Formative and Summative Assessments

This week we explored ways of using technology tools for both formative and summative assessment.  In considering my students, the summative assessment works, but the formative assessments are probably best done in person.

I like the idea of using an online portfolio as a summative assessment for my students.  This gives them a comprehensive picture of what they have accomplished and gives them something that they can share with family and others.  It is something students can also use as a reference for future related projects. 

It is in the area of formative assessments that I think I will run into problems with my students.  My students not only lack reading and writing skills, but have cognitive deficits in the severe to sometimes profound range.  My students do not have the cognitive skills to understand how online feedback relates to their work.  They would need 1:1 assistance to read the feedback and then figure out how to apply it.  The 1:1 assistance means that the assessment is no longer online but in a classroom, using the computer.  Other than saving paper, I do not see this particular form of assessment as a benefit to my students. 

I looked into video sites as an alternative to written online formative assessments, but have not yet found a site that is cost effective and would be easy for my students to use.  Regardless, I think the application of formative assessments will still require 1:1 instruction. 

In thinking about these types of assessments and my particular students, I believe that my initial assessment is correct: students with severe cognitive disabilities would not do well in a 100% online environment, but could benefit greatly from blended instruction.

Using Facebook as a Social and Professional Networking Tool

Teacher Facebook Page

I have used many social networks, but have settled in to using Facebook on a regular basis, mainly because most people, businesses, and associations that I know or with whom I associate are there.  I have a personal Facebook page, which I use to keep in touch with family, current friends and friends from the past, as well as follow pages related to my teaching profession and personal interests.  I recently used my Facebook network to find a pair of loaner shoes for a friend's husband to use for a job interview.  Within 3 minutes of posting the request, I was on my way to pick up the shoes (he got the job, by the way). 

In the past couple of years, I have noticed that I continually get requests from my students and their parents, because they also use Facebook to connect with others.  While I never post anything really racy or inappropriate on Facebook, I prefer to decide specifically which parts of my life I share with students and their families.  This past year, taking a cue from the administrator at my school site, I opened a separate Facebook page to share with my students and their families.  This has been a huge success.  Students come to school very excited after I have "friended" them.  They love seeing pictures of what I do in my off time.  Surprisingly, it has also become a useful communication tool.  I have many students who do not have a phone (cell or landline) or whose service is frequently shut off.  They will, however, take their phone or other device to a free Wi-Fi spot and message me through Facebook if they are sick or absent or have an issue they need help with.  Reading their posts also gives me insight into what they find interesting and important, as well as leading to some class discussion on what is and is not appropriate to post on a public forum.

I have learned many things through following links that friends have posted on Facebook.  Many of my friends are teachers and have similar interests and have posted pertinent information or links to events or sites that have added to my personal growth.  Sometimes, however, I get extremely sidetracked by "fun" posts.  I might go there specifically to get an Autism Awareness link that I remember a co-worker had posted and end up spending 30 minutes browsing her photos from a cruise.  That, of course, leads to researching cruises, because, after all, I AM on the Internet.  I have frequently sat down at the computer for two or more hours without accomplishing my original goal.  I have no doubt that my students would have similar issues with using an online community for learning purposes. 

I have found that sharing my own experiences with students helps them to consider options that they may not have thought of.  When I have something specific to learn/do/accomplish on the Internet, it helps me to set a timer.  When the time is up, I can spend some time on fun activities, but while the timer is running, I must focus only on my goal.  I have modeled this technique in class and some students have found success using the timer for various non-preferred activities as well.  I think that is the key for supporting my students - letting them know that they are not alone. Sometimes they feel frustration because their disabilities get in the way.  It helps them to know that other people have the same frustrations and to show them options for getting around obstacles. 

My experience has been that social media is excellent for forming both personal and professional communities, as well as for learning, as long as one has a plan to stay on track.

Using Web 2.0 Tools

This week, I had the opportunity to use Web 2.0 tools to both collaborate with peers and to plan a lesson for my students.

One of the most important learning objectives for my students is to navigate the community, mainly through the use of public transportation.  Understanding the layout of their community and how to get around means that they will be able to go to doctor's appointment, grocery shopping, and have a wider range of adult programs available to them.  This ongoing project will also address the Common Core Standard R.CCR.7:  Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

Until this point, when learning how to get to a particular place, my students have looked it up online and written down transit and/or walking instructions on a piece of paper, which is then generally discarded or lost during or after the trip.  During my collaboration experience this week, it dawned on me that using a Google Presentation and incorporating Google Maps and Scribble Maps might be a better way to accomplish this same task.  

Adding in the use of technology, students will access many higher order skills as described in Bloom's Digital Taxonomy.  Using a Google Presentation, students will collaborate to make pages with links to the locations.  They will use Scribble Maps to locate destinations on the map and where they are in relation to school.  They will plan bus routes using Google Maps and link the directions to the Presentation.  Follow up activities will include uploading photos and video of the trip to the presentation, as well as critiquing the trip and publishing the document so that peers, family, and staff have a record of the week.

