Becoming an Online Teacher:Becoming an Online Teacher:

A Case Study of an Online Student

by Rachel Bruce by Rachel Bruce

November, 2010November, 2010

A Case Study of an Online Student

by Rachel Bruce by Rachel Bruce

November, 2010November, 2010

The StudentThe Student

For the purpose of anonymity, this student will be referred to as “Kate”.

She is a middle school student.

She is not your average student; has a higher level of intelligence

For the purpose of anonymity, this student will be referred to as “Kate”.

She is a middle school student.

She is not your average student; has a higher level of intelligence

Kate’s CourseKate’s Course

She is enrolled in the 15 week VHS online course, Web Design and Internet Research. It is unclear if this is

the first time she has taken an online course.

Start of course, 10 total students Within the first week, one student withdrew

At week 11, one student withdrew failing At week 11, 8 students remain

At week 11, 4 students are passing At week 11, 5 students are failing

Kate ranks number 1 with a 100% in her course

She is enrolled in the 15 week VHS online course, Web Design and Internet Research. It is unclear if this is

the first time she has taken an online course.

Start of course, 10 total students Within the first week, one student withdrew

At week 11, one student withdrew failing At week 11, 8 students remain

At week 11, 4 students are passing At week 11, 5 students are failing

Kate ranks number 1 with a 100% in her course

Kate’s Personality, Attitude, and Behavior

Kate’s Personality, Attitude, and Behavior

She exhibits advanced social and behavioral maturity

During frustrating times, her attitude remains consistently positive

Looks for resolution to assignment problems, group project conflicts, and technical issues

Kate's personality is genuinely caring and helpful to her classmates

She demonstrates respectfulness, attentiveness, and focus during her course

She is a leader and role model for other students

She exhibits advanced social and behavioral maturity

During frustrating times, her attitude remains consistently positive

Looks for resolution to assignment problems, group project conflicts, and technical issues

Kate's personality is genuinely caring and helpful to her classmates

She demonstrates respectfulness, attentiveness, and focus during her course

She is a leader and role model for other students

Kate’s Learning EnvironmentKate’s Learning Environment

Course and materials are delivered through the Desire to Learn (D2L) course management system

Highly collaborative, interactive, and technology based

Project based, culminating tasks over several weeks

Complex problem solving and higher order thinking are involved in many tasks

Application of cooperative and experiential learning are key strategies

Independent and student directed learning

Course and materials are delivered through the Desire to Learn (D2L) course management system

Highly collaborative, interactive, and technology based

Project based, culminating tasks over several weeks

Complex problem solving and higher order thinking are involved in many tasks

Application of cooperative and experiential learning are key strategies

Independent and student directed learning

Kate’s Work Ethic, Skills, and Learning Strengths

Kate’s Work Ethic, Skills, and Learning Strengths

Compared to classmates, work ethic is noticeably stronger

“Workhorse” style, committed to reaching course goals and objectives consistently

Above average, logs into course at least seven times a week

Since start of course, September 1, accessed course 133 times

Prompt with assignments, pays close attention to due dates and details, follows instructions, and creatively completes projects and assignments as outlined

Confident, demonstrates effective communication skills with teacher and classmates

Compared to classmates, work ethic is noticeably stronger

“Workhorse” style, committed to reaching course goals and objectives consistently

Above average, logs into course at least seven times a week

Since start of course, September 1, accessed course 133 times

Prompt with assignments, pays close attention to due dates and details, follows instructions, and creatively completes projects and assignments as outlined

Confident, demonstrates effective communication skills with teacher and classmates

Artifacts from Kate’s VHS course,

Web Design and Internet Research,

Demonstrating Kate’s Educational

Achievements and Abilities

Artifacts from Kate’s VHS course,

Web Design and Internet Research,

Demonstrating Kate’s Educational

Achievements and Abilities

Kate’s Letter of ApplicationKate’s Letter of Application

The following is an artifact from week 1. It demonstrates her

views about her own strengths and abilities as a student: I am applying to be on this web design team. I would love to take part in designing and writing this web

site. I would like to gain more experience in the areas of design and computer programming. My goal is to help this team be more efficient. I hope that my resources will help to make this design team a better-functioning group.

There are some reasons I would like to share with you for me to be on this design team. I am persistently punctual, and have always turned in school projects on time and with one-hundred and ten percent of my effort. I always try do my very best when working in a group, and do more than my fair share. I am used to being the leader of a group, which has given me lessons in commitment, communication and organizing. I like to keep fellow members in good humor and happy with their job, enjoying their time spent on our goal. I try to stay on top of every important detail about the project, and always make sure my team is running in tip-top shape.

I also I have experience in creating websites, and once had my own. I learned how to correctly write paragraphs, post images, and insert polls. I am fairly good with numbers for my level of schooling, however I know other applicants might be at a higher level than me. In what I lack for experience I make up for with hard work, and once I set a goal, I give everything I have to complete it. I work best in groups, finding that everyone putting in their effort is much better than trying to complete everything on your own. I do not have much experience in web-design, and that is why I am taking this course.

Thank you for considering me for this team. I would be honored to work with all these other applicants, and I would love to start as soon as possible. Thank you again,

“Kate”

The following is an artifact from week 1. It demonstrates her

views about her own strengths and abilities as a student: I am applying to be on this web design team. I would love to take part in designing and writing this web

site. I would like to gain more experience in the areas of design and computer programming. My goal is to help this team be more efficient. I hope that my resources will help to make this design team a better-functioning group.

