Group Education Project

Hi everyone. Hope you all had a nice weekend, with or w/out Superbowl festivities.

Chad and I took a very focused perspective on this, creating a group project assignment that could be used in a math class, in a face-to-face classroom type setting.

It's posted here-- http://web.pdx.edu/~chaneyd/docs/GroupGraphingProj.pdf

It was good having to think specifically about the group interaction component and how that could be encouraged in a positive way. I wonder if it would be beneficial to take a class session to provide a mini-training in effective group interaction and communication?

Dave

Leigha and Peggy-Module 4-Group Lesson

According to a 2007 report from Education Sector, a non-profit, independent education think-tank in Washington, D.C., virtual schools served nearly one million students in 2007-2008, mostly at the high school level. The report also noted that at that time over 90 percent of colleges and universities offered online course options. This is nearly double what had previously been estimated and enrollment continues to increase. According to eschoolnews.com, in the fall of 2007, 22 percent of American college students took at least one online course, that’s a total of 3.94 million students. Looking at these reports and many others, one can clearly see that virtual schooling is driving transformation in public education. The internet has enabled districts and educators to alter both the way content is delivered and the traditional experience of learning. At this point, bodies as prestigious as the College Board are involved in approving online AP curricula. Some states, such as Florida, are even creating legislation to require that online learning be a part-time or full-time option for every student grades K-12. Most high school and college students now expect quality virtual instruction to account for some portion of their secondary and post-secondary education. This expectation requires educators to provide increasing opportunities to use, create and practice with online technologies. Online learning communities will be an essential element of this practice and direction for education. Wikis facilitate learning communities through group participants’ contributions to the building of the databank। Our lesson includes, tasks driven interactions that facilitate the goal of learning and social emotional driven interactions that promote friendships, a sense of belonging that are offered as a result of the features that the wiki tool provides and the role of the teacher. By integrating both elements seamlessly into the wiki project, our high school students are also maximizing on their time management. Avoid confusing email chains by collaboratively building and editing project information in a centralized location.• Collect all assignment details in one place.• Plan out and manage a shared project calendar.• Create a forum where team members can share and comment on ideas.• Create and edit an outline and rough draft right in the wiki.• Compile research material and capture bibliography information.• Share team contact information, post responsibilities, and send team updates through the onsite messaging feature. Using Wetpaint, a Wiki building site, we took a lesson plan for a high school history class and created a sample of how a Wiki can be used for a class collaborative project. The demo shows how a paper and pen assignment can be translated to using technology, giving students necessary practice and skills. Wikis require careful planning that includes mapping out the wiki using a visual mapping tool and scaffolding tasks so that it is effective in supporting the goals of the project and in establishing group roles for completing the project. Wiki lesson

Intro- Chad Madsen

My name is Chad Madsen. I am in my 6th year as a high school Math, P.E., and Health Teacher. I began my teaching career at Seaside High School and just started a new job last September at Astoria High School. My experience with web-based learning is slowing growing. As part of my job at Astoria High School I have been assigned to develop and teach an on-line math course. With no experience taking or teaching on-line courses, the past three months have been challenging. I'm hoping this course will be helpful in continuing the development of my math class. Prior to starting my teaching career I attended Western Oregon University where I received my Bachelor's and Master's Degrees.A have been married for over two years and my wife and I are expecting our first child in June. We have a dog named Harlee.

Introduction -- Leah White

Hello, everyone. I am feeling a bit restless at work these days and find myself contemplating a career change. This is my first exploratory step in that process. For the past two years, I have been working as a closed caption editor/tech support professional for LNS Captioning in Portland. We do closed captioning and subtitling for OPB, local news stations, and other media firms. I fell into the captioning position as a result of teacher burnout. Prior to that, I was an English teacher for two years at Sunset High School in Beaverton. There are certainly aspects of teaching that I love, but I am just not equipped to be a classroom teacher. 

