Lesson Plan Reflection
To recap: I currently teach in the Alternative Education department for my school district. Recently, my district has switched from PLATO to Compass Learning as a more cost-effective way to provide online classes to use in the Alternative Ed program, the Credit Recovery Program, and the Summer School program. While the district paid for and set up training for teachers when we first made the switch to Compass Learning, staffing has changed dramatically since it was initially implemented. As a result, teachers who have never administered Compass Learning classes have now been assigned these online classes with no training. As a tech savvy teacher who has been using Compass Learning for years now, I have been asked to train other staff members to use the program.
Thus, for my lesson, I created and partially implemented a Compass Learning training session. Though I have been scheduled to conduct a larger training session before the start of school, for this assignment I did a training with one teacher who has been newly placed in the Alternative Ed program. The plan was to conduct a presentation using a PowerPoint (a technology that teachers in my district are familiar with) and the demonstration function on Vision, a program used in the computer labs to monitor student computers that also allows the teacher to take control of the student computers. I would demonstrate how to do key functions in the Compass Learning program including the following:
- · Create classes in CL (Compass Learning)
- · Search directory for students in CL and add them to classes.
- · Create profiles and usernames for new students.
- · Add new students to CL classes.
- · Create new assignments in the Assignment Builder.
- · Access assignments in the Assignment Archive.
- · Assign the new assignments to students.
I arranged to meet with the other teacher (who we will call Mary) at the school in one of the computer labs. I had planned to use a PowerPoint I had created along with the Vision classroom management program with a demonstration function for the lesson. However, upon arriving at the computer lab I ran into a road block. Due to a virus throughout the district’s network, email has been temporary suspended, so I brought the PowerPoint on a USB flash drive and also uploaded it to my Google docs. Once in the lab, we realized none of the computers would read my USB drive and the district has blocked Google docs. Equally frustrating was that the USB drive would then no longer read on my laptop. Therefore, I was limited to using the paper handout I had brought Mary of the PowerPoint and the demonstration function on the Vision program.
I started off with my Anticipatory Set. I did not have to introduce myself as I have known Mary for a few years now. I did however explain the purpose of the training and reassured her that what I was going to show her would be useful and the training would help her get set up for the first day of classes. I explained that the training would not only show her how to use Compass Learning, she would also get more experience with Vision as we worked through the tasks.
Without having my PowerPoint, I decided to dive into the lesson with a direct demonstration using Vision. What Vision allows me to do is go through all of the steps on my computer and the student(s) watches the demonstration on their own computer. I started off using this function to show Mary around the program and showing her where to find various menus and functions. She expressed that the demonstration window was too small, so I decided to try a different method. Still using the Vision program, I took control of her student computer and did a direct demonstration where I controlled her mouse on her computer. This actually worked better because I would show her how to complete a task, such as creating a new class, by controlling her computer. Then I would delete what I had just done and essentially reset everything, give her back control of her computer and ask her to complete the task on her own. If she struggled, I would be there to help guide her along. As I demonstrated she jotted notes down on the paper copy of the PowerPoint.
Though I had to alter the delivery method, I felt the lesson actually went very well. As we worked through, Mary was able to successfully demonstrate that she could create a class, add students to it, create an assignment based on Michigan benchmarks, and then assign that assignment to the class and students she had just created. Once we had worked all the through all of the steps necessary to do all of those things, I asked Mary to create two more classes and assign them a new assignment she created. She needed a little prompting on the second class and assignment she created, but by the final class and assignment she was confident and even telling me I didn’t have to watch her do it and that I could work on my own classes if I wanted. She had forgotten that I needed to focus on the lesson at hand for this reflection but her confidence in saying that I could work on my own classes demonstrated to me that she had mastered all of the steps and skills she needed to be successful.
Question Set One
As stated previously, the goals of this lesson were for the teacher(s) to learn how to set up classes in the Compass Learning software, add students to those classes, create assignments, and assign the assignments to the newly created classes. It was assumed that the teacher already had working knowledge of how to use an Internet browser, which is how students and staff access the Compass Learning online program. Trainees/teachers are expected to be familiar with the Michigan Standards and Benchmarks in their subject area in order to create assignments that are aligned to the benchmarks HSCEs and GLCEs. Since the trainees were proficient in the use of a web browser and the Michigan Standards and Benchmarks for their subject area, the goals of this lesson were accomplished.
