Virtual School: Coming to a Summer School Near You

Imagine taking a summer school class while visiting relatives in China for the summer or logging on to your laptop at the beach to take a quiz for your online eleventh grade sciene class. How cool would that be? Well in this age of increasingly popular virtual school this is a reality not a possability. The article, "Summer School Goes to the Beach" talks about the benefits of taking summer school classes online. Those who struggle with the content presented during the normal academic year find the format for summer school much easier. In the text it states that, "Most students finish with A's and B'c, because teachers don't let them go through with D's." Students are also able to retake assements or work through several practice assements until they are ready to be tested. On the other hand, the article does stress that parents and should consider if their child is able to work idependently with nobody to breathe down the child's neck to complete an assignment.

Virtual classrooms are a form of distance education which is "any instructional situation in which learners are seperated in time or space from the point origination, charecterized by limited access to the teacher and other learners." Students complete coursework at their own time and their own pace, and the teacher acts more as a facilitator than the core instructional guide. Students are able to use a number of technological devices to complete assignments. They are more likely to watch audio presentations online or view podcasts. Navigating an online course requires students to understand how to use different aspects of the computer. Therefore, apart from mastering the content area students are also working towards mastering the use of the computer.

Virtual schooling is a great pacing tool. Firstly, students can complete assignments at the time of day that they are best able to focus. Instead of listening to a lecture after lunch time when they are least focus and less likely to pay attention and absorb knowledge they can view a podcasted lecture online at three o'clock in the afternoon when they are most alert. Secondly, the course caters to the higher and lower level learners. Students are able to complete assignments at their own pace, and those that are mastering the subject content quickly can work ahead to the next module in the same weeK. Slower level learners can take the whole week to complete one module, and they are not pressured to get something because the faster paced learners need to move on.


It would be good to do a comparison study to see if asyncronous education is more effective than syncronous education. How does asyncronous classrooms fair to ones that are teacher centered? Does it help learners to be able to work on mastering content in an online class at their own pace?

If you would like to read the article "Summer School Goes to the Beach" follow the link:http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=21&hid=106&sid=53275d82-297c-44e9-b096-62b2ee13ea68%40sessionmgr107

No Best Kept Secret

Do you want to hear a secret? Well it is not really a secret. In fact, it is common knowledge, and it is easily accessible to the public. The article "Animate Learning with Digital Video" talks about video streaming, and how it is a great educational tool that is easyily accessible to the public. Educators and learners can access educational videos for free or with a subscription from a number of educational video on demand sources. In the article it states, "Accomponied by instructional materials, these databases are searchable by keyword, subject area, or grade level, and curriculum standards." Such video sources include Discovery Education, Classroom Content Click, and Brain Pop.


Video Streaming is an aspect of projected visuals. Projected visuals are defined as, "media formats in which still images are projected onto a screen." The videos provide digital images in the form of online videos. For instance, in a literature class students can view a DVD version of a book that they have just completed. The teacher stops the video for a moment and keeps the images on the monitor for discussion in class. This form of teaching style offers more concrete experiences. Learners can see pictures of the places or ideas that are presented. The ideas are put in to action, and they get a visual picture of what they are learning.


Video streaming provides a number of benefits to learners. Watching videos brings a subject to life. In the article it states videos "Bring Shakespeare to life or animates the working of the human circulatory system." Actually viewing a subject in action makes the experience more concrete for learners. Students are shown to do a frog disection. Furthermore, students can make their own educational videos and upload them to the interent. There are many public sites that allow one to upload videos for free. Students can take what they have learned, and they can put it into a video. In turn, students are making the learning experiences meaningful to them, and they are learning how to better naviagte technology.


I feel that more research is needed to be done on how watching videos increases knowledge. Does watching an education video help students to retain facts and ideas better than reading inormation in a book or hearing a lecture?

If you would like to read the article "Animate Learning with Digital Video" follow this link: http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=6&hid=103&sid=a4e24b3e-e298-4831-8e84-7a62e8ea8b87%40sessionmgr106

Podcasts: Making Education Fun!

Here's a novel idea having fun with your students! That's right education can be more than textbook lectures and discipinary action. It can be about having fun, and podcasts can make the learning process and fresh and fun one. In the article "Sound of! The Possibilities of Podcasting" talks about what podcasting is, and how it can be used. In the article, it says that "a podcast is any audio recording that is linked to the web, that can be downloaded to a personal MP3 player". They can be used in any content areas for instruction and review, and they can be used to asses what students have learned. For instance, in the article a group of second graders did a project on "Holiday's around the world" using podcasts. The article talkes about how easy podcasts can be. All you need is a microphone and some inexpensive technology.



