Internet Learning Volume 7, Number 1 • 2018/2019 | Page 26

Preparing Teachers for the 21 st Century Classroom
a. document file with instructional
information (save all
documents as PDF files)
b. link to your own instructional
video
c. discussion
d. assignment with a submission
folder “drop box”.
3. Your scheduled presentation will
be a 10-minute (maximum) showand-tell
of your module and your
rationale for the instructional pieces
you have included. This will be
done in groups, online through the
sandbox platform.
Module Components 2c and
2d are based on the field experience
in the virtual classroom. Component
2b is based on parallel learning in the
UWG course, where three instructional
videos are required: a voiceover narration
using a presentation format, such
as PowerPoint, a screencast, and either
a presentation or screencast, with an
embedded picture-in-picture video of
themselves delivering the accompanying
instruction. Creating a variety
of teacher-made videos is a means for
UWG’s education students to implement
the best practices presented in
the Create and Participate TOOLs (GA
DOE, 2017). The combination of these
activities, especially the manipulation
of the sandbox elements of the LMS,
gives the field students experience facilitating
the course as presented by best
practices in the Navigate TOOL (GA
DOE, 2017).
The culminating activity, Component
3, is a synchronous online meeting
that fosters the dynamics as outlined
in the Participate TOOL (GA DOE,
2017). Webcams are useful for creating
more than videos, and in the online
classroom, real-time communications
are a must for many teachers and students.
Fortunately, most LMSs provide
a means for an online course meeting;
and if that is not available, there are
free options like Google Hangouts and
Skype. For the preservice and practicing
teachers enrolled in the online field
experience course at UWG, the virtual
school experience begins and ends
with an online group meeting. Students
know they need a working camera and
microphone to participate, and early
access to the orientation session allows
several minutes for troubleshooting
with students who need to update their
settings and learn to activate and mute
their webcams and microphones. The
final presentation sessions at the end
of the semester teach these educators
how to navigate screen sharing as they
present the online instructional components
they created and allow them
to explain how their files represent best
practices in online learning for 21st
century virtual classrooms. Throughout
their course and field experience, it
is emphasized that they should implement
these online strategies with their
own students whenever possible.
Learning Outcomes of the
Virtual Field Experience
Not all education majors are preparing
for fully online instruction
in a virtual classroom. An
important meta-cognitive aspect for
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