Change is Good

We all have to deal with change. Every educator has to change every student, lesson, and minute to be successful. We have to look at ourselves as if we are liquids. A liquid will take the form of whatever it is put into. Education is just that flows like a liquid, for every changing.

Thinking about redesigning two of my organizations courses for online. I can speak to Math and Science. I was a Math teacher for six glorious years and I studied to be a Science teacher. Before the teachers can actually make this online course really be effective, they must take time to build relationships with their students. Allowing a few days to just do Synchronous lessons will help with trust, and students work best when they have a connection with their instructors. Students must have real world experiences.

The two courses that I could redesign form my organization would be from our core subject. The first would my first love, the Math department. When we initially started using the LMS, Schoology, we had used the design by weeks. What we discovered was to have the course set by Units. The math department works with most core subjects with a Scope and Sequence path of learning. I found from using the folders in weeks was that weeks would overlap. Students would return on Monday and look for next week but still had assignments remaining from the previous week. Now, this would have the other teachers and me having to move tasks from different weeks. It really became confusing for me only because I have six classes to keep up with. The textbook we used had QRScan codes that opened into the authors of the book teaches that units lesson. By creating units, the video would easily link.

The second course I would redesign would be our Science course. I would have this class designed by the functions of whatever grade level that is being taught. During their study, the students have different lessons they need to study. I would use folders that link to movies or books other than the textbook. I believe this could bring a different way of receiving the information.  The course would allow for several applications and have them linked in the LMS for quick references. Science online course should have more question and answer sections. Creating mind maps and visual info-graphics that connect the parts that are required for that grade level. I believe this would help the students that have to have visuals and kinesthetic.

An essential resource is significant when educators need to make connections with the students learning and their designing of online courses. There should be more than one way of gathering feedback or reflections from the students. Our brain is wired to receive information visually and autonomy.  My experience with middle school students they have to move and touch everything! With life and the direction that education has moved into, the best practice is to stay positive and open for change.