TGIF

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Thank God it's Friday!
Teaching an online summer school class has proven to be a boat load of grading. It's money though.
One of my colleagues came by and said this is the first time he has had a smile on his face for more than 3 days at work in as long as he can remember. Why? No discipline problems.

I think it's great for that very reason.
All right everybody, have a great weekend!

Stardate, Thursday, July 15,2010

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Myth: the younger generation is much more technologically adept than some of us older folks. True they can text their thumbs numb and play noentiendo until their eyes glaze over and their minds turn to Jello. But, that doesn't mean they know how to cut & paste or upload a file. Being a "gamer" means you know how to play a specific video game not that you can construct a complete sentence using proper grammar.

As my odyssey as an online teacher continues I am shock that so many students do not know how to perform basic editing functions. I am not sure what they think that squiggly red line under a misspelled word means. But they find it easier to ignore than a parental request to clean their room. So, I must do what all good teachers do; teach them from the bottom up.

I am very impressed with the overall politeness and respectfulness the students are displaying in my face to face contact with my students. I have enjoyed their responses to my daily quotes and pictures. I have found their responses to be humorous and introspective. 

Tomorrow, grading...

Stardate Wednesday, July 24, 2010

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"I need a book."
"How do I turn in an assignment?"
"When is the assignment due?"
These are just a few of the questions I have been answering in earnest for my online class.
It took me an hour to grade the first assignment for ONE student. Time to problem solve and streamline the online grading experience.

The students have been remarkably polite and motivated. Yes, I know this is just the first real week, but, all things considered, not a bad start.
I really want to see how the students respond to this form of intervention. One thing for sure, I don't miss the classroom management issues.
That's all for now. Good night and God bless.
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Online Adventures in Learning: Stardate July 13, 2010

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Today is day 5 of my online teaching experience. So far it has been more about getting the kinks out of the system than about actually teaching.

 The startling thing is that most of the students, high school age, are not very tech savvy. I guess it's a bit of a myth that all humanoids under 20 something innately know and understand all things Internet.  Of course this is a summer school class for students who did not earn a passing grade in English need to take. So, maybe this is the not-bound-for-MIT crowd...

I will say this, as the students have come on site to pick up their textbooks they have all been polite. I guess the online environment at least takes out the class clown element.