- Your name
- Where you are from (city/state)
- What you teach (i.e. face-to-face biology, online Algebra, etc)
- What you hope to get out of this book study
- Give a fun fact about yourself
We look forward to meeting you all!
Laura and Kim
This blog is the home of the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance Book Study. This spring we will be focusing on the book UDL in the Cloud! How to Design and Deliver Online Education Using Universal Design for Learning by Katie Novak and Tom Thibodeau. The kick off date is March 3rd, 2019.
Week 0 March 3rd-9th Introductions
We are excited that you have chosen to join the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance book study. We, Laura Garmire and Kim Hendrick, will be your moderators for this week. We work for Indiana Online in of course, Indiana! Laura is the Instructional Designer and Curriculum Coordinator and Kim is the Director of Innovation. Please check out the Welcome and tips, then post:
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Hi, I've been teaching online Creative Writing for eight years. I've also been an online student in a masters program. I've included more online learning in my face to face courses each year. I look forward to reading this book to improve my learning environments. Please share how you use writing in your online courses, as I'm always interested in sharing new ideas! Then we'll see how to improve the universal design.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining us Brenna! I did my entire Master's Program online a few years ago.
DeleteGreat to see you here, Brenna!
DeleteI did my MBA online a few years ago and it was such a fantastic experience. I hope yours was too!
DeleteHi, Brenna. I am a fellow online Creative Writing teacher. What school do you work for?
DeleteI teach f2f 7-12 English in Hinsdale, MT. I've taught Creative Writing at Montana Digital Academy for eight years.
DeleteMy master's program was a good experience, Emily. We met f2f once per semester for two years, but we still created lots of community online the rest of the time.
That's me, Brenna, above, not Unknown.
DeleteHi, I am from Montana and we have an exceptional online program in our state called Montana Digital Academy. I have been working for them for several years and love the online environment. I, too, have taken many courses online and fine the flexibility and scheduling perfect for my needs. I recently took a class on online accessibility and I am looking forward to this book study.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining us Mrs. Marsh from Montana Digital Academy! Could you share your information for the online accessibility class with us?
DeleteThe online accessibility course was required by Montana Digital Academy of all of its teachers. It was called "The Accessibility MOOC: Inclusive Online Course Design." The course covered design for both hearing and visually impaired students. It included such things as photo captions, font sizes, audio instructions, compatibility with Dragon Speak and other software, etc. It was extremely helpful when teachers were designing and/or changing their online classroom.
DeleteHello Kim and Diane! I don't know if they plan to offer it again, but, the accessibility course that we asked our teachers to complete last year was the Accessibility MOOC, hosted by Blackboard.
Deletehttp://accessibility.mrooms.net/
The University of Montana, our campus home, has done a lot of work with Blackboard and Moodle on accessibility. UM exports developed the MOOC.
*experts ;)
DeleteHi everyone, I am from Wisconsin and work for Wisconsin Virtual School as a Director but do teacher for the following courses: Online Orientation, Outdoor Education and Forestry and Natural Resources. Another area of daily focus is around providing professional learning for our online and blended educators, students and coaches. I am interested in this book as really wanting to ensure we are including all learners in the digital components we are developing for our professional learning and also in the items I add for my 6-12 learners too. In addition, our state just released additional support for Virtual Learning Days and looking at this universal design in the digital space is really topic of high interest in our state too. Welcome to all of you and looking forward to the discussion.
ReplyDeleteMichele, I didn't realize that you taught Outdoor Education and Natural Resources courses! That's awesome. I'm excited this book was chosen as I think it will relate to all of us. We've been doing eLearning Days in Indiana for a few years now and we have a lot of schools implementing it really well!
DeleteKim it would be great to connect in April if you are attending DLAC and talk about your schools implementing eLearning Days. Does your state provide any guiding questions or processes to consider to ensure equity of access?
DeleteAbsolutely! I'd love to connect at DLAC. Ronda, Laura, and I are attending. Here is the information about eLearning Days from our Indiana Department of Education website. I hope this helps! https://www.doe.in.gov/elearning/elearning-day-program
DeleteGreetings from Northern Wisconsin! I have the privilege of serving 22 districts in north-central Wisconsin as an associate director of school improvement services. Part of my work is to support districts in Universal Design for Learning implementation and also how to create virtual learning opportunities for students and staff. So, this book study is an AMAZING space to blend those two worlds! I am looking forward to learning with you all about how to support all students in a virtual learning space. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteHello everyone, I am from New York city but live in Boise. Currently I am a mentor, special education and art teacher at an alternative high school. We use an online platform and face to face classroom teaching, our program is considered blended learning. We are embarking upon a competency based learning system which is currently being built/tweaked by our faculty. I did a masters on line years ago after finishing one on campus...I prefer the comfort and flexibility online platforms to being on campus.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping to have a fresh perspective and learning how I may be able to better support students, and myself.
