Distance Education

1. Five advantages of distance education are as followed:
i. Students are able to work at their own pace. This is great for self motivated students who are willing to work towards enhancing their education.
ii. Many of the programs are offered free of charge (minus personal expenses for internet, computer, etc) This can be very helpful for families that are using this when their students have disabilities who are already paying a lot of money on other expenses.
iii. Can be done at non-traditional time intervals. If you do not learn best in the mornings, you don’t have to work in the morning. If you have a job you can work around that schedule as well.
iv. It allows students to move on when ready. They are not stuck in a class that is too easy or hard for them.
v. These programs can be utilized by all types of students whether it be gifted/talented, special needs, or those who feel like the traditional school is not for them.

2. Five disadvantages of distance education are as followed:
i. Students may not be motivated enough for this format to be useful for them.
ii. Some programs cost money which is understandable but if it is at a level where it is offered via public education I don’t feel is should cost anything.
iii. Can possibly affect how a child develops social skills
iv. Amount of time spent sitting in front of a computer can be detrimental for children.
v. Requires much more involvement from the parents versus public schooling.

3. I would say that a student is ready to participate in distance education when they are highly self motivated, are comfortable critiquing and being critiqued, and can handle the amount of time required to participate in the curriculum.

4. The sites that I looked at each said that the teachers who were working under their ‘school’ had extensive experience working in an online format (or have taken special workshops to do so), held Washington State Teaching License, and at least 3+ years of actual teaching experience. I would think it is also very important as a teacher in this format you have personal knowledge of technological issues and problems that may occur for students so you can address it quickly if presented that issue at a later date.

Engaging Students with Concept Mapping Activities

Above is a concept map about photosynthesis which is a good way to show what is being used and produced through photosynthesis. It is great for visual learners or those who like to see the flow of information. Overall using a concept map for a topic such a photosynthesis is useful for many so that what they are learning is organized and laid out in a clear format which is useful for both teachers and students.

How I can see concept mapping used in the science classroom is by taking what they may have learned at a younger age and lower level and making new connection and schemas through them. Our minds like to make connections and it makes it easier for the students to do so rather than create a whole new schema for the idea/concept we may be teaching. Concept mapping is important not only for the students but as a teacher creating these can help to decide in which order your unit should be taught to make the most sense for your students. It can also help to find flaws in your lesson due to this non-flowing format your lesson may have.

Some ideas I see myself using in class with regard to concept mapping is taking the information they know about proteins (it helps build muscle, it’s a bunch of little things put together, or proteins help your body function) and use that as a transition into how your body uses proteins specifically and where they come from. You can go through how DNA is involved with the process, how much protein is made in your body, and what are proteins really made from. This would be a great introduction to the unit on protein synthesis that I will do in my classroom.

A few more ideas I have for concept mapping would be to have students take a given topic such as ‘photosynthesis’ and make their own concept map of what they think it is alone, then share with a partner, then as a class create a collective map that encompasses what we need to know about photosynthesis and its function for plants. This could actually be a good way to assess how well the students learned the material (they could turn in their concept map for a grade) and also by discussion it with the class I can see what, as a whole, needs more work. Lastly I see concept mapping playing a role in how students can see the benefits of learning the material taught in a science classroom. Many students come in with the idea that science is stupid and useless but by connecting what we are learning to other outside resources and or activities through concept mapping the students gain an appreciation for the information given in the science classroom.

How Teacherweb is Useful in the Classroom

During my T&L317 practicum I did create a website for my classes and although it took a little over a week to get them used to using it on a regular basis. I had links to useful websites and had all of the sheets and papers that were handed out in class were also posted online so there were no excuses for not having what they needed. I also had calendars and assignment help, extra credit opportunities, and I posted all of my lecture slides after I gave the lecture so if they missed something or want to print or see it again they have access to it. I see teacherweb as another way to provide students with tools that enhance their learning.

