Final Project

Link to my final project on Adaptive and Assistive Technologies

Legal and Ethical Uses of Digital Information and Technologies

Official Government Explanation of Fair Use

     Fair use is defined by the United States government as "a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of a copyright-protected works in certain circumstances." (p. 1)  There are certain factors when deciding if a work is covered under fair use:  

1.  How it is used

     a.  "nonprofit education and noncommercial uses are fair" (p. 1)

     b.  transformative uses, or adding something new to gain purpose, are fair uses

2.  Nature of the copyrighted work

3.  Quantity and quality of the work 

4.  Financial with regard to the effect of the current and future market value

     The courts also evaluate each case individually, therefore there is no set mark on how much of a piece of work can be used without permission.

     An Educator's Guide to Copyright and Fair Use 

     Copyright laws protect the sharing rights of literary works, original works of any format (music, art, technology), etc.  Sharing refers to reproducing, distributing, performing, displaying, transmitting, or transforming individual's works.  If people have not confirmed copyright laws, then most likely they have infringed on copyright laws.  Basically copyright laws protect the original creators from anyone stealing their works for money or the person/people who steals does not profit from someone else's work.  Copyright laws also protect how an original work is used.  Original works are automatically copyrighted whether or not those works are registered or not.  The owner does not have to announce that their work is copyrighted, nor does the owner have to display the copyright symbol.  All works, even anonymous ones, are copyright protected until 95 years after publication.  The best way to be sure a person who is using another person's work is legal is to ask permission to use it.  The analogy that was used in this article was the idea that many people speed when they are driving.  Even though they may not be caught, it is illegal and they were just fortunate that they got away without being noticed.  It is the same within the copyright field.  There are many people who have escaped being caught after using someone else's work without permission.

     The bottom line when it comes to using someone else's works and copyright laws is to ask for permission.  Like any other laws, there are exceptions.  Fair use doctrine allows for leniency without stealing.  "The fair use doctrine was created to allow the use of copyrighted works for commentary, parody, news reporting, research and scholarship, and classroom instruction."  (part 2)  This does not mean that teachers can have a free ride when using other people's works.  It means that they do not need to get permission for everything they would like to use.  (*Fair use factors are mentioned in the first article's summary above.)  Basically, it boils down to the idea that people will not use someone else's work to be compensated in any way, money or recognition as if it was stolen property.  The best idea for finding out the copyright laws is to go to the laws directly or ask permission from the owner.  The following guidelines to copy under the fair use doctrine for educators are:

1.  "a single chapter from a book"

2.  "two pages or ten percent of a work that includes language and illustrations"

3.  "poem of 250 words or less or up to 250 words of a longer poem"

4.  "an article, short story, or essay of 2500 words or less, or excerpts of up to 1000 words or ten percent of a longer work, whichever is less"

5.  "a single chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper"  (part 2)

Due to the fact that the fair use guidelines were created in 1976, there are many pieces missing for our current society.  Since copyright laws and the fair use doctrine are long and confusing, it is best to find the source and ask permission.  Do not assume that everything and anything is considered fair use.  (Everyone knows what happens when we assume!)  If an honest mistake is made and someone asks you to stop using a particular work, then stop.

     The copyright law is not designed to cover the growing production of technology in today's society.  The main idea of the third part of the article is that "the internet is not in the public domain."  Most web pages, including the code to create the page and the information on the page itself, are protected by the copyright laws.  The internet is worldwide and it is governed by an international treaty, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.  This treaty allows countries to establish their own rules, so what may be public domain in one country may not be in another country.  There are many rules pertaining to the use of web resources.  One that stands out to me is to be careful of copying from a website in which information from another website is included.  It is unclear if the person who copied the information was given permission and if someone then borrowed it from a second party, they are just as much at fault.  It all boils down to, "when in doubt, ask."  Another thing people need to keep in mind is that "print rights and electronic rights are not the same thing."  (part 3)

     Three kinds of software are explained below.