Fun fact: I have chickens and love to road bike and kayak. Glad to meet you all.
Hey Jeannine, glad to see someone else from the Pacific Northwest. I agree that the online environment really helps with differentiation for students based on what their needs are. I am currently teaching two foundation classes that consist of mostly special education students and have found that blended classrooms work really well for them.
DeleteHey from the other side of the state! How did you end up in ID from NYC?
DeleteHi all,
ReplyDeleteI'm Laura (another Laura!) and I work at The Virtual High School in Maynard, MA. I am the Curriculum Coordinator for the Language Arts and Fine Arts classes, and before I was at VHS I taught f-2-f as an Arts and Humanities teacher at a progressive charter school. My first love is English, though I have grown to know the importance and impact of an integrated approach.
I am not sure what I will get from this book study, but since I am new to the world of online education (I began at VHS in July 2018), I am sure that discussing this book with others will help to enhance my understanding of online teaching.
Fun fact: I have performed (singing) at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris!
Looking forward to our conversations, ~ Laura
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteI'm Teri Mahler and I'm a Boise, Idaho native. Hi Jeannine! Are you at Frank Church? My older daughter taught there! I've worked in elementary ed for Boise Schools for 23 years now. I'm excited to take this course and share our learning as I have only taken online and blended courses. I am hoping to gain enough knowledge to aid me in my pursuit of online teaching experiences and I really enjoy the collaboration involved in any learning! A fun fact is that right now I am watching the NASA Youtube channel and it's T-minus 9 minutes until Dragon launches! I am a fellowship recipient of "Getting Comfortable Teaching Students About Space". I spent two weeks at a NASA training camp In Colorado Spring earlier in my career and have been hooked on the idea of space travel ever since!
Hi Teri,
DeleteBeen tryin' to get into Boise schools since we moved here almost 8 years ago. Subbed at FCHS (loved it) first semester here then Meridian took me... Fun fact when I taught in Fla. the whole school would step out to watch launches. Nothing like a predawn drive to work and seeing the fire in the sky. I'm on the bench in Central Rim if you want a study buddy!
Hello All,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Susan Fullen and I live in Twin Falls, Idaho. I teach business at Jerome High School and the Idaho Learning Academy. I enjoy the online environment and utilize a blended environment in my F2F classes also.
I hope to be able to gain more skills in designing online content and organizing lessons in online and blended environments.
Fun Fact: I ride horses!
Hi Susan,
DeleteThanks for joining the book study. I also hope to gain more skills in designing online content. I am looking forward to reading this book with all of you.
Do you have your own horse(s)?
Hello fellow Book Study participants! My name is Brook Greno and I have been an online math teacher with Kenosha eSchool since 2008. We are located in Kenosha, Wisconsin and part of Kenosha Unified School District and Wisconsin eSchool Network. I have enjoyed growing as an online teacher and I am exploring what my next steps in online education will be. I just finished the Quality Matters K-12 Course Reviewer course. I look forward to diving more into the instructional design side and networking with fellow professionals with the help of this book study. Fun fact: My birthday is on April Fool's Day.
ReplyDeleteHello Everyone. I'm Andrea Lily, I'm actually taking a break from teaching, working on other goals. I taught Art at a private arts based school for 10 years and a variety of courses face to face and online at Judson University. I'm hoping to learn how to take these concepts and use them for my new online arts projects. Fun fact, my kids have told me that people of my generation will easily live to be 100, so my husband and I are now looking to make "the next 50 years" awesome.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea,
DeleteCongrats on taking time off to work on other goals. I am guessing we are of the same generation (I'll be 47 in July) so that is news to me. I am not sure I want to live to be 100, but if I do I hope they are awesome as well!
I love your goal for your next 50 years! I'm with you on that!
DeleteAndrea,
DeleteI think it's fabulous that you are taking some time off for you. It's so important to rejuvenate our professional lives, just like it is our personal lives. I hope this book study gives you some good ideas for your next pursuit.
~Christine K.
