aloe project high school transitions course (maybe?)

ALOE ProjectHigh School Transitions Course (maybe?)

Fairfield Suisun Adult SchoolHigh School Diploma Program

Original Proposal 

Convert the School to Career Transition course content and instructional delivery

system to an online course using the Moodle platform

Proposed Activities

Moodle Training •Train the Adult Secondary Teachers

•Late Spring 2012

Hire Mentor •Mentor for follow-up training

through out summer

Make Transitions

an Open Course

•Fulfill ASE requirements•Open to Cal Works Students also

Explosion

•FSAS Teachers embrace the online classroom idea

•Make the classes self enrolling then student can go at their own pace•Administrator is extremely supportive•If 1 is good why not 12?

Summer

• Thank goodness for our Mentors; Tricia, and OTAN’s Penny and Blair

• We might have jumped into the deep-end• School starts September 17, 2012

Challenges

• Over the summer the District converts their entire system to a Lenox based software from Novell.– Many many many computer problems not of

our creation

Challenges & Changes

• Surprisingly many students resisted the change– resist technology– wanted to go back to the old way(paper)

Six Month Review of the New Classes• Teachers attended the training on Moodle conducted by OTAN• Converted not only the School to Career Transition course but

also 12 other courses (duplicated for night school)• Mentor did follow-up training and showed teachers

– some additional capabilities of Moodle,– Hot Potato Quiz Building Software compatible with Moodle

• Mentor then met with the ASE teachers and worked with them as they began the process of putting course content into Moodle.

• ASE department chair and two of the teachers developed additional written activities for each adult secondary course, as well as entering all of the quizzes into Moodle.

Throughout the 2012-2013 Year

• ASE teachers have continued to refine the course content in the Moodle courses

• A major problem with the Grade Book was resolved• Ways to track student progress in moodle were found• Identified objectives for refining our classes this summer

– Make them more interactive– Have videos, Games– Blogs, and possibly chat– More Web links to current events– Continue to have direct instruction during each class period

before students work on the computers.

What We Learned• Students will resist teaching no matter what• They will in the end embrace the training and unsuspectingly learn new technology• Orientation goes a long way to preventing disgruntled students

– We are now in-taking new students every 2 weeks with a Moodle Orientation before they actually start classes

• Students were pleased that they could work from home when they couldn’t make it to school, or at night– They felt they could accomplish their goals more quickly– Now that we have less computer problems students are more motivated. One student is even

earning 1 credit per day

• Don’t take on a such a big project in a short amount of time (KISS)• Must have teachers who embrace technology • Have Mentors• Have an Administrator who backs you

Grade Book

Journal or Writing Assignment

Hot Potato Quiz Sample