1.  Commercial:  purchased  

2.  Shareware:  allows people to try the software, but they must pay for it after downloading it for extended use.

3.  Freeware:  free software

	COMMERCIAL	SHAREWARE	FREEWARE
COPYRIGHT	Covered	Covered	Covered
ARCHIVED COPY	Used only when original package fails or is destroyed	Used only when original package fails or is destroyed	Cannot be for profit
MODIFICATIONS	Not allowed	Not allowed	Allowed and encouraged
DECOMPILING	Not allowed without permission of the copyright owner	Not allowed without permission of the copyright owner	Allowed without the explicit permission of the copyright owner
DEVELOPING NEW WORK	Not allowed without permission of the copyright owner	Not allowed without permission of the copyright owner	Allowed and encouraged only if the derived work is freeware; may not be sold as commercial or shareware

"Most software today is licensed to users, rather than owned by them, and its use is governed by the licensing agreement rather than by the fair use doctrine.  Most licensing agreements do not allow users to copy and distribute commercial or shareware software, although some may permit copying a small section of code to illustrate a programming technique."  (part 4)

     Back in 1994 there was a conference, CONFU: The Conference on Fair Use, which attempted to discuss fair use with new technologies between copyright owners and interested users.  "Proposed guidelines were developed in three areas:  digital images, distance learning and educational multimedia."  (part 4)  Unfortunately a consensus could not be reached.  There have been guidelines created for educators to create multimedia projects.  These include for:  "face-to-face student instruction, directed student self-study, real-time remote instruction, review, or directed self-study, presentation at peer workshops and conferences, such personal uses as tenure review or job interviews."  (part 4)  There are also guidelines for students.  These include multimedia projects for:  "fulfilling course requirements, inclusion in portfolios as examples of academic work, and such personal uses as job and graduate school interviews."  (part 4)  

     As stated earlier, copyright laws are used to protect the financial interests of owners and their works.  People need to realize that most materials are protected by copyright laws and they have to ask permission to use the works.  It is recommended that school districts ensure the validity of materials on their websites, provide professional development for teachers and instruct students on "defamation, invasion of privacy, harassment and copyright law, include an immunity provision in the policy, take prompt action if accusations are made, and be prepared to stand up for staff or students if false accusations are made."  (part 5)  Also, teachers should let students know that when they are in doubt of a particular work that they should ask for permission to use it or help them identify what they can use as it pertains to fair use.

     CREATIVE COMMONS

     Creative Commons is a way to take copyright to the next level so that you can have some say over your own works.  Copyright enables you automatic ownership to your creations with all rights reserved.  Creative Commons, on the other hand, allows you options of sharing your works with others.  In other words, your copyright for your works can be altered by you so that other people can use your works to learn and/or get inspired from them.

     Education appears to be failing for numerous reasons. One of the biggest reasons is financial.  Open Education, a global movement, hopes to revive the education system by putting top-notch learning materials on the web.  The materials can be revised and updated by teachers through licenses.  This system is supposed to be getting two billion dollars from the Obama administration in the next four years.  Therefore, Open Education can be available to everyone, including the financially-strapped schools.  Some websites that already participate in Open Education are Khan Academy, Open Yale Courses, P2PU, Flat World Knowledge, etc.  

My thoughts

     As I was writing my summaries, I was thinking about the legal ramifications of quoting and using other's ideas.  I normally think of this, but this time it was more on my mind, especially since I felt I used so many sets of quotes.  I was always under the impression that so long as I identified the source that what I used was legal.  Now I know that I probably have been lucky not being caught and from now on, I need to ask permission or at least review the law.

     I do not think copyright laws and fair use are top on the minds of teachers.  But, I bet many mistakes are made without knowing or without being caught.  If someone should be caught abusing the law without realizing their fault, they should stop using the work immediately.  Copyrighted authors, just as anyone, do not want to miss out on a money-making opportunity; nor do they want to go to court over a copyright issue.

     Copyright laws are many and confusing.  The articles I read this week were well laid-out and not written in the hard-to-understand legal jargon. 