Good day, all, from Missoula, Montana! It is currently -7 degrees here, and closer to -25 when you take in account wind chill. :)
ReplyDeleteMy name is Jason Neiffer, and I am the Assistant Director/Curriculum Director of Montana Digital Academy. I have been with MTDA since the start of our program in 2010, and previously was a classroom teacher (history, geography, government, debate, speech, and computer science). I will be moderating week 3!
I look forward to this discussion and reading your questions and responses. Our program has been the target of research around UDL and I have been an observer of the movement since its beginnings.
Hello. My name is Marva Weisenborn from Decatur, IL.
ReplyDeleteI’m retired from face-to-face school
Taught Middle School Computers
Currently teach with Illinois Virtual School-Business Subjects-Accounting, International Business, Consumer Economics
I hope to get ideas, new methods, ways to engage students while learning on-line. I do like reading about other’s questions and successes.
Fun Fact: I don’t know….You hear people saying how busy they are when they retire. I retired one year ago, and that is true…I’m busy! I babysit my 2 grandchildren. My daughter laughs that I moved to her town with grandchild #1, and retired with grandchild #2.
Hi Marva,
DeleteSo glad that you joined the book study. I didn't see you signed up in our IVS-PD system, so I went ahead and enrolled you so you'll get the PD Clock Hours once we finish the book study.
That is great that you get to spend so much time with your daughter and grandchildren. I am sure I will move to where my daughter lives when that time comes.
Thanks Danielle. I don't know why I have trouble. I sent you a note back in reply to your email.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Amy Miele and I am the Senior Curriclum and Instruction Coordinator at The Virtual High School (VHS, Inc.) located in Maynard, MA. My expertise is in mathematics, but also oversee our business and economics courses. I have been updating and creating courses as well as working with our faculty with VHS for almost 6 years. Before coming to VHS, I was a face-to-face high school math teacher (teaching all levels of Algebra, Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, and Statistics) and department head at a private school in Lowell, MA.
Even though I have been in the online learning industry for almost 6 years, I am always wanting to learn more and grow professionally. As an educator, I think there is always opportunities to learn more and grow. I am very excited about participating in this book study and look forward to learning and connecting with people.
Fun Fact: I love to cook and bake! When I am not working, this is my next favortite thing (especially with my kids)!
Amy, you just threw me back to my college days and visiting my bestie at Lowell. Thanks for the reverie!
DeleteHi Amy. What do you think about cookbooks and recipes using UDL? Do you notice some cookbooks are much better than others at explaining?
DeleteHello everyone!
ReplyDeleteI am Danielle Brush Lewis, and I am the PD Coordinator at Illinois Virtual School. I have been with IVS since January 2010. Before that, I taught pre-service and practicing teachers how to use technology at Western Illinois University.
On a personal note, my daughter finished her Senior year coursework a semester early and was accepted early to BYU in Provo, Utah. She has been there two months and will be back May 1 to enjoy all the fun Senior things, like Prom and Graduation, with her school friends. Since she is my only child and I didn't want to really experience the empty-nest feeling, I adopted two German Shepard puppies. Clancy will be 5 months on the 10th and Ziva will be 3 months on the 12th. They have filled a bit of a void with Bre being gone.
On a related note, I am really looking forward to reading this book with you!
Any IL educator participating in the book study, please make sure you enroll in this book study in the IVS-PD SIS at https://pd.ilvirtual.org. This will ensure you receive your PD Clock hours when we finish. Thank you!
DeleteDone...Thanks Danielle!
DeleteHi my name is Jennifer Jessup and I teach Fundamentals of Health Professional and Medical terminology online for Idaho Digital Learning.
ReplyDeleteI live in Nampa Idaho, which is close to Boise.
I hope to gain more skills and knowledge on how to keep students engaged in their learning and ways to make it relevant and fun!
Fun fact: I was pulled on stage at a Brooks and Dunn concert for one of their last performances as a group :)
WOW...being pulled up on stage with Brooks and Dunn! What a memory!
DeleteGreat Fun Fact!
DeleteHi, my name is Laura Anderson, from Boise, Idaho. I am not currently teaching in the classroom, but I am endorsed to teach Natural Sciences and in the past have worked at locations that cater to students that are At-Risk. I am looking forward to learning about how to make online learning as effective as possible, since the students I have worked with are ideal candidates for on-line options.
ReplyDeleteFun fact: I love thrift store shopping!
Hey from the other side of the state! Are you an IDLA person too?
DeleteHello, everyone. My name is Christine Kurucz (Ka-rooz), and I live in West Dover, Vermont, which is in the southern part of the state, right near Mt. Snow (if any of you are skiers).