There are some reasons I would like to share with you for me to be on this design team. I am persistently punctual, and have always turned in school projects on time and with one-hundred and ten percent of my effort. I always try do my very best when working in a group, and do more than my fair share. I am used to being the leader of a group, which has given me lessons in commitment, communication and organizing. I like to keep fellow members in good humor and happy with their job, enjoying their time spent on our goal. I try to stay on top of every important detail about the project, and always make sure my team is running in tip-top shape.

I also I have experience in creating websites, and once had my own. I learned how to correctly write paragraphs, post images, and insert polls. I am fairly good with numbers for my level of schooling, however I know other applicants might be at a higher level than me. In what I lack for experience I make up for with hard work, and once I set a goal, I give everything I have to complete it. I work best in groups, finding that everyone putting in their effort is much better than trying to complete everything on your own. I do not have much experience in web-design, and that is why I am taking this course.

Thank you for considering me for this team. I would be honored to work with all these other applicants, and I would love to start as soon as possible. Thank you again,

“Kate”

Kate’s Communication and Problem Solving Skills

Kate’s Communication and Problem Solving Skills

Example of ability to communicate effectively with her teacher in order to problem solve a technical assignment:

• Kate- “When we upload files to file manager, where are they supposed to go? They say that they are pictures, but they won't let me upload them to the actual website on web.com.”

• Teacher- “If you are uploading pictures to webs.com, then they are pictures. If you are uploading .html files, these are the ones that should open as a webpage when you click on them.”

• Kate-“They are html files saved under things like lesson2_volc.html. What I am wondering is how we get these onto our viewable website after we uploaded them to file manager. Where are they supposed to be and how do I get them there? I have tried multiple things but nothing worked.

• Teacher- “When you upload the files, they should be visible when you finish uploading them. Then you click on the file and it opens as a webpage in a new tab.”

• Kate- “I can get to the files from my account when I click file manager, but that is the only place they are. I know that they should be somewhere on my webpage, but they just aren't. What can I do to fix this?”

• Teacher-“Lets try this. Give me your login and password for webs.com and I will see what you have there.” End of Dialogue

Example of ability to communicate effectively with her teacher in order to problem solve a technical assignment:

• Kate- “When we upload files to file manager, where are they supposed to go? They say that they are pictures, but they won't let me upload them to the actual website on web.com.”

• Teacher- “If you are uploading pictures to webs.com, then they are pictures. If you are uploading .html files, these are the ones that should open as a webpage when you click on them.”

• Kate-“They are html files saved under things like lesson2_volc.html. What I am wondering is how we get these onto our viewable website after we uploaded them to file manager. Where are they supposed to be and how do I get them there? I have tried multiple things but nothing worked.

• Teacher- “When you upload the files, they should be visible when you finish uploading them. Then you click on the file and it opens as a webpage in a new tab.”

• Kate- “I can get to the files from my account when I click file manager, but that is the only place they are. I know that they should be somewhere on my webpage, but they just aren't. What can I do to fix this?”

• Teacher-“Lets try this. Give me your login and password for webs.com and I will see what you have there.” End of Dialogue

Demonstration of Kate’s technical and collaborative skills. She built this web

page with a team created logo.

Demonstration of Kate’s technical and collaborative skills. She built this web

page with a team created logo.

Example of Kate’s reading comprehension, reasoning ability, critical thinking skills, and reflection relating to Wikipedia discussion:

Example of Kate’s reading comprehension, reasoning ability, critical thinking skills, and reflection relating to Wikipedia discussion:

Raise your hand if you are suprised-Wikipedia (a reflection from several readings relating to Wikipedia and credibility of information) by “Kate” Nov 10, 2010 7:47 AM Wikipedia was not built to be a dictionary or encyclopedia. If a person sees something wrong with a post, it is their duty to change it. Most established sources make mistakes, but with Wikipedia they welcome and encourage you to help them improve. Wikipedia is not for writing research papers, but maybe for learning a little background information before going to more reliable sources. It is not Wikipedias fault if something is wrong, it is those who take that information and run with it, not checking for reliability. I quote, " The crazy man on the corner raving about the UFO invasion isn’t the problem. It’s the people who hear him and assume that he must be right because he has a megaphone." This quote could not be more true. If some random person is writing random things, it is your job to fix it or ignore it, not critique it or blame Wikipedia.

ConclusionConclusion

Some of the main factors why Kate’s classmates are unsuccessful in their online course:

Not committed 4-6 days without accessing course No or limited participation in discussions Not completing assignments as outlined Fall behind, students become overwhelmed, skip work to

catch up School testing interfered with course work time Slow bandwidth at school or at home or both Tremendous amount of work, technical in nature Workload in this course overwhelming to students,

especially when they encounter technical issues, very easy to get backed up

Kate’s overall tremendous success in her online class is due to her exceptional work habits, maturity, commitment to succeed, diligence, higher intelligence, problem solving ability, and conscientiousness. She is a model student who works above and beyond the norm.

Some of the main factors why Kate’s classmates are unsuccessful in their online course:

Not committed 4-6 days without accessing course No or limited participation in discussions Not completing assignments as outlined Fall behind, students become overwhelmed, skip work to

catch up School testing interfered with course work time Slow bandwidth at school or at home or both Tremendous amount of work, technical in nature Workload in this course overwhelming to students,

especially when they encounter technical issues, very easy to get backed up

Kate’s overall tremendous success in her online class is due to her exceptional work habits, maturity, commitment to succeed, diligence, higher intelligence, problem solving ability, and conscientiousness. She is a model student who works above and beyond the norm.