tools

There are lots of ways that teachers differentiate learning and personalize learning for their students? How do you personalize learning in your classroom? Do you use any online tools?
Let’s look at a several fun, online tools that can be used in your classroom.

1. Story Jumper - http://www.storyjumper.com/  Free
• Build books from scratch or choose from one of the free templates.
2. Story Bird - http://storybird.com/  Free
• Collaborative storytelling where students can read a book, play them like games, or send them like greeting cards.
3. Glogster - http://edu.glogster.com/  Free
• Teachers and students can create interactive posters to express their creativity or share knowledge and ideas.

To help you find other exciting ideas to personalize learning in your classroom take a look at “10 Technology Enhanced Alternatives to Book Reports”
http://theapple.monster.com/benefits/articles/8529-10-technology-enhanced-alternatives-to-book-reports

If you’ve never checked out Sue LeBeau’s site I recommend that you browse through her "Tools for Teachers" at:
http://www.suelebeau.com/freetools.htm

Next Generation Learning

Next Generation Learning is the concept of using technology to develop learning models and personalized education pathways. Currently in the United States nearly 30 percent of students don’t complete high school and only 42 percent of students graduate from college with a bachelor’s degree. How will we address the learning styles and needs of the next generation of students and prepare them with 21st century skills?


The publication Next Generation Learning was produced by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “The foundation has invested $5 billion in programs and partnerships in the United States to address” the challenges faced by our education system and lack of qualified workers that is impacting our economy. The foundation supports the Common Core State Standards Initiative that has produced a set of standards for states to follow for language arts and math skills that students need to learn to be successful in college. Based on these core standards the foundation is investing “in the development of instructional materials that align with those standards” and “assessment tools that provide real-time feedback to students and teachers.”


The goal of developing innovative learning models and personalized pathways is to provide “access to high-quality, relevant and engaging content in a variety of forms” to all students. The elements of the next generation learning model include:

• Effective assessment tools that align with college preparation standards and clear postsecondary learning objectives
• Engaging digital content
• Algorithms and match student needs with content and delivery methods
• Technology-enable professional development tools
• Learning management platforms that integrate and deliver these components

Technology-based solutions can be a cost-effective way to provide effective learning solutions for schools across the nation in this time of tight school budgets.

Next Generation Learning Challenges is a nonprofit partnership that aims to “improve college readiness and college completion through the use of technology and digital media.” The main objectives are:

• To encourage more investment in technology-enabled solutions that improve the quality of learning and student outcomes for low-income students
• To support a portfolio of solutions that demonstrate evidence of success
• To encourage large institutions to partner with innovators to support adoption of their solutions
• To establish a network of collective learning among innovators and adopters

The Next Generation Learning Challenges is led by EDUCAUSE in partnership with the League for Innovation in the Community College, iNACOL the International Association for K-12 Online Learning the Council for Chief State School Officers, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with other funders. It is the belief of these organizations that providing the intelligent use of technology in combination with new emerging evidence-based models of teaching and learning will improve college readiness and college graduation rates in the United States providing a workforce of qualified employees.

To read this publication please go to:
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/postsecondaryeducation/Documents/nextgenlearning.pdf

To learn more about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation please go to:
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/

Atomic Learning

Do you want to learn at your own pace, on your own time? Choose Atomic Learning. Do you want to learn how to mail merge in Word, learn intermediate skills in Excel, or refresh your skills with Twitter, Skype, PhotoStory? Choose Atomic Learning. You just had a face to face with ActiveInspire or SMART Notebook and you can't remember how to use the on-screen keyboard or adding a resource to the library; what do you do? Go to Atomic Learning and watch a short video on how to do all of the above and so much more.

WSFCS has a subscription to Atomic Learning. You can learn all of the above, plus more in Atomic Learning. Teachers can log into Atomic Learning with their WSFCS email address. Atomic Learning is a tool for educators to use to learn more about different types of technology and software. These video tutorials allow teachers to view just one part of a series, several different parts of the series, or the whole series. However they want to learn. Tech Facilitators and Principals can also assign professional development to the teachers at their school in Atomic Learning.

