3.3 Online & Blended Learning
Candidates develop, model, and facilitate the use of online and blended learning, digital content, and learning networks to support and extend student learning and expand opportunities and choices for professional learning for teachers and administrators.
Online Learning Experience Planning Grid
The OLE (Online Learning Experience) Planning Grid was created in the Introduction to Online Learning course. The purpose of this assignment was to develop and create plans for an online learning experience. The online learning experience that I developed was approximately six weeks long. The OLE Planning Grid includes the standards, student objectives/outcomes, activities that will be completed week by week, and assessments that correlate with the objectives. Using the Fourth Grade Science Standards, I decided to base my online learning unit on the solar system. The online learning unit I created follows a blended learning format; therefore, some of the activities included are classroom based while others are online based.
The OLE Planning Grid demonstrates mastery of Standard 3.3 because the completion of this assignment required the development of an online or blended learning unit. The online learning unit includes digital content to support student learning. Throughout the unit, different activities are provided to support or extend students depending on their performance levels. Ultimately, the online learning unit will be modeled and facilitated in the Fall of 2012. This artifact also expands opportunities and choices for professional learning teachers and administrators because I will be able to apply the knowledge I gained by creating the OLE Planning Grid for my students, and, hopefully, apply that in the creation of online professional learning opportunities for teachers.
By completing the OLE Planning Grid, I learned a lot about creating meaningful objectives that match the standards. Many times, when I'm planning lessons, I jump right into pulling activities that correlate with the standards, but it is important to determine what the learning outcomes should be first. Also, the assessments should go hand-in-hand with the learning outcomes. I was also surprised at the amount of online resources that are available. I actually had a hard time narrowing my activities down for time frame I needed to stay in. To improve the quality of this artifact, I would have included a section on the OLE Planning Grid for differentiation. While I tried to include support and extension activities where I could, I think it is necessary to be prepared to differentiate instruction even for online learning. Also, most of my students have limited online learning experiences so I need to include time to teach my students about the process for online learning and any other background information they may need.
The OLE Planning Grid impacts student learning because students are getting the opportunity to experience online learning. Also, by completing the planning grid prior to implementation with the students, I was able to develop meaningful objectives and determine activities and assessments that correlate with those objectives. Overall, the planning and development that went into the OLE Planning Grid will ensure a successful online learning experience for the students. The impact of this artifact can be assessed by the mastery of the student objectives provided in the OLE Planning Grid through the evaluation of the assessments provided.