Lessons Learned

Instructional Technology - International Education - Wellness

Virtual Learning & Volcanic Ash

Volcano in Iceland

“Mr. C, we are in crisis!”

This was the Google Chat that appeared on my screen this morning. My student went on to say that she and another student were stuck in Paris and probably could only return to Morocco on Thursday as the airport was shut down due to the volcanic ash from Iceland.

I then asked if she had checked Edline, which lists the assignments for the coming week, and if she had posted five possible research questions in her Mindmeister mind map. Her response was “yes,” and could I look at them?

I went to her mind map and left comments to help my student narrow her questions to one. She is now ready to use her time effectively in Paris by working on the research process and doing the regular classroom homework. In both cases, I can access her work using online collaborative tools.

After sending out an email to all my students to check on their status, I will see how many other students will miss some class this week but will still be able to continue their learning wherever they may be “stuck.”

Image Source

2 Comments

  1. Good work Mr. C! Not only is this a good example of the power of online tools, but at it’s core, it’s about pro-activity: Implementing this “solution” would be very different if your class wasn’t already structured to allow it, and your students already used to doing this kind of things. Using technology as a “quick fix” in education leads to failure, but when it’s well thought out and organized, happy moments like these can arise…

    Cheers!

  2. David Carpenter

    April 19, 2010 at 8:12 am

    Excellent points, Patrick. It is so nice to not have to be reactive to a situation when a system is already in place. Cheers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

*

© 2024 Lessons Learned

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑

Skip to toolbar