     Creative Commons is an interesting idea that takes my mind directly to Wikipedia which allows people to revise and update information as they know it.  I think one big difference between Open Education and Wikipedia is that it seems like revisions and updates are done by educators.  Nothing is full proof, though.  I would like to believe that teachers would not intentionally add misinformation or not verify the information they are adding.  Where do teachers gather the knowledge they add to update the sites?  Is that information copyrighted or does it come from Creative Commons and people who have given permission to use it?

Video Case Study

• Introduction of the problem- What happened regarding fair use in education in this scenario?

          A photographer mistook and misunderstood fair use in education when observing the students' virtual zoo.  He seemed to jump to the conclusion that the teachers and students did not account for the copyright laws when creating their virtual zoo.  In actuality, the teachers talked to the students about fair use, observed other virtual zoos, talked about not transforming images and only using copyright-friendly sites.  

• 
  
• Analysis of the response- Was the Technology Integration Mentor correct in her response to the email the school received?  Provide evidence from your reading this week.

     The Technology Integration Mentor was correct in her response to the email the school received because she clearly reviewed fair use and copyright with students before their work started and before it was published.  Each picture from Flickr.com had its own unique URL giving credit to its owner and the students were adding value therefore they did not need to contact the owner.  In the fair use doctrine, it states that courts look at how the copyrighted work is being used and it is fair to use in nonprofit education.  The students were not using the pictures for a financial gain.  The students were also using the pictures to fulfill a course requirement.

•   
• Your response- What would you have done if you were the adult in charge in this situation?  You can piggy back on the Technology Integration Mentor's response or compose a completely new one.  Use evidence from your reading this week (other readings from previous weeks may also help). 

     I think the adult was absolutely accurate in speaking to the students first about fair use and copyright information.  By using Flickr.com, each image linked by URL to give credit to its owner and the students did not transform the image in any way.  The students just added information, thus added value to the picture.

Scenario

Scenario 2

You receive this email from a parent:

Dear Miss Richards,

I am the mother of Ben Watson.  Yesterday in your class, Ben and his friend, Ryan, visited Wikipedia and saw inappropriate sexual information posted in a section on the rock cycle (of all things!).  Ben said that he told you about it right away and that you told him to stay away from that page.  Is there anything else that will be done about this??  Doesn’t the school have a filter?  How could something like this happen under your watch??  Please respond asap.

Ms. Benedict

Dear Ms. Benedict,

Thank you for your email regarding Ben and Ryan's unexpected find on Wikipedia yesterday.  After hearing about this from Ben and telling him to stay away from that page, I immediately contacted the district's IT department.  The page was blocked quickly and a report was filed from the IT department to the technology committee so that they are aware of the obscenity shown on this site and future action can be taken.

The World Wide Web is such a vast source that it becomes impossible for a single person to monitor every last site.  I am very proud of Ben for taking the responsibility of reporting this to me.  In the acceptable use policy that Ben signed at the beginning of the year, he made a commitment that he will "report accidental accessing of inappropriate materials," and he "will not intentionally visit Internet sites that contain obscene, illegal, hateful, or otherwise objectionable materials."  Thanks to Ben, this site has now been blocked and I know I can count on Ben's excellent citizenship and his responsible actions.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Hope Davis   

Safe and Healthy Uses of Digital Information and Technology

NPR:  "When Playing Video Games Means Sitting on Life's Sidelines"

     Becoming addicted to anything can take a tremendous toll on you and everybody around you.  This NPR segment spoke of technology addiction and how debilitating it is.  The DSM, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, added Internet Gaming as a disorder.  Fortunately there is help for people who find themselves in this situation.  One program, called Restart, began in 2009 in Seattle.  They house seven patients at a time for six intensive weeks of rehab, then they move to transition, the time devoted to putting into action what the patients learned.  It used to be called "Level Two," but since that sounded too much like something a person would hear and associate to gaming, the name was changed.