The Vision program, which was the technology that I ended up solely using to present this lesson plan, has several affordances. First of all, it has many functions that I was able to use to do the direct demonstration. I could use the demo function to show the demo on multiple computers from the teacher workstation. I could (and did) switch to another way to conduct the demonstration by taking direct control of a student workstation and using their mouse, control and demonstrate all of the steps in the process of creating a class, etc. in the Compass Learning software. Finally, if I had been able to access my PowerPoint file, I could have also directly shared the file with all student computers through Vision’s file sharing option. On the flipside, the constraint of the Vision program was the small screen size that students see using the demo function. This was alleviated by controlling the student computer directly to do the demo which uses the actual student screen, at full size. The other constraints of technology were described previously with the inability to access the PowerPoint via USB or Google Docs. These issues can be addressed for a future training, though the success of the direct demonstration in Vision leads one to question whether or not the PowerPoint itself is necessary or if the handout sheets with room for notes are all that is needed.
In this implementation of the lesson, learning occurs as a result of the direct demonstration and the hands on activity of creating the classes and assignments in Compass Learning. Behaviorism is being utilized to demonstrate the skill. The learner (the teacher being trained) is given reinforcement first through the successful completion of a task or an error message for a mistake and additionally through feedback from me. If I had more students in the training, I would have had them work in partners or in groups to discuss the tasks they were asked to do in order to incorporate more constructivism. Mary and I did have quite a few discussions as she tried to create her own assignments and complete the other tasks, but I feel more participants would have added to the experience in terms of adding more ideas and asking more critical questions. Finally, I was able to incorporate concepts from andragogy to make this lesson appeal to the teachers who are being trained by solving a problem for them, building on their previous experiences, and making it relevant to their needs.
This lesson was not intended to supplement or supplant existing curriculum, as I am not teaching students, but training teachers. Since the district cannot afford to pay a trainer from Compass Learning to come back, in essence I am supplanting the official training. This training is intended to prepare new teachers for the online program.
Differences among learners are addressed in the lesson through the multiple delivery methods. The learners are able to see the demonstration directly which accommodates visual learners. Auditory learners are accommodated with the auditory directions and presentation during the demo. I accommodated even more learners by giving hands on tasks that allowed the learners to try out the program and manipulate it themselves. Finally, the use of the PowerPoint handouts accommodates learners that prefer to read directions or write directions for themselves in their own words.
First of all I assessed Mary as we went through the initial demonstration by asking her comprehension and follow up review questions on each section as we moved along. If I had felt she did not grasp the concepts, I would have went back over them. Fortunately, she picked up on the new program quickly since I had related it back to our old program, PLATO. I also assessed the student by requiring her to complete all of the tasks taught on her own. Mary was required to create two new classes, add students to those classes, create assignments for those class based on HSCEs and GLCEs, and assign the assignments to the classes. I could assess the level of learning and understanding first through the questions that arose as Mary worked through the tasks on her own. As she gained confidence and constructed her knowledge the questions became fewer. The program itself also has built in sequences and error messages that allow users to know when they have made a mistake. An assignment cannot be published if the steps are not completed correctly. Therefore completion signifies success.
Question Set Two
Technology played a vital role in my lesson plan. My lesson would not have been successful if I had not been able to directly demonstrate how to navigate through the Compass Learning program. It is very important, especially with an older audience, to be able to show which button or drop down menu you are talking about and referring to. I have also found during other professional development trainings that an older audience can sometimes have a hard time seeing something put up on a screen, especially if it is small with a lot of detail such as a website with buttons and dropdown menus. The advantage of using the Vision program is its ability to do a direct demonstration on the screen that is directly in front of the learner. It helps eliminate the eye straining and the questions like “Where is that button?” The disadvantage I experienced with technology for this lesson was that the PowerPoint option failed for me this time due to the USB drive failing and Google docs being blocked. The important thing to remember is that technology will fail or present problems from time to time and as a teacher you must always have a “Plan B” and be able to find a way to work around the problem.
Prior to the lesson I expected Mary to be nervous about learning a new program on the computer and I expected the training to be long and arduous. I also was expecting Mary to struggle with learning the new program. Much to my surprise, though Mary was indeed nervous, the training/lesson went very well. Mary was very confident with the program by the end and felt that she probably wouldn’t even need to refer back to the notes she had made during the initial demonstrations. While working through creating her first class and assignment entirely on her own, Mary remembered the steps fairly well, yet repeatedly asked if she was hitting the right button or wanted me to double check if she had everything checked off correctly before she hit a submit button. At first I was directly answering her questions and reassuring her. Towards the end of creating her first assignment, I began answering her by responding, “What happens if you push that? Does it work or do you get an error message?” Those responses forced her to try things out on her own and she was able to have a better connection with the process.
It was definitely clear that Mary was making sense of the Compass Learning program with the direct demonstrations through the Vision program. By seeing me model the steps to create the classes and assignments, Mary was able to become successful and confident at it in a short amount of time. The Vision program was vital to this lesson’s success.
