Technology today can provide a wide array of opportunities, lessons, and resources that can benefit teachers and students when teaching online. Students can obtain information and review several different subjects using different online and instructional technology resources. Within this blog, I will be providing my subscribers with information on how to teach online, what to teach online, and why to teach online.
Blog #10:
One of the most important discoveries that has come out of online teaching is that some students who were struggling in the physical classroom, thrive during online school. Within the article “The 5 Main Benefits of Attending Online School” by Beth Werrell, this is one of the benefits mentioned. Students who “grasp new material faster or slower than other students, need the ability to manage health concerns throughout the day, are rebuilding confidence after experiencing bullying, accrue many absences because of a difficult-to-accommodate schedule” may find themselves to do better with online schooling (Werell, 2019). Online school provides new opportunities for these students that can lead to success within academics and the classroom. These student’s assignments are able to be personalized for them and the teacher is able to work with them at their level, no matter the circumstance. Online teaching provides this flexibly for not only struggling students, but all students. Flexibility was mentioned in several of my other blog posts, but that is because it is also one of the most significant benefits of online teaching. Students can complete their schoolwork when they have time throughout the day, and they can move at their own pace. This will allow for students to become proficient in the content. With several schools teaching remote currently and the concept of online schooling growing so quickly, it allows for students who were already being homeschooled to be given a proven curriculum. These students can now be supported by a teacher and have materials and content given to them. Parents can still teach the child, but they will become more of a learning coach rather than their actual teacher. Online school provides fewer distractions for students. Werell explains “there are fewer opportunities for bullying, inappropriate influences, or behaviors you don’t condone.” One of the last benefits Werrell mentions is the growing and stable connection students will form with family, friends, and instructors. Teachers can provide more one-on-one time with their students via online. With the flexible schedule of the student’s day, parents can take the time whenever they are free to become an active part of their child’s learning process. Online schooling also provides time for “kids to be kids” when they do not have a location they necessarily have to be at a certain time. Online schooling can benefit teachers, students, and parents throughout the process.
Werrell, B. (2019, December 3). The 5 main benefits of attending online school. Connections Academy. Retrieved from https://www.connectionsacademy.com/support/resources/article/five-main-benefits-of-online-school
Blog #9:
While teaching online, communication through video has become more and more popular over the years. Especially due to the ongoing pandemic. An article written by Dr. S. Ann Earon called “The Value of Video Communications in Education” describes the importance of eLearning and video chatting. “Students involved in video communications are more motivated and interested in the topic and are reported to have high levels of achievement in critical thinking and problem- solving when compared to students physically in the classroom” stated by Earon (pg. 2). While eLearning, teachers and students are learning not only their course material, but they are learning how to use different technology as well. Video Conferencing allows for students to complete classes in shorter amounts of time and can reach people from all different areas. Teaching online provides certain resources, tools, and skills needed to enhance performance. Students can do work from any place at any time and easily upload it to their teacher. Students can also access all materials as needed for review (Earon, n.d. pg. 3). Once again, as mentioned in other blogs, students learn at their own pace and on their own time. Although, some programs do meet via Zoom or other video conferencing resources. In this case, students may need to be online at a certain time or have work done by a certain time. However, students still have no location to be at. They can just simply hop on the computer and join the class. While using video to teach online, teachers may also make use of breakout rooms for students. Breakout rooms can allow for discussions and interaction among the students. Video communication also provides the option of recording the call. For example, through Zoom teachers have the option to record the lesson of the day and post the link for future reference for their students. The IT director at Brandeis University, Tim O’Neil, explained “The video quality of Zoom allows all remote participants to better see the faces of their classmates while easily integrating content sharing, breakouts, and annotation” (Earon, n.d. pg. 4). Teachers can also set up virtual meetings with their students as needed when using Zoom. Although teaching online has been a concept for years, it has greatly expanded since March when most schools opted to remote learning from home. Video communication and programs made this process possible and allowed for students of all ages to feel comfortable while learning online. There were several teachers hesitant about teaching online, but video communication made online teaching accessible and easy for all grades and people involved.