A Virtual Day Makes A Difference

A regular school day. A beautiful summer day. A virtual day. What!?

What do all three of these have in common? More than you think. As the District Distance Learning Coordinator - I see all three of these descriptions rolled into one.

We are off to a great start for the North Carolina Virtual Public School 2010 summer session. Many of the students in our district have chosen to enroll in virtual courses over their summer break. Believe it or not... for many, reasons - but surprisingly - the students are not complaining about using their summer to work. How could this be, you might ask? Simple enough - virtual learning is learning... but in a different environment. What does this mean? It means students are engaged, but quite differently.

I am a firm believer that learning styles play an important role in every student's ability and willingness to learn. Find the right learning style and student engagement is not far behind. NCVPS has done just that for many students across NC. A virtual learning environment offers some similarities to the traditional classroom.... standard course of study curriculum, DPI certified teachers and, of course EOC testing. But, what exactly are those differences that continue to draw the students (and parents) into this type of academic option? Simply put? Delivery. The course content is the same, the teachers are the same - but the method of delivery is totally different. Take the same course title, same course work and sprinkle in online features/functions with many 21st century tools - and “ta-daaa” you have peeked the curiosity of many students who felt simply "stuck" in the normal classroom.

Now, our teachers are doing a great job face-to-face, but as we have all come to realize, today’s students are interested and quite capable of taking our 21^st century tools to the max in education. NCVPS offers a different approach to learning – and different tools to assess and communicate what the students have actually learned!

Reasons to take a NCVPS, Learn & Earn or any type of virtual learning course? Schedule conflicts, no access to a specific course needed, credit recovery, or special circumstances that require the structure of a virtual course. Remember… Parent, Principal and Guidance Counselor permission required!

This summer, many students are living out the best of both worlds…. School work, while still enjoying the sun’s rays. Do you ever remember taking Algebra I sitting on the beach? I sure don't!

Next Gen Learning Challenges

iNACOL is partnering with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to boost college readiness and college graduation rates. The project will “provide grants to innovators, build evidence of what works, and foster an engaged community of professionals committed to helping students and young adults prepare for college and successfully complete their postsecondary educations.”

The project will launch with a six-week Request for Comments period where people can share their knowledge and comments on the issues of helping students prepare and complete college. The conversations will discuss these challenges:

• Visit the Next Gen Learning Challenges website at www.nextgenlearning.com to learn about college readiness and completion in the United States
• Contribute research, resources, and perspectives on the four challenges
• Contribute ideas for future challenges, the next of which will focus on secondary education
• Engage in discussion forums targeting key questions
• Explore the challenges with your colleagues through workshops

Partners in the Next Gen Learning Challenges are:

• Gates Foundation
• EDUCAUSE
• League for Innovation in the Community College
• International Association for K-12 Online Learning
• Council of Chief State School Officers
• William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Later this summer the Next Gen Learning Challenges will solicit grant proposals for:

• Deploying open core courseware
• Deepening learner engagement through interactive, online technologies
• Scaling blended learning
• Mobilizing learning analytics

iNACOL and the Next Gen Learning Challenges believes that “technology can be a key tool for making learning more flexible, engaging, and affordable.”


To learn more about the Next Gen Learning Challenges go to:
http://www.nextgenlearning.com/

E-Learning: Synchronous vs. Asynchronous

What are the advantages of anytime, anywhere learning over a fixed time for a class? I recently read an article from Education Week written by Ian Quillen that looks at the benefits of synchronous and asynchronous learning.