     A patient defined technology addiction as people zoned out in a fantasy world.  These addicted people are engaged in their gaming to find a high or relief, but what they are really doing is hurting themselves, familial relationships, and friendships.  The unhealthy lifestyle technology-addicted people adopt stems from gaming when they were younger and it moves to surfing the net, porn and more gaming.  This is the life they come to know usually when college begins.  These people have guidance through high school, but when college starts, there is no parental structure which leads to this unhealthy lifestyle.

     Technology-addicted people learn about healthy lifestyles when in rehab.  For example, they learn about the importance of exercise, sleep and face-to-face interactions.  Those who have graduated from rehab programs claim that it is a constant struggle with temptation and they need to use the internet in a structured way.  In other words, they need to have boundaries, including time limits, and using technology only for work. 

What is Cyberbullying?  StopBullying.gov

     Cyberbullying is bullying using electronic technology.  Electronic technology can be devices, such as cell phones, computers and tablets; or, communication tools, such as social media sites, embarrassing pictures, videos, websites or fake profiles.  People who are cyberbullied are often bullied in person.  Cyberbullying can happen 24 hours a day/7 days a week.  Messages and images can be posted anonymously and distributed to a wide audience.  They are difficult to impossible to trace and to delete once posted.

     Cyberbullied kids are more likely to:

• Use alcohol and drugs
• Skip school
• Experience in-person bullying
• Be unwilling to attend school
• Receive poor grades
• Have lower self-esteem
• Have more health problems

     People may not have a reason for bullying, but normally bullies pick on the weak, both mentally and physically.  They may have low self-esteem, depressed, anxious, do not get along with others, isolated and/or antagonistic.

     Communication is key to getting things accomplished.  Building a rapport with students is helpful in tackling cyberbullying issues before they begin or before they get too far out of hand.  Speaking to students directly helps find out the where, when and how bullying happens in your school.  Another preventative method of cyberbullying is to work together with parents and students to spread the word against bullying.  Although I have never participated in youth-to-youth activities, I believe that this group helps tackle bullying issues.  Teachers can also establish class rules and overall school rules can be created/enforced that will aid in bullying prevention.  

     Cyberbullying is an issue that can be addressed with teachers through professional development.  Positive and open communication among staff and students will help bullying issues before they erupt.

The Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship

     Just as there are guidelines to follow in real life, there are guidelines for technology use, too.  This article describes ways for teachers to use technology more effectively as a role model.  There are nine elements of digital citizenship which demonstrates an overall balance of technology responsibility.

     Element one discusses the idea that all students should have digital access.  Although there are various factors that lead students to not having digital access, such as a lack of technology and/or financial downfall, there are other actions schools can take to support access to technology.  Schools can do a one-on-one initiative where they provide a computer to each student, or schools can encourage BYOD, or bring-your-own-device to school.  In this day and age all students should have access to technology.

     The second element, digital commerce, effects the purchasing and selling of products online.   Many people tend to purchase products without doing their homework and this results in poor commerce.   When I taught math, I always was sure to incorporate awareness of good buys versus bad buys.  This element takes it one step further by making sure students become aware of ineffective websites.  Not only can inappropriate websites take advantage financially, but there may be an issue with identity theft.  This is an issue that can make or break a student.  

     Digital communication is the third element of digital citizenship.  This element refers to making sure that students are aware that whatever they text, email or place on the internet is there to stay, regardless if they delete it or not.  Technology, such as cell phones, tablets, and laptops, has a place in the classroom for learning and not for personal use.  Students also must be made aware of the fact that there is a difference between using abbreviations when emailing, texting, or using social media and those abbreviations are not appropriate for school use. 

     Element four, digital literacy, relates to the idea of teaching the technology.  Many teachers are lacking the knowledge of how to use technology.  Tools needed to be learned in technology are expanding quickly.  "Students are moving beyond the computer, laptop, netbook, or smartphone to the cloud."  (p. 26)  It is important for teachers to keep pace and learn the ins-and-outs of technology. By learning technology, teachers can help districts keep students in the district instead of moving to distance education programs which could potentially provide students more of a challenge and interest.

