Instructional Design Reflection

What benefits do you see in educators knowing how to design and implement online learning?
How will you professionally use your course that you designed?
Will you integrate online learning in your role as a teacher/staff developer?
What questions do you still have about online learning?
What will you do with this new learning?

Embracing the implementation of online learning can benefit not only students but also teachers and taking the time to really pour into the design process would only help teachers become better facilitators of their online courses. One of the most beneficial pieces of online learning is that it allows teachers to easily differentiate instruction. This is a huge benefit for students! It gives them a manageable time-table to complete tasks and assignments plus it allows them the opportunity to request help for concepts they may have trouble comprehending. The implementation process is also an important factor in using online courses. If teachers are comfortable with not only the design process but also the implementation process they can effectively facilitate online learning in their classrooms and on their campuses. The comfort level they achieve can only help them become better facilitators and implementation specialists.

The online learning course I've designed was specifically tailored for students who are struggling with the traditional classroom teaching methods for basic math concepts. I've designed my course to allow the students to bring in more student-centered learning strategies and collaborative learning. This also allows students to pursue some of their own learning responsibilities. Additionally, I plan on using my online course as a training tool where I would elicit assistance from teachers on improving the overall course for students. This would allow teachers to see an online learning module along with student work examples which could help ease fears of implementation and design.

I would plan on implmenting online learning as a teacher and as a staff developer. As a teacher, I see the opporutnity to differentiate learning, I also forsee the opportunity to expand student learning outside of the traditional classroom by bringing in professionals to collaborate with students. Additionally, the online learning environment is a collaborative environment where teachers and students can interact on assignements and learning modules.
As a staff developer I would use online learning modules to help my campus personnel. Online learning allows teachers to work at their own pace in a collaborative environment that is beneficial for all participants. The only problems that could pose as a potential pitfall would be follow-through on the course modules. It's important that the facilitator remain involved in discussions, if they are a part of the course as well as stay abreast of grading assignments and offering feedback to staff.

Since our district uses online learning a great deal, I'm comfortable with using and designing online learning courses. I see the potential for additional online learning modules to train teachers on designing and implementing their own and that leads me into the final prompt.

I'm currently working with a group of technology teachers to design a balanced literacy module integrating technology into balanced literacy standards. At this point the modules have been completed and they are now ready to integrate into the school district's staff development courses for this summer. Going into next school year, I'm planning to create more online learning modules for campus staff development as well as integrating more online learning in the classrooms. Currently, I would estimate that 30% of the campus classrooms are using online learning modules. I hope to have at least 50% usage by this time next school year. I plan to attack that by creating more online modules for teachers to research and use as well as more staff development opportunites for teachers to learn more about online learning.