Here are the main points about Synchronous e-learning

1. Problem-Solving - depending on the subject, such as math and science, having immediate feedback could benefit the students. According to Christa Ehmann Powers, the vice president of education at Smarthinking, a Washington - based online-tutoring service, certain subjects are more relatable and appropriate for synchronous work.
2. Discussion Flow - the teacher may be needed as an active mediator and when students are hesitant to speak out in class the teacher can keep the discussion on track and moving. According to Myk Garn, the associate director of the educational technology cooperative of the Atlanta-based Southern Regional Education Board, a skillful instructor needs to insert themselves into the asynchronous discussion.
3. Younger Students - when students lack keyboard skills they could benefit from synchronous instruction in a webinar format according to John Watson, the primary author of Keeping Pace With K-12 Online Learning, a study from the Evergreen Education Group, a consulting group based in Evergreen, Colo.
4. Teacher Access - teachers can provide one-on-one access for students before, during and after school hours by video, online chat, texting or email.
5. Standardized Testing - many virtual courses require standardized testing and to maintain a test's integrity a synchronous online format is best.
6. Clubs and Socialization - many clubs and organizations that are offered at a school can be offered through real-time online meetings.
7. Synchronous Archives - a video lecture, live chat or webniar can be archived for all students to access.

Here are the main points about Asynchronous e-learning

1. More Time - students can access the course at anytime and spend as much time as needed to master the course material. Teachers and students engaged in discussion may continue the discussion after the class ends through an online forum. The class day is no longer depended on the school bell according to Liz Pape, the president and chief executive officer of the Virtual High School Global Consortium, based in Maynard, Mass.
2. Critical Thinking - since writing can be personal, the asynchronous setting may be best and the student must take more ownership in the work. The asynchronous setting also gives students more time to think critically before responding.
3. How Students Live - students have social lives through texting, Fackbook, online chats and e-mail chains which means students want to access information and answers anytime from anywhere. Teachers are able to give feedback and tutorial help through text messages, the phone or an audio online format.
4. Less is More - online instructors are usually proactive in communicating with the students to better understand their needs and are better able to keep students on task.
5. Global Standard Time - having students from other countries enrolled in a course brings a new prespective to discussions especially on world issues, geography and history. The problem is finding a common time for synchronous instruction.
6. Asynchronous Doesn't Mean Slow - the difference between synchronous and asynchronous communicatioin is less today because of the new communication platforms that students and teachers use and the availability of computers at school and in the home.

When you think about it an e-mail is asynchronous communication and instant messaging is synchronous communication. What truly makes the difference in synchronous and asynchronous learning is the attentiveness of the teacher and the students rather than the method of instruction , that dictates the time lapse, according to Mr. Watson.

To read the entire article from iNACOL please go to:
http://www.edweek.org/media/educationweek_e-learning_2010_specialreport.pdf

Xtimeline

This tool was shown at one of the session at the NCTIES conference. Xtimeline is a free web-based timeline for teachers and students. Take a look at this Xtimeline for Romeo and Juliet: http://www.xtimeline.com/timeline/Romeo-and-Juliet-timeline


Notice that students can choose to see the timeline as links to information or as more detailed information, as shown below, by changing the icon link in the upper right corner. Students use the scroll bar at the bottom to scroll through the timeline. The timelines can be printed by permission, but teachers and students can easily use Xtimeline from the web.

Xtimelines can be explored by categories, by keyword searches, or by lists.
To checkout Xtimelines go to: http://xtimelines.com/
Image from xtimelines.com

Video Games that Teach

Here again we talk about the big debate. Do video games have the ability to stretch beyond their entertainment value and crossover to become educational?

Let's take a look at a FREE game that teaches students grades 7th through 12th about the Immune System.

The game is called "Immune Attack," And what does this game offer students "...You must navigate a nanobot through a 3D environment of blood vessels and connective tissue in an attempt to save an ailing patient by retraining her non-functional immune cells. Along the way, you will learn about the biological processes that enable macrophages and neutrophils – white blood cells – to detect and fight infections."

After years of research and collaboration dating back to 2001, In 2008 Immune Attack was launched. As a Free download from the FAS website, ..."This version of Immune Attack is a proof of concept, a huge step toward demonstrating that a video game can be made about science. A video game storyline can be written about cells and proteins that is compelling enough to make students want to play the game. And importantly, video game action can be created that is true to science."

The game has quite a large file at just over a half of a gig. But let's face facts people this is a 3D video game, check out the video up top. You do not need to create a username or log into anything just go to the website and click the Download button and depending on your Internet connection you are ready to install in a few minutes.

