Evaluate 3.1.2 Self-Reflection on Teaching Abilities Quest

Submit evidence of reflection on your individual teaching abilities.

Really it seems like the entire blog project and process of getting certified suggests reflection on my teaching abilities as an online teacher with Georgia Virtual.  

I have taught online for the last 8 years with various age groups and ability levels, and have designed curriculum as well.  I would estimate that in the last 8 years I have taught a number somewhere in the thousands (wow that is shocking and humbling to me).   

When doing so I have learned, sometimes through a lot of trial and error, the following about myself as an online educator.  These are ideals, and although life does sometimes interfere with them, they are the standards by which I run my online courses.  

1.  The most focused and self-contained the learning modules, the better for both myself and students. 
2.  The best way to ensure online success for students is frequent feedback.  Any online course should be checked at least 5 times a week, but this is a minimum.  Generally twice a day, 6 days a week for 12 checks.  Students need to see the instructor in the course room.  Likewise, assignments need to be returned with specific and substantial feedback within the shortest amount of time possible. 
3.  Like feedback, stay consistent with an approach and don't deviate too much with specific due dates and assignments.  Students need to see consistency; instead of modifying assignments, keep them the same and help students get there, even if the assignment might have flaws. 
4.  Remember that it is still education, and that even though it's an online environment, that there are real people with real concerns, hopes, fears, etc behind the screen.   This is sometimes easy to forget when the work just becomes something to check-off a to do list.
5.  Finally, the same skills that help students excel in a regular classroom are usually the same ones in the online classroom.  Build relationships, help when needed, show interest, be interesting, etc work in both places.  It's just a matter of adjusting the presentation sometimes with a computer. 

Evaluate 3.1.1 – Differentiation Quest

Student	AP Multiple-Choice Score (55 total points)	AP Poetry Essay Score (9 total points)	AP Prose Essay Score (9 total points)	AP Open-ended Essay Score (9 total points)
1	30	5	4	6
2	25	6	6	7
3	43	7	8	7
4	49	6	6	8
5	14	3	2	4
6	20	5	5	5
7	22	5	4	6
8	35	6	6	6
9	50	8	9	7
10	19	0	4	4

Based on the above data from ten students in an AP English class, I can make the following recommendations for each student.  We will assume that the AP Exam is in two months.  The 1-5 refer to scores on the AP English Literature Exam, with 3-5 being passage.   

Students 1, 6, and 7: right in the middle.  With about 5 more points on the multiple-choice and 2 on the prose essay, he/she can earn a solid three.  More work on writing theses for the prose essay, and more independent multiple-choice work using old SAT prompts.

Student 2: above average on the essays, but needs help on multiple-choice.  The student might already earn at least a 3, but with focused multiple-choice work on old SAT prompts and AP questions, might be able to earn a 4.  Maintain essays, but don’t get burned out by too much practice on them.

Students 3 and 8: already at a 3, if not 4.  Consider more higher level multiple-choice prompts on harder questions, and independent reading.

Student 4: multiple-choice better than essays, and already at a 3 if not 4.  Consider weekly essay practice, especially on getting longer essays and including larger picture issues in the thesis and concluding paragraphs.

Student 5: struggles with test taking, so perhaps work on test taking strategies.  Also evaluate how many multiple-choice questions needed to earn a 3, and perhaps only focus upon 3 of the 4 exam multiple-choice passages.  For essays, work on including textual support, and at least writing two pages per essay.

Student 9: probably already at a 5.  Allow to read challenging independent novel to improve the open-ended score.  Cater novel to his/her interest and strive for an original text that is not frequent on the AP exam.

Student 10: work on time management skills for the writing section, and explain the scoring system and that something is always better than nothing.  Also consider working on frequent multiple-choice questions.  Consider that the 3 should be the end goal, but that a solid 2 might be the reality on the AP Exam for this student. 

Evaluate 2.1.2 Rubrics and Competencies Quest

For this section, set up a competency structure for one unit of your sample course. Associate the assignments in that unit with the competency. Submit both a screenshot of the structure and a detailed explanation of why you created the structure that way. Include a discussion of the various pathways a student may go through to attain the competencies in the unit and document all in your blog.