ReplyDeleteI teach f2f English 9, English 10, and various electives in a small 6-12 school of about 150 students. I also teach for The Virtual High School. I teach Literary Elements: Short Story every summer for them, but during the year, I teach what VHS needs me to teach; most recently, I taught Essay Writing.
The Virtual High School tries to constantly update its classes, and I hope that this book study can help to reframe some of its classes, and I'd like to help with that process. In teaching my own virtual and f2f classes, I can already identify some easy changes to make that would make learning accessible to more students.
My fun fact is that I am currently reading Jane Austen books this year with my mother, who lives in Florida. One book each month, and then we chat about the books. My mom tries to do a different type of book challenge each year, and I'm joining her this year and reading books I never had, even as an English teacher.
Christine
Christine,
DeleteIt is so exciting to get to be working with you in this additional capacity! You have been a great asset to VHS, and I love that you are continuing to develop your practice in this way! I look forward to our conversations here and through VHS.
I don't know if you know of it, but there is a movie that fits right in to your fun fact: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0866437/ - it's called "The Jane Austen Book Club." Not a great film, per se, but a fun watch.
~ Laura
Laura Smith,
DeleteThanks for the movie recommendation. I've heard of the movie but have not watched it... yet. I need to watch the movie versions of the Austen books too. They have been simply a great study on women's roles and expectations of the time.
Super excited to work with you as well in this venue. It will be a good way to bounce some ideas off each other. And, I really need to think about ways to receive student work other than written work.
-Christine
Hi there! I'm from New Hampshire, but I work for The Virtual High School which is based out of Massachusetts. In my role as the Science and Engineering Curriculum Coordinator, I design and revise the science and engineering curriculum. Prior to working at VHS, I taught high school biology and chemistry at the Virtual Learning Academy charter school, and for 7 years in a F2F classroom at a small progressive charter school.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am not new to the world of online education, my role has transitioned from teacher to instructional designer and I am looking forward to learning about the application of UDL as a develop and revise courses for VHS.
Fun Fact: I was an All-American rugby player in college.
Hi Jen, it is nice to see you here! Our team of instructional designers is made up of 100% certified teachers as well. We all transitioned from teaching to online curriculum design so we have that in common.
DeleteHi everyone,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Rachel Mitton and I work at The Virtual High School in Maynard, MA as the Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator. Prior to coming here about 3 years ago I taught History and Psychology in Lexington, MA.
By participating in this book group, I hope to gain knowledge and techniques that will help me as I develop courses for VHS. I look forward to hearing all of your ideas!
My fun fact is that my puggle (pug & beagle mix) is named Benny Franklin, after you guessed it, Ben Franklin himself...very cliche for a history teacher I know!
Rachel
My name is Jen Elwell. I am a French instructor and an Instructional Coach at Illinois Virtual School. I've been teaching online for 13 years and before that I taught English and French at a face to face school for three years.
ReplyDeleteMy fun fact.....I'm heading to Cancun in 16 days for spring break and I can't hardly wait for warm, sunny weather.
By participating in this study, I hope to get new ideas and ways to engage my online students. I also want to pass on what I learn to other IVS teachers to help them grow professionally.
I'm looking forward to learning with all of you!
Hi Jen,
DeleteCancun! How fun! I bet we already know what good book you will be reading on the beach. Haha.
My name is Brenda Elvers. I am an elementary school counselor for PreK - 5th grade in four face-to-face schools of about 600 students total and also teach online Civics and Introduction to Sociology for Illinois Virtual School.
ReplyDeleteMy fun fact is that I am a very busy momma of three boys...all in college with two of my boys playing college baseball. SO...I watch a LOT of baseball and my husband and I travel every change we get to watch our boys play. We just returned from sunny FL of 80 degree weather, back home to IL at 16 degrees. I LOVE warm weather!
By participating in this study, I hope to pick up anything and everything that will help me be just a little more savvy as I am just starting this online teaching adventure (and I LOVE IT!)
I am glad to be here and I am looking forward to meeting you :)
Hello All! I'm Pam Shaw, and I live in the Chicago suburbs. I teach Music Appreciation for Illinois Virtual School. I've been interested in UDL for quite a while now, and I'm excited to read about strategies to apply UDL in the online classroom. It will also help me when I do course reviews for Quality Matters. A fun fact about me is that I have a 35-year-old cockatoo who has been part of my family since I was in the 4th grade. He's my very loud little brother with feathers.
