online tools for independent study
DESCRIPTION
Presentation for the Ohio Association for Gifted Children 2010 Teacher Academy by Eric CalvertTRANSCRIPT
Online Tools for Independent Studies
Eric CalvertLearning|Connective
OAGC Teacher AcademyMarch, 2010
Expand curricular offerings Differentiate curriculum Develop learner autonomy, positive habits
of mind Accelerate and/or enrich learning
Why Use Independent Study?
Gifted students prefer self-generated projects to teacher-assigned projects (Feldhusen, Moon & Dillon)
Independent study has greatest effect when combined with curriculum compacting/acceleration (Rogers)
High cognitive ability, content knowledge does not guarantee success in independent study. Self-directed learning is a learned skill.
Independent Study and Gifted Students
Quality of curriculum Maintaining student motivation Time management (student AND teacher) Providing guidance and formative feedback Evaluation and grading
Challenges
Leverage student content interests Provide choice in learning modality Clear expectations Social elements Scaffolds for planning, time
management (especially for students new to independent study)
Ongoing support and feedback (“independent” ≠ “alone”)
Keys to Success
What often works with gifted students:
What often does NOT work:
Independent investigations into student-generated research questions
Project-based learning related to developing solutions to real-world problems
Creative projects leading to publication, performance, or exhibition for “authentic” audiences
Structured mentorship/internship experiences with outside experts
For some, PBL with an element of friendly competition
Independent studies of highly prescribed content and activities (unless short and flexibly paced)
Using independent study for remediation w/o expert support
Using independent study as a punishment (social isolation strategy)
Using independent study rather than addressing problems in traditional learning environment (e.g. bullying, negative peer pressure, etc.)
Intro to Online Tools
In what ways are traditional texts and library books inherently limited?
A Question:
“What we know” is not limited to “what’s in our brains”
Being a 21st century thinker means being able to combine internal and external cognitive resources
Students should own learning resources◦ Keep◦ Customize◦ Carry
Key Thoughts
Curriculum
Repositories
Curriculum
Repositories Teac
hers
Teac
hers
Audiences
Audiences
CompetitorsCompetitors
Research Tools
Research ToolsReflection Tools
Reflection Tools
Collaborators
Collaborators
Planning
ToolsPlanning
Tools
Personal Learning Network
Personal Le
arning Environment
Portfolio
Portfolio M
entors
MentorsAuth
orin
g
ToolsAuth
orin
g
Tools
Communication Tools
Wikis Online Curriculum Repositories (OCRs) Blogs
Online Tools
What’s a Wiki?◦From “Wiki wiki”◦Community web publishing tool◦All editing in standard web browser
Public examples:◦Wikipedia.org◦Onlineedops.pbworks.com◦Tech4OAGC
Wikis
How are wikis useful?◦Organize information (syllabi, learning
contracts, etc.)◦Collaborative content development◦Embed other resources (documents, videos,
etc.)◦Automatically logs activity, tracks changes◦Access controlled environment◦May be used as a learning portfolio platform
90% of features of a LMS, but easier to set up and use
Examples: PBWorks, Wikispaces
Wikis
What is a curriculum repository?◦Online collection of lesson plans, readings,
recordings, videos, simulations, and educational games.
How does it help?◦Provides large libraries of standards-based
content designed for education◦Allows teachers to provide many choices
w/o creating everything from scratch Examples: Connexions, Curriki, ORC,
Thinkfinity, iTunes U, Ohio iTunes U, MIT Open Courseware
Curriculum Repositories
What is a blog? How does it help?
◦Adds a social element to independent study◦Provides opportunity for authentic
audiences◦Supports publication of multimedia products
(writing, still images, audio, video)◦Encourages reflection◦Easy to monitor for teachers (publication
approval, RSS)◦May be used as a learning portfolio platform
Examples: Edublogs, Blogger
Blogs
Choose tools that allow customizable access controls
Consider controlling access to blogs by younger or less Web savvy students Limit to teachers, peers, mentors
Expand access as students learn/mature to expand access to real world communities
Provide and encourage lots of feedback Save time by “subscribing” to RSS feeds.
Let the content come to you.
Blogs
Experiment/play with online tools yourself Introduce one or a few tools at a time Talk with students about safety, school policy,
and ethical uses of others’ content Be sensitive to technology availability outside
of school Give preference to free and open source tools
that let students keep their content Be an advocate for student technology access Be open to learning from students
Final Tips