I’m fairly new to working within the public school system, and it’s been really interesting seeing how the dynamics of school compares to how I remember it when I was a student. One thing that is different now is a new iteration of an old idea: distance learning through online courses.
Lots has been written about online learning. I’ve personally completed a masters degree in educational technology all through online courses.
Term 1 just ended here in British Columbia and as I’ve learned this year, it is a big deal for students in grade 12. It turns out that many (all?) US universities look for term1 marks for their applications. Some of the schools in eastern Canada do the same, such as U of T. What this means is that I had students running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to get as many marks as possible.
I just came across this article on Teresa Dove, who was recently awarded America’s first-ever K-12 Online Teacher of the Year. I won’t go into what I actually think of such an award… Dove listed what she felt were the 5 most important things for online education and Ithought I would list them here given as a compare/contrast with Chikering and Gamson’s Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.
