Module 1: Educational Reforms

Reading about the various attempts to reform education, and the opinions of the reformers was rather interesting. The readings and videos shared many different views and insights, but one common thread I found was the need for building relationships and engaging in communication in order to effectively collaborate.  Not only are these skills essential for teachers to work together as professionals, but also important for student success in the 21st Century.

In the Changing Education Paradigms video, Sir Ken Robinson discusses the 2 main reasons for Education reform as either economic or cultural - and that we basically teach according to the paradigms created years ago.  He continues to explain that divergent thinking supports the modern concepts of learning and stresses the fact that collaboration is the root of all learning.  If students are able to effectively collaborate with others, their learning will be significantly, and positively, impacted.

The Air Force Collaboratory explains how most of humanity's great ideas were derived from collaboration:

Many expressed frustration with the lack of forward movement in education since the industrial revolution. As our world has shifted from an industrial economy to an informational economy, some educators have held on to the 'golden age' practices of  'one size fits all' education, noted by it's rigid structure, organization, and teacher centered classrooms.  Education reformer and founder of Khan Academy, Sal Kahn, states that human capital has become the most important, and it will define the most successful nation.  Additionally, author Sir Ken Robinson explains the graduating students lack the skills needed to fill the current job vacancies.  

Some educators have embraced the information age and have recognized the need to shift learning from 'what to know' to 'what to do with the knowledge', creating more student centered classrooms.  Fairfax County Public Schools, in Virginia, has created a model titled Portrait of a Graduate which defines the skills they believe are imperative for student success in the 21st century, including communicator, collaborator, ethical & global citizen, creative & critical thinker, and goal directed/resilient individual.  Linda Darling Hammond, professor of education, explains that when these skills are used by students in the process of completing projects that are relevant to real world problems, not only does learning occur, but students build grit and resilience. 

In my teaching experience, I found it difficult to shift from a teacher centered to a student centered classroom. I was scared that I would fail, and therefore my students would fail, and also worried that I would lose control of my classroom if it wasn't structured.  I started with planning student centered activities for one of my classes as a test run and saw amazing results. Over time, I developed a comfort level with the student centered classroom and continue incorporate lessons that foster 21st century skills in my students. While I have seen other colleagues also shift to a student centered classroom, I am shocked at how many still hold tight to their teacher centered environment.  

My overall experiences support the information learned in this module about the need for education reform to support the students growing up in the information age.  While the following clip was created in 2012, it illustrates my view, and the need for education reform in order to prepare our students to be successful in their future world. 

Module 4: Benefits and Challenges of the Online Teacher

The readings and videos this week opened up a deeper level of understanding on the benefits and challenges of the Online teacher. While I am excited about becoming more proficient in my ability to teach online, it was interesting to read about the teachers satisfaction in the virtual classroom and how it can be improved. Additionally, to learn how the opposition to student use of technology & the detrimental affects of screen time on children which drive the negative perception of its use. Having an understanding of both sides of the topic will only enhance my proficiency as an online educator.  

Teacher satisfaction in their job as an educator directly impact the learning experience of students.  Borup and Stevens (2016) analyzed teacher interviews and concluded that there were 3 primary factors that contributed to teacher satisfaction: flexibility, personal communication with students, and receiving administrative support while feeling they positively impacted student success. In many cases, interviewees stated they were surprised by the ability to work one on one with students in the online setting - which was satisfying, but on the flip side, others were frustrated when a student wouldn't respond to communication making it difficult to interact at all with a student.  

Hawkins, Graham, and Barbour (2012) conducted interviews of online teachers and found that online teachers described feeling of disconnect and a limited sense of community.  They described feeling of isolation from their colleagues, and limited interaction with and among students. The study suggested the implementation of more social opportunities such as a virtual staff room, increased quantity and frequency of student interactions, and providing a closed social network to help address the disconnect and isolated feelings in the online school.

In the video Is Google Making Us Stupid? presented by PBS News Hour, Nicholas Carr looks at the impact of internet use on our brains through the lens of neuroscience. Correlations were made between the increase in use of the internet, and the decrease in the ability to concentrate. Concerns were noted because as we train our brain to shift focus frequently, our ability to focus deeply is inhibited - causing a decrease in critical thinking skills.  Clive Thompson, author of "Smarter than You Think", argues that the internet allows us to learn more and retain information for longer periods of time. He states that increased exposure to information triggers a desire to look up information to gain a deeper understanding, increasing the knowledge processed by our brains (Is the internet making us smarter? by CBS This Morning). The concept of neuroplasticity and 'pruning' or shaping of our brain function is discussed.  In education, a growth mindset stands on the belief that we can train our brains as well.  This video below explains the concept of neuroplasticity in a little more detail, showing how the brain is shaped or rewired for our needs. 