Earon, S. (n.d.) The value of video communications in education.
Blog#8:
Similar to Google Classroom, another presentation method I would like to discuss in this blog that can benefit online teaching and learning is known as Nearpod. Nearpod is a website that allows teachers to present material and content in an interactive way online. NearPod provides several different features in which teachers can make it interactive for students. I have personally created presentations using NearPod, as well as had professors who used Nearpod as their form of presentation. In an article by Tyler Witman called “11 Features That Make NearPod THE Interactive Presentation of the Feature”, he explains these features and how they work. When teachers begin to create a Nearpod, they create it slide by slide. They can pick the colors and the theme of the whole presentation, just like any other presentation website might do. When they continue to create, they will have the option to add text or images. What really sets aside Nearpod from other presentation tools are the features one may add to the slides. Teachers can add polls, fill in the blank questions and a memory test based on the content of previous slides or previous lessons in class. The teacher can ask the students a question and they can provide their answer for it, and the result of the poll will show up when everyone has recorded their answer. For the fill in the blanks feature, the teacher can type a paragraph or sentence and leave the words they want their students to fill in blank. The students will then use the word bank provided to complete the sentence or paragraph (Witman, 2018). These options make the presentation interactive for the students. Teachers can also provide an open-ended question, matching pairs game, a quiz, the collaborate feature or the draw it feature. The collaborate feature operates similarly to Padlet. A board is brought to the screen on that specific slide and the student will add a post for the whole class to see. The draw it feature allows for students to draw, highlight or write on top of the slide wherever they may need to (Witman, 2018). With the quiz feature, this allows for the teacher to create multiple choice questions and choose either one or multiple answers. After each student has completed the quiz, the teacher will receive the results of the responses to check the progress of the presentation and the students. Within the presentation creation, the teacher is able to use whichever feature they choose, and they are able to use as many as they want. At the end of the presentation, a session report is provided for the teacher. This allows for the teacher to “review all data collected during a particular NearPod session” (Witman, 2018). It includes the results from all of the activities included in the presentation. The teacher can then explore each of the student’s responses deeper. Overall, NearPod is a beneficial tool for online teaching and provides a way for teachers to share a presentation with their students via online easily.
Witman, T. (2018, November 30). 11 features that make nearPod the interactive presentation of the future. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@witmanedu/11-features-that-make-nearpod-the-interactive-presentation-of-the-future-6dca29e94dec
Blog #7:
Another great instructional technology tool in which can assist online teaching and learning is a website called Flipgrid. I have used Flipgrid in the past for various lesson plans I have created, as well as been assigned to make a Flipgrid by several professors. The article “9 New Ways to Use FlipGrid in the Classroom” by Kathryn Nieves explains different ways this tool can used when teaching. Flipgrid is a tool in which students and teachers can share videos of discussions. Flipgird is also very easy to use and can be used within almost every grade. The teacher must set up a grid on their account and “within each grid the teacher creates prompts called topics, and students post video responses to the prompts and replies to each other’s videos” (Nieves, 2020). The students can access the grid through a link the teacher will provide. The videos are usually only 1-2 minutes long and are very informal and simple. Flipgrid can be used for several different subjects and lesson plans. In the article, different ideas of what to use Flipgrid for are provided. Flipgrid can be used for the sharing of book reviews (Nieves, 2020). I have created a Flipgrid for a book review in a previous class of mine, and I assigned a book review to my students during the creation of a lesson plan. I was able to experience using the website firsthand and it was very beneficial. Students can practice their language skills just as they would with in person learning. They are able to collaborate through speech. Flipgrid is also accessible by everyone as long as you have a link provided to you. The teacher also has the option to share the link with the student’s parents in order for them to view their child’s videos and work they have done so far (Nieves, 2020). Students also have the option to design their Flipgrid video using several features the website offers. Students can add emojis, stickers, or a sticky note with extra text to their video to add effect to it. This makes the process interesting and interactive for them. Students can also comment on their peer’s videos by providing a video of their own with positive feedback. They can comment on however many videos they want and eventually a string of positive feedback will be shown on all of their videos. When teaching online, Flipgrid can be a great instructional technology tool to use to obtain interaction and social skills with students.
