Final Reflection on Designing E-Learning Environments

      Upon completing the E-Learning course at JHU I am left full of ideas and hope for future use of technology with both my students and colleagues.  I am enlightened by how many tools for presenting content, interacting with, and producing content there are, and their use to differentiate instruction.  The final project initiative is already in place and underway!  Creating the assignments, finding the resources, and posting comments as the facilitator has brought me no trouble, but it is getting a colleague to do her "homework" that is difficult.  To overcome this I have extended deadlines, walked through the edmodo site in a face to face meeting to be sure she knew how to navigate it, and maintained strong communication with the participant.  After all, we are colleagues I am not her teacher.  Although I do want her to interact with the site, I do not want to destroy our relationship so that is why I extended deadlines, listened if she had a big life event come up (which she did- home buying!), and made accommodations that would not sacrifice the meaning behind the online experience.
     I currently have a donors choose project up and running because I was so inspired by all I have learned through this course.  Now in my classroom when I scramble to print my exit tickets and grade them before I leave so the next day's lesson is meaningful, I dream about how using socrative or another application like that would make planning so much easier and effective.  The project asks for 6 ipads for use with my first graders.  So far we have raised $500!  Woohoo!  I envision my classroom with this technology to be more of a blended space where learning is differentiated, accountability is present, and feedback can be given much quicker. Currently we have 4 rotations for reading which include meeting with me, going to 1 center, completing a seatwork packet, and using discussion stems/questions to discuss read alouds and/or detailed pictures.  The centers and guided reading rotations are always quiet and hard-working, but the kids are most disruptive working on unengaging packets.  I envision that rotation being a place where each kid could have an ipad (only 6 kids/group), and they would be practicing skills, assessing their knowledge, and being part of an interactive online book club with readers in their group that are on the same level.  This would decrease the amount of noise and disruptive behaviors in that rotation.  If this goes well in reading, I see it being applied in math as well.  We would have 4 rotations in math: teacher, ipads, center, math word problems or reflex math.
       After taking this course my perceptions of e-learning have changed completely.  I have learned that there is a plethora of online applications available that are more defined and easy to use than ever.  These applications are updated and are changing daily, so flexibility is key to success.  I also have realized there are networks of teachers out there just like me who are experimenting with these new technologies.  Being part of different "communities" is the amazing thing about technology, and before this course I was a bit skeptical and thought techonolgy was partially destroying childhood.  Now I think it is enriching it and making learning more meaningful and productive to society.   

http://www.donorschoose.org/project/digital-literacy-with-first-graders/1199227/?rf=link_siteshare_2014_04_teacherid_2262005&challengeid=379630

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