Synchronous Learning: Cyber-Classrooms

5135 Words11 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact of technology on teaching

According to Berliner, engaged time is the time students appear to be paying attention to materials or presentations which have instructional goals” (Berliner). Educators may refer to this as the time when an instructor has their students’ attention. Engaged time would then be considered a subgroup of allocated time. At PA Online Charter School this can be difficult to measure because of the lack of visual clues. Nevertheless, there are tools which an instructor can use to help determine engaged time in a virtual setting. For example, in BlackBoard Collaborate direct messaging, the web camera, audio responses, polling/quizzes may be used to aid the instructor in measuring a student’s engaged time. Also in the cyber setting, this is where a strong partnership with the parent, also known as the academic or learning coach, becomes essential. The academic coaches are observing the visual cues within the home setting. This is especially true when a student is taking courses asynchronously or when there appears to be a need for testing for special services. In the latter, the parent/academic coach’s input on what they see is invaluable, as many of the symptoms that indicate a need for testing are only seen by those within the home setting. This is because the instructor is not able to see the student perform their daily tasks.

Berliner’s study also discusses time- on task. Time- on task is also referred to as engaged time. Yet, there is more to engaged time than mere student engagement. Time-on task should be thought of as time spent on curriculum tasks or time spent on an activity in which student engagement is clear. Much like engaged time, time-on task can be difficult to measure at a cyber-charter school. Often times, students a...

... middle of paper ...

...ann, Kathryn Kennedy, Stacy Bender. "Cyber-truancy Addressing Issues of Attendance in the Digital Age." Journal of Research on Technology in Education (2013): 1-28. Web.

Abraha, Weintana. "Online Charters May Fail Students and Reduce Public School Funding." Charter Schools n.d.

Clark, Ruth Colvin., and Ann Kwinn. The New Virtual Classroom: Evidence-based Guidelines for

Guidelines for Synchronous E-learning. San Francisco, CA: J. Wiley & Sons, 2007. Print.

Berliner, David C. "What's All the Fuss About Instructional Time?" Bromme, M. Ben-Peretz and R. The

Nature of Time in Schools: Theoretical Concepts, Practitioner and Perceptions. New York: Teachers

College Press, 1990. Web.

Shaw, Isabel. Family Education.com. n.d.

Wasil, Andrea. "Performance Results of Synchronous and Asynchronous Students in Cyber High School English Classes." n.d.

Show More
Related

  • Charter Schools: Bigger Problem in Disguise

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ravitch, Diane. "The Success of Charter Schools is a Myth." 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Document. 20 November 2013. .

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Public Schools Vs. Charter Schools

    2770 Words  | 6 Pages

    Raymond, Margaret E. (2014, February 1). To no avail: A critical look at the charter school debate. Phi Delta Kappan, Vol.95 (5) pp.8-12. http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6aa05956-5bfe-43eb-9eec-b90be0fefa60%40sessionmgr113&vid=9&hid=125

    Read More

  • Charter Schools in Washington DC: A Reasonable Solution?

    2379 Words  | 5 Pages

    Charter schools, which exist all over the United States, are “rooted in the premise of public, free education nestled in the ideas of parental choice” (Pardo 6). Since “Minnesota launched its first charter school in 1991”, charter schools have experienced “an enormous increase in number to over 5,300 by 2011” (Chen). Like traditional public schools, charter schools are “funded with public money” (Chen). However, parents have to “submit a separate application to enroll their children in charter schools, and spaces are often limited” (Pascual). Each charter school has an independent governing board that oversees finance (Pardo 6). Enrollment is based on choice, with parents selecting schools due to their specific focus, curriculum or other features (Pardo 7). When enrollment is exc...

    Read More

  • Read-Only Participants

    521 Words  | 2 Pages

    It also created different category of students which he called Read-only participants. Prior to that discovery, “Beaudoin discovered that online students sometimes engage and learn more when not participating in online discussions. But sometimes poor communication hinders them from learning at all. Because of that they conducted a study in university of Pretoria on online master’s degree in computer integrated education program. Using “mixed methodology approach to investigate how online activity and discussion postings relate to learning and course completion. By investigating how student collaborative behavior and integration into the community relates to their academic success” Nigel, 2009). In lure to that he further discovered that there are different groups of students, who their attitude contributes to the downfall of online learning, inclusive; read only students group, non – discussion participant group. Out of point participant group, and internet blamers of wrong doing”, (Nigel, 2009). By analyzing these groups, Nigel was able to come up with an idea, on how to create communication trend between student and their instructors especially, the Read-only-participants. This he did to encourage the whole online students group to communicate the required number of online classroom postings, and submit high quality, thoughtful postings. He also created grade discussions and

    Read More

  • Negative Effects Of Cell Phones

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    Technology gives teens, and some adults, more ways to do something other than what they are supposed to such as homework. In the adult world, it is a common experience that the lines between work and leisure have been blurred. Adults often work at home and play at work, by e-mailing and text messaging friends and family, passing along jokes and family photos, or reading the news. Business owners are increasingly relying on spying programs to spy on their employees to make sure that their activities are both appropriate and work related. The students’ “bottom lines” are academic achievement and success.

    Read More

  • The Negative Impacts of Social Media

    1923 Words  | 4 Pages

    Social network sites is often an easy distraction tool disturbing you when you are supposed to be doing your homework or studies. Many students believe they are capable of multitasking and finishing their work with cohesive and logical connections. Netherlands psychologist Paul A. Kirschnera of the Centre for Learning Sciences and Technologies at the Open University of the Netherlands and Aryn C. Karpinskib of Ohio State University conducted a study examining 219 U.S. university students. Kirschnera found that Facebook users typically had a grade point average of 3.06 while non-users had a grade point average of 3.82. Kirschnera states that he isn’t trying to demonize Facebook, but demonstrate the distracting nature of social network sites (Daily Mail). Students fail to complete their studies and/or homework with cohesive thought because some students give themselves a limit in completing work instead of completing the work as a whole. In the Frontline documentary film Digital Nation, Rachel Dretzin says the following in front of a small group of s...