The game is very detailed and offers lots of tutorials and information all along the way. I actually got into it and did not even realize that 20 minutes had gone by. You have a number of different sources of information to pull from as well as the fact that you are driving around the blood stream in your supped up Nanobot.

video provided by: FAS

meStudying: Algebra I

Just released January 7, 2010, meStudying is an app for your iPhone or iTouch. meStudying: Algebra I allows students to choose a topic and interact with questions on their iPhones or iTouch to help them learn Algebra I, by practicing and preparing for tests. meStudying is geared towards the Algebra I course taught by Florida Virtual Schools, one of the leaders in K-12 virtual education.

Some of the features:

• Covers the entire scope of Algebra I
• Includes over 300 Algebra I questions
• Immediate feedback
• Detailed explanations
• Review all questions or only the ones answered incorrectly
• Sort by algebraic topic or FLVS Algebra I course module
• Integrated reference guide
• Easy navigation
• Score tracking
• Orientation locking

The app, meStudying: Algebra I is $4.99 and was designed by gWhiz - affordable, mobile productivity and learning tools. Go to the iTunes store or to http://www.gwhizmobile.com to learn more about this app.

Image from iTunes Apps

Building an Online Writing Toolkit

Beth Goodwin, a special ed consultant and Cheryl Oakes did a presentation in January 2010, about how to blend the resources of Web 2.0 and the needs of their students. They took their idea from Karen Janowski and Joyce Valenza who create the UDL Tech Toolkit. The Universal Design for Learning states that to promote learning for all students teachers need to use these three methods:

1. Representation
2. Engagement
3. Expression

Beth and Cheryl took ideas from UDL and created Writingtools4all to look at how the read-write web resources could help students become more independent writers. Teachers can create specific toolkits for use with their students and students can create toolkits to meet specific needs they have in writing. Since the resources Beth and Cheryl use for the toolkit are free, students would be able to use the toolkit at home or school.


Students can certainly build their own toolkits allowing them to differentiate for their needs or collaborate with other students while working on projects. By having access to these free tools at home students will extend their learning beyond the regular school day.

Here is a list of free tools that teachers and students can use to create toolkits:

1. Photopeach- use images in a presentation, project or concept.
2. Wordle – can capture vocabulary in a book, for pre-teaching and comprehension.
3. What kind of learner are you? – students can find their learning style.
4. Find a book at your Lexile – students check their Lexile reading level choices.
5. Mad Libs – students can create their own Mad Libs.
6. Library of Congress – great source of information for students and teachers.
7. Ask.com – good place to begin a research project.
8. Citation Machine – students learn to cite their sources.
9. Graphic Organizers – place to find graphic organizers.
10. Visual Thesaurus – place to look up words and see the word in a visual thinking map.
11. Awesome adjectives and Sensory words – a guide to grammar, punctuation and style.
12. Spell Checker – allows students to check spelling, grammar and use a thesaurus.
13. Create your own checklist – create a personalized editing checklist.
14. Listen to your work – the site will read text to the student.

What resources can you add to help students build an Online Writing Toolkit?
Here are a few resources that students at WSFCS have access to:

1. NetTrekker – safe search engine that has read aloud and a section on writing.
2. Curriculum Pathways – the Writing Reviser will analyze a student’s writing and provides information on how to construct a paper.

To read the entire article:
http://www.techlearning.com/blogs/27632

Strong Communication is Key to Successful Online Learning

How can teachers in an online environment ensure successful communication? There are four skills that every online teacher must have.

1. An effective online teacher must be able to facilitate interaction and act as a motivator, guide, mentor and listener to the students.
2. An effective online teacher needs to be responsive to student and parent questions by maintaining open communication.
3. An effective online teacher must know web-based technologies that provide collaborative learning for the students.
4. An effective online teacher must be knowledgeable in synchronous and asynchronous instruction.

In addition to the above skills iNACOL also looked at what communication practices and policies help to make a successful online school. The report focused on three types of communication:

1. Communication between teachers and students.
2. Communication between teachers and parents.
3. Communication between students.

