Engaging Learners with New Strategies and Tools

http://educ7101learningcommunity.wikispaces.com/Lou+Ann+blog+Page

The above link is to my graph

When I chose the tools to go on my graph I was thinking of the tools that could be used in all online course. The ones I am going to talk about are some of the ones I use in my classroom.  First of all, I teach third grade, so my students are a little young to use all of these graphic tools, but I do use some of them.  One of the tools that I feel works well in my classroom is the development of the rubric, with this tool I can communicate well with the students and the their.  I give a rubric to my students for each subject and I explain to them how the rubric is used.  I also email the rubric home to my parents as well as placing it on my classroom home page.  Once the children know how to use the rubric and how they will receive their grades they work toward the better grade.  I also try to give my students timely feedback, this way they know if an assignment has to be redone.  This helps in writing, because the writing process is hard in any grade, but in third grade the students have to take a state test in writing, so the timely feedback is important.  Another part of the communication process I use is the message board.  I have a message board on my home page, so if a student or parent has a concern then they can leave it on the message board.  I will also post homework on the message board.  In addition I do communicate with my parents through e-mail, which is a good way to let my parents know when I need to talk to them or they need to talk to me.

Collaboration is a very important part of being a teacher.  In every classroom we need to have our students collaborate and learn how to work in groups.  I am just now starting to develop blogs for my students and this is a learning process for them as well as me.  Due to my students being only nine and ten, I have found out the best way for my students to collaborate is through webquest.  I can develop a webquest and put my students into groups and they have to complete the webquest together in order to get their grade.  I also use a rubric to grade my students as they are completing the webquest.  Now, if you are in an online class the best way for collaboration is through wikis, blogs, twitters, and podcasting. 

In addition, I feel that podcasting is becoming a very important tool in online learning as well as learning within the classroom.  Students no matter what age are using portable technologies devices, so this makes it extremely easier to use podcasting within the learning environment.  No longer is the podcast limited to just lectures, but it can also be used to create a podcast within any education setting.  This can even be completed in the third grade.  As students learn how to create podcasts it will move the students into the 21^st century learning skills.  As we go further into the 21^st century the students in grades as low as 1^st grade are going to start making a podcast.  Podcasting has a long way to go but the innovation is getting closer and closer to becoming an important part of distant learning.   

Finally, all learning has to have content to back it up.  There are many ways in which content can be completed through online learning as well as in the classroom.  Some of the ways are through twitters, podcasting, project based learning and question techniques.  With all of these skills you can use them in the classroom as well as with distant learning.  I have been using project based learning within my classroom this year and I have seen my students excel within their subject matter.  Also, since I have been teaching my students to make a podcast, they are learning how to use new technology and how important it is used within the content of learning.

As you can see, all of these areas fit together, not only with online learning, but as well as learning within a face-to-face classroom.  I don’t care how we choose to learn as long as we use the right materials or technology to achieve our goals.