English 10^th Pacing Guide for Block Schedule 2015-16

Notes:

• Throughout the course, students will be preparing for the Georgia Milestones Exam.  Students should be writing in-class in ways that reflect the tasks they will be expected to complete on the Milestones Exam
• Students should complete an extended response writing for each unit, and the writing should be scored using the 7 point rubric
• Weekly, students should complete a timed (20 minutes) constructed response writing, using both analysis and narrative prose (2 point and 4 point) questions and scoring rubric.
• Students should complete at least 3 computer-based, timed, Milestones-style writings in a semester in preparation for the Milestones testing environment
• Teachers should periodically give students graded assessments that are constructed response only (i.e., no multiple choice)
• Each unit should contain paired passages which pair current-unit texts with contemporary writings
• While unit lengths listed below are suggested and not firm deadlines, for the purposes of common assessment, standards should be addressed by the time the common assessments are administered.  Spending the recommended times for each unit is encouraged.
• Texts and readings listed below are suggestions and recommendations, but they are not an exhaustive list of readings for the course.  There are other texts that are appropriate that may not be listed; because something is listed does not mean that it must be taught.

Dates	Suggested Texts	Standards	Learning Targets	Essential Questions
Weeks 1-5	Unit 1:  Individual vs. Society Unit Focus:  Plot, Setting, Mood, Characterization, Inferences Suggested Texts: “Everyday Use” “Harrison Bergeron” “Searching for Summer” “Those Winter Sundays” (poem) “The Piano” (poem) A Marriage Proposal (play) “Like the Sun” Le Morte D’Arthur (excerpt) Modern paired text related to the unit Other texts as appropriate from Units 1 and 2 in textbook Extended Text:  Antigone How is cultural identity preserved in a new land? • How can a person’s national identity conflict with his or her cultural identity? • Is the “old way” of our (grand)parents a gift to be recovered and valued or a curse to be cast off?	RL 1, RL3, RL5, RI1, RI5,RI6,  W5, L5b,  L6	Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences from  the text Analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or theme of a text Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text create tension Strengthen writing by revising and editing Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text Acquire and use accurately general academic words sufficient for reading: demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge	How do plot setting, mood and characterization develop a text? How does textual evidence support the use of these literary elements? What choices does an author make in creating each of these literary elements? ?

Evaluate 2.1.1 Data Driven Instruction, Analytics, Reporting Tools Forum

Review the artifacts above on student enrollments and student progress in the course. Then, provide a detailed description of all that this information tells you about the hypothetical course. Include how the teacher might adjust the course in the future based on the previous activity of these students. Document in a reflection on your blog.

Artifact 1 suggests that the instructor is going to have a large workload this semester with over 100 students; better review the time management module. 

Artifact 2 suggests that some of the students are waiting a while to get orientated.  Perhaps a friendly reminder via class email or remind.com would help students to get orientated with the course within the first two weeks, if not the first week.  Students will tend to procrastinate, so this expectation needs to be made explicit from the very start of the session. 

Artifact 3 suggests that some more preemptive intervention might be necessary.  I would suggest a lot of early monitoring, so that the teacher will have to do less later.  Maybe try to contact parents of failing students at least within a week of the failure grade posting. 

Artifact 4 suggests that the teacher is concerned about using positive feedback to reinforce good behaviors.  As teachers we sometimes forget that this can be more effective than the negative calls. 

Artifact 5 clearly shows that the students who are accessing all of the resources for longer periods of time are doing better.  This serves as evidence and specific tangible data that can not only help improve, but also can justify why a student is not doing well.  Essentially, this chart puts the onus of proof onto the student. 

Artifact 6 has some feedback, but it isn't as specific as possible. Perhaps use examples from the students own work.  Also saying Great job with an 83% might not be considered the most sincere comment.  

Artifact 7 allows pinpointed access and reflection. 

Artifact 8 has specific scores and the student clearly is doing well. 