    Read More

  • Quality and Effectiveness of Hybrid Education

    2136 Words  | 5 Pages

    Online education, while offering clear advantages such as supporting a self-paced learning experience by allowing learning on an on-demand basis rather than a strict class schedule, also has significant drawbacks. Students in an online only course may struggle with structure and content without hands-on instruction, which can help motivate students who otherwise may be distracted or have difficulty working independently. The traditional structure of classroom education is effective, but also comes with a set of obstacles, particularly for nontraditional students. The best way to bridge this gap is hybrid education, which combines technology and personal interaction to support efficiency and self-paced learning while keeping students motivated, social, and connected to their professors and their peers through face to face interactions. While this newer learning model is still under investigation, there is evidence to prove that hybrid courses can lead to academic success.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Online And Traditional Learning

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    Today’s generation is like no other. The nation as a whole has completely evolved from past times, with technology being one of the greatest improvements. Traditionally, schooling takes place in a classroom setting, but, with the many modifications in our world’s system, we are able to assimilate more modern means of education, such as online learning. However, with many changes comes differences and requires adjustments. The online learning system has proven to be just as effective as traditional learning, with some minor differences, however, nothing of great significance. A few of those insignificant differences include online learning being convenient, especially for the non-traditional students,

    Read More

  • Essay On Active Learning

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bolliger and Armier (2013) suggested that using active learning approaches in online courses leads to increased levels of student satisfaction, engagement, connectedness, and learning. Furthermore, Covill (2011) added that using active learning strategies provides opportunities for students to process course content and communicate new knowledge connections with classmates in meaningful ways. Chickering and Gamson (1987) defined active learning as the actions associated with learners engaging in the higher-order thinking activities of analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating. Learning that provides students with the opportunity to talk, listen, read, write, and reflect on course content while participating in problem-solving, informal small

    Read More

  • Importance Of Digital Literacy

    978 Words  | 2 Pages

    Students do things like write papers, access test and quizzes, and even visit their teacher’s web page where they find information needed for the course. This may seem easy to students who have always had internet in their home with a computer they can work on, but what about the students who have no idea what the internet is, or don’t own a computer or device they can to practice on. This is one of the key reason digital literacy is important. Students no matter the age or background should feel comfortable using the internet at school. They should always feel caught up in classes because if they don’t know how to it will be taught to them. Schools should make sure students are up to speed and no child is left

    Read More

  • The Influence Of Facebook Essay

    1196 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the activities that consume children is their homework. In fact, for a better understanding of the concepts taught in class the educational system requires homework in any class from 1st grade to 12th grade. Children are asked to do homework once they get home;however, with the increase in popularity of Facebook, they are more interested in signing on this network to chat with their friends or play games rather than completing their homework. In addition, the considerable amount of time spent on Facebook prevent children from participating in any kind of extracurricular activities. These activities foster their abilities to learn and develop important skills. This disinterest of being involved in an activity in favor of spending some time on Facebook, may harm a children’s physical and psychological well-being. Moreover, children who spend an important amount of time on social networking website are more likely to lack sleep. This lack of rest and sleep prevent children from being focused in class, to have the required amount of sleep a child should have and thus impact heir health and ability to learn. In “Facebook® and academic performance”, Kirschner and Karpinski examined the general impact of technology on academic achievement and development of children and teens declare that “Students who reported Internet-caused schoolwork problems were found to have spent five times more hours online than those who did not, and they were also significantly more likely to report that their Internet use caused them to stay up late, get less sleep, and miss classes.” (1240). Clearly, the amount of time spent on Facebook has a considerable effect on children’s ability to learn, to be involved in any kind of outside of class activities and diminish their hours of sleep as well. It is valuable to note that this can may be crucial for their educational

    Read More

  • Effectiveness of Online Courses

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    Self-regulated learning is defined by the author as “the efforts put forth by students to control and monitor their motivation, concentration, and affective aspect to protect their goals.” Studies show that teachers’ feedback plays a critical role in students’ controlling their learning and becoming self-regulated. The object/goal of online courses is for students to learn independently in the virtual environment without the “on-the-spot” help of the teacher. The indications are that involvement is a powerful means of the improvement in most of the aspects of undergraduates’ cognitive and affective development. In theory, the author believes online pedagogy would address the problem of students retreating to self-gratifying internet sites where they spend a great deal of time shopping online, chatting on social networks and playing online games.

    Read More

  • The Internet In Classrooms

    1925 Words  | 4 Pages

    their dorm room or apartment is sit down at their computer and go online. They proceed to either, read their e-mail, check their online courses for new assignments, or go on one of the many communication websites or programs that are available currently to this generation. None of this would be possible without the readily available Internet access that we often take for granted. The Internet has proven not only useful for entertainment purposes, but has also dramatically changed the educational approach, for both students and educators, and the way knowledge is being obtained.

    Read More

  • How Does Social Media Affect Students' Education

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    "The Journal of Technology in Student Affairs." Effects of Student Engagement with Social Media on Student Learning: A Review of Literature. Kristen Tarantino, June 2013. Web. 15 May 2014.

    Read More

  • Netiquette in the Online Classroom

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kernek, C., Lozada, H., & Mintu-Wimsatt, A. (2010). Netiquette: Make it Part of Your Syllabus. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 6(1), 264-267. Retrieved from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no1/mintu-wimsatt_0310.pdf

    Read More

More about Synchronous Learning: Cyber-Classrooms

Open Document