This week, one of my assignments for my online teaching course was to participate in an online, real-time chat. It just so happened that I was invited this week to join a group of physics teachers active on Twitter for an online PLC. The group meets in a Google Hangout, then shares and discusses examples of student work using tools like screen sharing, Google Drive, and Evernote. The group tries to shares both successes and struggles in an effort to learn from each other and become better teachers.
While I've previously interacted with some of the participants via Twitter, the chat provided opportunities for a different sort of interaction. First, we were able to share and respond to student work more freely than on Twitter. I have seen teachers share anonymized student work on Twitter, but it is almost always a positive example showing some interesting thinking or providing a good example of a skill. Those are great to see, but the most interesting discussions center around an example of a misconception or the work of a struggling student. However, I doubt many parents or students would be happy to see the errors in their work being dissected in a public forum. The closed chat makes it possible to share and study the kind of work we can learn the most from.
It was also nice to not only get people's thoughts in chunks longer than 140 characters, but to hear the tone of voice and see the facial expressions or gestures that accompanied the comments. This allowed people to express complex thoughts and engage in a depth of conversation that is simply not possible on Twitter. In addition, the chat provided an immediacy to the conversation that allowed ideas to gain a momentum that can be difficult to generate on Twitter.
The overall experience was fairly similar to the face-to-face conversations I've had at conferences and, as I get to know these people, I expect it will more and more like the face-to-face PLCs I've participated in. This group actually provides some advantages over face-to-face communication as it does not have geographical limitations. I've started making connections with teachers outside of my district, but most teach courses similar to mine in schools similar to mine at schools within a few hours of mine. This online PLC includes people from across the United States teaching a variety of courses in some very different schools. As a result, the PLC includes a wide range of different perspectives which I look forward to learning from.
While there is significant value in time-shifted, text-based communication, a real-time online chat can provide additional layers of interaction. The same benefits I've found in the real-time chat with the online physics PLC can be reaped by an online teacher. A crucial part of teaching in any setting is building relationships between teacher and student and between the students themselves. Just as a real-time chat allowed me to engage in more meaningful interaction and to forge deeper relationships with other teachers, this tool can be harnessed in an online classroom to allow the teacher to connect with students and for students to connect with each other.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Online Community Building
This fall, I joined the Global Physics Department for the first time. The Global Physics Department is a weekly webinar on physics education topics. When I attended the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) meeting this summer, I met a lot of people who spoke enthusiastically about the benefits of the webinar and got interested in checking it out. The group takes a hiatus during the summer, so I had to wait until this September to take the plunge.
Each week, someone working in the field of physics education delivers a presentation on a project of theirs or an area of particular expertise. The presenter typically ignores the text chat where the attendees react to the presentation in real time and do some socializing. Many of the participants are people I've connected with on Twitter thanks to the #physicsed and #modphys hashtags, but the Global Physics Department provides a very different kind of interaction. Since we are all watching the same presentation at the same time, the conversation takes on a depth that does not often occur on Twitter.
The presentations themselves have also been extremely valuable so far. I've only attended two meetings to date, but have learned about some exciting resources like Direct Measurement Videos and the Concord Consortium directly from their creators. In addition to hearing how the creators suggest using these tools in the classroom, the text chat is filled with teachers sharing their ideas and their experiences with the resources. At the end of both meetings, I've left with new tools and new ideas about how to use them.
The Global Physics Department has been a valuable complement to the professional learning network (PLN) I've already been developing via Twitter and blogging. I look forward to learning a lot more from other physics educators.
In an online classroom, students need to be provided with the same kinds of opportunities for community and peer learning that I've found in my PLN. In order to consider how I can support this kind of community in an online classroom, I developed some community building strategies for high school students in a science class.
Each week, someone working in the field of physics education delivers a presentation on a project of theirs or an area of particular expertise. The presenter typically ignores the text chat where the attendees react to the presentation in real time and do some socializing. Many of the participants are people I've connected with on Twitter thanks to the #physicsed and #modphys hashtags, but the Global Physics Department provides a very different kind of interaction. Since we are all watching the same presentation at the same time, the conversation takes on a depth that does not often occur on Twitter.