Artifact 9 has what seem to be generalized comments.Perhaps personalize them by addressing the student by name, or mentioning specifics from his/her work.

Evaluate 1.1.3 The Summative Assessment Forum

I just worked on a design team to revise the Griffin-Spalding County SLO for 10th Grade English.
In order to revise this assessment, I first went to a training on the new GA Milestones assessments and learned about the need for student constructed response sections.  The following is my reflection on this process.

Validity: In order to make a valid assessment, I attended a workshop on GA Milestones and looked at the specific types of questions that will be asked.  For ELA there will be some multiple-choice of critical reading passages, followed by constructed student responses.  Therefore, I worked to include both with the SLO pre/post test.  The multiple-choice were already in existence from a previous draft of the SLO, but the constructed response were not valid with the GA Milestones Assessment.  Therefore, I used the GA Milestones rubric and exemplars to craft a more valid assessment.  For classroom practice, this means that teachers in my building will now need to work in alignment with the CCGPS and be sure to include short-constructed responses on a daily basis.

Reliability: In order to improve reliability of the SLO, I started with the GA Milestones rubric and simplified the grading expectations.  Instead of a 1-100 scale, I reduced the scoring to a 1-5 point system and then provided a conversion chart to a 100 scale.  This takes the subjectivity of having 100 possible categories and reduces the number of categories to 5, two of which are outliers: the not attempted, and exemplar category.  In this manner most scorers are generally left with three levels of scoring: not evident, emerging, and meets, with the not attempted and exemplar categories only being used for exceptional cases.    

Test Security: Because this was a county-level SLO, there were already strict security measures in place such as my not being able to discuss the assessment with any one else, and I cannot share it with students before the assessment is given.  Likewise, the use of constructed responses does help to limit the possibility of students merely copying answers from each other that are simply A, B, C, etc.  The eventual ideal would be to have this assessment online, and then have answers verified with a plagiarism checker such as turnitin.com.  

Evaluate 1.1.2 Quality Feedback Forum

Here is an example of a student draft of a reaction to an article, and my 18 comments upon it.

Student Name

English 1101

March 3, 2015[CG1] 

Rhetoric Analysis of “Anime Addiction: Its causes and effects”

Responding to an article[CG2] 

The Japanese culture has had its history of impacting America in many ways in the past. However, when it came to the works of animation, or “Anime” it caught on very quickly. In the articale[CG3]  “Anime Addiction”, the author believes that the “Anime craze” of the young population has become somewhat of an obsession; that being the case, it is argued that the behavior of students is linked to this epidemic. So why do kids so easily get into this form of entertainment? This[CG4]  author believes it is due to the inspirations that come from Anime, an expert claims[CG5] ; “It is just a lack of imagination or creative thinking, so  students tend to watch anime more  often and surf the internet to read online manga”. Many teenagers, and fellow “Geeks” may also presue[CG6]  an interest in drawing, and animation, therefore this article might have some oppositions that might see a brighter side to the so-called “Addiction problem[CG7] ”.

This[CG8]  author uses Logos to explain how, some people with the Anime obsession will likely bring about behavioral issues in students, For example[CG9] ; too much exsposure[CG10]  to Anime can lead kids to act out childishly to life, and lose sense of reality, therefore kids should develop better self-control[CG11] . The sense[CG12]  of Pathos comes from using “Let’s tackle the negetive[CG13]  effect” when the transitioned from the positive out look on Anime, and then had to talk about the bad influences that could come form it, indicating that the author is not totally against Anime. This also serves as a form of Ethos. This person might have even had a person connection to the situation of this article.

Personally[CG14] , I have been a “Victim”, of the addiction. I too have experienced both the positive and negetive influence; in fact I am still experiencing it. I started getting into “Inuyasha” when I was in elementary school, the moving forward it was “Naruto” then “Black Butler”. Now, I’m in the “withdrawl” stage and I don’t watch it as much I did before, [CG15] however I still like to watch it from time to time. I draw manga based charaters too.