It is best for online teachers to have multiple ways to share information with parents and students since not all parents have access to technology. The iNACOL article found that:

1. Online teachers need to be multifaceted, facilitating instruction through synchronous and asynchronous technology. Teachers need to also provide tutoring to students, lead discussions, and evaluate student activities.
2. Online teachers need to utilize online communication, email and phone calls as needed.
   

To read the entire article from iNACOL please go to http://www.inacol.org/forum
Strong Communication is Key to Successful Online Learning
Posted October 6, 2009, by Allison Powell at iNACOL

WSFCS Online Learning

This month the WSFCS Instructional Technology Dept will offer self-paced online workshops for the teachers in our district. We've talked for some time about the ways we are going to transform the way we offer staff development using Moodle, and this month is a big step in that direction.

Teachers seeking tech credits will be able to login to the WSFCS staff development webpage and register for online courses. These courses will be listed as Other- Online for the location. Once the teacher has registered for the course, directions will be given about setting up a WSFCS Online Learning account and the course's enrollment key. Workshop participants can then complete the course anytime during the month the course is offered.

This month we have teachers enrolled in workshops on Photostory, Learning Village, Schoolcenter, Google Docs, Audacity, PowerPoint, Excel, Learn360 and Moviemaker. We'll continue to offer different technology workshops throughout the year online, hoping to meet the demand from our teachers.

The feedback we received from our pilot teachers was that they very much enjoyed being able to do the workshop on their own time. Teachers' days are very busy, and often the times we can offer face-to-face workshops are at times when teachers are preparing or recovering from a full day with students. Online learning is a vehicle for offering on-demand staff development at times the participant chooses.

If we can better provide WSFCS teachers with technology tools and knowledge, then they can better transform the way they offer instruction to their students. I think this is a very powerful idea whose time has come.

A Chance to Transform

President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are discussing the need to change the school calendar in an effort to increase the number of instructional hours for students in the U.S.

Earlier this year the president stated, "The challenges of the new century demand more time in the classroom." More time in the classroom or more time learning?

While I agree there is a need to examine ways to make certain our students will be competitive in a global economy, I wonder if sending students to school more or for longer hours is missing an opportunity to really transform the ways we offer education and learning.

This issue has many elements to it, not the least of which would be funding, but for argument's sake I'd like to focus just on the issue of time spent in the physical school vs. time spent learning.

What if we expected more learning outside of schools rather than more time in schools? What if instead of trying reform we made an effort to transform schools. Instead of more of what we are doing, what if we looked at something instead of?

Currently NCVPS offers students in North Carolina the chance to take courses and earn credit online. April Patterson is currently the contact for our district. What would happen if instead of requiring more time in the physical school building, we could provide opportunities to take more learning online and look for ways to provide Internet access to all homes in the U.S. It seems to me this might be a better way of preparing students for the future, while focusing on the digital divide in our country.

I know that there are probably many issues I haven't anticipated, but I wonder if this isn't an opportunity to transform the model of the classroom and take a look at how learning could and should take place in a digital age.

Online School for Girls Launches This Fall

This will be the first ever Online School in secondary education for girls. The online school was developed by a consortium of independent all-girls’ schools.

The four private schools that will offer the pilot courses next school year are: Harpeth Hall School located in Nashville, Tennessee, a 5th – 12th grade college preparatory school; Holton-Arms School located in Bethesda, Maryland, a 3rd – 12th grade college preparatory school; Laurel School located in Cleveland, Ohio, a K – 12th grade college preparatory school; and Westover School located in Middlebury, Connecticut, a selective boarding school for 9th – 12 grade girls.

Currently 44 states have some type of virtual secondary schools but none of these virtual schools specifically address the educational needs of girls. Ann Pollins, President of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools stated, “We believe that girls inhabit online spaces differently than boys and that this initiative can combine a powerful, transformative online learning environment for girls with a high-quality, twenty-first century academic experience.”

The Online School will offer two pilot courses this fall with four additional courses being offered spring semester of 2009-2010 school year. The Online School will focus on several key principles based on current research on how girls learn best: emphasizing connections among participants; incorporating collaboration into the learning experience; inspiring and rewarding creativity; and engaging in real-world problems and applications.

