Recent Changes

This goal is met by creating and managing my own online course on CourseSites called Building a Google Classroom. The course itself is located at: Building a Google Classroom My course reflection is located at Course Site Reflection Link
III. Summary
to be knowledgableknowledgeable about facilitating can facilitate higher levelhigher-level learning in discussed the elementselements, which must for online coursescourses, which focused my district.
The third artifact for goal one was the development of our online course on CourseBuild. My partner and I chose the title Building a Google Classroom. The course was designed for middle and high school teachers and focused on integrating Google tools in the classroom. We included activities to build a community of inquiry, reflect on integrating technology, and developing an integrated unit. We also participated in a course built by others in our class. This was a good experience all around. The mock instructor/ student experience gave us the opportunity for a trial run. We got a little taste of what it might be like to develop and manage an online course. We then reflected on the experience and made some decisions about what we might like to change or do better next time. I would like to refine the one my partner and I created and present it to the district office to use when they are ready to roll out Google Classroom for all teachers.
to be knowledgableknowledgeable about research of Social LearningLearning, which indicates
The last artifact for goal 2 was our SC EdTech proposal to present. My proposal is titled MineCraft: how virtual worlds can enhance learning in the classroom. My children play this game and I have watched for several years now trying to figure out how to integrate this into my unit on rocks and minerals. As I began to research this topic I learned that some teachers are already using it to teach. They even have an education version that is affordable and has some teacher controls. The educational applications for this "sandbox" video game are limited by imagination only. My youngest son has also informed me that if I have the computer version my student can write mods, which are like mini computer programs. I have applied to present this topic at the SC EdTech conference. We will see what happens. In the mean time I will be coming up with a plan to use this in my classroom next year.
Goal 3, to critically evaluate examples of distance education implementation in educational and business setting is supported by one artifact. Early in the course we selected two different online courses to evaluate using Evaluation of Online Instruction Guidelines. We chose an English Literature course and an algebra course to evaluate. As a group we each evaluated the course based on the rubric provided to us and then collaborated on our individual findings. We created a document summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of these online courses. When I need to learn how to do something new I always search out examples. I look at these with a critical eye to determine the best way to proceed in creating my own. This was an important step in developing our own online courses. Again the document we created was useful to facilitate my own learning. The knowledge gained from this activity allowed me to create my own online course as well as those I may create in the future.

The last artifact for goal 2 was our SC EdTech proposal to present. My proposal is titled MineCraft: how virtual worlds can enhance learning in the classroom. My children play this game and I have watched for several years now trying to figure out how to integrate this into my unit on rocks and minerals. As I began to research this topic I learned that some teachers are already using it to teach. They even have an education version that is affordable and has some teacher controls. The educational applications for this "sandbox" video game are limited by imagination only. My youngest son has also informed me that if I have the computer version my student can write mods, which are like mini computer programs. I have applied to present this topic at the SC EdTech conference. We will see what happens. In the mean time I will be coming up with a plan to use this in my classroom next year.
Goal 3, to critically evaluate examples of distance education implementation in educational and business setting is supported by one artifact. Early in the course we selected two different online courses to evaluate using Evaluation of Online Instruction Guidelines. We chose an English Literature course and an algebra course to evaluate. As a group we each evaluated the course based on the rubric provided to us and then collaborated on our individual findings. We created a document summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of these online courses. When I need to learn how to do something new I always search out examples. I look at these with a critical eye to determine the best way to proceed in creating my own. This was an important step in developing our own online courses. Again the document we created was useful to facilitate my own learning. The knowledge gained from this activity allowed me to create my own online course as well as those I may create in the future.
Goal 4,
Toto construct effective and delivery tools is supported by one artifact. To create my online course: Building a Google Classroom. As stated above in goal 1 this course was designed for middle or high school teachers and focuses on the integration of technology using Google tools.
We chose four Google tools to highlight: Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Google Forms, and Google Sites. Teachers would read articles related to technology integration and then discuss how these topics were relevant to their teaching. In addition to discussion boards teachers would keep a reflective journal on how they were integrating technology in their own classrooms. Finally they would develop a unit of study that integrates technology. The mock instructor/ student interaction allowed us to see what it might be like to create and implement our own online course. The skills and knowledge I have gained with this experience will allow me to develop my own courses in the future. This knowledge will also benefit me as I continue to integrate technology in my classroom.