The[CG16]  craze of Anime is both good and bad for young people. The big picture of it all; is that it al depends on how kids choose to deal with it. Once a student hits high school, they’re practically old enough to make their own decisions. They must find a way to balance the negetivity[CG17]  of the “Obsession” and with reality and figure out how to fit it into their lives without letting it take control of it. If the parents have to get involved, then they should as long as there are satisfying results; no excuses that it’s too hard, or that it’s just a phase, if your child’s grades and life are being determined by a craze, do something as soon as possible[CG18] .

Work Cited

“Anime Addiction.”Kimberly Cejoco. July 14, 2013[CG19] .

---

 [CG1]Make sure that all of the necessary elements are in the header. 

 [CG2]Double space.

 [CG3]Spelling mistake. 

 [CG4]Try to take out rhetorical questions. 

 [CG5]Good use of textual support here. 

 [CG6]Misspelled.  

 [CG7]Try to include a thesis that follows the template more clearly. 

 [CG8]What is the focus of this paragraph?  Remember to include a specific topic sentence that will guide the reader. 

 [CG9]Comma after example.

 [CG10]Spelling mistake. 

 [CG11]Do you have any textual support or evidence to show that this is logos? 

 [CG12]Try to do one paragraph for each of these terms. 

 [CG13]There are a lot of simple spelling errors throughout this essay.

 [CG14]Indent. 

 [CG15]This would fit in the conclusion rather than body of the paper. 

 [CG16]Indent.

 [CG17]Remember to check your spelling.

 [CG18]This last paragraph should focus upon the application to your upcoming research paper.  Also there are a lot of misspelled words.

 [CG19]Remember that for a citation it should go a separate page and include the full citation.

Evaluate 1.1.1 Formative Assessment Forum

Consider the best means of developing and delivering assessments, projects, and assignments that meet standards-based learning goals and assess learning progress by measuring student achievement of learning goals. How might a teacher employ ways to assess student readiness for course content and method of delivery? 
By using a formative assessment the instructor can sample what the students know before giving the assignment and then modify as necessary.  These formative assessments can also influence he pacing of assignments and when they should be given. 

To demonstrate this, create a formative assessment in a demo course you are creating. Post a link to the assessment in your blog.

For example, before writing a final research paper, I would have the students complete a Works Cited page, and outline of the assignment. 
On the link to a course that I currently teach, one can see the sequence of curriculum that culminates in the final research paper. 

http://sctech.angellearning.com/section/default.asp?id=831_ENGL1101_201514_K2_40283&goto=

Create 4.1.3 Aggregating Lesson Material

Here are three tools that can be used.

1. Smartbuilder: "You quickly layout objects in a drag-and-drop environment. Then, you customize your interactivity with an object-based system, where any object can "talk" to any other object. It's intuitive, yet incredibly flexible.

SmartBuilder further streamlines the development process with content management and collaboration features that enable your team to work together more efficiently."

2. Angel Learning: a part of blackboard that allows for the creation of online courses. 

3.  Class Dojo: I have seen this, but have never tried.  This program allows for monitoring classroom behavior and records what students do-might be more applicable to the traditional classroom, but the positive reward system can be transferred to the online environment for numbers of logins, positive comments in discussion areas, etc. 

Create 4.1.2 Principles of Building Portable Learning Objects Forum

Here are two interactive games through wisc-online.

A vocabulary review of 10 SAT words: https://www.wisc-online.com/users/chrisgodat/games/17074/sat-vocabulary-builder

This Portable Learning Object would be useful to help students review for a larger vocabulary assessment.

A review of authors and works for 10th Grade World Literature: https://www.wisc-online.com/users/chrisgodat/games/17075/author-and-works-review-for-10-grade-world-li

This Portable Learning Object would be useful to help students review the authors and works over an entire semester in 10th grade world literature.

Create 4.1.1 Define and Explain Learning Object Authoring Tools Forum

Five tools that can be used to help enhance elearning.

Free Tools
Classtools.net: This site is easy to use, requires no password and is free.  It allows for free educational games, assessments, and diagrams.