     Students should also be aware of digital etiquette, element five.  In other words, students should pay attention to how they use their devices and the noises that come from other people's devices.  For example, muting a cell phone during class or an important meeting, so as not to disturb the concentration of others around them.  "A good digital citizen seeks out feedback from others to evaluate their use of technology, and then makes personal adjustments based on this feedback."  (p. 29)  This is another area in which adults need to be good role models.  "Good digital citizens respect others and learn ways to use technology courteously and effectively."  (p. 29)

      Teachers, nor companies, foresee inappropriateness from technology.  Therefore, digital law, element six, develops after unlawful acts with technology have occurred.  People need to be held responsible for improper use of technology.  "Administrators need to provide teachers and students with resources and guidance on what is legal and illegal."  (p. 32)  Along the same lines, students need to realize that whatever happens today can stick with them in their futures.

     Digital rights and responsibilities, "requirements and freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world," is element seven.  Students must sign an acceptable use policy, also known as aup, which identifies student's rights to technology and what responsibility they have while using technology.  They need to be sure to cite digital sources when using its information in a project or paper.  Part of their responsibility is not only to help others, but to report cyberbullies, threats and any other inappropriate uses of technology.

     Physical and psychological pain can be caused by the overuse of technology.  Digital Health and Wellness, element eight, examines various physical symptoms and illnesses, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, eyestrain and poor posture, as they relate to using technology too much.  Psychological illnesses include becoming addicted to the internet and/or gaming and having it interfere with daily life.  Internet gaming is now considered a disorder in the DSM, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.  In order to prevent such illnesses and physical problems, people must limit their technology time and be sure to work in an ergonomically-correct setting.

     Digital security, element nine, deals with how people can secure their information online.  People need to use firewalls, have virus protection software and make backups of their files.  It is also important to include spyware and adware in protecting information while online.  One can never be too secure.

My Thoughts

     Keeping kids safe is top priority.  This week's readings were based on just that, but I do not know if schools are doing a great job in keeping student's safe while using technology.  When I was teaching, I remember collecting the aup signed by parents and students.  If it was not signed, then student's were not permitted on the internet.  Unfortunately this was never reinforced.  I do not remember that teachers or students were given any information as to what the aup entailed.  People signed it and used the computer.  In retrospect, an informational meeting should have been given so that parents, students and teachers knew what to expect from the aup.  I believe this would have covered much of the information from the nine elements above.

     As bullying is discussed in school, so should students be made aware cyberbullying and its consequences.  It potentially can be worse than bullying since it can cover more people at once. Either one is horrible and there should be zero tolerance towards it.

     The bottom line among these readings is keeping safe and that there are consequences for actions.  People need to be well-informed and observe all rules and responsibilities.

     

*I believe I my score for this reflective post should be a 20/20 for the following reasons:

1. There is a well-written paragraph (and more) for each of the readings.
2. Each of the well-developed paragraphs (and more) are thought-provoking and a great deal of information was apparently learned from each source.
3. There is clarity without spelling or grammar errors.
4. My reflections paragraphs made a coherent connection to all of the sources.     

Blended Learning Lesson Plan

Promethean Planet
The above link is an interactive white board where people have posted their lessons for others to use. (Sign-in is required, but it is free.)

AREA OF 2-D FIGURES
Sixth grade students will be able to calculate the area of 2-d figures, such as squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles so that when given various figures, they will be able to determine the areas with 80% accuracy and review perimeter with 90% accuracy.

1.  Students will enter classroom and get out their devices while listening to soft music.  Devices will be turned on to Educreations (an interactive white board app).
2.  Identify the objective.
3.  The teacher will walk through the power point from the Smart Board as a class.  Students can take notes on their devices as they want.
4.  The practice problems that are on the power point can be worked out on student's devices, then worked out on the Smart Board for student checking.

At this point, will disperse for individual work or peer collaboration.