Goal 3, to critically evaluate examples of distance education implementation in educational and business setting is supported by one artifact. Early in the course we selected two different online courses to evaluate using Evaluation of Online Instruction Guidelines. We chose an English Literature course and an algebra course to evaluate. As a group we each evaluated the course based on the rubric provided to us and then collaborated on our individual findings. We created a document summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of these online courses. When I need to learn how to do something new I always search out examples. I look at these with a critical eye to determine the best way to proceed in creating my own. This was an important step in developing our own online courses. Again the document we created was useful to facilitate my own learning. The knowledge gained from this activity allowed me to create my own online course as well as those I may create in the future.
Goal 4,
To construct effective delivery of courses, topics, or training by using existing course development and delivery tools.

Goal 2, to be knowledgable about research in aspects of distance education and the use of telecommunications in educational and other settings is also supported by several artifacts. Our discussion board posts fit with this objective as well. We read various research on topics related to online course development. As already stated above these were important for us to learn how to develop our own online or blended courses. The second artifact that supports goal 2 is our research synthesis. I chose to research the importance of building communities in online learning. The most stated reason for community building in online learning environments was because of the isolation that many students feel when taking online courses. However, building a community of learning is also based in Vygotsky's Theory of Social Learning which indicates that cognition is the end result of social interaction. To create an annotated bibliography I search for, read, and annotated 21 articles that were related to building a community of inquiry. I learned that a Community of Inquiry consists of three presences: social, cognitive, and instructor. All three of these are important for the success of online learning experiences. The most successful online courses contain social, cognitive, and instructor presence. This information will be useful to me next year because this is my districts focus for staff development. The third artifact for goal 2 is my narrated presentation related to my research synthesis. I chose to create my video based on the three important elements of a Community of Inquiry: social presence, cognitive presence, and instructor presence. Again I am not sure how I will use the video but the information I gained in the process will help me in my quest to effectively integrate technology into my classroom next year.
The last artifact for goal 2 was our SC EdTech proposal to present. My proposal is titled MineCraft: how virtual worlds can enhance learning in the classroom. My children play this game and I have watched for several years now trying to figure out how to integrate this into my unit on rocks and minerals. As I began to research this topic I learned that some teachers are already using it to teach. They even have an education version that is affordable and has some teacher controls. The educational applications for this "sandbox" video game are limited by imagination only. My youngest son has also informed me that if I have the computer version my student can write mods, which are like mini computer programs. I have applied to present this topic at the SC EdTech conference. We will see what happens. In the mean time I will be coming up with a plan to use this in my classroom next year.
Goal 3, to critically evaluate examples of distance education implementation in educational and business setting is supported by one artifact. Early in the course we selected two different online courses to evaluate using Evaluation of Online Instruction Guidelines. We chose an English Literature course and an algebra course to evaluate. As a group we each evaluated the course based on the rubric provided to us and then collaborated on our individual findings. We created a document summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of these online courses. When I need to learn how to do something new I always search out examples. I look at these with a critical eye to determine the best way to proceed in creating my own. This was an important step in developing our own online courses. Again the document we created was useful to facilitate my own learning. The knowledge gained from this activity allowed me to create my own online course as well as those I may create in the future.
Goal 4,

The second artifact that supports goal 1 is our chapter 10 presentation. For this activity I created a narrated video that gave a summary and my reactions to the information in this particular chapter. The chapter discussed the elements which must be in place before online courses can be developed. The need for a change in teaching paradigm and then how online course are typically developed in both in profit and non-profit organizations. For my video I focused on the following main points of the article: 1. Building the foundation for online courses which focused on what needed to be in place before you could design an online course. 2. Which type of model you wanted to used for you course student centered or teacher centered, 3. Then how to gain faculty participation to develop online courses and finally what it takes to develop and implement online courses. I enjoyed organizing the information and creating the video. I tried to find images that would represent the ideas without overloading the screen with written information. I am not sure how I might use the video itself in the future but the information I acquired from the activity will allow me to create future online or blended learning experiences for my students and possibly other teachers in my district.
The third artifact for goal one was the development of our online course on CourseBuild. My partner and I chose the title Building a Google Classroom. The course was designed for middle and high school teachers and focused on integrating Google tools in the classroom. We included activities to build a community of inquiry, reflect on integrating technology, and developing an integrated unit. We also participated in a course built by others in our class. This was a good experience all around. The mock instructor/ student experience gave us the opportunity for a trial run. We got a little taste of what it might be like to develop and manage an online course. We then reflected on the experience and made some decisions about what we might like to change or do better next time. I would like to refine the one my partner and I created and present it to the district office to use when they are ready to roll out Google Classroom for all teachers.
Goal 22, to be this is themy districts focus development. The lastthird artifact for next year.
The last artifact for goal 2 was our SC EdTech proposal to present. My proposal is titled MineCraft: how virtual worlds can enhance learning in the classroom. My children play this game and I have watched for several years now trying to figure out how to integrate this into my unit on rocks and minerals. As I began to research this topic I learned that some teachers are already using it to teach. They even have an education version that is affordable and has some teacher controls. The educational applications for this "sandbox" video game are limited by imagination only. My youngest son has also informed me that if I have the computer version my student can write mods, which are like mini computer programs. I have applied to present this topic at the SC EdTech conference. We will see what happens. In the mean time I will be coming up with a plan to use this in my classroom next year.
Goal 3,

