Week 12: Distance Education and creating a professional web presence

This week we learned about distance education. Distance education is provided through the use of technology to teach students who are not physically in the classroom. It can be done in a number of ways including email, internet, tv broadcastor by mobile access which is done on a wireless device. Online education means that the teacher and student(s) are separated by time and space but are able to discuss topics through online discussion forums, phone or email. There are many advantages to distance eduaction. One of them is that students can work at their own pace. This is important because some students may feel overwhlemed in a typical school setting, and may do better when able to work at their own pace. DE also allows adults to go back to school while taking classes around their work schedules. It also gives more people access to information that they may not have available to them at their school. It also has its disadvantages though. A major one is cost (some can be quite expensive). Another is that students must be highly motivated since they are not expected to physically show up to a classroom and therefore do things around their schedule. Attendance and participation is hard to do and there is a lack of personal contact between the students and the teacher.

In Florida, an online school called Florida virtual school was created. Teachers are accessible from 7:30 in the morning until 8:00 at night and on the weekends. Each month they are also expected to make a phone call to the parents of the students. Assessments and worksheets are typical types of work that are given to students along with exams that usually count for most of the grade. There are also online discussion forums where students are expected to participate and they can ask questions or work together on a project. Virtual schools are increasing but since they are still so new we don't yet know what makes a good online instructor, so there are still many aspects that need to be worked out.

As a future teacher, it is good for me to know about all the options available to students. It may be something to consider as well. It would allow me to live anywhere and still be able to teach. It's also important to learn about the improvements that are made to virtual schools because some of the teaching strategies may be able to transfer to the classroom.

Here is a video about distance education. It's a little long, but I thought it highlighted some important concepts about it:
Distance Education: The challenges and benefits

Week 8: Podcasting

Podcasts are audio files that can be downloaded to any computer or MP3 player and listened to anytime, anywhere. They are relatively easy to make and can be about any topic. Many schools in the United States have started using them and they can facilitate contact between people around the world as well. Oftentimes, all you need to do is subscribe to them. You can suscribe to them based on favorite programs, specific creators or even by certain topics. Whenever a new podcast is made, the computer can record it just like a vcr would record specific programs.

Creating podcasts is not very hard, but there are certain factors that peple should keep in mind when creating them. Environment is important. A lot of times, people get used to background noise and forget that it is there when they are making a podcast. It's important to turn cellphones off, make sure fans and air conditioners are not too noisy and tell people when you're recording so that they don't interrupt you. You should also have a script already written, and it's good to keep in mind your tone and who your audience is. After you record something, you can edit and cut things out or change the order of the audio. Another important aspect is to keep in mind copyright laws and make sure that you are taking music or other features legally. Once your podcast is ready you can link it on a blog or website and students or clients can listen to it.

As a future teacher, it is important to know how beneficial podcasts can be in the classroom. They can be extremely useful in ESOL classes and allow students to learn English faster and easier. Kids can listen to them outside of school as well, which is important since foreign students often don't speak English outside of school. Podcasts can also be used to help students review for tests and can help them keep up with work that was done while they were absent.

The advantages are that they are useful for language development, students can access them even when they are absent and they can encourage kids to go more in depth on certain topics that may interest them. Podcasts can allow students to publish their work anywhere and give them a sense of pride, knowing that their work can be used by people around the world. The major issue with podcasts is that they take time to make. Editing programs can be challenging at first and teachers have to learn how to use them so that they can teach their students. Oftentimes, teachers don't have extra time to write scripts, do research and practice before recording. However, those teachers that do take time to create podcasts,can greatly enhance their students' ability to learn.

This is a good video about podcasting. It gave really good examples of the advantages of podcasting in the classroom. It's a little long, but I thought that it was very informative.

Podcasting in the classroom