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone! My name is Marla James, and I am originally from Northeast Pennsylvania; however, my husband convinced me to move to New Jersey some fifteen years ago, and we have resided here ever since. I teach and design online content for AP European History, AP Government and Politics, Sociology, and dual enrollment Honors English for online and blended classrooms at Union Catholic High School. In addition, I teach and have designed curriculum for The Virtual High School.
ReplyDeleteFrom this study, I hope to gain new skills and strategies for designing and delivering online courses as well as fresh ideas for engaging students in online learning.
My fun fact is that I was a baton twirler for Penn State University for four years.
I look forward to interacting with and learning from all of you:)
Hi everyone! My name is Ally Reamy, and I am currently living in Columbia Falls, MT at the gateway to Glacier National Park. I teach Oceanography online for the Montana Digital Academy, this is my third year with their program! In addition to this, I teach 7th and 8th grade general science face-to-face. Yes, I am one of those "don't mind junior high" teachers, ha!
ReplyDeleteI am still a fairly new teacher so I am hoping to gain better insight into designing and delivering online courses well and I'm hoping it will help me to bring more to the students in my classroom as well as their online footprint continues to grow exponentially.
Fun fact about me, I grew up as an Air Force Brat and we moved around a lot so, at 27 years old, I have officially had 34 different mailing addresses!
I am looking forward to the book study with you all!
Ally
Glacier is on my short list of places to visit! Since I've moved to Idaho, I've felt spoiled by being able to day trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons, and I've been all over Utah.... Do you have any hints for making the most of a visit up there?
DeleteAlly,
DeleteWhat a beautiful place to live! My husband and I took our "mini-moon" at Glacier Park n- it was incredible!
~ Laura
Emily,
DeleteThere is SO much to do here, it's truly a one of a kind area. Laura did such a good job of summarizing the big things, I will add a few though;
- Kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding on one of the lakes.
- Riding the lift to the top of Big Mountain and getting to see (biased opinion) the most beautiful view in the world.
- Rafting on the North, Middle, or South Forks
- Hungry Horse Reservoir and dam
- Isaak Walton Inn
I can point you in the direction of some darn fine restaurants this side of the park too if you need!
Laura, Martin City has been getting HAMMERED with snow this winter! September is probably a better option than right now to make your return :)
Laura, I am so fortunate!
Hey Ally,
DeleteI'm glad to see someone else from Columbia Falls and MTDA participating in this program. I am looking forward to working with you in this class.
Diane
Hello everyone!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Kate Peterson and I am signing on from snowy, cold Helena, MT. My daytime job is a high school librarian and I also teach English I, Gothic Literature and coach several credit recovery classes with Montana Digital Academy. I have been teaching with MTDA for quite a few years now and have loved participating in the evolution of our programming.
My hope for this book study is to continue that evolution in my own knowledge so that I can apply what I learn to my online classes and provide my students with a more complete experience.
My fun fact for today is that I am home from school because the main water line into our building burst on Monday night because of the cold temperatures here the last few weeks (we hit the -30s a few days ago). So I am snuggled in for the day!
Looking forward to learning from you all!
Hi Kate,
DeleteIt is good to meet you. How many days will you be out do you think? It seems like that could take a long time to fix. I hope nothing was ruined and that you enjoyed your broken-water-line day.
Hey Kate,
DeleteIt looks like there are a couple of us from MTDA. I am looking forward to this class and learning from everyone.
Diane
Greetings fellow book clubbers!
ReplyDeleteI am Stacy Young with The Virtual High School in Massachusetts. I formerly taught Arts and Humanities & high school English in the face-to-face environment. Currently, I am the Associate Dean of Faculty with VHS, and I get to work with teachers in our Online Teaching Methodologies course. I love that I get to work with hundreds of students and teachers from all over the world!
I am looking forward to a deep dive into UDL in the Cloud with all of you as we think about improving the design and delivery of online curriculum. I hope to expand my thinking in many areas, most specifically in instructional strategies.
My fun fact is that I am currently getting my zen on taking online classes in calligraphy and brush pen writing. It's a wonderfully therapeutic past time that I highly recommend. :-)
I'm excited to start learning with and from you all!
Stacy
Hey y’all! My name is Emily Juckett, mostly from the Atlanta area, but lately from Idaho Falls, Idaho. I teach… everywhere? I am staffed out of our district’s online high school and teach various social studies and Dual Credit classes there, but still travel to schools for part of the year to do face to face lectures in Dual Credit Macroeconomics a few periods a day. I also work for our state’s online school – IDLA – and teach DC Macro, DC Micro, and DC US History for them as well as working on some background course design and updates.
