Online/Blended Learning Reflection

I am currently taking a Facilitating Online Learning Communities course offered by PLS. This blog post is for the module 3-1 assignment. 

Learning Activity 3-1: Blogging about online and blended learning reflections

How have your past experiences with online/blended learning impacted your goals for your future students?

My experience with online/blended learning has mainly come from completing the requirements for the Wilkes Online Teaching Master’s degree program. The courses I have taken modeled best practices for online/blended learning environments. The course work I completed allowed me to create online/blended learning opportunities in my fifth grade brick and mortar classroom. As a result, I have learned how to better engage students in this type of environment. I want my students to be successful!  

My experiences have shaped my goals for future students. For example, the most successful online/blended learning environments do not give students busy work! I am determined to provide high quality instruction that engages students in authentic learning experiences. I have also developed a deeper appreciation of the importance of communication within this type of learning environment. Just like my brick and mortar classroom, I want my students to know that they matter!

How do you hope to engage yours students effectively in online learning?

I hope to engage my students by utilizing many strategies that I would consider best practices in online/blended learning environments. For instance, I would design authentic learning experiences for my students. The real-life activities would have a purpose and an authentic audience. Students would move beyond just consuming technology to become creators using technology. I would also like students to assume ownership of their learning. Yes, I would have a presence in the classroom, but it would be the facilitator who is the guide on the side. I would be there coach, encourage, support, and challenge my students.

What has been (or do you anticipate being) the most challenging aspect of online/blended teaching for you? What solutions have you considered to this challenge?

I currently teach in a brick and mortar classroom. The most challenging aspect of incorporating online/blended learning opportunities into my classroom has been student access to the online/blended learning environments. My school has a BYOD policy which helps, but only half of my class consistently brought their own device to school last year. To overcome this challenge, learning opportunities could be provided in the form of rotating stations. This would provide everyone the chance access the online/blended learning environments via the classroom computers. Another solution would be to partner students so that each pair of students has at least one device to use.