Module 2 - What is the Online Learning Movement?

Introduction

You just sat down to your welcome back faculty meeting. Your principal, Mrs. Susan Bush, starts the meeting with a 30-min PowerPoint presentation on the need for teachers to use more innovative teaching methods--the irony is not lost on you.  As your minds drifts off to how much you still have to do to get ready for your students, your attention snaps back to the presentation when you hear Mrs. Bush announce that the superintendent and school board are considering starting an online program in the district. The district has lost funding because a growing number of students are enrolling in online programs and they hope to create a program that will keep students--and their finding--in the district. You're excited about the program for entirely different reasons. You've been thinking about teaching online for a couple of years and love the idea of teaching an online section for your school district.

After the announcement Mrs. Bush asks for a volunteer to act as the school's representative for the Online Learning Committee.  Although you are already short on time you raise your hand and volunteer.

The next day you get an email from the committee chair, Ethan Brooks, asking you to create a presentation on the current trends of online learning and an example job advertisement for online teachers.  "Man, that was fast!" you mumble under your breath. Thankfully you have some time.  The job announcement isn't due for right away (not until the end of Module 4 and you have until the end of Module 5 to give your presentation).  The committee chair has also found several resources for you to read and watch to help you get ready.  However, it doesn't look like Ethan is going to let you procrastinate too long because he is asking for weekly updates.  

You think for a moment about how you can best organize your ideas and communicate them to Ethan.  You remember that an English teacher was showing you how she has her students use a new tool called Popplet to organize their thoughts and you think that it would be perfect for this project.  You also decide to write your weekly reports to Ethan on a blog.  That way Ethan--or anyone else for that matter--can subscribe to the blog and read your blog posts as you make them.   

You create a new Popplet in a new window and develop the following framework that you can use to take notes with as you study the materials.  

Activities   

Activity 1: Creating a Mind Map

Activity 2: Building Background Knowledge 

Activity 3: Sharing what you learned