Virtual High School Connecticut Style

Virtual High School is offered in Connecticut through www.vhscollaborative.org.  In my city, Stamford, 3 of the public schools offer virtual courses. Grades from online courses will only be added to the GPA from accredited schools according to district policy. One high school, AITE, an inter-district magnet school with only 650 students, offers various options including  Project Lead the Way (PLTW) www.pltw.org  which is for pre-engineering or biomedical sciences. They offer a four year course sequence with an opportunity for college credit. Cisco Networking Academy https://www.netacad.com/ offers a 2 year program toward certification in CCNA. There is also a mentoring program for students interested in Architecture, Construction or Engineering www.acementor.org  Finally, a complete catalog of classes available virtually can be found at http://thevhscollaborative.org/.  The school has so much to offer and is popular in the local communities.  It is not for everyone.  

My daughter went there for 1 year but opted to transfer to her district school.  She felt that the courses offered were amazing and the teachers were engaging but that the social aspect was lacking.  Now she is in our district school with 2400 students and is loving it!   

The other two schools a magnet middle school and an inter-district K-8 school offer mainly advanced courses for students who need them.  My friend’s son, who attended a different middle school in town was allowed to take geometry in 8th grade with the students from the other school.  There ended up being logistical issues and miscommunications with the family about the teacher interaction.  This was not a positive experience for this particular student.  But, it is also an example of why this type of school does not work for everyone.  He is exceptionally bright and definitely gifted but is very very unorganized and unfocused.  This set up was not for him!

I can see how these programs could add to the courses being offered at a school.  I think I would like to see an in house teacher interacting with the students, especially for a first class to ensure that the student was focused and mature enough to stay organized.  For the high school level, I would like to see programs that encouraged collaboration with other schools and students.  Also, I could see the programs being used to differentiate programs being offered.  If there were not enough students interested in certain courses, this could be a way to add diversity to the course offerings.

Virtual Learning Environments

I think depending upon the age, maturity of the student and the rigor of the program Virtual Learning Environments have there place in education.  I LOVE going to school online.  This virtual learning environment has worked out beautifully for me.  I do find it interesting that when I first wanted to find a school online, my coworkers thought I was crazy.  I knew I had the demeanor to work independently and I did not need the social aspect of seeing people.  I'm a visual learner, so sitting in a class listening to a lecture is a complete bore to me.  The thought of driving the I-95 during rush hour sounded unbearable.

The other comment I heard was wanting to know why the cost was the same as if the program was somehow less rigorous because it was online.  The tuition at SNHU is the same as Sacred Heart University and Fairfield University which are 2 of my local options.  My friend is a professor and I asked him about whether he would teach an online course.  He said probably not, mainly because he works with undergrads and doesn't think they are as organized as they should be.  He also enjoys the social aspect of the "craft' he thinks it's his most positive feature as a professor.  Knowing him, I'd have to agree. So on to secondary and primary virtual learning environments.  Here are some positives and negatives from my perspective:

Positive Aspects of Virtual Learning Environments

• The option to take courses not offered by the district school.  This would be a positive addition to any type of school.  Also, the virtual classroom would allow students to take a course even if there were not enough students interested to form a tradition class.
• Geographically, students living in rural areas would be able to take courses not normally offered.  The monies saved on transportation can be used for other expenses.
• Resources would be compiled in one location which would allow students in different areas who need specific programs to be accessible.  It seems you CAN be in 2 places at once.
• Schedule flexibility is necessary for some students either due to health limitations or outside commitments.
• The ability of the student to work at their own pace is wonderful.  Students would not need to rush through work to keep up and conversely, students wouldn’t need to wait for the rest of the class either.
• 1:1 attention from teachers would allow for more differentiation and assurance that the student understands the work.
• Students would have the opportunity to interact with students from various communities and locations.  Sharing this information would give students a different perspective and more of a global approach.

Concerns About Virtual Learning Environments

• The younger the students are, the more developmentally inappropriate this type of school would be.
• Transparency of the school, course work, teachers and assessments would be necessary to ensure that the school is rigorous enough and meeting the needs of the students.
• Some of the goals of CCSS is to improve collaboration, communication and problem solving skills.  Virtual schools would need to ensure that these areas are addressed as part of their curriculum.  It would be easy to have the social interactions removed from the daily class work if students are not physically together in the same space.
• The home environment would need to be a positive environment where education was valued.  Too many times when discussing students who are struggling, the aspect of the families view on education is mentioned.  If school is not important than the student suffers.  This would be exasperated in a solely virtual school setting.
• Teachers are not bots! Part of our craft is the social and human interaction. It’s not just the curriculum we teach.  The younger the students, the more important this aspect is.
• Students already have a large amount of screen time, this would add to that daily amount.

