Guidelines for Online Teaching Success Years ago at a faculty meeting Larry Ragan, PhD, director of Faculty Development for Penn State’s World Campus, was trying to soft-sell the idea of performance expectations for online faculty. He didn’t want the discussion to be misinterpreted as an indictment against their teaching style, but he also saw an opportunity to share proven practices for improving the online teaching and learning experience. Finally a senior faculty member grew tired of the tip-toeing around the subject and said, “If you don’t tell us what is expected, how will we know what to do to succeed?” The faculty member’s point was well taken, and over the years Ragan and others on various committees at Penn State have worked to define: Core competencies for online teaching success – Currently there are 28 competencies across the three main topic areas of technology, course administration, and pedagogy. The online instructor performance expectations he discussed are: 1. The instructor is expected to: 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Education App Of The Week Review October 25 - Apps for News: NPR, BBC, and TED By: Dave Yearwood, PhD in App Of The Week OK, I admit it, I am a news junkie, but I am careful about where I get my fix. For news, I typically turn to National Public Radio (NPR) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). For technology-related topics, I go to TED. I frequently watch the traditional network news but when I am on the move and away from a television, these three are my go-to apps for staying current. Read More » September 27 - App Review: Voice Record Pro The average person probably remembers more of what they see than what they hear. Read More » February 22 - App Review: Doceri Combines Screencasting, Desktop Control, and Interactive Whiteboard Read More » February 8 - ScreenChomp App Review: Recordable Whiteboard Provides Easy Way to Create, Explain and Share ScreenChomp is a free, yet highly intuitive and powerful app that you and your students can quickly master. Read More » By: Jonathan Messer in App Of The Week Read More »
The 33 Digital Skills Every 21st Century Teacher should Have By EdTech Team Updated on march 2, 2015 : The original list that was created in 2011 comprised 33 skills , after reviewing it we decided to do some merging and finally ended up with the 20 skills below. The 21st century teacher should be able to : 1- Create and edit digital audio Here are some tools for teachers to develop this skill :Free Audio Tools for Teachers 2- Use Social bookmarking to share resources with and between learners Here are some tools for teachers to develop this skill : A List of Best Bookmarking Websites for Teachers 3- Use blogs and wikis to create online platforms for students Here are some tools for teachers to develop this skill : Great Tools to Create Protected Blogs and Webpages for your Class 4- Exploit digital images for classroom use Here are some tools for teachers to develop this skill :Web Tools to Edit Pictures without Installing any softwareTools to Convert Photos into Cartoons
10 Best Practices To Be An Effective Online Teacher The digital classroom brings with it a range of unknown and unexplored territory, mostly in part to its relative newness when compared to traditional teaching methods. To be an effective online teacher, there are 10 simple but effective practices you can follow. When coupled with a comprehensive course load and the right resources, there’s no reason why online learning can’t be even more effective than a traditional classroom setting. 1. Be Present Sure, you might not be physically present in a classroom, but there are many ways to make yourself known in the digital realm. 2. As the online classroom can often feel a little free-form, you’ll need to provide students with a very clear set of expectations before they commence their studies. 3. The aim of learning is to have students engaged in the content for as long as possible, so you need to create the opportunity for this to happen. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Finally, you want to end the course with a bang.
Scoring Rubric: Business Letter/Memo Printable (6th - 12th Grade) Hanukkah Celebrate the Festival of Lights in your classroom! Hanukkah begins at sundown December 6. December Calendar of Events December is full of events that you can incorporate into your standard curriculum. Our Educators' Calendar outlines activities for each event, including: World AIDS Day (12/1), International Volunteer Day (12/6), Hanukkah (begins at sundown 12/6), Handwashing Awareness Week (12/6-12), Computer Science Education Week (12/7-13), Human Rights Day (12/10), Winter Solstice (12/22), Christmas (12/25), Kwanzaa (begins 12/26), Visit the Zoo Day (12/27), and New Year's Eve (12/31). Hour of Code Introduce your students to basic coding and computer science! Videos Interested in using different types of media in your classroom? Teaching with Comics: Galactic Hot Dogs Reach reluctant readers and English-language learners with comics!
Setting Expectations for Online Instructor Performance A Roadmap to Online Teaching Best Practices As more and more educators enter online teaching, they find themselves having to rethink classroom dynamics. Things as basic as accessing students, responding to questions, and determining how much time to spend teaching all have to be re-examined. If instructors reach their own conclusions about these issues, you’ll have a program that’s inconsistent at best, unmanageable at worst. It’s far better if you establish clear guidelines and expectations that every instructor can follow. In Setting Expectations for Online Instructor Performance, Lawrence C. the frequency with which instructors access courses the response time to student questionsthe instructor’s presence in the online classroomthe amount of time spent actually teaching Here’s a brief clip from the seminar: During the presentation, Dr. An optional Campus Access License is available for an additional $200. Who will benefit? New for 2011!
Internet and Technology Lesson Plans Resources for School Librarians - Index Menu for This Page: General Technology Lesson Plans | Searching the Web | Web Quests | Internet Safety and Digital Citizenship Lesson Plans | Resources for Teachers | General Technology Lesson Plans Basic Computer Skills Curriculum - This is a good place to start if you are teaching students with little or no knowledge of computers. This is for PC users; there seems to be nothing for Mac users. This is from the St. Read Write Think Lesson Plans - There are many technology and internet related lesson plans here. Searching the Web All About Computers - Lesson plan for beginning internet use, Gds. Web Quests The Web Quest Page - Help in designing web quests and many examples. Internet Safety and Digital Citizenship Digizen - A good introduction to digital citizenship. Resources for Technology Teachers Technology in the Classroom - A wide range of technology topics covered by Education World. Blogging, Wikis, Podcasting, and Social Media Up to Top
What to Think About When Your School is Closing Due to Coronavirus COVID-19 has left many educators and administrators nationwide operating under a rapid response system to make sure learning continuity plans are in place for students. As of March 15, Education Week reports that “at least 64,000 schools are closed, are scheduled to close, or were closed and later reopened, affecting at least 32.5 million students.” While the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization offer advice and strategies on how to stay healthy and avoid community spread, below is a list of items for educators to think about in the case of a school closure: Schools and Coronavirus:What You Should KnowFind general guidance on COVID-19 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and other health organizations, in addition to resources for navigating schools closures and online learning. Check out How K-12 Schools Should Prepare for Coronavirus from the Center for American Progress. Avoid new assignments.
Worksheets, Lesson Plans, Teacher Resources, and Rubrics from TeAch-nology.com September 2012 This idea is actually a gem that one of my students thought of a few years ago! One of my classes' favorite YouTube videos was this one... "If You're a Boy" from Harry Kindergarten. Well... my kids were chatty one day and I said "If you're a boy zip your lips." When my kids get chatty, all I do is start to sing the song! If they're extra loud, I have them do actions that will get the other students attention (e.g. ones that make them move more or make more noise) such as: pat your legs, jump up and down or clap your hands. If there's only one or two students chatting, I usually do more silent action, such as zip your lips, fold your hands. I actually also use this to get my students to clean up at the end of their writing period. How do you get your kids to quiet down!