For those who feel the need for more help:
1.  Go to  math.com for extra help.
2.  Review the lesson and practice problems before moving on to the project.

For those who feel comfortable with the concept: (may work individually or with a peer)
1.  Your assignment is to design your own house and calculate the area of each room.
2.  Plan a house - In order to design your own house, click on the link for help to create blueprints.
3.  After narrowing down the house you would like, click on the house to view its blueprints.  Cut and paste the blueprints into a new Educreations page.

     a.  The floorplan must include at least:

1.   A living room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a garage
2.   Each room must be labeled and colored a different color
3.   A fenced in backyard with the greatest amount of area possible and the least              amount of perimeter possible.
4.   A garden within the backyard shaped like a triangle
5.   A circular swimming pool

     b.  After completing the room designs students must calculate:

1.   The area and perimeter for each room
2.   The area and perimeter for the fenced in backyard
3.   The area and perimeter of the whole house
4.   The area and perimeter of the triangle garden

*Students will email a copy of the blueprints and calculations to the teacher.  Once calculations have been checked, students may add a copy of their completed projects to a class page in Google Docs for all to see.

Blended Learning

     Before researching what blended learning is, I took a wild guess as to what it is.  I said, "blended learning has to do with a balance between formal classwork and online learning/assignments where classmates may collaborate with each other."  This is right on track with the general explanation that the Khan Academy Course said which is that blended learning takes "the best of traditional schools and blends it with the transformative power of online learning" and this boils down to more personalized learning.  This course went further by describing how blended learning basically redesigns the class structure and core concepts so that education becomes more engaging, increases student ownership of learning, and becomes a process.
     The more complete definition of blended learning from Khan Academy is a "formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online learning, with some element of student control over time, place, path and/or pace; at least in part in a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home; and the modalities along each student's learning path within a course or subject are connected to provide an integrated learning experience."  High quality blended learning contains four elements:  personalized, mastery-based, high expectations and student ownership.  It appears that students are put on the spot with their education and are expected to run with it.  An important factor for the students is that they make connections with what they are learning.  When I was in elementary school through high school, there were always concepts that students asked, "why do we have to learn this stuff?"  With blended learning, students are responsible for finding out the answer to that question.  Teachers will guide students, but not give them answers.  This is how students take ownership of their education.
     There are four models of blended learning I learned through research.  They are:
A.  Flipped Classroom which is the basic beginner's model.  This is where there is a shift in instruction from teacher-led to online learning.  Once students use their own time at their own pace of learning, they go back to the classroom to dive into the subject further.
B.  Station Rotation is the idea where students rotate from a teacher-led class to a collaborative activity with peers to individual online learning.
C.  Lab Rotation is where students move from traditional classes to computer lab for personalized pace.
D.  Flex is where students are not constrained.  They move to various places (classes, computer lab, collaboration with peers) as needed.  At first students take a mastery quiz.  If they pass, they can take a test to prove mastery, then move on.  If they need to visit the topic, they do a learning program until mastery has been achieved.
     A key to a successful blended learning program is the planning.  Teachers must collaborate on many levels in order to maximize the learning opportunities in their blended learning classrooms.  This means that teachers meet with other teachers in their schools in the same or next grade levels to make sure students are meeting (and exceeding) curriculum needs.  Teachers are also responsible for school-level and district level meetings, as well as meetings with teachers from other districts.  It is like the public service announcement, "the more you know."
     Since blended learning is basically individualized, teachers do not know what they are doing until the night before.  Some teachers use Google Docs to keep a running list of lessons so if they need to come back to a certain lesson (or part of a lesson), it is instantly available.  Teachers in this sense need to be flexible and adaptable.
     A teacher's role in a blended learning classroom is no longer to teach, or lead a class.  The new role is academic coach or mentor because there are sources of information on the internet where students can find answers and other information.  Teachers no longer have to stand in front of a classroom and lecture.  Learning becomes a shared process between the teachers and students.
     The environment in a blended classroom is another key to success.  The teacher needs to basically set the climate.  The following is a sample arrangement of a classroom:
A.  The room is broken down into various areas where students can study
     1.  Beach - beach chairs and blankets with a palm tree overlooking the area
     2.  Window - students can face the windows for a view of nature
     3.  Table - traditional and a place for students to collaborate
B.  General daily timing plan (as shared by a blended learning teacher):
     1.  Transition music while students get settled for class
     2.  Classcraft event - software program where students can build the classroom culture
     3.  Individual or collaborative work
     4.  Transition music to shut down their technology and get packed up
     5.  Shout outs - positive daily recognitions and announcements.
C.  Grading
     1.  Eliminate deadlines
     2.  Project or problem-based lessons
     3.  Competency grading system (vs.traditional A - F grades) where students earn mastery grades after lessons have been accomplished.