• By solely attending a virtual learning community, you lose the school community.  Book fairs, ice cream socials, movie nights, dances. Some of my children’s best friends are from kindergarten!
  

Virtual Library from Group Wiki

Virtual Library, A Must!
Our world is ever evolving. Our students need to be able to work successfully in this ever changing environment. Here is a What's Hot/What's Not Poster for successful school libraries from the National Association of Independent Schools.
Technology and the Library:
What’s Hot, and What’s Not?

What's hot	What's not
Physical and virtual libraries as hubs of creating new knowledge and educational innovation.	libraries as stand-alone centers of knowledge consumption.
regular collaboration with the technology team to ensure consistency in skills, approach to technology, and technology policies.	librarians teaching technology in a vacuum, or ignoring the technology curriculum, while staying out of the conversation about technology policy or plans for the school.
Staffing that allows librarians to visit classrooms, to teach and accompany students on the research experience where it is happening, and to attend faculty meetings and department meetings across the curriculum.	Understaffing the library so the teaching librarian has to supervise the library and miss authentic research and collaboration moments.
Keeping a curated selection of books and digital resources that are used, and weeding and updating the collection on a regular basis.	Keeping an archive of books and resources that are rarely used.
encouraging the librarian to experiment and play with new digital resources and tools.	no opportunities to offer ebooks and new media to students and faculty due to budget constraints.
offering collaborative workspaces for students and noise-cancelling headphones for those who want silence.	Shushing students all day.
lending gear from laptops to iPads, from phone chargers to video cameras, from rulers to calculators.	advocating in-library use only for many materials.
librarians active in their personal learning networks in order to stay aware of the rapidly changing field and to help lead the discussions about new and meaningful avenues for technology in the curriculum.	librarians not willing (or not given the opportunity) to implement change in the library program or services offered.
collaborating with teachers to create inquiry-based projects that seamlessly integrate research and information literacy skills into the academic curriculum.	leaving the librarian out of the planning process and implementation in regard to research and technology resources.
learning how to search google effectively.	one million hits in your google results list.
a library space with powerful Wi-Fi, numerous outlets, whiteboards, moveable furniture, and easy access to the virtual library.	inflexible learning spaces.
a welcoming, student-centered library that supports learning and curiosity.	a library where students feel there are too many rules with no purpose.

Learning to utilize the current and ever changing resources available allows our students to learn how to be successful researchers. This process is ongoing and can be applied to all subject areas. The media specialists, technology integrators and teachers help our students use these resources most effectively. 


References
National Association of Independent Schools. Retrieved from 
http://www.nais.org/Magazines-Newsletters/ISMagazine/Pages/The-New-School-Library.aspx

Jenn Freeda

Pro Library Debate from Group Wiki

Why We Need School Libraries
I am a firm believer that we need to maintain our school libraries. As a teacher of young students, I see the excitement that students have when they check out books. All sorts of books... They may be drawn in by the book cover, subject matter or maybe having seen their friends read the same series. The kinesthetic aspect of reading is very important in my mind.
According to an article in the CEA newsletter, "well-staffed, well-stocked, and well-used school libraries are correlated with increases in student achievement on the order of 4 percent to 20 percent, as measured on student performance on standardized tests."

Our youngest students have an unprecedented amount of screen time at a young age. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended limits for screen time. "The AAP recommends that parents establish "screen-free" zones at home by making sure there are no televisions, computers or video games in children's bedrooms, and by turning off the TV during dinner. Children and teens should engage with entertainment media for no more than one or two hours per day, and that should be high-quality content. It is important for kids to spend time on outdoor play, reading, hobbies, and using their imaginations in free play.
There is something special about a student so absorbed in their book that they are walking into school while reading. I'm happy to say that I see this happening daily with multiple students.

References
Canada Education Association. Retrieved from http://www.cea-ace.ca/education-canada/article/ignoring-evidence-another-decade-decline-school-libraries

American Academy of Pediatrics. Retrieved from http://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/pages/media-and-children.aspx

THE LIBRARY DEBATE

Too Much Of A Good Thing...

I wanted to try an iPad app that I saw called,  Little Story Creator.  It is designed for upper elementary aged kids and is really easy to use.  Here is my presentation, it will automatically advance to the next slide but the timing is not great.  You can manually advance it also, with a sweep of a finger.

