Yes, its that time of the year, were I dust off my blog and rethink my purpose in maintaing this site. Maybe it has something to do with the nice blanket of snow and a warm fire…
This is my 8th year of teaching distance learning science courses, but my first year of telecommuting from home and not teaching from the district office. A perfect opportunity for me to stop missing the hallway chit chat and develop a new style. Last night I had the opportunity to join other Alaska teachers in a Google Hangout with Paul Anderson of Bozeman Science. A few weeks ago, I reconnected with some of the distance learning educators in Wisconsin to seek ideas. One friday a month, I meet with my co-workers at the district office through video conferencing. Now that my professional community is 99% digital, I feel it is time to become a more effective social networker. So I am going to try something new with the Andrea’s Virtual Science Teaching Adventure Blog.
I plan to refine the audience to other distance learning and blended learning enthusiasts with large dose of science. I am going to use the following categories to focus my posts and challenge myself to develop in each of these areas:
- Personalizing the distance learning experience
- Facilitating interaction and participation in the DL classroom
- How do you “do” science inquiry at a distance?
- Feedback loops that improve the learning experience
- Presentation style and course design
Please contact me at andreaupnorth@gmail.com if you would like to share any thoughts, resources or comments.