Discover How to Rewire Your Brain with Neuroplasticity

The various interactions between teacher, learner & content can be both positive and negative experiences. As an online educator, it is important to understand how the interactions can impact the learning of your students.  As a teacher, you must facilitate the interactions in order to achieve the most positive experiences and outcomes. Understanding the neuroscience behind the brain development, it's natural pruning process, and how teens use technology allows us as teachers to make thoughtful decisions about our assignments and interactions we plan our lessons. Additionally, it prepares us to effectively communicate with concerned parents.  We will be more satisfied in our jobs when we create an engaging environment for our students which they consider a positive impact in their life.  I stumbled across the video below and found that it highlighted many of the concepts we've learned so far in our classes.  The 8 lessons shared by online teachers explain how putting time into your lesson design and delivery make a positive impact for both students and teachers, leading to a satisfying teaching/learning experience. 

8 Lessons Learned from Teaching Online


Updated Popplet Link

Module 3 - Who's Teaching Online?

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Who's Teaching Online?

This week I learned about the type of teacher who not only enjoys teaching online, but also what makes those teachers most successful in the online setting. I found the articles and video clips this week to be rather relative to my own experience in teaching Online PE through the FCPS Online Campus this past summer.  As Claudette Philips mentioned in the 'Things I like about eLearning' video clip, teaching online offers a flexible schedule and the opportunity to work with different teachers while gaining new perspectives.  In my experience this summer, I was able to travel across the country, as were my students, and we shared those experiences during out synchronous discussions.  Additionally, I met several other PE teachers from all over the county who have continued to be a valuable resource even during our regular school year.

Two of the most important keys to success that Davis and Niederhauser mentioned was the need to be highly organized and able to use effective communication in various formats, (2007).  I could not agree more. While I cringed at the long, 12 hour days I endured setting up my online class in the first week of the course, it was all worthwhile. Having numerous resources readily available to students to help them trouble shoot the technology, tools, and assignment expectations allowed me to provide more direct instruction to the students to meet their needs.  Additionally, the organization of my files and communication logs were imperative as I needed to reach out to students/parents/administrators in order to help students who were falling behind or disappearing from the course.  One additional factor that was concluded in the article by Borup, Graham, and Drysdale was that when teachers were provided with premade curriculum, they attributed that to their positive course outcome (2014).  I was thankful that our curriculum was premade, and impressed by the details that had been incorporated, as it allowed me to put my attention where it was needed in the delivery and support of the learning.  This Popplet expands on others interesting facts learned.

It was interesting to watch 'A Day in the Life of an Online Teacher at Edison Learning' as the structure of the day was almost identical to what I found to be successful this summer, except that I often just rolled out of bed, walked downstairs to the dining room table to login in my pj's, and started brewing a pot of coffee! I always started with logging into email, gradebook, the Bb Course and Collaborate. The first week of teaching, I didn't have a rhythm - and I expected students to turn in assignments earlier than what turned out to be the case.  Online students are more prone to procrastination - as noted by Archambault & Kent (2009), which I also experienced. At first, I thought I would grade assignments during the day, only to sit all day doing nothing because they didn't turn in their work until the last 2 hours of the day.  Once I adjusted to their cadence of work, all went smoothly.

It is important to remember to be flexible and enjoy the flexibility of the job in and of itself.  Online learning has so many advantages for many different types of people, of all ages, and needs.  It isn't for everyone, but it increase accessibility to many, and provides many new opportunities to those that pursue online learning. I just recently dove into the journey of becoming an online teacher and love it.  So you may ask - You teach Online PE?  How does that work? Check out the videos below.  The first explains an Online PE program used in Utah, and the second video gives you a glimpse at what a day in the students life looks like while taking Online PE.  I chose these videos because they are very similar to the course I taught this summer.

Direct Link

Direct Link

Module 2: What is the Online Learning Movement?

What is the Online Learning Movement?  

According to Archambault & Kennedy (2013), virtual schooling made its debut in the mid 1990's, following many forms of distance learning in the preceding century.  Virtual schools, such as Florida Virtual School, began the movement by offering high school courses to it's students. Full high school curriculum was offered a few years later, and by 2014, there were over 740,000 online course enrollments  in state virtual schools alone. Virtual schools represent just one of many different forms of online learning. 

Online learning is essentially classified within 3 main types:  those that supplement regular brick & mortar courses, those that are fully online, and those that are a hybrid or blended version of both online and traditional courses. Online learning can incorporate a variety of different interactions to lead to learning, such as learner-learner, learner-content, learner-instructor, and learner-learner management system.  Suppliers are the operational entities that deliver online courses, content, instruction, technology tools, and other related products such as the learning management system.  While suppliers are an integral part of online learning, they are not responsible for student's academic activity and performance (Germin & Pape, 2017).