Students who have the opportunity to use a classroom website have access to multiple supplements for their learning. One great thing that students can use from a classroom website is resources to outside information about what they’re learning. These resources provided to students by the teacher can be wonderful for the students so if they are interested or maybe didn’t get it the first time they can go to the teacherweb and from there they can go to other sources and hopefully get a better understanding of the subject. One other way that the students can benefit from the use of teacherweb is that as a student in their generation the use of technology can be a way to engage students. They spend much time using it already and if given the proper tools a student can learn a great deal without even being in the classroom. I can see myself asking students to read something or watch a video before the next class so that we can start right away with discussion and the students would already have some background knowledge expediting the process so more classtime can be spent learning and growing versus lecturing.

Blogs & Wikis in Education

When searching for the ‘educational wikis’ and ‘educational blogs’ Google and yahoo seemed to give me very similar results. The search in dogpile.com gave me a lot more ‘sponsored results’ meaning that these results are at the top of the list because they paid money or advertise dogpile.com on their site in return for their site to appear at the top of the results list on dogpile.com.

1. A) One site that I thought was interesting you could search by subject and then you can choose to join the group that you were a part of. This was a good security measure, if you were directed to the site and had a password then you could join.

B) After that you and any other members could interact with one another. This is a good way to get the parents of your students involved which can also be a great resource for you. Community support can make the classroom more interesting.

C) A future use I can see for this is to work on project between several schools within (or out) of a district. An example I can think of is say you were doing water testing, you could get several school’s biology classes (you could even include a buddy program going with middle school students) together to collect from as many sources from around the area. Then as a group you could put your results together and get a seriously comprehensive experiment and the students get a lot of interaction with others whom they may have never met before.

2. Both the RSS readers and aggregator are software used by subscribers to get up to date stories, blogs, and or headlines delivered to your computer. So instead of going to several different sites looking for these things they come to you. Basically it is a way to get things faster and more efficient without doing any work. Each one of these serves the same purpose to be able to collect and deliver news to you so you don’t have to go get it!

This can be useful in the classroom because as teachers we don’t always have time to go out and find interesting stories so we subscribe to whatever sites provide us with useful information usually then the stories come to us and we can forward the really good one on to students!

3. Two pros of wikis and blogs in education are the connection the students share with one another and the teacher. Also you can use them for group work, planning a field trip, or just a forum for the students to use each other if they need assistance. Two cons that wikis and blogs pose in education are firstly not all of your students may not have regular access to the internet rendering all of this useless. Lastly another con of wikis and blogs is that if you don’t make sure that each wiki and or blog you use is secure there is a possibility that what your students are reading is not appropriate which can also get you in trouble as a teacher.

Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom

I have strength in the Kinesthetic Intelligence aspect of this MI test. I scored 100 on this sections and after reading about the Kinesthetic Intelligence as a whole I quite agree with this score. One of the core characteristics that was listed stated that I am “concrete meaning I like to express my feelings and ideas through body movement.” This is definitely true for me. I teach dance at the SRC and work with THS and its dance program and dance for me is my art. It is how I can show people how I am feeling. I also like to talk about what I’ve learned along with explaining it to others. I always seek to be with others and show others things along with learning new ideas with tangible items rather than never before seen object that we can only conceptualize about its existence.

I also scored a 100 on the Intrapersonal Intelligence sections and its core characteristics said that students in this category monitor one’s thoughts. I like to think I do this well but I have found myself in certain situations where I certainly did not think before speaking. It also said students with this trait will “express strong like or dislike of particular activities.” This is oh so true! When I don’t like how something is being handled or how things are going I make sure to understand why it is happening this way and try to fix what I can and talk to others who can change what I cannot.

I agree when it says that those with Kinesthetic Intelligence like to have a ‘learning center’ rather than constant seated work. I would like to have a classroom where some days we are up and moving or are outside taking observations or just engaging each other. I also want to have reflection (book work) times where the students have time to collect their thoughts on a subject and ask questions about anything that may be difficult for them. I, like many other future teachers, have that vision of my future class where students are asking questions and are curious and want to know more, I can only show them my passion and hope it passes on and that they themselves find it hard not to want to learn more.