Also, I made a Goanimate video too, just for fun.  Check it out, it was my first attempt, I really like the dancing.

Enjoy.
Jenn

Technology Across Age Groups

¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Do you like my little guy?  I saw him today and decided he looked cute...

Here is a link to my data.  I usually like "playing" with data.  I'll be honest, I was not surprised by the differences between the age groups.  From a logistical point, I found the data difficult to tabulate because the age brackets varied slightly.  I ended up, collecting separate age groups depending upon the data I found.

In general, the younger the user, the more frequent they used technology.  I did notice that for the older generation that they owned more devices than I expected.  I think this may be for 2 reasons.  Firstly, they can afford it.  Secondly, in many cases the older generation (grandma and grandpa) want to communicate with their children and more importantly grand children.  My mother in law communicates with her children and oldest grandchild via email, texting and Facebook and uses Snapchat, Instagram and texting for the younger grandchildren.  I also think that the improvements made to e-readers have made the purchase and usage by the older generations increase.  I never thought I'd see the day when my mother, a retired English teacher who reads ALL THE TIME would use a Nook.  Well, never say never.

Resources for Data Collection

text messaging

http://www.phonedog.com/2011/12/16/how-many-text-messages-do-you-send-per-month-on-average/

How people access the internet

http://www.pewinternet.org/Infographics/2013/How-Americans-go-online.aspx

Teens access the internet

http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2013/PIP_TeensandTechnology2013.pdf

mean median average use comparison

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Cell-Phones-and-American-Adults/Part-4-A-comparison-of-cell-phone-attitudes--use-between-teens-and-adults/Adults-and-teens-share-similar-calling-patterns.aspx

Device Ownership

http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-UnitedStates/Local%20Assets/Documents/us_tmt_Executive_Summary_Devices_Study_052112.pdf

Source of News

http://blog.tsgglobal.com/Portals/26816/docs/Variety%20of%20Media%20Use%20Statistics.pdf

Tech Configurations

I may have taken a different approach to this assignment than I was supposed to.  I opted to look at different grades and concentrate on a particular theme for that age group.  For example, in 2nd grade I did 2 themes, non fiction learning and writing.  The activities are designed around the particular configuration.  In the case of BYOD, elementary students would most likely be too young to bring devices of any kind (at my school we have to confiscate the devices.) So, I opted to include in class activities or suggested apps that parents could use at home.  