In the future the Online School will provide an online education that is flexible, affordable and accessible to a diverse, worldwide student base including students who need a flexible school schedule, students who are home schooled, or students who need opportunities for challenging and/or unique coursework.

To read the complete article from Harpeth Hall School:
https://www.harpethhall.org/podium/default.aspx?t=204&nid=538755

To read the complete article from Nashville Business Journal:
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2009/06/22/daily10.html

Image from Microsoft Clip Art

Online Games for Learning

Online games have been described as casual games, serious games and advergames but to teachers and parents what do these labels mean?

Casual Games
Casual Games are designed for entertainment. Some casual games are preloaded on computers such as Solitaire while other casual games are downloaded. Learning can occur but mostly casual games are for fun.

Serious Games
Serious games are designed for learning. Simulations, military training, corporate education, health care are just a few ways games are designed for learning. It’s easy to find educational games on the internet from pre-school to university level. Serious games are categorized by genre, complexity, and platforms building maturity and learning.

Serious games focus on specific learning outcomes that can be measured. But do these serious games really promote learning? When the game design is focused on learning outcomes, then learning is possible. According to Mary Jo Dondlinger a game that motivates players to spend time on tasks mastering the skills of the game, is time spent stimulating learning outcomes. Even some casual games like EVE Online can produce real learning outcomes. One player from EVE Online stated that once he had managed a virtual corporation that spanned a universe he could easily manage a real corporation on earth.

Computer games with 3D graphics are being used in the workplace, for recruitment, to improve communication and train employees at all levels. The military trains soldiers using “virtually real” environments where soldiers build teams and prepare personnel for specific missions. One of the most popular games online today is America’s Army.

Advergames
Advergames are a combination of casual and serious games and have been used as a form of marketing for movies and television shows. Advergames are sometimes the most visited section of brand websites promoting repeated traffic and reinforcing the brand.

But what does this mean for education in public schools?
A virtual learning environment needs to encourage content exploration, be learner-centered and individualized. Our digital native students prefer to:

• Receive information quickly
• Multitask
• View pictures and videos
• Interact and network with others
• Receive instant gratification and rewards
• Learn information that is relevant, useful and fun

Digital learners today need online learning that is stimulating and develops critical skills. Once successful program is DiDA Delivered, a diploma program in IT skills for secondary students in the UK. To check out the site please click here: http://www.dida-delivered.org/
The curriculum for this program includes 4,000 learning objects and 300 serious games and teachers can develop their own content to add to the learning environment. DiDA looks similar to Second Life and Active Worlds.

Considering that children ages 8-18 spend at least 50 minutes per day playing video games education needs to provide stimulating, learning environments where students acquire 21st century skills necessary for today’s workforce. To do this learning designers and game designers need to work together to provide a more engaging and effective learning environment for all students incorporating social networking, and other Web 2.0 technologies.

To learn more about online games for learning please read the entire article Serious Games: Online Games for Learning at: http://www.adobe.com/products/director/pdfs/serious_games_wp_1107.pdf

Who are the Virtual Students in Your Class?

Here is an interesting article to think about. As face-2-face teachers we all have ways to encourage class participation, behavior and time on task but how does this work in an online class? Who are the other students in an online class when students are enrolled from across the state or around the world?

Meet Jane Malan, a thirty-something part-time school teacher interested in languages. Jane was given the duty of being the second facilitator in an online class contributing to theoretical and technical assignments, and at times giving advice to students in the course. Jane seemed to know how to model collaborative behaviors the students could follow and she regularly participated in the “social” posts. I guess some would say she was the model student, or was she?

Jane Malan was placed in the online course to start discussions among the students, encourage others to stay with the course, and to participate in all discussions including the social posts. I imagine the other students liked her but Jane wasn’t real. Jane was a “ghost student” created by the instructor of the course and Jane was controlled by the instructor.

At the end of the course the instructor revealed Jane’s identity. The instructor wanted to answer two questions by “infusing” Jane into the course:

1. How does a virtual student enhance online community?
2. How do students feel about the ethical issues of instructor’s hiding and then disclosing the identity of a virtual student?