MY THOUGHTS
     I have been out of the classroom for five years and in technology time, that is eons.  I appreciated the amount of technology streaming into my classroom at that time.  Concepts I presented were created in a power point, reinforced the concepts through worksheets and programs such as Brainpop, YouTube videos, Smartboard activities, etc.  Blended learning basically takes what I did five years ago a few steps ahead by giving the students more power to their own learning and phases out the long, teacher-driven classrooms.
     There are still concerns I have, but I think that if I saw a blended classroom up close and personal, my mindset may change.  Please note that I am not opposed to blended learning, but I have the following concerns and questions:
1.  With students being on different levels and potentially different lessons, I am confused as to what type of teaching happens when students are together in a formal classroom setting.  Are students who are at similar levels of study gathered with the teacher for a lesson while other students continue with their individual and collaborative work?
2.  With the flexibility of blended learning, do students tend to want to stick with friends as they rotate to different stations versus moving as they need according to their studies?  In other words, what is the climate of behavioral issues since incorporating blended learning?
3.  As I was watching some of the videos pertaining to blended learning, there were some technical difficulties.  Even though technology has improved and is improving greatly, technical issues still happen.  I am guessing that teachers always have the "rainy day" backup plan to accommodate times like that.
4.  The last couple years I taught middle school math, my colleagues and I did curriculum mapping and created accompanying assessments.   This did not allow much time for creativity in the classroom on the teacher's part.  Fortunately it seems that there is more creativity in blended learning for both the teachers and students.  I wonder, however, if curriculum mapping and assessment creation is still something done by teachers in blended learning.  If so, what is the format?
5.  The amount of information available to people is very overwhelming.  I imagine that teachers need to narrow the options for students during their studies.  

USEFUL WEBSITES ABOUT BLENDED LEARNING

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/blended-online-learning-heather-wolpert-gawron

http://www.edutopia.org/practice/blended-learning-making-it-work-your-classroom

http://www.dreambox.com/blended-learning

http://education.ky.gov/school/diglrn/Documents/A1BL%20Blended%20Learning%20Math%20Resources.pdf (list of great online math resources)

USEFUL INTERACTIVE WEBSITES AND PROGRAMS FOR BLENDED LEARNING CLASSROOMS

Khan Academy (math)

Educreation

Padlet (group conversation)

Stepping Stones

iReady (can be adjusted by teacher)

Dreambox (math)

Classcraft (online gaming software)

Haiku (learning managment site)