While working at Sunset, I found that the teaching units I enjoyed the most were the ones that placed us in the computer lab working on Web projects. And while I have never actually taught a course online, I have a hunch that developing online coursework might suit my skills, background and personality. Ultimately, I would like to find a professional niche somewhere in the nether world between teaching, web design and tech support that allows me to help teachers teach.  

Introduction- Peggy Ericson

I'm in my 4th year as the director for the K-12 California Technology Assistance Project for region 1 www.ctap1.org (serving Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake and Sonoma Counties). The region is the most rural in California and I have been expanding professional development by using distance learning tools. We are now moving in the direction of wanting to offer online courses to high school students from necessary small and small districts who are not able to offer courses students need for the University of California admission requirements. So it is important for me to complete the certificate and be able to support the development of these courses. I took e-learning essentials this past quarter and really enjoyed completing the case studies. I participate on the California Virtual campus state committee. I have never developed an online course.

I am married to an Organic Chemist who currently teaches at a Community College. I have two children; Vivian who is at Stanford in her second year of graduate work in the Molecular Cellular Physiology department and my son William just completed his 3rd semester at our local Community College and has been doing research with UC Davis and with the Solano Land trust in the field of entomology.

I enjoy gourmet food, mountaineering, scuba diving, reading and art.

Introduction- Leigha Gaynair

Hello Everyone:

Currently, I run an online high school for Bend-La Pine Schools. This is our fourth year and it is growing like crazy! Year one and two we were under a grant as a charter school . These were pilot years for the program and we averaged about 40 students. Now, it is a district program and our enrollment last year was 450. Since starting I have added both a middle school and summer credit recovery program. It is an ongoing learning process to be certain.

Prior to earning my MA in Sec Ed, I was a corporate writer and instructional designer (in the writing department). Then, I went on to teach English Literature for several years in Vacaville, California. I had the opportunity to "teach" an online honors section on Fridays, this was my introduction to online learning. It is now my passion and career. I see everyday how we are able to serve our community, students and district by offering a quality online opportunity. I look forward to learning this term and furthering my skills.

Leigha

Intro-- David Chaney

Hello. My name is David Chaney. I'm at a mid-career transition point in my life. I recently retired after 21 years with Ag Extension at the University of California. As part of my work with extension, I developed a number of asynchronous online courses for agricultural professionals. I also coordinated our program Web site. I'm exploring new opportunities ahead, and would ultimately like to find a position in one of the Oregon community colleges or universities working with faculty and students to develop online courses and Web-based educational resources. This course series is part of that process for me.

I currently have my own business, working from home, and have a contract with the US Dept. of Agriculture to develop several online courses for one of their programs (the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program).

My wife works at Linn Benton community college and I have a daughter at the University of Oregon. I enjoy gardening, hiking, birdwatching, music and books. Our move to Corvallis in August 08 was a big step, but we are very happy to be here. I'm looking forward to meeting you all.

Dennis - Introduction

I've been involved with leading the development of instructional resources for the Web since 1996. The first project I was assigned was to develop an online contest that was initially called the Innovation Engine Competition and later changed to the Master Webster Competition. It ran for three years and gave cash awards totaling over $33K each year. The two primary objectives of this competition were to 1) recognize effective Internet-based learning, and 2) share these innovations statewide. This competition recognizes individual students, student teams, and classroom-developed uses of the Internet including, but not limited to, Web-page development. I later used it as the basis for my masters thesis.

The role of COOLSchool principal was added to my duties in 2004. For more than a decade, I was a research assistant in geophysics in OSU's College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences. In 1990, I went back to school and earned a certification in elementary education. I was a classroom teacher in Newberg School District, and was later hired as their technology coordinator. Since December of 1996, I have served as the OPEN Clearinghouse OPENC coordinator, responsible for overseeing development of online resources for Oregon teachers. At the height of development the site was averaging over 600 daily user sessions. State funding for the project ended in 2004. In 2001, I was also appointed development coordinator for COOLSchool.

I have a master's degree in information technology and completed the Initial Administrative License in 2000. I'm now working to complete the final credits for the continual admin. license: The final hoop in this education adventure. Within the next few years I hope to be hired as a building principal.