Preparing for H1N1: Distance Learning
Like most schools across the country and around the world, the potential for an H1N1 outbreak has necessitated some intense planning and preparation by our faculty and staff. As an independent school with rather unique and demanding operational needs, the possibility of having to close for an extended period of time poses a very real threat. In the spirit of asset-based thinking, we have leveraged this unpleasant possibility into an opportunity to explore interdisciplinary distance learning.
Using Moodle as a delivery platform, each of our grade-level teams designed a 10 day instructional unit centered on a broad theme. Recognizing that ill students will have difficulty following a prescribed timeline and should not be expected to carry the same workload they would if healthy, the units represent approximately 10 hours of learning activities that can be completed on a fairly flexible schedule. Although only our students can enroll in the Moodle courses, guests can preview and explore each of the units:
5th Grade: Leadership
PeaceJam is an international education program built around leading Nobel Peace Laureates with the goal to inspire a new generation of peacemakers who will transform the world. Using their work as a foundation, the 5th Grade Leadership Unit includes 12 activities that encourage students to begin thinking about themselves as leaders who can embody our school’s motto of “Changing Lives, Changing the World.”
6th Grade: Discover St. Louis
The 6th Grade St. Louis Unit provides students the chance to virtually explore different aspect of the St. Louis community. From favorite local foods to famous celebrities on our Walk of Fame, the activities help students understand and appreciate The Gateway City.
7th Grade: The World In and Around Your Home
From the bedroom to the backyard, your home is filled with opportunities to learn and apply math, science, languages, and everything else studied in school. The 7th Grade Your World Unit explores the world in and around your home through the lens of academic classes.
8th Grade: Music All Around
There are numerous ways to look at music; historically, as a scientist, as a mathematician, as an artist, and simply as a human being. The 8th Grade Music Unit engages students on the topic from these and other perspectives.
The infusion of technology into these units is rich and varied. Collectively, our students will have opportunities to read and respond to blog posts, complete and analyze surveys, collaborate on project wikis, ask and answer questions in a forum, compose and share music, create multimedia presentations, submit work electronically, use Wimba Voice to capture audio responses, and participate in real-time learning activities using DyKnow and Wimba Classroom.
Hopefully our community will be spared from a flu outbreak, but if we should need to close, we are prepared. And if our luck should hold we are excited about using these units at the end of year. Either way, these established and emerging tools are helping us make sure that learning never stops.
October 21st, 2009 at 1:00 pm
[...] http://pwoessner.com/2009/10/21/preparing-for-h1n1-distance-learning/From favorite local foods to famous celebrities on our Walk of Fame, the activities help students understand and appreciate The Gateway City. math. 7th Grade: The World In and Around Your Home. From the bedroom to the backyard, … [...]
October 21st, 2009 at 1:30 pm
[...] http://pwoessner.com/2009/10/21/preparing-for-h1n1-distance-learning/From favorite local foods to famous celebrities on our Walk of Fame, the activities help students understand and appreciate The Gateway City. math. 7th Grade: The World In and Around Your Home. From the bedroom to the backyard, … [...]
October 21st, 2009 at 11:10 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Patrick Woessner, Kelly Dumont. Kelly Dumont said: RT @pcwoessner: Our H1N1 plans in case we have to close school: http://tinyurl.com/yk7t4ah Using Moodle and Wimba t (cont) http://tl.gd/no06 [...]
October 24th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Patrick, I have been following your blog for about a year. Wow! I’ve lurked long enough and just wanted to thank you for your exceptional posts. I am a Media Specialist (aka teacher/librarian)and just completed my Ed Tech Masters. It is the bounty of professionals like you, who share so much with folks like me, that keep us gulping from the fire hydrant (Internet) without drowning… Humble appreciation and thanks; now back to my lurking…
November 25th, 2009 at 10:25 am
the H1N1 or Swine Flu virus did put our country in disarray for quite sometime, it is good to know that at least it did not cause so many deaths.
December 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 am
One of my sisters got infected with H1N1 or more commonly known as Swine Flu. Fortunately, she did not have very high fever and she was able to recover fast .
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January 1st, 2010 at 10:54 pm
My brother got infected with H1N1 or Swine Flu in Mexico. He got a mild fever and luckily he did not die.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
If you look at the pandemic of 1977, when H1N1 or Swine Flu re-emerged after a 20 year absence, there is no shift in age-related mortality pattern. The 1977 “pandemic” is, of course, not considered a true pandemic by experts today, for reasons that are not entierely consistent. It certainly was an antigenic shift and not an antigenic drift. As far as I have been able to follow the current events, the most significant factor seems to have been that most people, who were severely affected, were people with other medical conditions.
January 18th, 2010 at 11:48 am
during the height of the H1N1 or Swine Flu epidemic, i was very afraid to get infected with this disease and i wore face mask whenever i got into heavily populated areas.
May 3rd, 2010 at 7:54 am
At least a hundred persons in our city have been infected with the H1N1 virus. I was very scared to get infected with this disease during the pandemic::;