Hot Potatoes: at http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/hotpot/ allows for help in creating interactive assessment questions such as multiple-choice, short answers, etc.   It is freeware, but not open source.

Jelsim: http://www.jelsim.org/tools.html a free and open source program that allows for creation of educational simulations.

Pay Tools

Turnitin.com: not only does this service detect plagiarism in student work, but also can provide grammar instruction and creates an automatic online portfolio.

Grammarly.com: a service with free trials, but requires an account to use enhanced features.  Like turnitin.com it can find plagiarism, but can do so before a submission.  Also checks a student paper for editing errors.

Create 3.1.3 Locating Resources Forum

Open educational resources are available in a variety of mediums. Using the content topic previously selected, locate an image, applicable text, and a multimedia object that apply to the topic. Ensure the resources are cited properly and post these items in your blog with the links.

For my higher level AP English Literature courses, I have had a lot of success using Yale Open Courses.  These Yale courses are full courses that can be watched online and are completely open to the public.  If a topic is applicable I try to show pertinent 10-15 minute segments from these in class.  One of my favorite courses, is an intermediate level philosophy course on Death.  This topic ties in with literature and helps to answer the perennial question of why do so many people die in literary works.

The following links are all from the Open Yale Course.  

Here is a link to an image of the book inspired by the course:  http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300180848

Here is a link to the course readings Download all course pages [zip - 10MB]

Here is a link to the audio/visual and first class of the course itself (both of which can be found on itunes and youtube).  http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=p2J7wSuFRl8  

All of the above resources are found at 

Kagan, Shelley. "Philosophy 176: Death." Yale Open Courses. Yale University, Spring 2007. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

Create 3.1.2 Fair Use and the TEACH Act Quest

• How does an understanding of Fair Use affect one’s role as an online instructor?

The checklists suggests that the online educator needs to be responsible, and understand what makes a work used as Fair Use.  Essentially, the concept of Fair Use suggests that the intention of using a work helps to determine if it is Fair or not.  For example, using something for profit or some type of gain prevents it from being fair, but if used for scholarship, it tends to be more fair use.  There are also more pragmatic concerns such as which part of a work is cited, or whether or not the work's central part is covered in class.  Ultimately, Fair Use allows for educators to use selected resources, if they behave in accordance with ethical standards.  

• How do Fair Use and the TEACH Act correlate to the delivery of reliable content?

The TEACH Act's applications to face to face instruction have been more generous than to online education.  Essentially, in a face to face environment, Section 110 of the TEACH Act allows for presentation of any sources despite the medium; however, although there is an attempt with Section 110(2) of the TEACH Act to allow the same liberties to online education, it is not as generous.  Although some content might be delivered, there are also several questions that need to be addressed in order to ensure that the use is Fair.  

Create 3.1.1 Open Educational Resources and Creative Commons Forum

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning items that are available to everyone (i.e teacher, student, independent learning).  These resources include, but are not limited to, standards, assessments, modules, texts, quizzes, projects, writing prompts.  These resources can reflect a wide spectrum from completely open resources, which anyone can use, alter, modify, to no derivatives, which can be used but not changed.    

Create 2.1.3 Using Web 2.0 Tools to Differentiate Student Assessment Forum

Turnitin.com is a tool that I use to 1) prevent plagiarism, and 2) provide feedback to students.

First, the program is perhaps most famous because of its ability scour the internet to match student work with existing documents.  Obviously this can catch and in hopefully more cases prevent plagiarism.  By doing so we not only ensure that students are doing their own work, but also protect the academic integrity of the class for other students who do not cheat.

Second, and perhaps a lesser know use for turnitin.com is that it provides an automatic online portfolio and repository for student work as the assignments and student work becomes a permanent part of the data based.

Finally, the program also allows for feedback and even provides a grammar/spell check of student work.  The feedback consists of generic comments that can be cut/pasted into the paper with specific explanations of how to improve based upon the comment.  Also the teacher can include more personal feedback in the form of comments on the students' papers.

