Running head: BENCHMARK: A NEW ONLINE SCHOOL: PARTS I & II 1

Benchmark: A New Online School: Parts I & II

Pia L. Bowes

Grand Canyon University: TEC 541

Ms. Kathy Huggard

4/26/18
BENCHMARK: A NEW ONLINE SCHOOL: PARTS I & II 2

After completing interviews and researching about online schools, I learned that there are

a variety of online schools and those schools offer a variety of learning environments. It was

difficult to locate a school that even provided materials to pre-kindergarten students, so the

information I have learned that I can apply to early childhood instruction and provide to my

colleagues. The following paper addresses the brochure for an online school and the summary of

and subsequent reflection on the brochure.

Part I

I was very frustrated when completing this brochure because it did not save multiple

times and then froze, so I kept having to retype or edit complete sides. Then it kept sharing with

the edit version, even though I selected “view.” It should be noted that my references appear on

the back of the brochure and on the references page in this paper. This is the link to my brochure:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAC1_Z_I3Y0/wJr7gVt8Vs8AhRnA8n3l6A/view?utm_content=DAC1_Z_I

3Y0&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton

Part II

My brochure has four major sections: Classroom management and collaborative learning

strategies, technology-rich environment, technology support and problem resolution, and

interconnected learning community.

My preferred learning theory is the constructivist theory, which emphasizes learning

through building upon current and previous experiences. (Jiang & Perkins, 2013). In my years of

teaching, I have noticed that many children who are highly engaged have few negative

behaviors. So, my online school will focus on creating engaging activities to decrease negative

behaviors. Students do need to learn netiquette, or the rules of the Internet, and will have lessons

to support each of the different rules (Rice, 2012). Classdojo.com is actually a very good

classroom management and communication system. I thought that flipped learning would be an
BENCHMARK: A NEW ONLINE SCHOOL: PARTS I & II 3

excellent collaborative learning strategy because it combines the authentic problem solving of

the constructionist theory and the frequent practices of the behavioral learning theory (Son, 2016,

p. 317). I believe “different types of learning scenarios” and “real world problems” most support

the constructivist learning theory because they both focus on learning experiences (Techthought,

2018). Also, when students work together, they can use their strengths to compensate for each

other’s weaknesses. With the different learning scenarios, some students may do well with one

scenario while another group member does well with a different scenario.

When people think about technology, I have a noticed that they generally think about

high – technology. What is interesting, is that the students respond very well to both high –

technology and low – technology. One of the teachers that I interviewed, lead a live-learning

session. She told me that she found that even though the class was an online learning class, the

students responded very well to completing hands-on activities, in their own home (Cindy

Bracey, personal communication, April 21, 2018). Their school had the option of having the

camera on and she found that students wanted others to see their work, so they turn the camera

on. Though, these were older students, the younger students responded very well to hands-on

activities, also. I have always believed in teachers facilitating instruction, not exclusively,

though. As teachers, we should create meaningful learning experiences which engage students,

to help students build skills to make them successful in our global community. I chose to use

Brightspace as the primary learning management system(LMS), as it is geared towards young,

non-reader learners. As I saw some weaknesses in the Brightspace system, using Google

Classroom and Classdojo.com should help replace some of the missing components. There are

multiple learning websites that cater to young learners, and I believe that the three I mentioned,
BENCHMARK: A NEW ONLINE SCHOOL: PARTS I & II 4

ABCmouse.com, starfall.com, and ABCya.com would be excellent resources for teachers,

students, and their families.

There are more than the teacher and student involved in a child’s learning. Parents,

siblings, extended relatives, and maybe even neighbors, coaches, agents, have a vested interest in

the young learner’s education. They can motivate the child to study harder or they could support

the child with his or her disabilities or weaknesses.

There are quite a few basic problems that could happen with computers. Internet

connectivity issues could cause students to suddenly lose the feed; programs could become

nonresponsive so students would lose their work; or hardware issues, like the computer

overheating, may cause a student to completely shut down his or her computer. Once this

happens the student begins to miss instruction, so the teacher has to help the child solve the

problems. I included a fake number for the imaginary online school’s helpdesk. I figured that

these are the most frequently occurring issues and for anything more complicated the teacher

should have a resource. I viewed technology support as what the teacher would you use to

support student learning throughout the course. So, the teacher should be able to create

multimedia, record presentations, use the LMS to monitor and record student progress, and

facilitate the lessons.

With interconnected learning community, I thought about how I went to boarding school,

and students from all over the world came to attend. So, I considered the school to have an

international community. When students communicated with each other, I saw them doing it for

primarily assignments, but also wanting to gain friends and build a support system of their own.

When students log onto the internet they should follow the rules of the internet, and be able to

communicate effectively with other children. They may have to restate what they’re saying until
BENCHMARK: A NEW ONLINE SCHOOL: PARTS I & II 5

the other child understands the message that he or she was trying to convey. When students

collaborate they should also respect one another’s opinion and take turns contributing or assign

roles for contributing to the group assignment.

Conclusion

Online environment can support a variety of students, they do not have to be only digital

courses. Blended learning can occur and collaboration amongst peers and families can occur in

the right environment.

.
BENCHMARK: A NEW ONLINE SCHOOL: PARTS I & II 6

References

Ark, T. V. (2015). 8 online learning trends that are changing the learning landscape. Retrieved

from http://www.gettingsmart.com/2015/10/8-online-learning-trends-that-are-changing-

the-learning-landscape/

DiVincenzo, A. (Ed.) (2014). Mastering graduate studies. Phoenix, AZ: Grand Canyon

University. ISBN: gcu_0000000000005

Jiang, X., & Perkins, K. (2013). A conceptual paper on the application of the picture word

inductive model using Bruner's constructivist view of learning and the cognitive load

theory. Interdisciplinary Journal of Teaching And Learning, 3(1), 8-17.

Milman, N. B. (2017). How can online instructors better support their students?. Distance

Learning, 14(1), 51-53.

Rice, K. (2012). Making the move to k-12 online teaching: Research-based strategies and

practices (1st ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.

Son, B. (2016). Innovative collaborative learning strategies for integrated interactive e-Learning

in the 21st Century. International Association for Development of the Information

Society, 13.

Staff, TeachThought. (2018). 20 Collaborative Learning Tips And Strategies For Teachers.

Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/20-collaborative-learning-tips-

and-strategies/