I’ve taken online courses and I began to wonder if any of the other students in those past courses were “ghost students” and how would I know? My next thought was why did the instructor feel she had to create a ghost student for the course? The instructor called her Methical Jane, the combination of mythical and ethical created to improve students’ online learning success. The instructor rationalized that if an online course had ineffective facilitation or lack of communication the students’ success and performance would be lower. Also a controlling instructor could weaken online communication and lower students’ success.

I do not see the rationale behind the instructor choosing to create Jane Malan and there is definitely an ethical issue of trust between the instructor and the students. Considering that students should follow proper netiquette when posting to an online class the instructor should already have the ability to monitor forums, blogs, assignments and other postings. So why be a ghost student?

If the instructor is worried about the quality and quantity of collaboration and communication between the students then the instructor needs to be better ained and prepared to teach online without resorting to “ghost students” selectively placed in a class. Another ethical issue would be the idea that an instructor could become a “ghost student” in a colleague’s course. For what reason? To spy? To take information from a colleague’s course to use in their course? To find a way to defame the colleague and/or their teaching practices?

This study raised a lot of ethical questions for me. More than I can ask in one short blog posting. So I invite you to read the entire study and the short summary article to see what ethical questions you have and to ask that you share your thoughts on the issue of “ghost students” in an online course?

To read the entire study please go to:
Methical Jane: Perspectives on an Undisclosed Virtual Student
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue4/nagel.html

To read a summary article outlining the study please go to:
Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i38/38a01001.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Learning Without Limits

How the rise of online instruction is changing the nature of schooling
eSchool News – April 2009

Many schools today are using online learning to enhance their curriculums, help students with credit recovery, and help students learn at their own pace. In addition forty-four states now offer virtual schools through the public education system. Some of these programs are state led and some are charter schools offered at school or at home with course registrations growing more than 50% since 2007.

While teachers and parents wonder if students can handle online courses the students can easily go back and forth between the virtual world and the real world. Meeting the needs of all students is hard for traditional schools and online schooling is a cost-effective alternative.

Florida has a goal of offering virtual courses to students K-8 along with the 9-12 Florida Virtual School. Michigan and Alabama require students to take an online course before graduation with forty-four states offering online programs. Many schools are seeing online programs as a way to help meet the needs of students. Students who need to work at their own pace, have medical needs, and those that don’t find the right fit in the traditional setting are being served by online programs.

In Forsyth County high school students may take online course through North Carolina Virtual Public School and Florida Virtual School with math and foreign languages being offered to middle grades students. Currently North Carolina Virtual is piloting middle grades courses (nine to eleven courses) with the goal of offering the entire middle grades curriculum online to students for the 2010 school year. In addition, North Carolina Virtual Public School is piloting Language Arts and math courses for K-8 with the goal of offering these courses for the 2010 school year.

What needs do your students have and could those needs be met with an online course?

To download and read the entire article, click on the eSchool News website at: http://www.eschoolnews.com/current/

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor believes developing free web-based games is the way to teach civics

O’Conner is working on a civics education web site that should be launched this summer and stated that, “she believes that using technology is the way to teach students about the Constitution and inspire a renewed commitment to civics education in U.S. schools” and offered to middle grades students as free web-based games. O’Conner realized that students knew more people from “American Idol” than the three branches of government and she wants these web-based games to help students learn how to analyze problems and develop arguments.

The project is called Our Courts and is being backed by Georgetown University and Arizona State University and private funds. Two of the games being developed – Do I Have a Right and Supreme Decision are being designed for middle grades students to be played in class.

In the game, Do I Have a Right, students pretend to be the director of a constitutional law firm who need to decide which amendment would resolve a problem for a client. In the game, Supreme Decision, the students pretend to be Supreme Court law clerks that need to help Justice Irene Waters write the majority opinion deciding if schools can ban students from wearing music band T-shirts.

To learn more about the project please check out Our Courts 21st Century Civics at: http://www.ourcourts.org/.

To read the entire article please go to eSchool News at: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=45766&CFID=2844512&CFTOKEN=46694510.