Hello all! And thank you for visiting my blog.
My name is Jennifer Jackson. I am currently pursuing my
Master’s degree in Media and Instructional Technology at the University of West
Georgia. This is my last semester so I am excited to be thinking of graduation.
Upon graduating, I am planning on obtaining my Ed. S. in Leadership.
I teach at Chattanooga Valley Elementary, in Flintstone,
Georgia. My job description reads “teacher of the gifted,” but I also spend a
couple of days each week troubleshooting technology issues, conducting
professional development for our teachers, and providing support in a variety
of ways. I suppose that phrase on my contract that reads, “other duties as
needed” comes into play there. I love my job because the students, staff, and
equipment challenge me on a regular basis.
A few years ago, I had an opportunity to attend a conference
at Kennesaw State titled “Technology and Tools to Promote Teaching and
Learning.” At this conference I was introduced to several people who were teachers
from Georgia Virtual School, which I knew very little about. The workshops at
the conference along with the great people I met, made me begin to see how
online learning was being utilized for middle and high school students. I came
away asking myself why more people didn’t know about this wonderful resource.
All of my work for my Master’s degree has been online and it
has helped me realize the power of online learning. It has changed the way I
think about teaching and learning. For me, I find myself connecting Bloom’s
Taxonomy to the different tasks we are asked to do as graduate students. This
thinking has filtered down to my classroom as I begin to use the same
guidelines to teach in new, more diverse, and innovative ways.
I feel a great pull toward online learning, and feel it can
benefit all students. I especially believe it has a place with gifted students.
Many gifted students are at risk of dropping out of school. In fact, the rate
of dropping out is the same for gifted students as it is for special education
students, (Bainbridge, 2007).
Online learning, I feel, could help
students self select content and individualize pacing. For example, in the
small rural county in which I live, very few advanced placement classes are
offered at our (one) high school. There isn’t enough demand to fund a teacher
when remedial classes are needed to help the school meet AYP. Online learning
is a way for students to take classes beyond what their school system can
offer. I remember especially, my very gifted sister, who dropped out of high
school around Christmas of her senior year. The high school environment was
extremely painful for her and she really felt that she did not fit in. Although
it shook our family to go outside the norm, she quickly took her GED, and
enrolled in college where she did very well. She is now a teacher and has
raised three highly gifted children.
For me, this MOOC experience will help be better understand
the new frontier of online learning and how to help my students navigate. I
remember back to that Kennesaw conference, looking at all online learning had
to, (currently), offer, and being amazed and frustrated that more of our
students were not informed. I want to be informed. I want to seek out new ways
of learning, for the students I teach as well as for myself. I just hope I don’t
MOOC it up too much!
Bainbridge, C. (2007, 08 22). Are schools failing our gifted
children?. Retrieved from
http://giftedkids.about.com/b/2007/08/22/are-schools-failing-our-gifted-children.htm
Hi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI hate that your sister had that experience. I work at Georgia Highlands College, and we see a number of young people like her, who just gave up on the debacle that was high school for them and went to the two-year college just to escape. I think you're right about online courses and I think as we see Georgia's effort with the Complete College initiative, we're going to see more collaboration between rural schools and state colleges. At least, I hope we will.