My Final Reflection
After reading the (iNACOL) National Standards for Quality Online Teaching (PDF) provided, I have assessed my readiness for quality online teaching. My final reflection focuses on my areas of strength and my areas of need.
Standard A
The online teacher knows the primary concepts and structures of effective online instruction and is
able to create learning experiences to enable student success.
Strength: I gave myself high marks in 4 of these 6 categories. I feel most confident in my ability to “build learner capacity for collaboration in face-to-face, blended, and online environments” and of course I get a 4 for being “able to provide evidence of credentials in the field of study being taught.”
Growth: I am still diligently working to get better at constructing “flexible, digital, and interactive learning experiences.” This seems like an area that I will always be working at to get better and incorporate new tools as they become available.
Standard B
The online teacher understands and is able to use a range of technologies, both existing and
emerging, that effectively support student learning and engagement in the online environment.
Strength: I feel confident that I can “use communication technologies in a variety of mediums and contexts for teaching and learning”.
Growth: Beyond that, I did not give myself particularly high marks on this one. I see all of these as areas that I have learned a lot about but am definitely still on the continuum. I have “troubleshooting skills” that are bad to the bone, but I still often find myself frustrated and calling for tech support.
Standard C
The online teacher plans, designs, and incorporates strategies to encourage active learning,
application, interaction, participation, and collaboration in the online environment.
Strength: Although I didn’t give myself a single 4 on this one, I feel like a solid 3 across the board. I do engage students with “real-world applications”, like college essays, independent living, job applications, etc.
Growth: I gave myself 3s on all of these because I feel like I get it and am doing it but I can still learn and get better. For example, I do “facilitate and monitor online instruction groups to promote learning”, but I can get a lot better at it as I do it more and reflect on how successful it was.
Standard D
The online teacher promotes student success through clear expectations, prompt responses, and
regular feedback.
Strength: I give myself high marks for the communication and trust that I develop with my students. It is a challenge but I feel like I do a very good job of communicating expectations and varying my communication style to meet diverse students.
Growth: I gave myself my first 2 when it came to “able to provide prompt feedback”. Honestly, I find that getting feedback to students quickly is one of my greatest challenges. Perhaps it’s because I’m often reading lengthy essays but I don’t like to use that as an excuse. Ultimately, if students don’t get feedback promptly then it becomes useless and I have always struggled with this.
Standard E
The online teacher models, guides, and encourages legal, ethical, and safe behavior related to
technology use.
Strength: I feel very good (3s) about my ability to “ensure academic integrity” because our school has made it a focus, at all grade levels, at the beginning of the year, to devote time specifically to this standard.
Growth: I would like to increase my ability to hold students accountable for all the images they use in their various presentations. I also gave myself a 2 for knowing very little about how to “incorporate and comply with FERPA”.
Standard F
The online teacher is cognizant of the diversity of student academic needs and incorporates
accommodations into the online environment.
Strength: The only 4 I gave myself here was in my ability to “demonstrate awareness of different learning preferences, diversity, and universal design.” With past experience and what I have learned from this course, I feel Like I can very satisfactorily address the diversity in my classroom including special needs.
Growth: While my school does an awesome job of communicating IEPs and providing support, I feel like I need to reach out more often and solicit help more often throughout the year. I tend to get into my year and deal with it on my own.
Standard G
The online teacher demonstrates competencies in creating and implementing assessments in online
learning environments in ways that ensure validity and reliability of the instruments and procedures.
Strength: I feel that I do a good job of providing a great variety of assessments which helps me to feel better about the overall validity of my assessment of their ability and skills. I also feel good about my ability to accurately assess the standard.
Growth: I feel that I have a lot to learn as far as ensuring the validity and reliability of each individual assessment.
Standard H
The online teacher develops and delivers assessments, projects, and assignments that meet
standards-based learning goals and assesses learning progress by measuring student achievement of the learning goals.
Strength: Like I said in standard G, I mix up the assessments quite a bit and do often offer non-traditional choices in assessment.
Growth: It is a goal of mine to build in some student feedback into very assessment I give this year. In the past I have not always had that element in all the assessments.
Standard I
The online teacher demonstrates competency in using data from assessments and other data
sources to modify content and to guide student learning.
Strength: I gave myself pretty high scores for this one. I am very reflective with my own teaching and am constantly using student data and feedback to inform my instruction.
Growth: My main area for growth here would be to get more student data and feedback from the online assessments I use. As I have said in other reflections, I want to be more strategic and aware of why I am choosing a particular assessment.
Standard J
The online teacher interacts in a professional, effective manner with colleagues, parents, and other
members of the community to support students’ success.
Strength: I get a 4 for collaboration. My school is wonderful with good meaningful collaboration. We have excellent formal collaboration and I also feel comfortable reaching out frequently to my colleagues for less formal collaboration. Collaboration beyond school is less but I still feel like I am pretty solid there.
Growth: I have a lot of room for growth regarding communication with parents. I am guilty of not reaching out to parents with the mindset that, given the demographics of the school, the parents will not be able to be very involved. I realize that that is wrong thinking and would like to increase my communication and outreach to parents this year.