The presentations themselves have also been extremely valuable so far. I've only attended two meetings to date, but have learned about some exciting resources like Direct Measurement Videos and the Concord Consortium directly from their creators. In addition to hearing how the creators suggest using these tools in the classroom, the text chat is filled with teachers sharing their ideas and their experiences with the resources. At the end of both meetings, I've left with new tools and new ideas about how to use them.
The Global Physics Department has been a valuable complement to the professional learning network (PLN) I've already been developing via Twitter and blogging. I look forward to learning a lot more from other physics educators.
In an online classroom, students need to be provided with the same kinds of opportunities for community and peer learning that I've found in my PLN. In order to consider how I can support this kind of community in an online classroom, I developed some community building strategies for high school students in a science class.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Getting to Know Online Learners
One of my tasks this week was to develop a tool for getting to know new students (and parents) in an online course. Several of the questions on the survey I put together are ones I've asked my students at the start of a class for quite a few years, but the parameters of the assignment pushed me to ask some new questions of my students that I expect to be valuable, even in a face-to-face environment.
My favorite question from the survey remains "Aside from a specific grade, what are your goals for this course?" My 12th grade physics class is an elective, so I tend to get pretty meaningful responses that give me an idea of what my students value and what they are interested in. My 9th grade physical science course is required for graduation, so its a little tough to get students to provide a meaningful response on their own. I have used that question as a starter for a conversation with students and have been able to get some interesting information about what they are expecting from the course.
Another question I really like is "How can I (the teacher) best help you learn?" Especially in 9th grade, I sometimes get students who say they need me to stay on their case to keep them on task and hold them accountable for things like completing homework. A few weeks later, that same student will be less enthusiastic about my efforts to keep them on track, and pulling out their survey reminds them why I'm doing it. It also sends the message that I did pay attention to their responses and am trying to respond to their needs.
Because this course is focused on online teaching, the survey included some questions about the kind of technology access students have. Since I currently teach in a face-to-face environment, I haven't asked students about that before. Having actual data on how many of my students have a device and what kinds of devices they have gives me more confidence in exploring some very cool things I've seen other teachers trying. For example, Andy Rundquist of Hamline University has his students make their own screencasts instead of taking written assessments or submitting lab reports and high school teacher Ramsey Musallam encourages students to submit videos with demonstrations or real-world examples of their classroom topics. Now that I know how many of my students have easy access to cameras and microphones, I can provide my students with similar opportunities with minimal concerns.
A good introductory survey is a great way to set the expectation for students that their voices and their needs matter while providing the teacher with a wealth of valuable information. Whether I'm teaching face-to-face, in a blended setting, or entirely online, this is a practice I intend to continue and to refine to ensure I know what I need to in order to support my students.
My favorite question from the survey remains "Aside from a specific grade, what are your goals for this course?" My 12th grade physics class is an elective, so I tend to get pretty meaningful responses that give me an idea of what my students value and what they are interested in. My 9th grade physical science course is required for graduation, so its a little tough to get students to provide a meaningful response on their own. I have used that question as a starter for a conversation with students and have been able to get some interesting information about what they are expecting from the course.
Another question I really like is "How can I (the teacher) best help you learn?" Especially in 9th grade, I sometimes get students who say they need me to stay on their case to keep them on task and hold them accountable for things like completing homework. A few weeks later, that same student will be less enthusiastic about my efforts to keep them on track, and pulling out their survey reminds them why I'm doing it. It also sends the message that I did pay attention to their responses and am trying to respond to their needs.
Because this course is focused on online teaching, the survey included some questions about the kind of technology access students have. Since I currently teach in a face-to-face environment, I haven't asked students about that before. Having actual data on how many of my students have a device and what kinds of devices they have gives me more confidence in exploring some very cool things I've seen other teachers trying. For example, Andy Rundquist of Hamline University has his students make their own screencasts instead of taking written assessments or submitting lab reports and high school teacher Ramsey Musallam encourages students to submit videos with demonstrations or real-world examples of their classroom topics. Now that I know how many of my students have easy access to cameras and microphones, I can provide my students with similar opportunities with minimal concerns.
A good introductory survey is a great way to set the expectation for students that their voices and their needs matter while providing the teacher with a wealth of valuable information. Whether I'm teaching face-to-face, in a blended setting, or entirely online, this is a practice I intend to continue and to refine to ensure I know what I need to in order to support my students.
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