Online+Learning+Presentation+-+Week+4+EDUC+6715

This page is for week 4 - Online Learning Presentation for EDUC 6715

Lisa Gonzalez - Week 4 Assignment
====In my presentation I did a PowerPoint presentation that explored a LMS, RCampus. I found that using the specific LMS RCampus helped bring the idea of an LMS to a tangible actuality that could be in place in any of our classrooms. In the presentation I highlighted all of the attributes the LMS offers along with a few of the common concerns that people have as well, such as security, social interactions and work completion.====

‍‍After my presentation the administrator that was present decided that this may be a great program to pilot in one of our classrooms. Cost was of course a concern, but there are free versions of LMS available and this may be a good starting point. My administrator will be talking to our head principle about this opportunity and I am hoping to be able to sit in on this meeting to share my presentation with him. I would love to be the classroom that is chosen to pilot this program, whether I am or I am not, I will be following the progression of this pilot closely. I am excited to see what kinds of experiences this LMS can bring forth both for our students and teachers.  Todd responds to Lisa - Cost is always going to be an issue with any new systems or innovations that are suggested. I think we all feel like we have a lot to offer with our knowledge, and I think it is admirable of you to want to be the pilot program for you school in this matter. I would suggest that you be adamant about being the lead teacher in the test as your knowledge and passion for the program will give it a better chance of succeeding compared to a user who does not have a personal stake in the matter. What is the timeframe for your presentations and implementation? If your presentation is not until September, then you would have the year to run the pilot program. One of the things that came up in my presentation was how to track the visibility of the system by keeping track of the user visits. Nothing like real data to prove a point. Good luck with the implementation of the system and with the pilot program. ‍‍

Todd Deschaine - Week 4 Assignment I presented an overview on the E-Chalk course management system currently in use at our school to four people: two peer teachers, a curriculum supervisor, and our building principal. The curriculum supervisor was aware of the enhanced and expanded capabilities of E-Chalk, while the teachers and principal were not. They were aware that E-Chalk had a great deal more to offer than we were currently using, but they were not aware of the specifics, and more importantly, the potential for increasing the entire classroom experience for the students, their parents, and our community. The actual presentation took approximately forty-five minutes, but our meeting ran much longer as there were several discussions as we proceeded through the presentation.

The overall tone of the meeting was very cordial. I consider the others in the meeting to have aligned visions to what and how our school can proceed and improve. I asked them to be critical, playing devil's advocate at times to see what obstacles we would encounter along the route of full implementation. They supplied knowledgeable and rational feedback, being realistic in their objections. They also saw many of the benefits of using the enhanced features that are not currently being used. The biggest objections that seemed to be a common thread amongst the features was that of training and time. All of us knew that these excuses would be present from many of the faculty and staff. There were some other concerns and thoughts about the use of certain modules, like the teaching blogs and using them in the correct context. There were also some concerns that the work might not even be used; specifically, the school's online calendar. I suggested that there may be a multitude of people using the calendar function, but we simply do not recognize the number who do because we focus on those who do not. There were some suggestions made, and overall, I felt as the meeting was positive. There were action items to keep the effort moving forward, which in itself is a positive sign of progress. I have been in meetings with the principal and curriculum supervisor where the results were not positive, so the tone of the meeting ended in a non-committal tone, along the lines of "We will get back to you later". This meeting resulted in expected actions, and I was pleased with the realistic nature of the action items.

Joanne Crooks - Week 4 Assignment I created a presentation using Prezi for Blackboard. I presented to the principal the four assistant principals and one of the summer school teachers. The administration at my high school requires all teachers use Blackboard to post daily homework. We have been using an older version of Blackboard for the past three or four years and in June we moved from version 7.2 to 9.1. In my presentation I highlighted the new features of Blackboard and used information from this week’s resources to support using collaboration tools.

The conversation after the presentation was interesting. Our school district currently has available two similar platforms for creating online learning Blackboard and Edmodo. The district recently entered into a partnership with Edmodo and is requiring all staff register even the superintendent has joined Edmodo. The question we discussed was is Edmodo going to replace Blackboard? Since I attended an Edmodo training earlier this summer I was asked to compare the two tools. I could answer some of their questions and as we discussed the future of Blackboard it was decided as a staff we would continue to use Blackboard. It was decided requiring staff to also use Edmodo will not be well received. However, I was asked to train staff willing to learn about Edmodo. I will be an early adopter of Edmodo and report back about the similarities and differences between the two tools. I am excited about using Edmodo with my students.

Todd responds to Joanne - Transition is usually met with some initial resistance, followed by one of two polarizing paths. The first option, everyone universally likes the changes and wonders why they did not make the change years ago. The other is a total resistance to the new method, or software. Our school changed to a platform called E-Chalk from one called Oncourse, and the response has been very negative for the past two years. There are even a few teachers who outright refuse to use the new platform, and because there is a principal who also refuses to switch, they are not required to switch. I hope that my presentations will show some additional benefits and the ease of using the newer E-Chalk platform, specifically those modules where the students are affected.

On another note, it is interesting that during our presentations, the presenter is the one who gets volunteered to lead the effort. From years of presenting in business, this was not a surprise to me, but I still thought I would get a little help. Good luck with the presentations this September.

Todd Deschaine

Lisa to Joanne

The use of blackboard is great and very impressive. I think you heading up the training of Edmodo to the rest of the staff and being the one to make comparisons between Edmodo and Blackboard is also impressive, as I’m sure this is going to require a lot of planning and preparation. I believe that once the staff realizes the benefits that can be had when it comes to accepting the new program that they will be more receptive to it, as in their eyes I could imagine them seeing it as one more thing to do.

After the trainings and word starts to spread I would suspect that even if it’s just mere curiosity people will start to talk about this new program an getting teachers talking is sometimes half the battle. I wish you luck!

Lisa Gonzalez