Well, just minutes before our first class I was at my school board's meeting. They had a presentation on the new 7th grade technology initiative/pilot program.
Although it was interesting, it wasn't an open forum for the general public to comment on. I had a few questions since I now teach online.
One of the great benefits of online teaching is all of the hands on stuff. My local middle school is using Gamestarmechanic.com (I think that was it) to have students write a story and a game that matches up which leeds to a lot of cross editing to make everything work together
The other thing the teachers commented on was their ability to communicate with their students. Two of them commented that even while they were at a conference.
Their presentation brought up a few questions for me.
1) Is there a set expectation for how soon teachers need to get back to students? Do they have weekends off? Is time allotted in their schedule? I know where I work, we have to respond to emails within 24hours. Also, if teachers are being paid to attend a conference or seminar....should the be responding to emails?
2) How long do teachers have to grade papers/assignments/projects? I get 72hours to get my assignments graded.
There are also some other concerns I have about the possible future of online teaching, etc. I see a lot of great possibilities... but I think, depending on the political climate work conditions/pay/etc could vary quite a bit.
I say that because I am more of a facilitator who grades assignments, but the class itself is all inclusive. My students have onsite, local "teachers" that assist in their learning in some cases. I'm not sure of their qualifications... if they are actual teachers or helpers. Other students work through it on their own. So, what I am doing right now is very, very different from the classes we are taking or blended learning.
Well... I think I've rambled on long enough.
It's great to be part of this cohort. I missed this class before and look forward to taking it with all of you.
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As for emails, in our district, there is no set time to respond to emails. I tend to get it done by the end of my work day and I leave for home. Usually I am responding during my short prep time I get or during lunch because parents will ask a question or make a comment that I need to respond right away with.
ReplyDeleteFor assignments and grading. We use Webgrader for grading. Parents are able to access this information from home and see where there child is standing based on their grade. Since this is possible, I feel it is my responsibility to put grades into the system ASAP. Not to mention. If I don't, I fall SO far behind and it is hard to get to kids if something is missing, etc. So I am usually pretty good with getting even assessments in a day or two after.
Our district also has an on-line school. I forgot what it is called, but they are going to start advertising it on tv soon. I met a teacher there and he says he loves it! I just can't see teaching elementary school children in this format...they are SO influential by their surroundings...and the development of socialization is much needed there. However, I can see high school being a great beginning for these resources.
Welcome to our class. We are a hard working bunch!
You raise two very good questions, and I struggle with both of them. The medium almost demands continual feedback between teacher and student. It's good that your school sets parameters for response times, but that often means you are never "off". In the bricks and mortar school at which I teach, the response times are a little more generous, but if an email or voice message is not responded to within 24 hours, I usually hear it from the sender. However, in the online class that I teach for Stritch, I feel it's necessary to be "on" regularly for most of the day.
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