Teaching in an Online Learning Context

     Teaching in an online learning context versus a formal classroom setting are similar in a sense, but online teaching can be challenging in other ways (than always being 'on' in front of students).  These types of education are the same in that learning is taking place, content is being taught and activities are planned and executed to assure learning has taken place.  The challenging part of online learning is broken into three critical components:  cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence.
     Cognitive presence refers to the assurance that critical thinking skills develop and grow.  Social presence refers to the assurance of students feeling safe and secure as they engage in a collaborative context, as well as presenting themselves as live human beings.  Cognitive and social presences are required to be able to agree/disagree on viewpoints, share opinions and experiences, and to accept help from teachers and peers.
     The teacher presence depends upon many factors in order to be successful.  First of all, teachers design and organize the content to be taught, implement the activities, and set the climate for the online learning experience.  They do this while staying current with assignments, activities and discussion formats as information changes around us and on the internet (including student works).   As students progress with their studies, teachers are able to let the students take control of their learning, "however, the need to stimulate, guide and support learning remains." (p.346)  Teachers must still maintain a cognitive presence so students continue to be provided with encouragement and motivation.
     "There are two competing models of online learning," community of learning and independent study, "each of which has strong adherents and a growing body of research and theoretical rationales for its effective application." (p.348)  The community of learning model is the type this class, EDFI575, is using where we may or may not be online at the same time and our structure and lessons come from the school's mainframe classroom.  Difficulty transpires when students are required to be online at the same time, but they may be in different time zones.  This happens with my brother-in-law in his line of work where a meeting may be happening somewhere in the China, but he lives in France and must work out time differences.  The other model of online learning is independent study which allows students to be flexible, but challenges the teachers to maintain the balance among cognitive, social and the teaching presences.  
     "Effective teaching presence demands explicit and detailed discussion of the criteria by which student learning will be assessed." (p. 351)  The timing of feedback plays an important role in "providing motivation, shaping behaviour, and developing mental constructs."  (p.352)  Students expect instant feedback, but just because the class is online does not mean there will be instant feedback from teachers.  Just as in real life, teachers have a life offline and out of the classroom.
     Grading is another issue that teachers face.  Is quantity more important, less important, or equally important than quality?  "Student assessment of any kind requires that the teacher be explicit, fair, consistent,and as objective as possible." (p.353)  Even though a teacher may present a rubrics for students to follow, it is also nice to have more personal feedback.
     Finally there are certain qualities that make online teachers excellent.  First of all, excellent online teachers are those who really like to deal with learners and are enthusiastic and energetic about the content they are teaching.  They also have plenty of activities to support effective learning.  Excellent online teachers also have to "have sufficient technical skill to navigate and contribute effectively within the online learning context, have access to necessary hardware, and have sufficient internet efficacy." (p.360)  Excellent teachers are innovative and show patience and perseverance in an unknown online road ahead.  
   

MY THOUGHTS

     The first class I took online was in 2000 (at the University of Findlay) when the idea was new and there were many kinks to work out.  The class required students to be online at the same time in the same chat room for a certain amount of time. (I cannot remember if it was one or two hours.)  Students were to have read a certain assignment ahead of time and be ready to comment.  The articles were interesting, but there were problems with the class that did not allow the students to present our thoughts and questions.  The two main problems were that there were too many conversations going on at once that it was difficult to keep up with any of them.  The biggest problem was that the server would get jammed and either the class would try to enter another chat room or the professor (after trying for awhile to fix the situation) would cancel class.  

     Fortunately sixteen years later the system has gotten much better.  This class, EDFI575, allows students to interact with classmates without having technical difficulties.  Blogs in this class have helped in the fact that I am able to write about what I learned from particular articles, ask questions, and share my own thoughts, as well as read what others have to say.  The benefit of the blog is that if I have a question or thought for someone (or vice versa) after reading my blog, s/he can reply to it at anytime and I can respond to that at any time.  We do not have to worry about an overloaded server.

     Spelling and grammar provokes a dilemma with teachers.  The question arises for the teacher if one should mark off spelling and grammar errors whether it is in the chat room or in a blog.  I can guess that since chat rooms are spontaneous, teachers may be more lenient; however, blogs allow students time to write, so it is more likely that teachers will be less tolerant when it comes to spelling and grammar problems.  Spelling correctly and being grammatically correct are important qualities in the real world and it makes you appear more confident and professional.

     The idea of grading is being debated in the online learning arena.  Is quantity more, less or of equal importance to quality when it comes to assessing posts in a chat room and replies to blogs?  In my opinion quality is more important.  There is a saying, less is more, which tells me that a person can get his/her point across with few words and means just as much, if not more, than a wordy person.