ReplyDeleteSo much of what I do has shifted toward curriculum design and adapting what I used to do in a face to face classroom to fit an online environment… I’m excited for this book study because I’d really like to take a thoughtful look at good design practices and habits for the online space.
Fun fact? The more I work in an online environment, the more dependent I’ve become on an intricate system of colorful sticky notes and my Panda Planner (like a bullet journal for slackers) to keep track of what needs doing. Is there a term for becoming more analog and more digital at the same time?
Hey Emily,
ReplyDeleteSEC by any chance? Gator family here in Boise. It is heart warming to actually read someone claiming their sticky note habit! The brighter the sticky note the better, I'd be lost without them. I am becoming more curious about working with IDLA in sped.
How lucky for you to live in succh a beautiful place.
Hello! I live in Emmett, Idaho but work in Boise for Idaho Digital Learning as their curriculum manager. I hope this book study gives me some great ideas to share with our team and implement in our course design process. Fun Fact: Our family just adopted a rooster we named Cluck Norris to keep our hens on the property. They have a bad habit of wandering up to the road and trying to cross it. ;) It is awesome to be here and I am looking forward to learning with everyone.
ReplyDeleteJolene.... I didn't think I could like you more, but Cluck Norris is AMAZING! Glad to see you in this study!
DeleteLOL, thanks Emily. I was happy to see your familiar face here too! If you ever have some browse time look up Chuck Norris memes. My kids did that and entertained us by reading them out loud while we built fence to keep all the critters a little more contained this weekend.
DeleteHello everyone, my name is Chris Conant and I work at Idaho Digital Learning in Boise, Idaho. Looking forward to sharing great ideas on design of courses, especially as one of the many hats I wear is creating online professional development. My other hats are labeled with F2F PD Provider, Content Creator, EdReady Supporter, District & School Tech Coach, along with others. Luckily I have several great teams to work with!
ReplyDeleteHello. My name is Nancy McGonigal. I live and work in the Great Falls, Montana area, and for the past nine years I have taught English with the Montana Digital Academy. I also teach 7-12 English face to face at Cascade Public Schools. I am looking forward to learning more about course design, and I hope to take away a lot of new ideas. A fun fact about me is that I met my husband on the ski hill 32 years ago when he actually ran into me! Two kids and 30 years of marriage later, we are still "skiing" through life.
ReplyDeleteHey Nancy. So glad to see another familiar face in this study. Hope you are having a good year. My students are really working hard this year. Thanks again for all your help with MTDA.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteMy name is April Patterson and I live in Las Vegas, Nevada. I currently teach at Nevada Learning Academy, teaching English 10 and English 10 Honors. I have had this position for two years. Previously I taught face-to-face for 13 years, with experience in middle and high school. Recently, I have had the opportunity to create new courses and I am interested in learning how to develop online courses more effectively. An interesting fact is that I married my high school boyfriend, but not right out of high school, 15 years later as we reconnected on Facebook.
April,
DeleteThere seem to be a number of English teachers joining this book study. I would love to know of some favorite sites teachers use for online grammar units so that I can have some alternate sites for students to practice on, both in my online and f2f classes. I look forward to working with you.
~Christine K.
Hello! I am Megan (Meg) Thomas and I teach online 9th grade English in Las Vegas, NV. The school that I work at is called Nevada Learning Academy (NVLA); we have a blended learning program for Middle School students, and we offer a fully online program for High School. I hope to learn about the methods others have used to overcome challenges in online development, as seeing others approaches will serve as a road map for my own growth in creating online courses. My fun facts: I have a Goldendoodle, Maxwell, and Labradoodle, Winston; I know lyrics to essentially every 80's song.
ReplyDeleteHi, I am Marianna DeBolt. I live in Wyoming, Illinois and teach visual art education at F2F at Princeville Grade School K-5, Online at Illinois Virtual School (most of my students have been high school age) and private classes at a local art shop to ages 5 through adults.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to these book studies because I enjoy reading how other educators use the content and what they are doing in their classrooms around the nation.
I love learning new things and still get excited about lesson planning after 20+ years in education. Just today, I was planning for an art career unit for my 5th grade. I am like a bird, constantly bringing new strategies,tips and new techniques to my nest for my little birdies!