Create 2.1.2 Using Web 2.0 Tools to Differentiate Teacher Instruction

Using these tools required some time to initially get started, but once I explored the program and simplified my approach it became easier and very intuitive.  Attached is a screencast that I used last summer to conclude a Gifted Curriculum course for adults.

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/c21V2cnBz4

Navigate 2.1.2 Recorded Session Forum

Discuss the experiences with this quest and the process of recording a session. Was the task easy? Challenging? Did the process present problems? Document the responses and general reflections on synchronous learning and the recorded session in your blog.

Generally I use screencast-o-matic to record online content.  The task is easy to use and only requires setting up an account.  Once the account is set up I can narrate the content on my computer screen in 15 minutes chunks.  This allows for ease of transitions between screens because I am essentially completing the same tasks that I would do in a traditional.  There are some minor glitches early on with the recording, especially making sure that the 15 minute time limit is honored, or if not and if the content requires two presentations, that the presentations are split at a logical stopping point.  In general my students say that they like the screencasts and that it helps them when I am not present.  

Here is a link to a recorded session of a brief lesson where I explain a template for the creation of analysis paragraphs: http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/c2QUF0eeX5. 

Create 2.1.1 Web Tools Forum

For Web 2.0 tools there are three categories that are important for online educators to consider.

1. Presentation tools: these include programs that go beyond powerpoint.  Examples include Slideshare, Prezi, and Picsviewer.  
2. Video tools: these include programs that help to give animation to a presentation.  Examples include Animoto, and Photopeach. 
3. Mobile tools: these are designed to use the existing technology that most student possess (i.e. mobile devices).  Example include polleverywhere.com and phone.io. 

All of the above platforms are free and con provide more outlets for online education.  More detail can be found at http://web2014.discoveryeducation.com/web20tools.cfm from where the above information was obtained. 

Create 1.1.3 Appearance Forum

Five Well-Designed Educational Web Pages

1. http://www.gadoe.org/Pages/Home.aspx: I started here because I didn't really know where else to start.  However, once here I found the interface easier to use than expected, the images balanced, and the information pertinent without being overwhelming.  

2.  http://www.starfall.com/: My five children have all used this webpage in their younger days, and as I look back upon it, the content and presentation seems perfectly matched for the age group/demographic and their parents.  It boarders upon clutter, but the lines and spacing are all neat and consistently balanced which help to make it easy to use.

3.  http://turnitin.com/: Sort of a get what you want webpage, but the interface is easy to navigate, and the images pertinent without being too flamboyant. Also the balance of the columns on the bottom conforms to a sense of balance.

4.  http://mseffie.com/AP/ap.html: This one doesn't have a lot of high end images, but the ease of access gets it a help rating.  A sort of you get what you webpage without being punishing on the user.

5.  http://www.newyorker.com/: as an ELA teacher, I have used the content for years.  However, the web page is a work of art in itself, and this should come as no surprise from the American magazine with over 80 years of amazing covers and layouts.  The visuals are engaging, the fonts sophisticated, and the ease of access is simply amazing.

Five Educational Web Pages the could be Improved (please note that this only refers to design, not quality of the content).

1. http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/home: this one might be a controversial choice, and I love nothing more than teaching AP English Literature.  But I have always found the web-cite difficult to navigate, and a bit cluttered.

2. http://www.gutenberg.org/: Aesthetics might not be the point of this archive, and I understand that we get what we get and that thousands of free texts is nothing to scoff at.  However, the interface is fairly bland, and some of the navigation features are not as intuitive as they appear.

3.https://www.desmet.org/: This is my former high school, and one of the best college preparatory high schools in the St. Louis area.  However, the web page often ends up looking cluttered and in this case more like a car advertisement than a college prep school with almost 10 national merit scholars a year (I wasn't one).

4.   http://www.ash1818.org/main/: Another school with a high quality education that ends up looking a bit on the cluttered side.  Perhaps including links to the calendar and bulletins this sense of overwhelming information can be improved.

