Participating in the Leading Edge Certification for the Online and Blended Teacher has been a rewarding experience for me and has helped to organize my formal and informal learning in regards to online teaching. Having read the iNACOL Standards for Quality Online Teaching, I see the following as my areas of strength and my needs for continued growth in my professional practice:
Standard A
The online teacher knows the primary concepts and structures of effective online instruction and is able to create learning experiences to enable student success.
I have been learning about using technology in education for about two years now, first through a small study group with other educators in my area, then by attending conferences, and most recently by taking this certification course. I feel that this course has provided the scaffolding to put all the best practices and strategies I've been learning into a coherent whole. I feel prepared to work with students as they become global citizens and I feel I can work with student in a variety of delivery modes. I will need to continue to practice these skills and to reflect on my work with my professional learning community online.
Standard B
The online teacher understands and is able to use a range of technologies, both existing and emerging, that effectively support student learning and engagement in the online environment.
Between this class and my online professional learning network, I feel that I’ve become familiar with a wide range of tools for “communication, productivity, collaboration, analysis, presentation, research, and online content delivery” (National Standards for Quality Online Teaching: Version 2, p.5). Because I work with learners from kindergarten through adult professionals, it is important that I match the right tools to my learners because they have a wide variety of needs. In the process of trying out new tools, I’m also improving my skills at troubleshooting when problems arise. I will need to use my professional learning network to keep me aware of new tools as they are developed.
Standard C
The online teacher plans, designs, and incorporates strategies to encourage active learning, application, interaction, participation, and collaboration in the online environment.
This course has helped me develop a clearer picture of what can be possible in an online course. I feel I understand the strategies for promoting interaction, participation, and collaboration in an online environment and I look forward to practicing those strategies in future classes. The best practices in an online class of being a facilitator in a student-centered learning environment mirror what I also consider best practices in the face-to-face classroom, so I feel confident that I can apply those practices in an online environment. I will need to continue to practice and refine these skills as I work with more groups of students.
Standard D
The online teacher promotes student success through clear expectations, prompt responses, and regular feedback.
When we developed a syllabus for this course, I felt I was able to clarify for myself my expectations for the oldest group of students that I work with. Creating a syllabus forced me to create clear expectations for class interactions, online behavior, and student assessment. I feel that I have the organizational skills to provide prompt responses and regular feedback to students as part of an online class. I created a syllabus for middle grade students, so I will need to refine those expectations for other students I may work with in the future as the need arises.
Standard E
The online teacher models, guides, and encourages legal, ethical, and safe behavior related to technology use.
Through this course and through resources from Google and Common Sense Media I feel that I have the tools I need to guide students in legal, ethical, and safe behavior online. I have learned the meaning of fair use as it applies to materials I use in class and I’m aware of several resources for finding fair use media for use by my students. I can also clearly describe plagiarism to my students and I know where to find tools online that identify plagiarism in written work. I will need to continue to work to develop online learning modules that encourage original work.f
Standard F
The online teacher is cognizant of the diversity of student academic needs and incorporates accommodations into the online environment.
As a classroom teacher I have been using learning styles theory and 501/IEP accommodations on a regular basis. I now also understand how to provide accommodations in an online environment for those who have visual, auditory, or physical disabilities. I will need to continue to work on how to adapt online learning to different learning styles and how to evaluate a student’s learning style in an online environment. I also will need to continue to work with the special education staff in my program to create other accommodations as needed.
Standard G
The online teacher demonstrates competencies in creating and implementing assessments in online learning environments in ways that ensure validity and reliability of the instruments and procedures.
During this class, I practiced using my knowledge of formative and summative assessments in an online environment. We used rubrics to assess performance assessments and we aligned our assessments with clear learning objectives to help ensure validity and reliability. I will need to continue to learn more about how to use the tools in a LMS to create assessments and collect student assessment data.
Standard H
The online teacher develops and delivers assessments, projects, and assignments that meet standards-based learning goals and assesses learning progress by measuring student achievement of the learning goals.
During this class, we learned about a number of online tools that could be used to create both formative and summative assessments that are authentic and project based. Our instructor has modeled how to use polls and informal surveys to collect student feedback, and I believe I can apply these skills to my own classes. I will need to continue to improve my practice as I develop coursework and assessments online to meet the new Common Core standards in my state.
Standard I
The online teacher demonstrates competency in using data from assessments and other data sources to modify content and to guide student learning.
Just as the results of formative assessments can be used to guide and modify instruction in a face-to-face classroom, they are also used the same way in an online classroom. In this class we learned that an online course need not be a rigid, lockstep set of procedures for students to work through, but can and should be modified to personalize the learning experience for each student. We learned the importance of assessing student readiness for the online environment and we bookmarked a number of resources for student self assessment. I will need to develop my own procedures for tracking student communications and I will need to learn how my LMS can help me track attendance, time online, and so on.
Standard J
The online teacher interacts in a professional, effective manner with colleagues, parents, and other members of the community to support students' success.
During this class, I learned how important my professional learning community was to my professional growth. Over the past eight weeks, I have seen many blog posts and tweets related to the content of this class and being part of that network enhanced my overall understanding of the course material. I will continue to communicate with parents to provide feedback on their child’s learning, whether teaching a blended or face-to-face class. I will also need to continue to write in the blog I started for this course on a weekly basis to connect with my professional network in a new way.
Standard K
The online teacher arranges media and content to help students and teachers transfer knowledge most effectively in the online environment.
In creating model lessons for this class, we practiced arranging media and content for effective online learning. We learned about many online Web 2.0 tools that we can use as part of online learning modules. We also learned to be aware of learning styles when picking content and assessments. I will need to continue to follow emerging digital literacies and best practices in online and blended learning in order to keep these skills up to date.
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