I’m Meg from WI. I teach Spanish face 2 face (32 yrs) and online for WVS(4 years). I also teach/mentor adults working for certification as F2F substitute teachers and adult teachers who want to learn basic Spanish for WEA Academy (10 years). I want to find more ways to engage and motivate my students. Fun fact about me: I’m old enough to retire but I keep adding things to my “Before I retire” to-do list. Love the online teaching but not quite ready to give up F2F
ReplyDeleteHi Everybody, I am Dave Seiden. I work for Valley View School District in Romeoville, Illinois, a Chicago area suburb.
ReplyDeleteAs a Technology Specialist I provide support to all levels of PreK-12+ District stakeholders. I am generally interested in online learning and would like to know more about developing courses good design based on educational theory. My district uses some online courses for credit recovery but we do not do virtual snow days (yet). I have a feeling these types of things will become more prevalent over time. I would like to be better prepared to advise and help our administrators and teachers.
Fun fact: I’m a long time Chicago Bears fan. I have been in attendance at two double-doink game ending losses. Twice.
Hello! I realize I am a bit late to the game here, but I am Sarah Newman and I live outside of Rochester, NY. I have worked for Georgia Virtual School since 2007 and my current position with the organization is supervisor of special needs. When I taught in the face to face and online classrooms, I primarily taught music.
ReplyDeleteFrom this book study, I hope delve into UDL specific strategies for online. Realizing what small steps we can take to make big differences when it comes to what we are already doing and what we could/should be doing to furthering our accessibility is what I hope to take away from this. I am really looking forward to some idea swaps!
HI! My name is Liz Lappin. I am the Intsructional Media Developer with Illinois Virtual School, and while I don't teach, I am so looking forward to this book study. I think that I will be able to use what I learn to better support our SME's, and build courses that do an even better job of fully supporting the students.
ReplyDeleteOne thing you may not know about me - I love to knit and crochet in my off time! I enjoy creating something tangible after spending all day in a digital space, and have make everything from toys, to hats and scarves, to even sweaters for myself.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete
DeleteI can testify to the beauty of and the skill reflected in Liz's knit/crochet masterpieces! She has some stunning wearable art. The girl has SKILLS. :-)
Hello! My name is Kathy Clesson. I am a teacher and course developer for Illinois Virtual School. I teach Creative Writing and British Literature -- and have for more than 20 years. I am a huge fan of universal design (in everything from online courses to architecture) and look forward to this book study with my peers across the country.
ReplyDeleteI am a National Board Certified teacher who renewed (for the second time) this November. And I am going to be a grandmother for the first time on or around April 11.
I am not sure how to get the Blogger icon to show up with my posts.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone! I'm Amy from Holden, MA.
ReplyDeleteIn my current role at VHS I oversee curriculum and instruction, but in the 12 years I've been with VHS I have done all of the jobs on my team. :) In my bricks and mortar life I was a chemistry teacher at a high school in Westborough, MA, where I first became involved with VHS as a teacher.
I am excited to participate in this book study with my team and further explore best practices for UDL in online course development.
Fun fact - I have 4 kids, including a senior in HS who is in the midst of making a decision about where he'll land next year. Clearly this is impacting my ability to get things done on time! :)
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ReplyDeleteHi, I'm Sarah, and just recently joined VHS. Thank you for adding me to the group!
ReplyDeleteI am not currently teaching but have taught f2f multimedia lab courses for Journalism students, and a variety of training sessions and workshops over the years.
Prior to joining VHS, I worked on college-level online courses in project management, instructional design, faculty development and educational technology roles.
I have a strong interest in accessibility and UDL and hope to learn more, increase my knowledge of the k-12 space, and get to know some of my VLLA colleagues a bit "virtually."
I don't like to share too much personal information publicly online, but I will tell you that I like retrocomputing and working on craft projects outside of work.
Hi. I have been trying for over a week to post. I had issues logging in before, but discovered that this just does not work in Chrome so hopefully Firefox will be better. My name is Sandra Nosik, and I live in Caldwell, Idaho. I have taught English and helped in various aspects of development for Idaho Digital Learning since 2005 when my husband and I adopted our daughter. Almost three years ago we adopted our son, completing our family. I have really enjoyed teaching online and, even more so, helping in the various aspects of development that IDLA has allowed me to participate in. As such, this book club fits my interests very well. Much of what IDLA does now has been learned through the years with trial and error, and I have seen improvements in student completion rates and success over the years. I am hoping that what I learn in this book will help me be a better developer and teacher as I continue to work as an online teacher.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting thing about me is that I have lived in five different regions of the United States, but keep coming back to Idaho. I was born only a couple miles from where I live now, but spent my childhood in Texas, my earliteen years in Connecticut, back to Idaho, my college years in Northern California, my early career in Southern California, and then back to Idaho. I get itchy feet imagining what it would be like to live in an area every time we go somewhere new for vacation, but figure it would be cheaper to stay where I am as I always seem to end back up in the same area of Idaho. I have lived in Idaho this time for the last 20 years which is more than twice as long as I have ever lived in one house my whole life before.