Nieves, K. (2020, January 27). 9 new ways to use flipgrid in the classroom. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/9-new-ways-use-flipgrid-classroom
Blog #6:
Throughout this blog I will be discussing an instructional technology website in which can benefit and assist teachers with online teaching. This online program is called Padlet. “Padlet is an extremely easy-to-use tool that allows learners to collaborate online by posting text, images, links, documents, videos and voice recordings” (Warwick, 2017). Padlet can be accessed through the website or the app. Teachers must register in order to create a Padlet for their students, then they are ready to make a lesson from it. On Padlet, teachers can essentially set up a board for the class where students can add their own post to the same board. Then all of the students in the class can see each other’s post either anonymously or by name. Padlet is simple to use, even for elementary students. It is a fun, easy, and successful way to create a lesson while online. Padlet can be used for writing skills or speaking skills (Warwick, 2017). I once created a lesson plan where each student had to create and post five sentences using one of the vocabulary words for the unit. As they would post, all of the students in the class were able to see different context in which the vocabulary words were used in. Although Padlet does not provide content, it is a place where teachers can provide content for their students. When teaching online, keeping the social aspect of the classroom and school present can be difficult at times. With Padlet, teachers and learners are provided with opportunities to interact with one another through their posts of ideas, materials, audio, images, or video. There are so many different options to choose from and create lesson plans with while using Padlet. Another feature that Padlet provides that helps with interaction is the ability to comment on each other’s posts (Warwick, 2017). This gives the students a chance to provide positive feedback for their peers. As we know from previous posts, online teaching keeps the parents involved as well and Padlet is a perfect tool to keep parents involved. Parents or guardians are able to glance at the Padlets created to check in on progress and to keep them involved. “For the teacher, Padlet helps them to better assess the learning of everyone in the class. Something that can be tricky even with medium-sized classes” (Warwick, 2017). Teachers can then use the information learned from their Padlet lessons to modify future lessons while teaching online. Padlet opens up an array of opportunities for lesson plans, and this instructional technology tool benefits online learning greatly.
Warwick, L. (2017, August 24). Padlet an excellent collaboration tool for teachers and learners. The Digital Teacher. Retrieved from https://thedigitalteacher.com/reviews/padlet
Blog #5:
In my previous blogs, I discussed several benefits of online teaching and learning through articles I have read and teacher’s personal experiences with online teaching. Within this blog, and upcoming blogs, I will be discussing different online websites, tools, and instructional technologies in which teachers can use when online teaching. The first tool in which I will discuss is Google Classroom. I have used Google Classroom as a student and during this semester I was provided with the opportunity to create an account as a teacher and post lesson plans, in which I have made, to my own Google Classroom as a teacher. The website is super easy to navigate and can make the online teaching process much easier and efficient for teachers and students. Google Classroom “brings the benefits of paperless sharing and digital collaboration to classrooms” (McGinnis, 2020). This is how it is displayed in the article “What is Google Classroom? And how are teachers using it? Learn more about this popular platform and how to use it with students” by Kate McGinnis. The digital organizer provides a space where teachers can organize and post materials, assignments, assessments, etc. and easily share them with their students. Google Classroom provides several different features in which makes this process easy, flexible, and efficient. On Google Classroom, teachers can post announcements to communicate with their students regularly. They can also make use of other Google tools such as Docs, Drive, and the Calendar in which are connected to Google Classroom (McGinnis, 2020). Teachers can also post assignments, materials and collect students work efficiently. Google Classroom also makes it easy for parents to stay involved with their students work. Google Classroom can send out updates about students work and parents can check the class stream whenever they desire. It does not provide as much communication as other cites such as Class Dojo, which helps monitor student’s behavior, but it does allow parents to stay on task with their student. Although Google Classroom does not help teach students direct content, its features and tools allow for teachers to post the materials students need in one easy to navigate spot. This benefits teaching online by providing teachers and students with this access. Everything they need can be placed in one spot.
