ENTERING THE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM A Look at a Completely Online Upper School Class Kate Marlow Upper School English, School of the Holy Child

THE ONLINE LANDSCAPE Who takes online classes? Why teach them?

Who takes online classes? One of the fastest growing trends in technology for educational use. The number of K-12 public school students enrolled in a tech- based course increased by 65% between and (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2008). It’s estimated that more than one million K-12 students took online classes in the ‘07-’08 school year (Piccano and Seaman, 2009). Independent schools are still in the early stages of developing online learning, with 16% offering some online learning (blended or fully online) and 10% offering fully online classes (NAIS 2010).

Independent Schools’ Position on Online Classes

Face-to-Face vs. Online 2009: 12 million post- secondary students in the U.S. took at least some classes online By 2014: expected to increase to 22 million

Holy Child’s Rationale “Meeting the wants of the age” Preparing girls for the post-secondary world College-level courses Ability to work independently and think critically Adapt and change Develop an entrepreneurial, creative spirit Plan one’s time Offering classes beyond the scope of our own capabilities

Challenges & Fears Thinking about teaching online, what are your fears? What do you anticipate as challenges in teaching a class online?

Challenges & Fears I have never taken an online class, how will I know if I have structured it correctly? How should I pace the class? What if my students simply don’t respond or do the work? How will I make sure they are engaged? What if the technology simply doesn’t work? What if I don’t know how to fix it when it breaks down? How do I assess students if I can’t see them to interact with them? How do I adjust my lessons to ensure they are “getting it” when we aren’t in a f2f environment?

DESIGNING AN ONLINE, DISCUSSION-BASED COURSE “A Room of One’s Own: An Exploration of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and Michael Cunningham’s The Hours”

Scope First online course: The “recruitment process” Juniors only Range of abilities (AP and non-AP students) Range of personalities Today: Blended classes – 2D Design & Media Production I Online classes – “A Room of One’s Own” & “Madness in Literature”

Creating “A Room of One’s Own” Spring Trimester Elective Students carried a full course load (several in APs) Spanned eight weeks Several short stories and two novels Solely online interaction between teacher and students Technology support – ability to seek person-to-person help was a must

Things I Considered All students were enrolled in American Lit/AP Language One must learn how to learn online Interjecting my voice (or not) into the dialogue Tapping Multiple Intelligences Different assessment options and opportunities for feedback

Course Map Created using bubbl.us

THE PLATFORM Using Moodle to Host our Online ClassMoodle

Pacing Beginning an online class Teaching students how to take an online class Explanations without face-to-face instruction Expectations of a virtual classroom Teaching students how to manage their time Building in “tech problem time” How much to assign? Elective class, Junior Spring Pacing reading, forum posts, and online activities Creating an online class community Timing of when things were due

Assessments Forum Posts Original post and response post due each week Supporting students on how to respond effectively and further discussion The role of the teacher and voice Forum post topic Spacing due dates to enable response time Podcasts Students researched various aspects of Woolf’s life and created podcasts Podbean.com or Podomatic.com

Assessments Creative Writing: Capturing Woolf’s Voice Looked at Woolf’s text as a model Commented through Voicethread Voicethread Used photographs from childhood as inspiration Created original piece in Woolf’s style

Assessments Film Project Culminating project for Mrs. Dalloway unit Film trailer capturing major themes from the novel Directors’ statement Digital design of a film poster depicting their project

Assessments Blog Project: Reflections on Time and Space in Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours Self reflection Synthesizing information from multiple sources (novels, activities, forum discussions) Writing for an audience Providing feedback and commentary to peers “I have no time to describe my plans. I should say a good deal about The Hours, & my discovery; how I dig out beautiful caves behind my characters; I think that gives exactly what I want; humanity, humor, depth. The idea is that the caves shall connect, & each comes to daylight at the present moment.” --Virginia Woolf, in her diary, August 30, 1923

Assessments Creating Community with Ning

Advantages Learning how to plan is a critical skill Independent work (which is truly independent) is difficult— and rewarding Developing a class and learning the technology brings students and teachers a similar learning experience Communities happen when learning experiences take place—regardless of whether one is physically with someone else or not

What the Students Said: Video Testimonials about their Experiences LizRosie

Findings Time spent in the beginning about what online learning means is critical It is often challenging to learn how to use technologies available and then integrate them into a discussion-based class Planning one’s time is a learned skill 10 th grade students (per 2D Design) are not mature enough

Findings (cont.) Tutorials—just as short mini-lessons in a f2f class—are very helpful, and students responded well to them Jing, Screencast Making sure that online courses are a priority compared to f2f classes

QUESTIONS?