8.1 Reflection: iNACOL Standards for Quality Online Teaching

The Online and Blended Learning course has been a roller coaster of emotions and experience. As I began the course I was shocked to learn that I struggled with the Learning Management System and the tools available within the system. As I became more comfortable with the tools I felt myself becoming more open to the information and the instructional environment. I imagine this is true for most students and it is important for instructors to understand this reaction and be ready to help guide and facilitate the hesitant student on their journey. The interaction and collaboration with other students was refreshing. In my current teaching environment we have little opportunity to interact with other educators outside our area. This was an amazing opportunity to hear about other teacher’s daily experience and how they are integrating online education in their classrooms.

Reflection is an important part of academic growth, for students and teachers alike. In order to progress we need to be open to change and constructive criticism. As I reflect on my journey and the direction I need to take in order to move forward I’ve noted that there are areas that I can call upon as strengths and other areas where critical work needs to be done. The National Standards for Quality Online Teaching provide a succinct table of talents necessary for a teacher to be effective in the online or blended classroom. I found it useful to go through the list and create an inventory in order to plan future professional development.

The National Standards for Quality Online Teaching are identified by iNACOL as:

• The online teacher knows the primary concepts and structures of effective online instruction and is able to create learning experiences to enable student success.
• The online teacher understands and is able to use a range of technologies, both existing and emerging, that effectively support student learning and engagement in the online environment.
• The online teacher plans, designs, and incorporates strategies to encourage active learning, application, interaction, participation, and collaboration in the online environment.
• The online teacher promotes student success through clear expectations, prompt responses, and regular feedback.
• The online teacher models, guides, and encourages legal, ethical, and safe behavior related to technology use.
• The online teacher is cognizant of the diversity of student academic needs and incorporates accommodations into the online environment.
• The online teacher demonstrates competencies in creating and implementing assessments in online learning environments in ways that ensure validity and reliability of the instruments and procedures.
• The online teacher develops and delivers assessments, projects, and assignments that meet standards-based learning goals and assesses learning progress by measuring student achievement of the learning goals.
• The online teacher demonstrates competency in using data from assessments and other data sources to modify content and to guide student learning.
• The online teacher interacts in a professional, effective manner with colleagues, parents, and other members of the community to support students’ success.
• The online teacher arranges media and content to help students and teachers transfer knowledge most effectively in the online environment.

In the area of primary concepts and structures of effective online instruction, I feel fairly competent. While I feel it is important to continually be looking at new developments in the field it is important to share your knowledge with those with whom you work. I collaborate with a co-worker to provide weekly educational/technology brown-bag lunches to help support the teachers at my site in pursuing a keener understanding of how they can use technology to support their students in achieving success in the Common Core State Standards. Due to this effort I’m forced to be continually investigating and researching methodologies that can be utilized to better facilitate learning in whatever environment it takes place.

The online instructor must be able to use a range of technologies that effectively support student learning and engagement in the online environment. I am fairly conversant in the tools available; however, this course has made me much aware of not only tools that I did not know existed but how to use them to enhance and individualize the learning for my students. I think that this area is one in which I can never become complacent and must continually seek education and advancement.

In Standard C, it states that the online teacher plans, designs, and incorporates strategies to encourage active learning, application, interaction, participation, and collaboration in the online environment. I feel that I am fairly proficient in this field and am enjoying using the online tools in order to be even more effective especially with regards to interacting with my students, providing nurturing feedback to help guide and facilitate further learning. It is not enough to grade papers and return them but it is necessary to provide the opportunity for students to grow and blossom from their understanding and interaction with each other as peer editors and collaborators as well as guidance from the instructor. Encouraging engagement and research as well as providing a safe opportunity to voice opinions is crucial to learning process. This standard and the following, promoting student success via regular feedback are entwined. I find that the more I operate in an online environment the easier it is for me to provide that needed feedback to my students with regard to the entire task attempted. I continue to work on honing this skill to ensure that my communication with my students is clear, directive, concise and nurturing.

