Stephen Atchison

ITEC 7481
Summary of Online Learning Experience
October, 5th, 2014

Overview of the Online Course:

For my online course I will be implementing a blended classroom model for a 6 th
grade reading class. These students who are taking the class are in my advanced
content classes that are zero percent ESOL students, and with only 12% of the
students being in a minority group (i.e. African America, Hispanic). In this model we
will be reading the novel Enders Game. The text is to support all the lessons and
have a common unit. The text will allow for nonfiction science articles and nonfiction
articles that relate to common themes in the book such as government control. A
major component of the unit is collaboration among peers through Voice Threads
and discussion posts which will be new experiences for these sixth grade students.
The model will be started in January so at that point the students will be familiar
with my expectations, but it will be the first time that the students have completed
a blended unit. The online learning tool that I will be using in the lesson will Edmodo
which the students have been using since the first day of school, but there is will be
new experiences and a new way to engage and learn with the blended model. The
unit will be six weeks, the common time frame for a novel study. Within that unit
many standards will be explored including the following: (1)Cite textual evidence to
support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text, (2)determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative and connotative meanings, analyze the impact of a specific
word choice on meaning and tone, (3)Compare and contrast the experience of
reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live
version of the text, including contrasting what they "see" and "hear" when reading
the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch, (4)Compare and contrast
texts in different forms or genres such as articles in related themes and content,

and lastly, (5) the students will read and comprehend literature, including stories,
dramas, and poems, in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with
scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
Learning Outcomes:
The learning outcomes will be evident to the parents and the students since
they will be posted on the class syllabus. I think its important to have them on the
syllabus at the beginning to show importance and having the outcomes visible for
the student and parent allows them to set goals for them self and see what is
expected in the course. The student will be able to (TSWBA) understand and
evaluate the elements of poetry and the various formats that poetry is written, they
will be able to read and analyze informational text in the various subjects of Social
Studies, Science, and online media, they will be able to understand the meaning of
new vocabulary through the skills of finding context clues and be able to outline key
words in math word problems, reading prompts, and discussion questions to
understand what is to be done in that problem. The students will also be able to
understand the elements of fictional literature that includes plot, setting, character
analysis, read various literatures, nonfiction, and informational texts that are at or
above their grade level, and most importantly in the sixth grade, give evidence to
prove an opinion or point through textual evidence.
Assessments and Accommodations:
All of these learning outcomes will be measured throughout the semester
through summative and formative assessments and score at least 90% accuracy on
the new standardized test: Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS) which is
replacing the CRCTS this year. The best way to show growth is to pre-assess and

post assess. I cannot complete a pre-assessment in comprehension, but I can on the

standards such as textual support and compare the students work throughout the
process of the course. For special education assessing and accommodations, I do
not have any students who are I IEPS, but I do have gifted students who have 504s
asking for repeated direction, highlighted notes, and extended time. To meet those
needs I plan to highlight all key elements, and key points, in my notes and power
points since I believe that this particular accommodation will benefit all my
students. For repeated directions, I will send direct post on Edmodo frequently to
remind the student of direction and pacing of the assignment. Also I have one
student who has a 504 due to sight and based on the American Disabilities ACT
(ADA) I most allow for blown up text which is an option with the e-books and I will
need to expand the text of all my instructions and directions for that particular
student. Other accommodations (as well as differentiation) are choices for final
projects that include various learning styles that will include projects such as
creating a piece of art that is a collage that describes the characters conflicts and
themes or a podcast giving a comparison to another character in a similar genre.
This blended unit will involve an array of technology use and devices that
include use of a webcam with microphone, a podcast generator, a screencast
generator that allows for sound, and online e books of the text, and of course the
frequent use, collaboration, and meeting grounds: of Edmodo. New technology
that they will be experiencing for the first time will be Voice thread. With any new
technology I will model how to use those technologies for my students through
YouTube videos that I will create and then will post on our Edmodo feed and folders.
Differentiation:

One of the most important elements of the blended unit is having the right
differentiation for the course. For learning styles, I will allow for choice and interest
when it comes to creating many of the mini projects in the course. For age, I believe
that the blended unit with students of this generation in sixth grade will allow be to
be creative and challenge them such as creating websites and podcast but also
allow for differentiation by having other options such as a power point with their
voice embedded into it. My goal though is to have each student learn a new
technology or program by the end of the unit. Also the content and products will
have an option which is differentiation through their interests (technology, art,
writing, etc.) And therefore can also bring in their cultures into the lessons. For
example, a discussion board will have an option to discuss their own families rules,
traditions, and routines and compare and contrast them to the ones in the book.
With differentiation, accommodations for my 504 and extremely gifted
students, support and communication, and engaging lessons that involve higher
level thinking, analyzing, and uses of technology- the blended course that I am
developing will be one that allows for student learning, growth, and engagement.