Teacher Education Goes Into Virtual Schooling (TEGIVS)

Gail Wortmann FAQ

 

Gail Wortmann, Iowa’s 2001 Teacher of the Year, is an outstanding leader in K-12 distance education or Virtual Schooling (VS) in Iowa. She currently teaches high school VS Anatomy and Physiology through Iowa Learning Online where she has helped to develop several VS science courses and mentor new VS instructors. Her VS Anatomy and Physiology course has also received the WebCT Exemplary Course Project 2005 award . In her 32 years of teaching, she has made many appearances across the U.S. promoting technology integration and active learning tied to educational standards for both teachers and students.

In Fall 2006, she was a guest speaker for the CI407-507 Principles and Practices of Flexible and Distance Learning course at Iowa State University. She also addressed some of the concerns of the students. Below are some of her thoughts related to VS. Please click on the small icon under each question to view her answer. (To play the shockwave movies, click here to download the free Adobe Shockwave Player for Macs and here for PCs. )

1. How did you get involved in virtual schooling and Iowa Learning Online?
   
2. How will VS work for areas like foreign languages where there needs to be emphasis on pronunciation or speaking skills?
   
3. How does a VS teacher manage students working at different pace?
   
4. How are the quarterly labs different from the way you taught in high school before VS?
   
5. How do you contact with the students struggling online?
   
6. How can VS meet the needs of special groups such as at risk students, talented, and gifted students?
   
7. When technology does not work the way it is supposed to, how do you handle it?
   
8. Why students take VS?
   
9. Is there an age where VS is not appropriate?
   
10. How VS can be useful for kindergarten teachers and students?
    
11. What are the differences between your online and face-to-face students?
    
12. Is there a content area where VS is not appropriate?
    
13. How do you help the students and other teachers to cope with the overwhelming?
    
14. How do you get to know your students better than in a face-to-face class?
    
15. Is there a disadvantage of uploaded content for students who learn better through listening?
    
16. How do you work with academic honesty?
    
17. How do you get to know your students in online environment?
    
18. How do you keep the students motivated or actively engaged?
    
19. What do you think about national standards and online learning?
    
20. Is it worse in a VS course when students are from different locations?
    
21. How do you assess practical work, beyond your quarterly labs?
    
22. How do you assess students’ learning in online discussions?
    
23. What are the organizational pieces you take attention before starting an online course?
    
24. What is a good strategy for managing threaded discussions?