Standard K
The online teacher arranges media and content to help students and teachers transfer knowledge
most effectively in the online environment.
Strength: Some of the elements of this standard are basic and I feel like I have some solid 4s here. Like I am, “able to modify and add content and assessment, using an online Learning Management System.” I am always seeking out content specific online stuff to enhance the curriculum.
Growth: My growth are would be to continue to, “know and understand critical digital literacies and 21st century skills.” While I feel like I’m doing a good job currently, I feel like it takes effort to stay current. These skills are quickly evolving. We talk about 21st century skills like it’s futuristic stuff but we are in fact well into the 21st century.
1. How have you changed as a learner and an instructor through this process?
The activities and online interaction in this class have made me more conscious of the online interactions and activities that I create in my own class. The activities have exposed me to some things I never fully considered, like ADA compliance. The discussions and seeing how they were managed was perhaps the single most helpful piece. I feel much more confident in my ability to create meaningful online communities in my classroom.
2. What is your action plan for implementing changes in your teaching practice as a result of new learning?
My plan for implementing improvements in my blended learning classroom includes:
Having routine deadlines like we had in this class to establish routine and consistency for the students.
For the first month of class, I will require students to site their discussion strategy just like we had to. Honestly, I found this cumbersome during the class but I can see how my students would benefit from having to do this and become more critical of their own online discussion contributions.
My use of web 2.0 tools will be chosen strategically from the very beginning of lesson/project planning rather than at the end to add pizzazz to the final project. For example, their personal statements will start with them creating animations of themselves that reveal something about themselves.
I am creating online individual and partner activities for all of my lessons that will result in some formative feedback.
I will use the same routine of feedback as the instructors did in this class. Specifically, when a student completes a project but it could be made better by adding, correcting, or expanding something, I will give them that feedback quickly, with partial credit, and the opportunity to add more and get full credit.
I will take the time upfront to add elements to our LMS that allow for community building. Specifically, I will create a “watercooler” for random less academic stuff and have everyone do an “all about me” assignment (including myself).
3. How do you plan to continue your learning about online teaching?
I will continue to improve my online teaching by continuing to stay abreast of new tools. I will continue to reflect on the successfulness of my online design choices. I will continue to collaborate with my amazing colleagues. Fortunately many of them went through this class as well and will be learning and trying new things to improve their online teaching. I can learn a lot from keeping our collaboration open. I will be brave when it comes to trying new tools and new ways of doing things online. Also, blended learning is a priority initiative at my school and so the whole school is having conversations about ways to get better and I will continue to get professional development related to blended learning. Lastly but most importantly, I have Alex Gonzalez as an invaluable resource who I will continue to work closely with.
The online teacher knows the primary concepts and structures of effective online instruction and is
able to create learning experiences to enable student success.
Strength: I gave myself high marks in 4 of these 6 categories. I feel most confident in my ability to “build learner capacity for collaboration in face-to-face, blended, and online environments” and of course I get a 4 for being “able to provide evidence of credentials in the field of study being taught.”
Growth: I am still diligently working to get better at constructing “flexible, digital, and interactive learning experiences.” This seems like an area that I will always be working at to get better and incorporate new tools as they become available.
Standard B
The online teacher understands and is able to use a range of technologies, both existing and
emerging, that effectively support student learning and engagement in the online environment.
Strength: I feel confident that I can “use communication technologies in a variety of mediums and contexts for teaching and learning”.
Growth: Beyond that, I did not give myself particularly high marks on this one. I see all of these as areas that I have learned a lot about but am definitely still on the continuum. I have “troubleshooting skills” that are bad to the bone, but I still often find myself frustrated and calling for tech support.
Standard C
The online teacher plans, designs, and incorporates strategies to encourage active learning,
application, interaction, participation, and collaboration in the online environment.
Strength: Although I didn’t give myself a single 4 on this one, I feel like a solid 3 across the board. I do engage students with “real-world applications”, like college essays, independent living, job applications, etc.
Growth: I gave myself 3s on all of these because I feel like I get it and am doing it but I can still learn and get better. For example, I do “facilitate and monitor online instruction groups to promote learning”, but I can get a lot better at it as I do it more and reflect on how successful it was.
Standard D
The online teacher promotes student success through clear expectations, prompt responses, and
regular feedback.
Strength: I give myself high marks for the communication and trust that I develop with my students. It is a challenge but I feel like I do a very good job of communicating expectations and varying my communication style to meet diverse students.
Growth: I gave myself my first 2 when it came to “able to provide prompt feedback”. Honestly, I find that getting feedback to students quickly is one of my greatest challenges. Perhaps it’s because I’m often reading lengthy essays but I don’t like to use that as an excuse. Ultimately, if students don’t get feedback promptly then it becomes useless and I have always struggled with this.
Standard E
The online teacher models, guides, and encourages legal, ethical, and safe behavior related to
technology use.
Strength: I feel very good (3s) about my ability to “ensure academic integrity” because our school has made it a focus, at all grade levels, at the beginning of the year, to devote time specifically to this standard.
