Caitlin Maynard

ITEC 7500
Reflection – Standard 3.3

3.3 Online & Blended Learning - develop, model, and facilitate the use of online and blended
learning, digital content, and learning networks to support and extend student learning and
expand opportunities and choices for professional learning for teachers and administrators.
______________________________________________________________________________

The artifact I chose for this element is the Lesson Plan Project, created in ITEC 7430,
Internet Tools in the Classroom, during the Spring of 2020. As my school district had just
shifted to online learning in mid-March, I wanted to create something for my students to
complete that was engaging and that would keep us on track with concert preparation. When the
two-week closing turned into the remainder of the school year, it was vital for this project to be
successful and allow students to sing through the unknown. Our Spring Concert was cancelled,
but there was a song on my heart that would help encourage us all through the pandemic and
serve as a glimmer of hope. Through the project, students would learn sections of “We Will” by
Jim Papoulis, a song that was written shortly after September 11, 2001 and that spoke of
resilience and strength after a tragedy. The final product would be a virtual choir recording to
share with our classes and families.

As part of the Digital Learning Environments standard, Element 3.3 rests on the
development, modeling, and facilitation of online and blended learning, digital content, and
learning networks. For the Internet Lesson Plan Project, I had to first develop the plan for online
learning as students were experiencing it for the first time. How would they access the lessons?
How extensive should the workload be given the situation of working at home during a crisis?
Should we continue learning the original concert selections or should I find one song for
everyone to learn? Using Google Classroom was not a requirement at my school, but since I had
used it earlier in the year and my students were already accustomed to it as a learning network,
we experienced a seamless transition to at-home learning. Next, I modeled sections of “We
Will” through video recordings and posted them to Google Classroom. I created these videos in
iMovie and used the split screen feature as a way to simultaneously display the sheet music for
better comprehension. Finally, I facilitated online learning by posting daily instructions for
learning goals, holding Google Meets for small group or individual help sessions, and creating
week-end wrap up videos that served as a social-emotional check and celebration for student
success.

I am glad for the timing of this project as I feel it prepared me for what was to come during
the Fall Semester. I learned how students fare with online learning, what activities are the most
engaging, and how to balance content with social-emotional wellbeing. When we started school
with 100% digital instruction, I felt ready, knowing how to break down information and to create
videos and screencasts, and that I would be more effective than I was in the Spring. If I could
have changed anything about the creation of the artifact, I would have organized my Google
Classroom posts in a better way so that students could clearly see what had been assigned and
what was due. Looking back, it would have been helpful and more engaging to create a virtual
classroom, designing it like my actual room, for students to click on different links for resources
and still feel a bit normal. Adding those elements are just as important to the overall student
learning experience during online or blended learning as the content.

The work that went into creating this artifact has impacted student learning, specifically
since I was able to try it once in the Spring and already adjust it for use this Fall. The 2020-2021
school year for the Barrow County School System began two weeks after the original start date
and with 100% digital instruction. Due to implementing the project in the Spring, I had
experience with creating digital content for online lessons and using Google Classroom as the
learning management system of choice. While there were still a few kinks to work out in the
Fall, the students who I had during both semesters spoke of how much easier online learning was
for them than before. Since logging on for Google Meets for each class was now a requirement,
they said it gave them more structure and the sense of actually being in school again. Listening
to their feedback also helped me to shape my lessons, especially when we slowly shifted to in-
person learning.