McGinnis, K. (2020, April 16). What is google classroom? And how are teachers using it? Learn more about this popular platform and how to use it with students. Common Sense Media. Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/teachers-essential-guide-to-google-classroom
Blog #4:
Online teaching is a very important topic right now amidst the ongoing global pandemic. During this blog I will be listing more benefits of online learning as in previous blogs; however, the article I am referencing provides benefits learned from the switch to remote learning due to the coronavirus. In the article “Why Are Some Kids Thriving During Remote Learning?” by Nora Fleming a teacher from Washington D.C. explains how remote learning has helped several of her students with learning and their behavior. She noticed a difference in one of her students in particular. She states “‘I think not having those everyday distractions in school has really allowed for kids like him to focus on the work and not necessarily all the social things going on because some kids can’t separate that out’” (Fleming, 2020). This is not the case for all students, but teachers are working with these students finding new ways they can learn remotely and feel comfortable. The article lists specific benefits and one of these benefits, as I have mentioned in previous blogs, is that students are self-paced. Students are provided with choice with when and how they are doing their work. They have time to do other things like exercise and take breaks when needed. Due to the pandemic, after school activities were also cancelled for a great period of time and this allowed for more focus on online learning. With the flexibility it provides and students schedules more open, school was top on the list of things to do. Online school also reduces the chatter in the classroom. “School socialization may be fraught with anxiety” (Fleming, 2020) during some social situations for some students. When students are working from home social anxiety is relieved, yet social skills are still important and required within children. However, online school allows for voices to be hear and chatter, but without the negative comments or pressure of fitting in with the other students. One of the last benefits in which the article mentions is the amount of sleep students are getting to participate in online learning. Some teachers have observed that better academic performances from their students may be linked to the sufficient amount of sleep they are getting (Fleming, 2020). Many students no longer have early alarms going off to wake them up. Research shows that when student’s sleep increased, so did their grades. All of these benefits were found during the transition period at the beginning of the year to remote learning due to Covid-19, and now teachers can use some the benefits they learned when continuing to teach online or even transitioning back into the classroom.
Fleming, N. (2020, April 24). Why are some kids thriving during remote learning?. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-are-some-kids-thriving-during-remote-learning
Blog #3:
This next blog was written after I read an Article by Elizabeth Street called “7 Compelling Benefits of Online Learning.” Before the mid 90s, home schooling and traditional schooling were the only methods of learning for children. However, since the advancement of technology students have a variety of learning options online. Many people are not aware of the benefits it can provide, which is essentially the purpose of my whole blog to provide everyone with these benefits. Street separated the article into each of the seven benefits. Within this post, I will be listing each of the benefits and explaining what each benefit means for online instruction for students and teachers.
The first benefit is “Students Learn at Their own Pace.” From the time we are born, our parents are advised to let us develop at our own pace. This is because every child is different and becomes comfortable with different actions at different times. This goes for children during school as well. Each child will learn at their own pace and with online school students do not feel the need to have to be at the same level of their peers in the classroom. They can work at their own personal level and pace while still meeting expectations.
The next benefit is “Introverted Students Can Join in Discussion.” Traditional schooling is often more designed for extroverts when it comes to socialization or talking in front of the class. Introverts tend to “find the quieter setting of virtual school to be more conductive of learning” (Street, 2016). The classroom and teacher interaction online allows for introverts to feel more comfortable joining in on the discussion.
Another benefit is “Students Have individualized Schedules.” Online school can be flexible and convenient for several families and students. While students still have work and assignments due on certain days and at certain times, they can complete their work around their own schedule and based on their individual needs.
The next benefit is “Students Have More Learning Options.” Before online learning, school choice seemed to only be for families of a wealthy status. Online learning has allowed for families of any class or financial status to have a different option when it comes to schooling. “Families can make the choice to switch to a virtual school without having to move to a new school district” (Street, 2016).
The next two benefits are “Students Have Fewer Distractions” and “Students Enjoy a Comfortable Learning Environment.” Online learning allows for students to focus on their academics during class, then socialize in a different environment with friends. Teachers can also focus on teaching rather than worrying about student behavior. Comfort is also proven to have a positive effect on learning. Therefore, virtual schooling allows for students to feel more comfortable and calmer to enrich their learning.