Students will still plan their week, choosing locations to travel to, finding them on the map, and planning a bus route.  In addition, however, these digital tools will allow them to do the following:

• ·        collaborate rather than working in isolation
• ·        keep a cohesive record of their plan
• ·        give a place for reviewing and critiquing their implementation of the plan
• ·        a way to share what they are doing/learning with others
• ·        learn computer skills in a meaningful way

Due to the cognitive skills of my students, these weekly projects will need to be modeled, taught 1:1 with many students and then accomplished with frequent staff monitoring, prompting, and support.  By repeating this process on a weekly basis, students will have many opportunities to practice and eventually learn to use these tools. 

I see Web 2.0 tools as not only adding value to a project, but giving me the chance to integrate technology lessons into what we are already doing.

Methodologies of Online Teaching: What About Special Education?

In considering how my instructional methodologies might need to change in an online or blended learning environment, I think it would depend on my students. 

My current students have mostly moderate to severe disabilities.  I don't believe that a 100% online course would work for them.  In order to access curriculum, they often need assistance in varying degrees, and it is not possible to predict what will be difficult and how much help will be needed.  My students will often need help with a task on a Wednesday that they were fine with on a Tuesday.  They often need physical or gestural prompting to complete a task; staff is trained to look for the signs that they need assistance, which would be impossible online.  So, for a 100% online course, I think my students and what I taught would need to change before I could even think about teaching methodologies.

A blended learning environment would work much better with my student population.  While some students might still have a meltdown when frustrated by online learning, it would help some to know that an instructor will be available at some point to clarify and help.  This week I read about the Carpe Diem Collegiate High School and Middle School (CDCHS) in Yuma, Arizona.  They blend both classroom instruction and online learning in a unique way, in that the online portion takes place in computer labs on campus.  I think they would be a good model for a method that might work with my students.  Students at CDCHS cycle between learning online in the computer lab and being in a classroom setting with a teacher who can clarify, re-teach, and expound on what they have learned online. They go through this cycle three times during each school day.  This could give the best of both worlds to my students.

Planning and developing online instruction for my students could be a challenge and one in which I will have to put much thought.  Having students with a range of disabilities and behavioral problems means that online lessons would need to cover the material and offer a learning situation, but keep students engaged and challenged, yet not frustrated.  In the classroom, staff often relies on intuition and experience with individual students to know when a student is becoming frustrated and may be about to have a meltdown or become violent.  Obviously, this observation factor would not be present in a true online learning environment.  This is why I was so intrigued by what CDCHS has done.  Having students work online on-campus with a familiar staff member available in the room could circumvent all sorts of problems.  In addition, I think I would have to work on teaching lessons about online learning, including teaching students strategies and coping mechanisms for when they are confused or frustrated with a computer lesson. 

While there are many issues that might preclude my particular students from using true online learning, I believe that with some adjustments and modifications, an online model would be highly beneficial in pre-teaching, re-teaching, and re-enforcing concepts and curriculum with my students.

Diving Into Online Learning

This week I embarked on an 8-week online learning course for teachers.  I began with a self-assessment to determine what type of online learner I would be.  As it turns out, I am an almost ideal online learner.  This is mostly due to my ability to figure things out on my own and some basic technical knowledge. 

I was relatively sure that I'd be okay.  I have taken a couple of online courses through the local junior college for fun.  I love the flexibility of being able to access, work on, and submit work around my daily activities, rather than trying to fit my activities around a set class schedule.  I really wish online learning had been a possibility back when I had a job with a lot of mandatory overtime, was trying to finish college, and was failing badly at a new marriage all at the same time.  I remember many times having to explain to my college professor that I had had to work late and explain how sorry I was to have missed the first half of class...again.  The professors were not sympathetic.  My boss didn't care about my college aspirations.  My then-husband just wanted dinner (hopefully he's either found a new wife to perform that duty or learned to fend for himself by now). 

Since I have begun dabbling in online learning, many friends and colleagues have told me that they could never take a class without human interaction.  While it sounds counter-intuitive, I have found the interaction with instructors and peers more meaningful online, as people can think about their responses before giving them, as opposed to having to give the first response that comes to mind.

Because I love online learning, and because it seems to be increasingly prevalent, I want to begin using aspects of online learning in my classroom and am hoping that this current course will give me enough knowledge to make that happen.  I have seen demonstrations of how "flipped classrooms" can work and have seen some amazing tools that can be used with students, but never seem to have the time to sit down and research which ones I want to use or how they can benefit me.  I am hoping this course can help me learn some practical things that I can take into the classroom with me in August.

My students have moderate to severe disabilities.  Learning online in their homes might be difficult for them.  They can, however, start "online learning" in the classroom with assistance so that they become familiar with the tools and procedures that are currently being used.  I also see online modules to be used in the classroom as a terrific way to differentiate instruction for my students; online tutorials on how to access different websites or plan public transit routes would be an invaluable resource for students who often need much repetition to learn a skill.

I can't wait to get started!