Podcasts can be used as apart of learning centers. Learning centers are defined as "a self-contained enviroment designed to promote individual or small group learning focused on a particular topic." Students can work together in a hands on group activity to create a podcast discussing the solar system, or they can renact a scene from Hamlet. Podcasts can also be used by teachers to create lectures that students can review outside of the classroom. This can help students review for tests, and those students that are absent will not fall behind in material being learned. They can view it at home on their computer.


I feel that podcasts are beneficial to learning. Podcasts are great for extending learning outside the classroom. In the article it states, "Podcasts can also reach a much larger audience outside the boundaries of the ordinary school day." Teachers can use podcasts to stimulate lectures that they would not ordinaryily be able to give in being absent from school. Also, podcasts can reach students who missed a day's lecture. Allowing the students to create podcasts offers invaluable learning experiences. It benifits students in two ways. First, it allows learners to work with technology making them more technologically proficient. Secondly, podcasts allow students to practice public speaking skills in recording the podcasts. They work on rate, volume, and diction three important aspects in good public speaking. It also helps make learners more confident public speakers.


More research in the success rate of podcasts in classrooms is needed. Also, it is important to learn if the podcasts are more distracting than helpful. Do students focus more on the recording part than the actual content that they need to incorporate in the podcast?

If you would like to read the article "Sound of! The possibilities of podcasting follow this link:http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=7&hid=117&sid=b0c46210-c894-4958-b8c2-1af7f58188d0%40sessionmgr102

Animating Science

Science and animation go hand in hand. Animation can show students how the circulatory system works and how to pump a tire. The article "Computer Animation used to Bring Science to Life" talks about how using animations in science classrooms can "engage and motivate students and , make unseen worlds visible, and impart and intuitive feel for absract concepts". The article talks about how effective animations can clarify scientific phenomena, but uneffective models can distract students. The article says that there have been a lot of hits and misses with animations. In fact if they are not constructed correctly they can distract students. The article gives some key points in creating clear and concise animations: place text close to the image, use simple langauge, synchronize naration, use conversational narration, and include on-screen narration cues.

Animations can be used in asynchronous classrooms. Facilitators and teachers can use an animated presentation to demonstrate an online lesson. Animations can be used to recreate various science concepts. For instance, teachers can show learners how photosynthesis, the water cycle, and tornadoes form by using animated models. Animations can also be made into videos that can be broadcasted in the classroom. The teacher can narrate the film and create an interative experince for students.

Using animations in science classrooms is especially useful. Science employs a lot of processes and seeing a process in action makes it clearer for learners than just hearing it in theory since the majority of learners are not auditory learners. Though the article states that animations are distracting teachers can have their students create animations of their own. Students can construct a projoct on the parts of the human body or an animation on the solar system. This allows learners to use what they have learned, and it familarizes them with the technology.

Other researh can be done to see how animations work in improving students understanding of certian science concepts. Does seeing the various processes help them to grasp the concepts better? Also, research should be done to see if animations in lessons improve test scores. Are these visual teaching techqniques more effective than auditory ones?

If you would like to read the article "Computer Animation Used to Bring Science to Life" follow this link: http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=18&hid=103&sid=0ea8ec6d-489d-4fce-84f3-5ef68b6e4234%40sessionmgr106

Camera's, Schools, and Visual Imagry

The article "Visual Imagry" by Lance Wilhelm talks about how schools are using photogrpahy to to improve visual literacy skills in learners. The article states, "Visual literacy is becoming more important from a curricular standpoint as society relies to a greater degree on images and visual communication strategies". The article states that using digital camera's to enhance digital imagry is becoming inexpensive and more conveinent for K-12 schools. An understanding of visual literacy increase problem solving skills.


Digital imagry is a great way to familiarize students with technology especially in learning how to use digital cameras. They can use pictures to create presentations. In the text it states, "There are many types of creativity tools available for learners to use. Students can take text, graphics, images, audio, and video, to create some very exciting representations of their learning." Learners can use images taken via digital camera, and they can use them in presentations. For instance, students learning how plants grow can record the growth of plants to see how they develop. Digital images make things concrete for students and appeal to visual learners. Sometimes seeing the subject makes it easier for learners to understand.