Again for me teaching a lab science it will not be to difficult to engage almost all MI’s. I say this because we will have opportunities where students will be in groups or alone working on labs both in and out of the classroom. They will have methodical projects (lab reports) they will have abstract questions asked and will be presented with much information that is touchy to many people. They will experience so much because there is so much information out there and it is growing by the day. Each new day brings forth a new discovery or a cure or a new gene for something. It is the immense size of the subject of science that I think makes it so fascinating. I also believe that this fact helps make the science classroom the most interesting (but of course I am biased, I am an aspiring science teacher therefore I love my subject and will talk it up at any given opportunity) and the easiest to become engrossed in. I want to show others that we can get so much out of the subject, anything we are interested in can be linked to science, I will bet my life on it. In my classroom I want to get as many interests from my students and show them how even what they may not think has anything to so with science has everything to do with it.

I have seen several program where they simulate something within the body or in our surrounding and let you manipulate them (conduct an experiment) to see what the outcome could be. This is an activity where you can use the computer as your hands-on object that is representing other items in such a way that you yourself are almost conducting the experiment. Another very good example is a program where you can learn about vectors and how diseases use these empty vessels to transfer its DNA and infect cells. You extract the DNA, cut it, learn how it gets into the vector, simulate that, then infect a new cell. There are many programs with all sorts of experiments that do the same type of things. I think these are great because they introduce the students to new ideas and it shows them a resource they can reference later to study or just poke around at.

By trying to incorporate both learning styles and MI into the classroom, overall, you make your students feel welcomed. When a teacher has only one approach to teaching their subject (especially if it doesn’t help me) I feel very discouraged and have no desire to try, I mean why should I if the teacher doesn’t? When you mix it up and make it fun then that’s what it is! FUN! When students are having fun learning comes easy, when you struggle to maintain focus or behavior then thats what your class is. A place for them to waste time in. Not for me. I want to reach the students and I want them to discover the amazing capabilities of science and the splendor it has to offer us all. How it transcends not only just science but how it can be the inspiration for writers (Brave New World, 1984, etc) how it can foster cures in medicine or studies on how to better treat mental illnesses, how it can decipher the body, brain, stars, planets, chemicals, electricity, everything! It’s diversity alone fosters learning styles and MI but I too will plan exercises and activities that ties these all together so that if I am not reaching each student to day I will get to them tomorrow!

Learning Styles~~Assignment~~

Kayla Lane
T&L 466
Online Learning Assessment
August 28th, 2009


I used a multiple choice assessment to identify what my personal learning style was. I was a 44 question long formative assessment that attempts to tell us how we learn best. This ‘test’ had either-or questions and whenever this method is used I always find that I am somewhere between the two choices! Of course this leaves the learning style you are left with somewhat wrong, but then we must consider that not a single test can determine your learning style because that is also dependent on what you’re learning, where you’re learning it, and who is teaching it. The URL where this is located is:

http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html.

My results indicated that I was ‘balanced’ when it came to active and reflected learning. This means that I like to be active when learning something new. I also like to explain what’s going on to others. But I also like to think internally about what I just learned. I think that this description of my learning style is remarkably correct. I do love to explain things to others and I also like time to go over what was just covered. For me I cannot be asked a question about something then immediately be expected to answer it within the same second. I was not balanced for any of the other aspects of the test. I am labeled as a sensing learning meaning I like to learn facts. I dont really agree with this because the other side is ‘intuitive’ and that description fits as well. I am a visual learner and I tend to remember pictures and the things that are shown to me via picture. Lastly I am a ‘Global Learner’ meaning I learn things randomly and have a hard time making connections between new material and old material. So I have learned that I, according to this test, learn using pictures and by doing hand-on activities and that it’s all very random.

I would use this information about my own personal learning styles to try to teach others who may be like myself and also take into consideration the other end of the spectrum, those who may need more reflection or who may be good at certain things or another. This learning assessment was actually useful when it comes to basic information about the different types of learning styles and what each type likes or dislikes. This information is definitely worth reading and learning about so that we as instructors can look at the curriculum we are supposed to teach and incorporate the details of learning styles so that we may reach as many students with our instruction as possible.