I am so sorry I am late to the party! I was waiting on my book to arrive and didn't think to log in again til yesterday when it finally showed up!
ReplyDeleteI teach history fully online for the University of West Georgia, the University System of Georgia and Georgia Virtual School (which is how I learned about this book study!) I have a lot of part-time jobs.
I am about to be a grandmother for the first time twice in 8 weeks! One of my twin daughters is having a boy in Pennsylvania in May and her twin is having a girl in Atlanta in August! I am going to travel a LOT this summer! So excited! I have 4 daughters (the other two are still in college--one is in Atlanta and the other one is in Santa Barbara, California.)
I live in Orange Beach, Alabama. We moved 2 years ago from Atlanta after staying here all summer every summer for 20 years. So it was really like moving "home" two years ago!
I hope to learn more about design. I wrote my UWG course and it went through the QM process and was approved last summer. So that was exciting. I also am QM certified in K-12 as of last fall. I believe that there is always more to learn and I hope that this book study will help me improve not only through reading the book but also learning from other participants!
Hello, I'm sorry for getting this post up late. I'm still waiting on my book.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Kelli and I work at the Nevada Learning Academy in Las Vegas. I teach 5 levels of math for grades 6-8 in our blended middle school program. I have blended students on campus 2 days a week,and I also teach 2 part-time classes for middle schoolers who attend a traditional school during the day. One is for credit retrieval for 8th graders and the other is for advanced 4th & 5th graders who are taking accelerated 6th grade math prior to entering middle school.
Our school is constantly reviewing, revising, editing, and improving courses. We have recently started having the discussion about universal design, and it feels overwhelming. I'm especially concerned about math since it relies so heavily on special characters, graphics, and images. While we are being told we need to do it, we don't have any clear direction on how to incorporate universal design. I'm hoping this book study can give me some ideas on how to approach and implement it.
My fun fact: I am crafty. Give me a glue gun and I am good to go.
I love your comment that "Our school is constantly reviewing, revising, editing and improving courses." That perpetual state of renewal is perfectly suited to the online world.
DeleteA student pointe out today that one of the links in my British Literature class was no longer available. Ten minutes later I was able to edit the content and offer a new, functioning link. I like the fluid review process.
Greetings everyone,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Jon Oestreich. I am from Wausau, Wisconsin (https://youtu.be/P8fn5FxJWy8) and am one of the Associate Directors at Wisconsin Virtual School. The K12 online courses I teach with WVS are AP Psychology, AP Comparative Government, Digital Citizenship, and the WVS Student Orientation. Over the years I have taught a number of other Social Studies classes to include AP United States History, Government, Civics, and Criminology. I am also fortunate to be both a Quality Matters Online and Face-To-Face K12 APPQMR Facilitator and Ready to Blend Facilitator. As far as what I hope to get out of this book study I have an open mind that is twofold. That is to say I want to both acquire information from the book while also monitor the discussions to learn from all of your questions and best practices.
A fun fact about me is that I am avid skier (leaning more towards Nordic that recently completed my second Birkie {https://youtu.be/V87lGmLUTUU]) and cyclist.
P.S. I am learning how to hyperlink and/or embed video into a blog. :)
Hi everyone! I, too, am late to join the party! I was exploring the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance website and saw this opportunity for a book study.
ReplyDeleteI live in Manhattan, Kansas (The Little Apple) and am the Director of Manhattan Virtual Academy, which is one of over 100 public virtual schools/programs in Kansas. We are finishing our 13th year as a virtual school.
Our district has been focusing some PD on UDL for our brick and mortar schools and my online teachers are masters at taking the traditional school model and redesigning it into a virtual model. So when I saw this book and the opportunity to connect with others in our virtual world, I had to jump in...even if I'm three weeks late... so I can learn from and collaborate with others. I've ordered the book, it should be here this Friday, and I will do some catching up over the next few days. I also hope to get some good ideas for a possible book study for my staff, as that is something we do every year.
Fun Fact: I am originally from Wyoming, born and raised, and love the northern states! I love to hike, ski, fish, kayak...anything outdoors.