Online learning opportunities continue to show rapid growth, 30% annually, as a method of instructional delivery due to additionally resources being available and the ability to meet student's needs.  As the video "What Does the Typical Online Student Look Like?" mentioned, there is no one typical online student.  If anything, the one thing they have in common is that they all have individual needs.  Online education is unique in the fact that it can meet the needs of a medically home-bound student, an academically advanced student, a struggling learner, and a student with specific needs due to ADD or anxiety all at the same time.  Online learning offers flexibility in time & location, using a variety of resources, while still supporting the social needs of human interaction and discussion to achieve high levels of learning. 

Check out this short video highlighting some of the benefits to online learning:

Fairfax County offers online courses during the school year as well as during the summer.  Additionally, it offers many courses for teachers to take for professional development and teacher recertification.  These options increase the ability to offer equity and access to a quality education to to all learners.  I personally took advantage of the offerings by completing FCPS Academy online teaching course in order to qualify for a job teaching Online PE.  This past summer, I was hired to teach Online PE-9, and saw first hand how the course was taken for various reasons - some wanted to free up their schedules for extra electives, while another was repeating the course for graduation requirement, and another was taking the course because the format met their individual needs due to social/emotional issues.

While online learning is great for many, it is not for everyone.  Students do not have an innate digital cognition, it is one that is learned. As discussed in the video, "Digital Natives", a term coined by Prensky, do not exist. Online learning is best for students who are organized, intrinsically motivated, personally responsible, have a good attitude, and the ability to self-regulate their learning (Archambault & Kennedy, 2013).  This Online Readiness Rubric developed Michigan Virtual is a great tool to use when deciding if online learning is right for you. 

This Popplet has additional links and information explaining further details of the Online Learning Movement from this weeks reading. 

Archambault, L., & Kennedy, K. (2013). Making the Choice to go Online: Exploring Virtual Schooling as an Option for K-12 Students. A Handbook for Researchers, Policy Makers, Practiitioners and Journalists, 1–20.
Germin, B., & Pape, L. (2017). Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning, 63. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59381b9a17bffc68bf625df4/t/593efc779f745684e6ccf4d8/1497300100709/EEG_KP20

All About Me

Hello!  My name is Stephanie Basl and I am beginning my MEd @ GMU this semester.  I am currently a HPE-7 teacher at Rocky Run Middle School in Fairfax County.  Here's a little information about me:

My Professional Self:

• I graduated from Longwood College in 1994 with a BS in Psychology and a Teaching License for all subjects N,K-8.  
• I began my teaching career at L.L. Beazley Elementary in Prince George County - teaching 3rd & 4th grade. 
• 5 years later, I resigned in order to have kids and raise my toddlers - then home-school my children until the youngest entered Kindergarten.  
• In 2005, I went back to the classroom to teach Physical Science to 7th & 8th graders at Powhatan Middle School in Powhatan County.
• In 2014, I added my endorsement for K-12 Health & Physical Education, and switched to the HPE department in my school the following year. 
• In 2017, I left the Richmond area and moved to Fairfax County and landed a job teaching Creative Writing, Health & PE 7, and Adapted PE at Rocky Run Middle School.
• In 2018, I taught my first Online Course - Online PE 9 - through the Online Campus in FCPS!
• Interesting fact - While teaching Physical Science, I was selected to participate in the Weightless Flights of Discovery program sponsored by Northrop Grumman. The program selected teachers to fly on a Zero G flight and conduct mini experiments in order to gain a better understanding of the physics principles!

Weightless at Zero Gravity.

Teacher Toss across the plane!

My Personal Self:

Robyn & I took the kids (Tanner, Maegan, & Lauryn) to see their first MLB game at Nats Park!

• I have an amazing fiance, Robyn, and 3 awesome children, Tanner (19), Maegan (23), and Lauryn (21).  

• I was born in Fairfax, VA but spent most of my life living in Chesterfield County, just south of Richmond, VA.  

• Robyn and I are both educators and avid sports fans.  In our free time, if we aren't attending some after school activity, we will likely be in the stands of one of our local DC teams! Go Caps! Nats! Redskins! (At least the Caps give us hope!)

• I have coached various sports over the years (track, soccer, volleyball) and am currently the assistant Varsity coach for Chantilly HS Volleyball Team - Go Chargers!  We have our sights on States this year - one of the most talented teams I've ever coached! 

• My youngest daughter is attending college and playing volleyball at Richard Bland College this year. She will earn her associates degree in May and transfer to a 4 year school - who knows - maybe GMU! 

• Tanner, my youngest, will be a HS senior year - can't wait to see him graduate in June!

• My oldest will be a Junior at GMU pursuing a degree in Psychology.  We should earn our respective degrees in May of 2020 together!  

• We love to travel and had a blast in Louisville, KY and Rehoboth, DE this summer.  Looking forward to our upcoming trips to Raleigh, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and the Eastern Caribbean. 

• We also love listening to live music!  We went to several concerts this summer at Wolftrap including ABBA, Bryan Adams, Barry Manilow & Frankie Valle & the Four Seasons.  Next up - Elton John @ the Verizon Center!  Can't wait!