	Activity #1	Activity #2	Activity #3	Activity #4	Activity #5
Technology Activity Explanation -	Kindergarten/Grade 1 Throughout the year, these young students are learning and mastering the letters, corresponding sounds and the phonemic skills needed to learn to read. Here are some ways of supporting the classroom learning of these important skills.	Kindergarten/Grade 1 Science based projects can become outdated quickly.  Technology based resources help to keep the resources current.	Grade 2 Non Fiction learning is very important in Grade 2.  Students can practice the research cycle using technology based tools to hone the skills in this area.	Grade 2 Creating their own stories can take on new meaning when technology based tools are used.	Grade 3+ Using tools to express student learning. This creative outlet is important especially as students need to collaborate more often and demonstrate their understanding of a topic.
Potential Issue/s	Differentiation is going to be the biggest issue for teachers to deal with.  Students start kindergarten with a wide range of skills. In first grade you may still have many students who are at the Emergent reading level. Having access to a variety of technology tools can help a teacher support the students at their varying levels.	Potential issues could be finding current resources with active links.  This would most likely happen with WebQuests that can become outdated quickly.	Students may have difficulty working independently at this grade level.  Teachers will need to work closely with students to assure that they are on task.  It’s important to have routines in place to make working with a partner run smoothly.	Students may still need support typing their stories into the computer.  These skills are very important to learn early.  This is especially true as we begin administering the SBAC exams.  Being able to use the keyboard effectively is imperative.	Differentiation is an ongoing issue.  Students using technology may become easily distracted.  It may also be difficult for students to collaborate with a partner.  The teacher needs to pay close attention to this, especially given the independent aspect of technology based work.
One computer classroom	In a one computer classroom, ideally it will be attached to a SMART Board.  Where a variety of tools can be used.  This could include Starfall.  The letter and sound and early PA skills can be introduced whole class using this site.  It is kid friendly and very engaging.  It is a great tool for students who need multiple modalities to best understand a concept.	Using the classroom computer that is attached to the SMART Board is an excellent way to launch a unit.  This can be done with a provocation such as.. Creating a presentation using Google Earth and NOAA to find various locations and the weather forecast for a particular day.  It could be exciting to see the various forecasts especially if your school is in an area where the weather does not fluctuate much.  This can also be done for sunrise and sunset times throughout the world. Developmentally, our K/1 students are so egocentric, it is great to offer them different perspectives on events familiar to them i.e. the weather etc.	Use the SMART BOARD to front load a subject.   Wonderopolis.org has many inquiry based topics to learn about.  They are designed to have students think and ask what they are wondering.  This could be an excellent way to launch a unit.	Using the SMART Board the class could research and learn more about a favorite author.  Some authors are available to Skype which could be a very exciting opportunity for students to engage in.	Having only one computer in the classroom could be a large roadblock in the classroom setting.  In this case, the one computer, may be the way that students share their work with their teacher and peers.  This could be used as part of their presentations, if they are computer based (compared to device based tools.)
Small cluster of computers in classroom (10)	Students who are struggling with early phonemic awareness might benefit from Lexia.  This self leveling program generates a report for the teacher so that in class support can be better tailored also.	Students could work on WebQuests that are specifically aligned to the topic.  The students could work in small groups or independently as part of their class time.	During class, research resources, approved by the district could be made available on the school or grade website.  Students need to practice where to find information and to learn to distinguish between beneficial resources and those that should not be used.  This skill is an integral component of the research cycle.	Students could create their own online books using podcasting.  This is a wonderful opportunity to practice fluency and to be able to hear themselves read. Garage Band and Quicktime Player are both simple ways for students to create their own podcasts.	Small clusters of computers are great for a project approach to learning.  Students could use collaborative tools like Google Docs to each contribute to a project that they are working on.  This would allow all of the students to be actively engaged simultaneously but at the same time sharing their contributions with each other.
Portable computer cart COW (netbooks)	At the primary level this may be difficult for students to handle depending upon the configuration of the classroom (i.e. small tables with multiple children.)  The portable lab could be utilized if necessary using the same types of lessons as a computer lab based lesson.	At the primary level this may be difficult for students to handle depending upon the configuration of the classroom (i.e. small tables with multiple children.)  The portable lab could be utilized if necessary using the same types of lessons as a computer lab based lesson.	Whole group time using non fiction based websites like National  Geographic for Kids ,BrainPOP Jr. and Pebble Go This can be differentiated and the teacher can use Google Docs to create a research web for the student to complete.  This toggling between Google Docs and websites is good practice for the SBAC which uses this skill often in the testing.	Students in a leveled reading group could enjoy online books by a favorite author.  Listening to books being fluently being read is important as they work on improving this skill.	Students could use Comic Life to create cartoons around a specific topic.  Students would research their topic, organize their information then create comics based on the research.  Non fiction topics are particularly fitting using this tool.  Also, story elements could be further explored using Comic Life.
Computer Lab 1:1 technology for all	The lab is an ideal way to differentiate for all students simultaneously.  Using a program like the Learn to Read portion of Starfall allows the teacher to assign a particular level for students to practice.	Students could use BrainPOP Jr and other interactive programs that concentrate on Weather at their own pace.	ibid.  This is a good opportunity for students to practice their research skills.  Students could work independently or in partners.  The teachers could offer support while students work independently.	ibid.	ibid. If the whole class is working on a project, then the teacher is able to check in with partners and individuals to offer support and guidance.
BYOD	Kindergarten/Grade 1 students would be too immature to participate in BYOD.  A suggestion might be to have a link to suggested home activities that parents could access for at home practice.  Surveying the parents as to what devices they have available would help to focus the list of suggestions.  Parents could also use these same suggestions in their local library if they do not have computer or device access at home.	Kindergarten/Grade 1 students would be too immature to participate in BYOD.  A suggestion might be to have a link to suggested home activities that parents could access for at home practice.  Surveying the parents as to what devices they have available would help to focus the list of suggestions.  Parents could also use these same suggestions in their local library if they do not have computer or device access at home.	This is still young for children to be bringing devices to school but it is an ideal time to use iPads in the classroom for small group projects or independent practice.  Students can use iPads to create Gamis via Tellagami.  This could be a way for students to show their understanding of a particular topic.  Apps can be used that allow students to practice a particular skill.  For example, Geoboard by Math Learning Centers offer exploration and practice associated with geometry.	Haiku Deck an iPad app,  can be used for creative presentations. Tools like Story Buddy 2 offer students an opportunity to create their own stories using a library of royalty free photos or they can upload their own photos.  This tool could be used for creating non fiction books as well.	The elementary level is still too young for most students to have their own devices that could be brought to school.  Ideally, the school has a collection of devices that can be shared among the staff for collaborative work.