When given the task in week 4 of turning traditional courses into online courses, I found it very difficult to only identify two existing school courses that could be redesigned. My research led me to conclude that with the right blend of technology, every traditional course could be tweaked and then easily transitioned to an online format.
Next school year, at the seventh grade level, my district is moving ten intermediate campuses to the Summit Public Schools model. Summit Public Schools model is an entire core curriculum designed around project based learning. I am excited to work closely with the campuses to integrate the AVID system into their model. Teaming AVID with Summit Public Schools is a dynamic move that will certainly help to create highly significant learning environments district wide. Check out the following websites for more info on both the AVID System and Summit Public Schools model: www.avid.org and http://summitps.org/ Since the Summit Public Schools model has already transformed core curriculum into online learning, I decided to place my focus on two elective courses that are heavy on textual information. Texas History is a seventh grade elective required by most junior high schools in Texas. Being a history class, it relies heavily on printed content. Textbooks, worksheets, maps and journals seem to dominate the Texas History curriculum. In observing several Texas History classes, I found most teachers and students to be drowning in a sea of paper. This fact alone is a primary reason why Texas History could benefit from a course redesign. Just as Texas History is an elective loaded with printed content, so is the Health elective. In Texas, Health is offered to all freshmen and most eighth graders for high school credit. By moving Health to an online format, students are able to free up space in their schedules to take other campus housed courses. The digital possibilities are endless when you infuse technology into a text based curriculum. Textbooks can now be accessed online along with a variety of digital content alternatives. With the introduction of Microsoft OneNote, classrooms can become as paperless as they need to be relieving the need for copying stacks of worksheets. Journaling can be taken to the next level with the integration of digital discussion boards and Backchannel forums such as TodaysMeet. These collaborative discussion avenues empower students to discover and express their authentic learning voice. Perhaps the best tools used in online learning are videos. Through applications such as PlayPosit, most videos can be easily turned into digital assessments further engaging the learner and assuring course accountability. As a digital learner and leader, I am thrilled for the opportunity to tweak the process. In doing so, I have definitely gained the knowledge and confidence needed to transform traditional courses into technology rich super courses in my district and beyond.
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AuthorMadeline Brandi Collins is a Louisiana girl through and through. Raised by her beloved Maw Maw and namesake, she moved to Texas 13 years ago to pursue a career in education which proved to be one of the best decisions EVER!
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May 2017
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