Kimberly Cicora

In general, online courses are going to take more time outside of a traditional classroom. Students need to understand that upfront. During our continuous learning plan this last quarter we had time limits on how long students were going to work for each class, but many parents still said their student was spending hours on the computer. In reality that would be the case for an online class, because the traditional supports of a classroom are not physically there they are virtual. Another component that was a key takeaway is that special education students still receive their accommodations. It may… >>>

Multiple forms of assessing the effectiveness of a course are necessary to revise and close the loop in virtual instruction. 

I love using rubrics, I just don't use them as often as I would like. They take the ambiguity of grading away and create a more specific and competency referenced score. Feedback is an important component of rubric grading in my opinion and should be varied in how the feedback is delivered depending on the assignment type. 

My key takeaways are to create a syllabus that is easy to access over and over as well as to integrate scaffolding techniques. I had never heard scaffolding addressed in this sense, but it does make sense in the context of a digital environment. 

Simplicity in module design is key when creating the module set up. When designing the module it is important to consider the ease of use for both students and parents. Appearance also matters. Keep it simple, nothing flashy. 

It is definitely going to be important to know and make students aware of the district and building policy as far as computer usage, online behavior, and academic integrity. They need to be aware of these policies and reminded of them when issues arise so there is no question that they understand. It is also important to document all communication and correspondence with students in the event there is an issue that needs to go higher up. 

This section has definitely clarified different types of discussions for me. I am new to teaching in a virtual environment as we were thrust into it with a week's notice. I am definitely going to be making adjustments to my expectations and the use of asynchronous and synchronous discussions to go with our continuous learning plan for the fall if that is the way we are going. 

Building relationships looks different in a virtual model. Just because it looks different doesn't mean it does not matter or is not important. We have to be even more intentional about building connections in this type of environment because we are not physically connected. That means reading every post, commenting on what they have said, sending personal messages to them to show that you "see" them. 

To make the most of a virtual learning environment, I need to make sure that I am using a consistent structure in my course. I cannot control what other educators do, but I can make sure that my course is easy to navigate and use for students. That being said, I need to make sure I myself and fully competent in the LMS that my district has chosen which is Canvas, so that I can make sure that my course is ready for students and that I can help them be successful in this new type of environment.