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What did you learn about your learning theory beliefs from this activity?
 * Week 1**

After completing the learning assessments, I learned that I agree with all of the behaviorist theories. Behaviorism assumes a learner is essentially passive, responding to environmental stimuli ( www.learning-theories.com ). This is one reason why  students can always benefit from incentives such as grades and gold stars to help motivate them to learn. I struggled a little with the cognitive and humanistic theories.I don’t believe that it is solely up to the teacher to set all of the learning goals for the student.Being a secondary teacher, I feel as though students should have a good idea of these goals and their learning styles by the time they get to me.Learners need to be empowered and have control over the learning process  @http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/humanist.htm.

What did you learn about yourself and your students based on the learning inventories?

After my students completed the learning inventories, it was clear to see that the majority of my students are visual learners. This is why they do better when I use charts, maps, filmstrips, notes, and flashcards. I try to have my students write out everything for frequent and quick visual review. It also helps when they practice visualizing or picturing words and concepts in their head.

Behaviorism:Learning Theory (2010). Retrieved April, 15, 2010, from @https://www.msu.edu/~purcell/behaviorism%20theory.htm Humanistic Theory (2010). Retrieved April 15, 2010, from @http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/humanist.htm

Final Thought
 * Week 2**

Many students seem to understand their work only to later reveal significant misunderstanding of what they "learned" when follow-up questions are asked. A 'real' understanding involves another kind of transfer. We go beyone what we see, using big ideas, to make meaning of it (Wiggins and McTighe, 2000). To 'internalize knowledge' means to incorporate the knowledge within oneself or to make subjective or personal. The capture the essence of something means to capture the basic, real, and invariable nature of something. In my opinion, these three descriptions are very similar and have very close to the same meaning.

Understanding is the mental process of a person who comprehends. It is personal interpretation. One way I assess understanding is by asking follow-up questins to check for deeper understanding after we have covered a new topic.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design. (Expanded 2nd Ed.). Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/lamar/docDetail.action?docID=10081770

Final Thought:
 * Week 3**

I tend to follow the following steps when designing instruction: Identify the subject, arrange in logical progression the things to teach, create objectives, create scripts for instruction on each thing to be taught, create lessons that consist of a sequence of tasks, and plan instruction and assessment on all phases of mastery.

I'm definitely an advocate of the "backward design" process. I believe it's very important to begin with course and lesson objectives, then determine how the objectives will be addressed, and then design the activities that will prepare the students to meet the objectives. Students will not be able to meet objectives if the objectives are unclear. One possible con of designing instruction in this manner is that teachers could become overwhelmed with standards. They may find it difficult to be able to cover everything. Backward design forces teachers to look at the big picture with the end goals in mind, and that is a good thing.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design. (Expanded 2nd Ed.). Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/lamar/docDetail.action?docID=10081770

How do you see online education being used in your classroom, campus and district?
 * Week 4**

Our campus utilizes sites like www.studyisland.com and www.pearsonsuccessnet.com on a regular basis with our middle school students. Study Island offers web-based instruction, practice, assessment and reporting built from Texas state standards. Pearson Success Net is a popular and powerful platform and software application that provides online education to teacher and students. Both of these sites offer supplementary lessons and instruction that have proven to be very beneficial to our students.

What type of staff development do you think K-12 teachers need in order to begin to develop and implement online learning?

"Online professional development for administrators, teachers and school leaders will help build new models of schools - both online and blended - and better serve today's students during and information revolution in a global society"(Davis & Rose, preface). All teachers should be required to attend staff develoment to better understand how online learning can benefit our students. For academics to successfully make the transition to become online teachers or learning facilitators, they must do more than develop new technological skills. Online development and delivery requires new pedagogical approaches, challenging previous practices with regards to assessment, group interaction and student/teacher dialogue.

What impact will this type of teaching and learning have on the business world?

The Internet has changed the way business' are run, and it will continue to change and evolve indefinitely every year. Businessmen and women who are accustomed to learning in this way will prove to be more self-sufficient in the long run.

Allen, I., & Seaman, J. (2008). Staying the course: online education in the united states, 2008. Needham, MA: Sloan Consortium.

Davis, N., & Rose, R. Professional Development for Virtual Schooling and Online Learning. NACOL

I see many benefits to teachers being able to design and implement online learning. Online development and delivery requires new pedagogical approaches, challenging practices with regards to assessment, group interaction and student/teacher dialogue. I designed a course that will help all of the teachers on my campus learn to use all of the latest technology tools they they have at their disposal, and show them how to use these tools in their classrooms. I already use online learning in my classroom on a semi-regular basis. My campus already utilizes sites such as @http://www.studyisland.com/ and @http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/, and after learning about all of the new ways to use online learning during the course of this class, I plan to use it even more.
 * Week 5**

I am curious to know how other teachers are currently using online learning in their classrooms. I would, also, love to know about some popular online learning sites other than Schoology.

With all of the new information I have learned in this course, I plan to research other online learning sites so that I can begin to use more online learning with my students. I will also attend more professional development sessions on this subject so that I am better prepared to pass along my new information with the other teachers at my school.