Growth: I would like to increase my ability to hold students accountable for all the images they use in their various presentations. I also gave myself a 2 for knowing very little about how to “incorporate and comply with FERPA”.
Standard F
The online teacher is cognizant of the diversity of student academic needs and incorporates
accommodations into the online environment.
Strength: The only 4 I gave myself here was in my ability to “demonstrate awareness of different learning preferences, diversity, and universal design.” With past experience and what I have learned from this course, I feel Like I can very satisfactorily address the diversity in my classroom including special needs.
Growth: While my school does an awesome job of communicating IEPs and providing support, I feel like I need to reach out more often and solicit help more often throughout the year. I tend to get into my year and deal with it on my own.
Standard G
The online teacher demonstrates competencies in creating and implementing assessments in online
learning environments in ways that ensure validity and reliability of the instruments and procedures.
Strength: I feel that I do a good job of providing a great variety of assessments which helps me to feel better about the overall validity of my assessment of their ability and skills. I also feel good about my ability to accurately assess the standard.
Growth: I feel that I have a lot to learn as far as ensuring the validity and reliability of each individual assessment.
Standard H
The online teacher develops and delivers assessments, projects, and assignments that meet
standards-based learning goals and assesses learning progress by measuring student achievement of the learning goals.
Strength: Like I said in standard G, I mix up the assessments quite a bit and do often offer non-traditional choices in assessment.
Growth: It is a goal of mine to build in some student feedback into very assessment I give this year. In the past I have not always had that element in all the assessments.
Standard I
The online teacher demonstrates competency in using data from assessments and other data
sources to modify content and to guide student learning.
Strength: I gave myself pretty high scores for this one. I am very reflective with my own teaching and am constantly using student data and feedback to inform my instruction.
Growth: My main area for growth here would be to get more student data and feedback from the online assessments I use. As I have said in other reflections, I want to be more strategic and aware of why I am choosing a particular assessment.
Standard J
The online teacher interacts in a professional, effective manner with colleagues, parents, and other
members of the community to support students’ success.
Strength: I get a 4 for collaboration. My school is wonderful with good meaningful collaboration. We have excellent formal collaboration and I also feel comfortable reaching out frequently to my colleagues for less formal collaboration. Collaboration beyond school is less but I still feel like I am pretty solid there.
Growth: I have a lot of room for growth regarding communication with parents. I am guilty of not reaching out to parents with the mindset that, given the demographics of the school, the parents will not be able to be very involved. I realize that that is wrong thinking and would like to increase my communication and outreach to parents this year.
Standard K
The online teacher arranges media and content to help students and teachers transfer knowledge
most effectively in the online environment.
Strength: Some of the elements of this standard are basic and I feel like I have some solid 4s here. Like I am, “able to modify and add content and assessment, using an online Learning Management System.” I am always seeking out content specific online stuff to enhance the curriculum.
Growth: My growth are would be to continue to, “know and understand critical digital literacies and 21st century skills.” While I feel like I’m doing a good job currently, I feel like it takes effort to stay current. These skills are quickly evolving. We talk about 21st century skills like it’s futuristic stuff but we are in fact well into the 21st century.
1. How have you changed as a learner and an instructor through this process?
The activities and online interaction in this class have made me more conscious of the online interactions and activities that I create in my own class. The activities have exposed me to some things I never fully considered, like ADA compliance. The discussions and seeing how they were managed was perhaps the single most helpful piece. I feel much more confident in my ability to create meaningful online communities in my classroom.
2. What is your action plan for implementing changes in your teaching practice as a result of new learning?
My plan for implementing improvements in my blended learning classroom includes:
Having routine deadlines like we had in this class to establish routine and consistency for the students.
For the first month of class, I will require students to site their discussion strategy just like we had to. Honestly, I found this cumbersome during the class but I can see how my students would benefit from having to do this and become more critical of their own online discussion contributions.
My use of web 2.0 tools will be chosen strategically from the very beginning of lesson/project planning rather than at the end to add pizzazz to the final project. For example, their personal statements will start with them creating animations of themselves that reveal something about themselves.
I am creating online individual and partner activities for all of my lessons that will result in some formative feedback.
I will use the same routine of feedback as the instructors did in this class. Specifically, when a student completes a project but it could be made better by adding, correcting, or expanding something, I will give them that feedback quickly, with partial credit, and the opportunity to add more and get full credit.
I will take the time upfront to add elements to our LMS that allow for community building. Specifically, I will create a “watercooler” for random less academic stuff and have everyone do an “all about me” assignment (including myself).
3. How do you plan to continue your learning about online teaching?
I will continue to improve my online teaching by continuing to stay abreast of new tools. I will continue to reflect on the successfulness of my online design choices. I will continue to collaborate with my amazing colleagues. Fortunately many of them went through this class as well and will be learning and trying new things to improve their online teaching. I can learn a lot from keeping our collaboration open. I will be brave when it comes to trying new tools and new ways of doing things online. Also, blended learning is a priority initiative at my school and so the whole school is having conversations about ways to get better and I will continue to get professional development related to blended learning. Lastly but most importantly, I have Alex Gonzalez as an invaluable resource who I will continue to work closely with.