Virtual+Classroom

=Virtual Classroom =

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[|Syllabus]

**Description of Assignment: Our assignment was to create a unit with three to four lessons in a virtual classroom. It was created using Blackboard. It was a requirement that at least one lesson was a learning unit. A teacher information page was provided for students to learn background knowledge. We were to upload the Jing/Screencast that we created to the site as well as our blogs. These, along with other media were used to promote the use of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. It was important to make sure to include all internet sources on our site as well. We needed a pre and post assessment, a goal setting activity, and a group activity. A syllabus was required in its own content area. The virtual classroom needed a Discussion Forum with posted questions and a place for students to go for help. Our job was to be the teacher of this virtual classroom and promote online learning. The classroom needed to be structured in a sequential form so that it was easy for students to access the information in the correct order.

Process:** My first decision was to do my unit on fractions. In the past, I often have picked a science or social studies content area to focus on for my assignments. I thought about what I would be teaching in the next few months, and then narrowed my list down the most important choices. Finally, I decided that I would do my unit on fractions because I know that it is often times a struggle for students to understand. I thought that finding useful tools for a virtual classroom would be just the motivation I needed to make my fractions unit that much better. One thought that I had at the beginning was "how am I going to teach these concepts when I am not given an opportunity to talk to students about them." The answer just took a few searches in Google. I found a few websites that had excellent explanations for each of my LEQs (lesson essential questions). What I liked about these sites was that they first explained the information and then had students interact to see if they were understanding the material. After I knew that I had covered the essential questions with the teaching aspect, then I was able to go back and use an activating strategy that would really grab their attention. That is when I decided that I would create an Animoto to show representations of all the content. Then I decided how the students were going to present their understanding of the material. This was more difficult to do online. I had to think about what the students would know and what I would have to teach them about technology. That is why I started with a Word Document and had them do a PowerPoint. I thought both of those would be basic, but they would have to play around with them to draw fractions and create their own products. The fun activity is creating the Podcast. What the students wouldn't realize is that this is the extending and refining activity and would really be making them think a a much higher level because they would have to be the teacher to each other. My summarizer is my group activity. I thought it would be interesting for the students to create a content map to show their understanding to each other and have as a reference they could print. As I have used Webspiration in the past, I know the students enjoy changing the bubbles and their colors, which makes them more interested in the activity.


 * Reflection:** This was an intense project. It really forced me to "think outside the box." What has worked for me in the past really had no relevance here. The only piece of my background in teaching fractions in the past that I could use for this assignment was the essential questions and how to structure my unit. Of course I am very good at searching the internet for resources, but I was looking for new content. What I realized as I was searching for the right information for my virtual classroom is that if what I am looking for isn't available, I can create it myself. This is something that I always do in my regular classroom. It is through these classes that I have gained the knowledge needed to create my own virtual content. If what I needed wasn't on the web, I could have created a Jing/Screencast of my screen and walked the students through it. Or I could have created a PowerPoint and uploaded it to Blackboard. I even could have created a Wiki about it. There are so many possibilities, it is often difficult to pick just one. It really would have been interesting to set up accounts for a few of my students to see what they could do with the content. I think it would have been a good experiment to see how those students learned the material as opposed to learning it from me. I have never been one to spend a great deal of time on lecture. Instead, I have my students constantly collaborating and communicating with each other. I think my virtual classroom has been set-up the same way. It is inviting from all of the different colors. It is easy to navigate through, and provides all of the key concepts needed for students to learn the fraction content. It would be a challenge to differentiate instruction in this unit online.