Andrew Ferneyhough

December 13th, 2012

Project Outline

I have decided to use this final assignment in OLTD 502 as a document that will potentially
guide my learning through the remainder of this OLTD Program and then lead me into my
Masters Inquiry.

My hope is that this will be a working document (possibly a website) that will allow me to
gather information pertaining to an inquiry question.

My Goal

My goal is to become more familiar with, and ultimately help other F2F teachers with, the
successful migration into a blended classroom. In order to do this I see myself needing to
experiment with, create, and complete the following tasks:
- Experiment with various tools and then reflect on those experiences
- Build a wealth of resources using a Wiki or some other device (people, websites, tutorials)
- Potentially work with a district committee designed to foster this transition
- Find out what else is happening out there (district, province, world)
- Create/promote dialogue within the district on this subject matter.

And in relation to this particular assignment:
- Access peer and specialist feedback
- Relate my experience and intentions to the TPAC model

A more detailed explanation of these points are added below.

Exploration of Tools

One of the components of this endeavour will be to explore new programs both online as well
as software based that will assist teachers in blending their F2F classrooms.

We had previously been playing with several programs in OLTD 501 and OLTD 502.
However, most of these programs were ones that I had had some previous experience with
and was therefore able to either assist others and/or extend my own knowledge of the
programs.

The program that I have had no previous experience with is the Elluminate/Blackboard
system. In my opinion, it is this program that has helped to make our first few months in this
course so successful and so very much different than the traditional online course.

In this final assignment proposed by Randy Labonte, we were to challenge ourselves,
promote change, as well as look at integrating our future Masters Inquiry project. For me,
taking the Elluminate program and integrating in my classroom, or at least attempting to,
seemed a very logical step.

For this project I am looking at a sequence of three lessons using Elluminate.

Lesson #1
Students in my class will work in the Valley View lab and will be introduced to the Elluminate
program. Each student will have on a pair of headphones and we will pretend as if we are
operating at a distance.

We will login and go through the basics together. We will test out microphones, raise our
hands and experiment with the chat.

- best practice is to have them run through audio set up when they log in. I find this avoids a
lot of problems especially when they are at home as settings get messed with all the time.
- giving them some time to explore and just play in there the first time is a good idea - play
with the tools etc.
- make sure you have gone in a few times and experimented with the moderator tools before
going in with your class :).
Thank you. Great suggestions. Randy too recommended some pre-exploration so that
sounds like a must do. Our school computers as well as our headphones are at best
unpredictable. You never know what will hold you up.

Lesson #2
Students will be shown a short video on Corporate Farming (http://www.themeatrix.com)
We will watch each of the three videos in this series and then reply to them in different ways.
First we will use the raise hand option and get their verbal opinions. Next, we will have a chat
in the chat box. Finally, we will attempt breaking off into chat rooms and having the students
discussing the topic in small groups.

- Are you showing the video in Blackboard? Using webtour or? Make sure you have the link
available in chat just in case.
- Another option is to have them contribute on the whiteboard. I find this easier than the chat
when you are having them comment on stuff as the whiteboard is visible to all as a whole -
they will have to scroll in the chat to see comments. If you are using the chat, make sure they
know they can detach the chat box and expand it, makes it easier to see.

Right. Perhaps video is a bit aggressive. Being together we could watch it on the screen
together but that might defeat the purpose of this lesson.

Lesson #3
For this third and final lesson, we will set a time that students will join us for an evening online
session.
It will be a short activity possibly involving parents where the topic of online learning will be
the focus of our discussion.
Makieke Holtkamp may join us as a guest speaker explaining how her classes at Navigate
and other F2F schools operate.
- I would love to join you!
- A few things that I make a point of when students are joining from home:
- make sure you are logged in at least half an hour before to trouble shoot.
- make sure students run the audio set up wizard as soon as they are in the room -
usually this will solve a lot of problems they may have.
- I often put up an introductory screen and allow students to doodle on it while were
waiting for others.


This Lesson Sequence as it Relates to the TPACK Framework

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) attempts to identify the nature of
knowledge required by teachers for technology integration in their teaching, while addressing
the complex, multifaceted and situated nature of teacher knowledge.
http://www.matt-koehler.com/tpack/tpack-explained/
I will attempt here to do a brief correlation between the work that I hope to with
Elluminate/Blackboard and the TPACK Framework. I have used the website cited below as a
basis for my understanding of this framework.

Content Knowledge (CK)
In the case of my lessons using Elluminate, I have no concern over the type of content that I
will be sharing other than the fact that it is age appropriate and not above their
comprehension. The Meatrix videos are a spoof on the movie The Matrix and are fairly
biased opinion on the mass production of meat supplies and how it has affected the small
farmer.
What I will try to include more of this year is an opposing viewpoint. I want to be clear that
there are two sides to every story.

