13 skills as those most needed by students entering college or the workforce. They are as follows:Collaboration, Independent Learning, Communication, Problem Solving, Decision Making, Understanding Bias, Leadership, Questioning, Persuasion, Goal Setting, Sharing the Air, Compromise, SummarizingThe ability to work independently in an online environment is a necessary 21st century skill that new graduates will likely need to practice in the workplace as well as to negotiate their day-to-day lives.(If some of my students will not end up in college, they must end up in workforce. We can use online learning experiences to reinforce these important skills, while we help them learn basic content.) (Week 1)
Diversity in ethnicity, gender, professional experience, and location (and socio-economic levels) can be another potential barrier, but in many situations differences among students add depth and perspective to the online learning experience (Luebeck & Bice, 2005).(I can anticipate it working both ways with MS students. Our school population is so diverse itself that I wonder whether an online class that was truly representative of the population of our school would tend more towards the positive rather than negative in this factor.)
Learning made easier: Ongoing support; personal choice and personalization (differentiation); rapid feedback;Overcome geographic limitations; more convenient and are often the only way students with full-time jobs, families, or military deployments can pursue a college education.
We MUST prepare students for what they will face when they get to college, if we care about whether they are successful when they get there. To ignore the opportunity to begin their preparation for this eventuality now is……unwise.
Teachers from different geographic locations, possessing different strengths and knowledge, can work together to develop courses that benefit students in both locations. No working as ‘Lone rangers” mimic in building collaborative efforts.