Modeling good online citizenship is important for parents and teachers alike. I think that this is an area of strength for me. I take online citizenship seriously and integrate the components in all the courses I teach. As a community through providing positive online role models, tutorials in netiquette and educating both the parents and the students about good citizenship, on and off the Internet will help reduce bullying, inappropriate use of the Internet, and create a safer online structure for students to learn and grow.

Through the process of this course, as both a learner and an instructor I have become more aware of the pitfalls that students may meet during their online or blended learning experience. The environment itself can be intimidating if it is significantly different than what you are used to utilizing. That difference can at times render the student immobile in their academic journey. While I consider myself somewhat technically savvy, I was intimidated by the LMS initially and that intimidation slowed my progress.  Having patience, as was modeled by my instructor, and helping the guide the students as they gain confidence is just as an important aspect as is the main topic of the course. More importantly assuring that there is full access by all students no matter their abilities or disabilities is not only a legal issue but an important factor for the effective teacher. Ensuring that you understand the students that are in your class and their ability levels and constantly checking in on them to assure that no student is being left behind due to unclear directives or ineffective tools is an important day to day task of all teachers, online or face to face.

I have already begun to implement changes in my teaching practice based on what I have learned in this course. I am now keenly aware of not only the legal mandates on accessibility but am much more aware of how my online material needs to meet the needs and the challenges of all of my students. Anticipating the requirements upfront helps to alleviate any distress my students may have as they progress through the course work.

Viewing formative and summative assessments in a new light and how these assessments can be tooled to truly meet the individual needs and academic growth of my students as they journey through their academic adventures. I find myself investigating further research in this area to ensure that what I plan takes into account the varied learning styles of my students and continually challenges them to be exploring critical thinking elements on the higher end of Blooms Taxonomy.

The Common Core State Standards as adopted by the state of California have clear directives with regards to student progress towards clear understanding of text and research and communication utilizing a variety of technology. The online teacher must be cognizant of these standards and be able to create projects, assignments, and assessments that will help the student meet these standards and become prepared to meet the challenges that lay ahead as they progress academically. As I become more and more adept at the tools available and make connections with other instructors my assignments for my students change and reflect that knowledge gained. I have been thrilled at the results with my students as we progress using these tools. The students enjoy working in the online environment and due to their engagement I’ve seen much progress on their part and my own.

Data collection has never been easier with all the tools that are now available. I’m a big fan of Google docs and forms and the interactive tools that can be utilized with the forms to gather data and extrapolate information for use in identifying issues students may be having with concepts and ideas. To be able to quickly generate most missed items, areas of strength or weakness helps me to be able to effectively remediate and continue instruction in the areas needed. Near Pod and Socrative have been great tools that I have used to poll students and ensure that understanding is taking place whether it is in a face to face environment or online.

Clear and effective communication is the key to program success; whether that communication is with fellow teachers, students, administration, or parents. Being able to professionally provide guidance as to progress, areas of strengths and weaknesses, needs and challenges is an important requirement. In doing so, identifying your audience and understanding their needs helps to pave the way to unfettered communication and provide a strong working relationship.

Finally, the organization with which the instructor structures the course content and arranges the media to support the class understanding is paramount. This is the frame on which all the other pieces to the puzzle fit. Each piece alone can improve educational direction but working together and structured succinctly as well as communicated and monitored via assessments, conversation, and interaction will ensure that format for the class will meet the needs of the student and the goals of the standards.

An important step in furthering my knowledge of online teaching is to continue my education by participating in online webinars, workshops and conferences that are offered in the area and exploring opportunities to collaborate with other educators interested in the field. There are a number of online resources, blogs, and feeds that continually discuss and explore options for educators interested in online and blended learning. By participating in these opportunities I hope to continually grow my knowledge base and talents in the field. A key factor is the ability to reflect and revise as new opportunities avail themselves.