Pedagogical Knowledge (PK)
The main pedagogical concept that I am tackling in this lesson is that of, responding
appropriately to an issue or topic. We have been working already this year in Moodle forums
on proper netiquette and how to respond to someone online. My goal here is to provide
them with another chance share their opinions and then respond appropriately to others
ideas.

Technology Knowledge (TK)
I believe that this section relates to my comfort level with taking on this program. One of the
reasons that I teach my students a variety of programs is not necessarily so they know those
programs, but more importantly, that they will be able to navigate future programs with similar
features.
This concept applies to me as well. Due to the fact that I have facilitated and moderated
programs such as Moodle and Edublog, I should be more comfortable with this program.
Also, my personal experience as a student in OLTD with Elluminate, makes me confident that
this is an appropriate tool for this task.

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)
My interpretation of this aspect of TPACK is that the teacher has a good understanding of the
content, enough to be able to pick and choose which bits will interest particular students. The
teacher may also choose to focus in on certain aspects of the content based on the needs
and character of any particular class.
In my social studies units, for instance, over the years I have become familiar with which
civilizations work best for my newspaper unit and which work best with a more individualized
approach.
In this case, I have worked with these videos with this age group before and know precisely
how they will react and what discussion should be generated from it.

Technological Content Knowledge (TCK)
My frame is reference here relates to the subject, or rather the skill of responding. There are
certain subjects, topics, videos that are just perfect for generating discussion and allowing for
various viewpoints.
There is a video from the 1960s that I show to my class entitled Eye of the Storm in which
the teacher pits her students against each other based on the colour of their eyes. This is a
very powerful video which never ceases to blow their minds. I find that this type of content
provides the perfect fodder for an online forum discussion.

Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK)
This aspect is key to me. One of the reasons that I try to use an ever increasing variety of
tools is that I am then able to tailor a specific student to a particular program. If I know that a
particular student has more of an artsy side to them I may send them to bitstrips.com to
create a cartoon. If I think that they are into the eye candy, I will send them to wix.com.
Also, understanding the importance of scaffolding draws me to programs such as
mangahigh.com, which will change the difficulty level based on the students success. In the
end, everyone is successful, some simply take longer to get there.


Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)
I chose this framework as it is a topic that is very dear to my heart. In every interview I have
ever had I have, at some point in that interview, talked about not just using technology for the
sake of using technology. I see so many teachers using the computer lab as an extra prep.
It is simply a chance for them to let the students play. Perhaps sometimes they advance to
the level of word processing.
With one lab in a school of 400 students it burns my britches to see teachers wasting valuable
time. There is so much opportunity to provide rich, pedagogically sound experiences for our
students through this medium and it is my career goal to help as many peers realize this as I
possibly can.

Databank of Resources

In this section I will be including a list of programs that I have used or have had recommended
to me. They will be largely cloud-based programs, but will include some that I know are either
free to download or are common within the schools of SD71.

List of programs:

Common in SD71 schools
- Photostory - Google Sketchup
- Audacity - google docs - associated with student webmail
- Microsoft Publisher - PowerPoint

Free Membership
- Wix.com - extremely elaborate website creation tool
- Weebly.com - User friendly website creation tool
- Mangahigh.com
- Xtranormal.com

Paid Membership

- Bitstrips.com


Work with District Committee

After contacting Rob Moore, our District Principal of Technology, he has made it very clear
that he is interested in forming a committee that will look at the various options this district has
in assisting teachers in a Brick and Mortar school to break out of those said walls.
We will meet in the new year to discuss what my role in this may look like and how my
Masters work may play a role in this matter.

Let me know how this goes, Id be interesting in joining.


What Happening?

In order to focus my research as well as my practice it is important for me to find out what
others are doing in relation to blending learning in F2F schools, both around the world as well
as in my own backyard.
In my Elementary school I am seen as the tech guy because I use a few programs and have
a website, however, within a few quick conversations I was reminded that other schools in our
district have already begun this journey towards blended learning.
.
There are so many great things happening in our district and I think we often dont know about
them all as people keep so quiet.
In the past I have used Collaborate to run online novel study groups, we met in Collaborate
once a week. Students would read one chapter on their own before our meeting and I would
read one out loud. We would have discussions and various activities related to the novel. I
think this would be a great project to do between classrooms at different schools!
My goal for my final project is to incorporate Collaborate into my blended classroom as well
and I look forward to hearing how it goes for you.

Conclusion

In the end this document feels somewhat disjointed and piecemeal. However, I have to look
back and remind myself that that was my original goal. Its purpose is to give me a working
document that will carry me forward throughout the remainder of this program.
I look forward to attaching future assignments, in one way or another, to this document.
I very much appreciate the feedback from Randy Labonte, Marieke Holtkamp and Rob Moore
in helping to pull this document together.