The last benefit listed is “Parents Are More Involved in their Children’s Education.” It is proven that “students do better in school when their parents are involved in their education” (Street, 2016). Parents become the student’s learning coaches and make sure they are staying up to date with assignments and their work. By doing so, they become encouragers and partners in their children’s education.
Street, E. (2016, September 14). 7 compelling benefits of online learning. K12. Retrieved from https://www.learningliftoff.com/7-compelling-benefits-of-online-learning/
Blog #2:
One of the main factors of online education is the importance of technology and the opportunities technology provides for teachers and the students. Technology can provide several educational tools for students in the classroom and outside of the classroom. Online education can allow for students to feel more comfortable and get the extra practice they may need with a subject. I was able to explore why this is true when reading the article “The Benefits of Online Education for Children” by Shugofa Asil. This article caught my attention immediately when I read the header “Online courses give students the opportunity to plan study time around the rest of their day, instead of the other way around” (Asil, 2020). As I read this, I realized I had never thought of online learning in this way. It is important for children to play during the early years of their life as this can help with social and emotional growth. This article explained how children can focus on learning and making progress, while being kid at the same time all due to online education. Online training tools such as certain technology in which children can begin to learn from at an early age can help familiarize children with our growing technological world today. Online courses benefit children as they can work and study on their own time. If the online teaching is asynchronous, students do not feel the worry or stress of having to keep up with their classmates, instead they learn and work on their personal level. Educational tools can be accessed at any time by the students and this enhances flexibility of learning. Students can look back on lessons and access all materials provided by the teacher. One of the most important factors of online education from this article is the increase in engagement of the children. Keeping students engaged is a very important role of a teacher. Teachers must make sure their students are paying attention and keep interest in the lesson or else they will not retain the content properly. Online learning tools increase the level of children engagement with materials through the use of interactive graphics, video and other media” (Asil, 2020). These tools can help in all subjects and encourage students to learn. It is important for children to learn how to use technology since technology plays a major role in our world today. Online teaching and learning provides a wide array of opportunities for young students.
Asil, S. (2020, March 10). The benefits of online education for children. Tech Afghanistan. Retrieved from https://tech.af/the-benefits-of-online-education-for-children/
Blog #1:
What are the Benefits to Teaching Online? An article I read called “What are the Benefits of Teaching Online?” explains several positive aspects of this topic. In today’s blog, I will be giving examples of some of these advantages. Teaching and learning online can be done with any grade level from kindergarten to higher education. Online teaching provides access to materials any time of the day on any day of the week (Coleman, 2010). As teachers post information, students can easily access this through certain online programs in which a teacher may use. The coursework, rubrics, assignments, and assessments are all posted in one place. This makes it easy for the student and instructor to keep track of the course materials. E-books, online articles, magazines, or journals can be provided to students for valuable resources. Assessments can be done online, and teachers can easily record and track the progress of their students with the data of the scores. Instructors may also meet via video at any free time, rather than having to meet face to face after a class or before a class at a certain location. Online teaching allows for a meeting to take place wherever. Teachers can immediately see if a student does not fully understand the content being taught online quicker than if in person (Coleman, 2010). This is because online classes are mainly for discussion and an instructor can provide extra help where they see the student may need it. With face-to-face instruction, a problem may not be revealed until a major test or quiz was given and failed. With online teaching, teachers are benefited just as much as the students are benefited. There are several different ways in which online teaching can occur. Each online instructor may have a different way of teaching online than another. Building a community of online instructors where they can ask questions, learn from other’s methods, or chat about their experiences is important for teachers to acquire while teaching online (Coleman, 2010). All of these reasons provided are the advantages that online instruction can have for students, as well as teachers. Throughout the rest of my blog posts, I will be talking about more benefits of teaching online, as well as certain presentation and instructional technology tools to use while teaching.
Coleman, S. (2010, August 31). What are the benefits of teaching online?. WorldWideLearn. Retrieved from https://www.worldwidelearn.com/education-articles/benefits-of-teaching-online.htm
Teaching Online 