The second artifact that supports goal 1 is our chapter 10 presentation. For this activity I created a narrated video that gave a summary and my reactions to the information in this particular chapter. The chapter discussed the elements which must be in place before online courses can be developed. The need for a change in teaching paradigm and then how online course are typically developed in both in profit and non-profit organizations. For my video I focused on the following main points of the article: 1. Building the foundation for online courses which focused on what needed to be in place before you could design an online course. 2. Which type of model you wanted to used for you course student centered or teacher centered, 3. Then how to gain faculty participation to develop online courses and finally what it takes to develop and implement online courses. I enjoyed organizing the information and creating the video. I tried to find images that would represent the ideas without overloading the screen with written information. I am not sure how I might use the video itself in the future but the information I acquired from the activity will allow me to create future online or blended learning experiences for my students and possibly other teachers in my district.
The third artifact for goal one was the development of our online course on CourseBuild. My partner and I chose the title Building a Google Classroom. The course was designed for middle and high school teachers and focused on integrating Google tools in the classroom. We included activities to build a community of inquiry, reflect on integrating technology, and developing an integrated unit. We also participated in a course built by others in our class. This was a good experience all around. The mock instructor/ student experience gave us the opportunity for a trial run. We got a little taste of what it might be like to develop and manage an online course. We then reflected on the experience and made some decisions about what we might like to change or do better next time. I would like to refine the one my partner and I created and present it to the district office to use when they are ready to roll out Google Classroom for all teachers.
other settings
To be knowledgeable about is also supported by several artifacts. Our discussion board posts fit with this objective as well. We read various research on topics related to online course development. As already stated above these were important for us to learn how to develop our own online or blended courses. The second artifact that supports goal 2 is our research synthesis. I chose to research the importance of building communities in aspectsonline learning. The most stated reason for community building in online learning environments was because of distance education and the useisolation that many students feel when taking online courses. However, building a community of telecommunicationslearning is also based in educationalVygotsky's Theory of Social Learning which indicates that cognition is the end result of social interaction. To create an annotated bibliography I search for, read, and other settings.
annotated 21 articles that were related to building a community of inquiry. I learned that a Community of Inquiry consists of three presences: social, cognitive, and instructor. All three of these are important for the success of online learning experiences. The most successful online courses contain social, cognitive, and instructor presence. This information will be useful to me next year because this is the districts focus for staff development. The last artifact for goal 2 is my narrated presentation related to my research synthesis. I chose to create my video based on the three important elements of a Community of Inquiry: social presence, cognitive presence, and instructor presence. Again I am not sure how I will use the video but the information I gained in the process will help me in my quest to effectively integrate technology into my classroom next year.

The second artifact that supports goal 1 is our chapter 10 presentation. For this activity I created a narrated video that gave a summary and my reactions to the information in this particular chapter. The chapter discussed the elements which must be in place before online courses can be developed. The need for a change in teaching paradigm and then how online course are typically developed in both in profit and non-profit organizations. For my video I focused on the following main points of the article: 1. Building the foundation for online courses which focused on what needed to be in place before you could design an online course. 2. Which type of model you wanted to used for you course student centered or teacher centered, 3. Then how to gain faculty participation to develop online courses and finally what it takes to develop and implement online courses. I enjoyed organizing the information and creating the video. I tried to find images that would represent the ideas without overloading the screen with written information. I am not sure how I might use the video itself in the future but the information I acquired from the activity will allow me to create future online or blended learning experiences for my students and possibly other teachers in my district.
The third artifact for goal one was the development of our online course on CourseBuild. My partner and I chose the title Building a Google Classroom. The course was designed for middle and high school teachers and focused on integrating Google tools in the classroom. We included activities to build a community of inquiry, reflect on integrating technology, and developing an integrated unit. We also participated in a course built by others in our class. This was a good experience all around. The mock instructor/ student experience gave us the opportunity for a trial run. We got a little taste of what it might be like to develop and manage an online course. We then reflected on the experience and made some decisions about what we might like to change or do better next time. I would like to refine the one my partner and I created and present it to the district office to use when they are ready to roll out Google Classroom for all teachers.
ToGoal 2 to be knowledgeableknowledgable about facilitatingresearch in aspects of distance education and managing online courses effectively guided by national standards (e.g., iNACOLthe use of telecommunications in educational and other settings
To be knowledgeable about research in aspects of distance education and ISTE)the use of telecommunications in educational and instructional design theory.other settings.

