Readers,
Here is an update on my progress with the online homework program Quest in my classroom. I entered this program fully aware of the main issues that would arise. The most prominent being that some students do not have access to the internet. I looked into the program and there is a way to print off assignments and you can access it on your phone using the free WiFi at school. That fixed the issue for most students.
However, now I'm running into issues simply because these are high school students. I have students sending me emails the night the assignment is due saying their internet froze so they couldn't finish their assignment. My response is that they should try completely shutting down their computer and browser and login in again to see if that reboots the program. If that doesn't work, I don't have any remorse for them because they should not have waited to the last day to finish the assignment (of which I give three full nights to complete).
Another issue is those students who are absent for more than 3 or 4 days in a row. Some are out of town, other students are ill. Do I excuse them from the assignment or since they know they have an online assignment every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, they should have completed it anyway?
The worst issue of all, is now that it is week four of the school year, the buy in is not as strong. Many students are not even signing in to attempt the homework. Very few come in and ask questions. Instead they guess as many times as allowed which lowers their score tremendously.
I know I need to have a conversation with my students about all of these issues. I'm just wondering if I am doing the right thing by assigning these online homework's and assessments? Am I assigning too many? Am I expecting too much from 9th - 11th grade students? And the biggest underlying question I have...how am I suppose to try online and blended activities, when the majority of students refuse to do work outside of the classroom?
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Thursday, September 4, 2014
September 4th, 2014
Welcome everyone to my blog directed toward K-12 educators who are looking to transition their classrooms into more of an online learning environment. I am currently enrolled in a masters program at UCDenver called eLearning and Technologies. Because of this masters program, my interest in incorporating online features into my classroom has exponentially risen. In today's blog, I will be talking about my first adventure in doing so with a program called Quest created by the University of Texas.
I am currently a high school math teacher. Homework is a large part of being successful in a math class. The rope practice is necessary for students but also very time consuming for teachers. Not only do teachers have to create the homework so that it aligns with their particular way of teaching, they must create an answer key for students to check, and grade it within an efficient time frame so student receive feedback.
Thankfully, our school decided to invest in a program called Quest. This is an online program where instructors pick the questions they would for each assignment and assign it to students with an online start date and due date. The program has a very large range of questions not only limited to math, but also science as well.
The program grades the students in many different ways which allows versatility. I have chosen to give my students 3 nights for each homework assignment to allow flexibility. I have also chosen to allow multiple chances to submit answers. What this means is, if a students answers correctly the first time they get the full amount of points for that question. If they answer incorrectly they get more chances to enter in an answer but the more "guesses" they make, the less points the receive. This allows students to practice the importance of asking questions when they are confused and continuously trying until they achieve their goal of understanding the question.
This is only week two of the school year, but I will continue blogging about the pros and cons to this program, as well as other programs I may come across as being useful.
I am currently a high school math teacher. Homework is a large part of being successful in a math class. The rope practice is necessary for students but also very time consuming for teachers. Not only do teachers have to create the homework so that it aligns with their particular way of teaching, they must create an answer key for students to check, and grade it within an efficient time frame so student receive feedback.
Thankfully, our school decided to invest in a program called Quest. This is an online program where instructors pick the questions they would for each assignment and assign it to students with an online start date and due date. The program has a very large range of questions not only limited to math, but also science as well.
The program grades the students in many different ways which allows versatility. I have chosen to give my students 3 nights for each homework assignment to allow flexibility. I have also chosen to allow multiple chances to submit answers. What this means is, if a students answers correctly the first time they get the full amount of points for that question. If they answer incorrectly they get more chances to enter in an answer but the more "guesses" they make, the less points the receive. This allows students to practice the importance of asking questions when they are confused and continuously trying until they achieve their goal of understanding the question.
This is only week two of the school year, but I will continue blogging about the pros and cons to this program, as well as other programs I may come across as being useful.
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