After reading this article, I see digital imagry as another great tool to add to the bank of strategies to enhance learning. Allowing students to take pictures of what they are seeing for presentations and projects allows them to take stock in their work and make it their own. It allows them to utalize their creativity and think outside the box. It may not be useful to kinesthetic or auditory learners, but it could also improve visual skills.


I wonder how effective digital imagry is as a teaching tool? Also, I would like to see how teachers can use digtial imagry in other ways throughout the classroom. Is it more beneficial for visual leaners than auditory or kinesthetic learners? Does it improve visual skills for non visual learners?


If you would like to read the article "Digital Imagry" by Lance Wilhelm follow this link: http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=11&hid=116&sid=f84afd58-77ac-4de0-a655-adf8a63333b0%40sessionmgr107

Once Upon a Time there was a StoryBoard

Stories form pictures of far away places and space adventures in our minds. They enchant and excite our imaginations. Students are not just listening to stories in their classrooms, but now they are creating stories in their classrooms as well. The article "Story as a Tool for Learning" talks about how students are using storyboards in their classrooms to create their own stories. The article focuses on the benefits that storyboarding has in the classroom, "Storyboards are a fantastic way to put together a tale, display information, and get pupils thinking about things". Learners are able to look at problems objectively. They are able to take situations out of the constraints of the classroom, and put them into a more inventive and adventerous form.


Storyboarding, caters to students diverse learning styles. It moves away from the typical presentation format. In the text it states "Intresestingly, research has shown that most students do not have a prefrence or strenght for auditory reception, yet direct instruction is still the most prevelent practice in K-12" (89). Students are able to use a number of learning styles such as Kinesthetic, Visual, and interpersonal. Storyboarding is escpecailly helpful to lower level learners who have more kinesthetic learning styles. It offers a hands on e experience for students, and it allows them to take an active approach to learning.


I believe that this is another great way to make learning more interesting. Storyboarding is a great way for students to work in a cooperative learning enviroment while using their imagination to create stories. This will help students to improve critical thinking skills. While I do not think storyboarding is appropriate for every subject it is still one of may innovative approachs to teaching.


While storyboarding may be good for the third graders mentioned in the article how successdful is it for middle school and high school students? I think research on the universialtiy of storyboarding would be useful. Also, how does storyboarding help students with fact retention?For instance, if a ninth grade history class did a storyboard on the the history of the Revolutionary War would this help the students to better remember key concepts and facts from the War than by just taking a test?

If you would like to read the article "Story as a Tool for Learning" follow this link:http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=9&hid=103&sid=b22467b4-be78-4f3f-95e6-af35e69af331%40sessionmgr104

Wiki: A Cool New Way to Learn!

Who would have imagined students creating web pages in school? It is a reality! Students are creating and editing online encyclopedia's and discussing Mcbeth online. The aritlce "Educators Experiment with Student-Written Wiki's" talks about this new do-it-yourself website creation program. The article goes into discussing both the benefits and draw backs to this program. Besides fostering collaboration and communication, Wikis, "Is a Web site that allows anyone to add or change content anywhere." On the downside, Wiki is not techically difficult, but it can be conceptually hard to use. The safty of the program is not the best, and it is wide open to anyone and everyone.


This technology provides a visual for students. Students are able to make abstract ideas concrete when putting them into the web pages. For instance, in the article, it talks about how students at East Side Community High School shared and wrote their own versions of McBeth online and discussed them. Using information that students learn allows them to participate in group learning (a grouping strategy in which students work together to benifit each other's learning potentinal). In working together students can learn from one another.

I feel that Wikis are a great way for teaching students how to utalize technology. Wikis also provide an experience for students to take their education into their own hands. They are responisble for creating their web pages, and therfore they have stake in the outcome. It is just one of many great ways to make education more interesting and colorful for students.

The article talks about how Wikis are "flying under the radar in most schools". It would be useful to see how successful this program is in grades K-12. Is it helping to improve students grades and skills essential for passing standardized test s?. Also, what are the long term benefits? How much is this improving students technological literacy?.

If you would like to read the article "Educatos Experiments with Student-Written Wikis" follow this link: http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=6&hid=112&sid=73a30033-fbef-482b-a6bf-8681164de99f%40sessionmgr103