This goal is met by creating and managing my own online course on CourseSites called Building a Google Classroom. The course itself is located at: Building a Google Classroom My course reflection is located at Course Site Reflection Link
III. Summary
several artifacts. The first artifactOne of the ongoing activities in this course was to read about issues related to distance education and discuss these with other students in the course. We read about theories related to online learning, the importance of building communities in online environments, and the importance of critical thinking and how instructors can facilitate higher level learning in an online environment. These were important for us to understand before we could develop our own online course. This information gave me some insight into why the online course I have taken throughout my graduate degree contained certain elements. This information will be useful in the immediate future as I integrate elements of technology in a blended learning brick and mortar school. I may also have the opportunity in the future to develop online course for other teachers or at a university level.
The second artifact that supports goal 1 is our chapter 10 presentation. For this activity I created duringa narrated video that gave a summary and my reactions to the information in this particular chapter. The chapter discussed the elements which must be in place before online courses can be developed. The need for a change in teaching paradigm and then how online course are typically developed in both in profit and non-profit organizations. For my video I focused on the following main points of the article: 1. Building the foundation for online courses which focused on what needed to be in place before you could design an online course. 2. Which type of model you wanted to used for you course student centered or teacher centered, 3. Then how to gain faculty participation to develop online courses and finally what it takes to develop and implement online courses. I enjoyed organizing the information and creating the video. I tried to find images that would represent the ideas without overloading the screen with written information. I am not sure how I might use the video itself in the future but the information I acquired from the activity will allow me to create future online or blended learning experiences for my students and possibly other teachers in my district.
The third artifact for goal one was the development of our online course wereon CourseBuild. My partner and I chose the initial readingtitle Building a Google Classroom. The course was designed for middle and discussion boardhigh school teachers and focused on integrating Google tools in the classroom. We included activities to build a community of inquiry, reflect on integrating technology, and developing an integrated unit. We also participated in a course built by others in our class. This was a good experience all around. The mock instructor/ student experience gave us the opportunity for a trial run. We got a little taste of what it might be like to develop and manage an online course. We then reflected on the experience and made some decisions about what we might like to change or do better next time. I would like to refine the one my partner and I created and present it to the district office to use when they are ready to roll out Google Classroom for all teachers.
To be knowledgeable about facilitating and managing online courses effectively guided by national standards (e.g., iNACOL and ISTE) and instructional design theory.

This goal is met by creating and managing my own online course on CourseSites called Building a Google Classroom. The course itself is located at: Building a Google Classroom My course reflection is located at Course Site Reflection Link
This goal is also met by creating a video presentation from Chapter 10 The Theory and Practice of Online Learning edited by Terry Anderson. The narrated presentation can be found at: Chapter 10 Presentation Overview
This goal is also met by discussion board post on the topic of distance education from The Theory and Practice of Online Learning edited by Terry Anderson. The discussion board post can be found at: Various Research Article Discussions
Goal 2. To be knowledgeable about research in aspects of distance education and the use of telecommunications in educational and other settings.
This goal is met by creating a research synthesis on building a community of learners in online education. The research synthesis can be found at: Building a Community of Learners and the narrated presentation can be found at: Building a Community of Learners Narrated Presentation.
This goal is also met by creating a presentation proposal for SC EdTech 2015 and can be found at: Minecraft: how virtual worlds can enhance learning in the classroom.
This goal is also met by discussion board post on the topic of distance education from The Theory and Practice of Online Learning edited by Terry Anderson. The discussion board post can be found at: Various Research Article Discussions
Goal 3. To critically evaluate examples of distance education implementation in educational and business settings.
This goal is met by evaluating other online courses using criteria provided by Evaluation of Online Instruction Guidelines Our group evaluation of two online courses is located at: Course Evaluations
This goal is met by creating and managing my own online course on CourseSites called Building a Google Classroom. The course itself is located at: Building a Google Classroom My course reflection is located at Course Site Reflection Link
III. Summary
The focus of EDET 755 consists of research and current methods associated with distance education. The first goal to be knowledgable about facilitating and managing online courses and instructional design theory is supported by several artifacts. The first artifact we created during our course were the initial reading and discussion board
To be knowledgeable about facilitating and managing online courses effectively guided by national standards (e.g., iNACOL and ISTE) and instructional design theory.