5.  http://www.hermann.k12.mo.us/: My first teaching job; as I look at the web page, there seems to be too much information placed in a small space.  Also there is a sense of unfinishedness about this web page.

Create 1.1.2. Creating a Content Map

What should be included in the Content Map? What aspects of online learning are essential to integrate in the process? Using a format explored above, create a Content Map for the chosen topic. Post the completed Content Map in your blog.

The content map should serve as an overview of what the instructor wishes to achieve with an online course.  
Like a map it is a guide, and the lessons themselves provide the tangible details.  

Here is a content map for teaching AP English on a one semester block schedule. 

Create 1.1.1 Time Management Forum

List five time management tools in your blog and briefly describe their use and relevance to the online world. Does the tool relate to personal, professional, or a combination of both?

1. Power hours: At the start of an hour, I set a realistic goal and say that I will do nothing else for the entire hour.  I put all distractions away during this time.  Personally, this helps me carve out exercise, family, house work, and hobby time without being distracted.  Professionally, these help me to stay focused upon student work and be more in the moment.  
2. Record of what I have done: I find that people tend to create too ambitious to do lists and get burned out. Instead I thrive more when I focus upon what I have already completed.  I do this for both my personal and professional life.  I really find this method effective in teaching and more useful than the traditional lesson plans.  
3. Help the neediest: in any classroom (or family) there will always be one student, or person who needs help more than anyone else.  Because it might be impossible to help everyone at every single moment, it makes more sense to start with the neediest and help him/her.  Once this student is helped, move onto the next most neediest.   In my family, this has helped me give attention to five children, and my wife, whereas in teaching it helps to make sure that the silent student doesn't get ignored.  
4. Create routines: if there is a routine that is focused upon tasks to be completed, then it becomes a lot simpler to follow it, and more will get done.  In my personal like there are certain activities that happen at the same time, and it helps my wife and I stay sane as we shuttle five children around.  Likewise, in my professional like I focus upon certain classes, and tasks at the same time each week. 
5. Limit choices: it can be overwhelming to think of everything that needs to get done on a "to do" and thinking about what you could be doing can distract anyone from what they should be doing.  So once the "to do" is written, circle the most important item and do it.  It is tempting to make the mistake that planning is actually doing something, but it isn't.  And once one plan is made, often it will work as well as another.  So pick a task, focus, and then get it done. 

Communicate 4.2.3 Discussions Forum

• What role or purpose do discussion forums serve in the online classroom and are they effective?

The discussion forum can serve as a tool to create student interaction and engagement.  They can also give the online class a sense of interaction between members.  Finally, the discussions can serve as formative assessments and places where students can try out ideas for larger upcoming assignment; in an ELA class, the discussion area is the perfect place to post a draft of a paper to receive peer feedback.

• How do discussion forums function as a teaching tool?

The discussion forum can serve as a low-risk way for students to engage in the course room with both the instructor and their peers.  By using the discussion forum, students can engage in formative assessment and practice for their upcoming larger assessments. 

• How could they be used effectively and ineffectively? Furthermore, what are some best practices for facilitating forums online?

The worst thing that can happen with a discussion is that it becomes mere busy work that the instructor does not monitor and/or engage in.  If they are just seen as a checklist, then often students will blaze through them without using them as a learning tool.  Some best practices for preventing this from happening include the following: 

1. As an instructor check the discussion thread a specified number of times a week.  Generally, 4-6 check-ins help the instructor to monitor students. 
2. Also when checking the discussion thread, the instructor should also post as well.  The posts generally do not need to be long, but should be focused upon the student's discussion, and ask pertinent questions.  
3. When posting make sure that all students in a specified time (generally at least two weeks) receive some type of response from the instructor in the discussion area.  If the students perceive that the discussion forum matters to the instructor, then it will begin to matter to the students. 
4. Finally, make a link between discussions and upcoming assessments.  There should be a specific reason for every assignment and discussion, and ideally these will be linked with the overall standards/objectives/goals of the course.

The discussion area can be a wonderful learning tool that most nearly matches the traditional classroom, but it requires attention on the part of the instructor to make this a reality.