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Online instruction should provide students with the flexibility to learn at their own pace, with the desire to learn what is interesting to them, and to collaborate and build community with online learners and educators.  Below are some of the roles I expect to play as an online educator.

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Teachers guide students in their learning online.  They provide supports, guidance, answer questions, and facilitate discussions.
Evidence:

The online educator “provides the structure and guidance that allows learners to create and participate in a network of learning” (Rice, 2012).

The iNACOL standards require teachers to encourage “collaboration in the online environment” (Standard C).

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The educator should utilize new and popular online resources in order to promote active student engagement.
Evidence:
o   The teacher should be able to “effectively use […] developmentally appropriate technologies, tools, and resources” (iNACOL Standards, Standard B).
o   According to the iNACOL standards, the online educator “arranges media and content to help students […] transfer knowledge most effectively” (iNACOL, Standard K).

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The educator should promote collaboration by establishing a rapport with students, and establishing a community within the online classroom.
Evidence:

“It is important for teachers to establish a nurturing environment, where students feel connected and empowered to participate and take risks” (Rice, 2012).

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The classroom and curriculum should be built to fit the interests of the individual student.
Evidence:

“Learner-centeredness is about enabling the construction of knowledge based on goals that are important to the learner” (Rice, 2012)

“We need to include our students in everything we do in the classroom, involving them in discussions about curriculum development, teaching methods, school organization, discipline, and assignments” (Prensky, 2005).

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Online education should meet the needs of the student. The educator should be proficient in the use of technology, establish a clear learning management system (LMS), and provide valid assessments to measure student learning. The online classroom should provide the student flexibility. In this way, differentiation occurs by allowing students to work at their own pace, addressing individual student needs when they are struggling, and providing students a means of communication that is most comfortable to them.

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Online educators should adapt their curriculum to meet the needs of the individual learner.

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It is important to take students' input on their own curriculum.

“We need to include our students in everything we do in the classroom, involving them in discussions about curriculum development, teaching methods, school organization, discipline, and assignments” (Prensky, 2005).

Pre-assessments, post-assessments, and surveys should be utilized to better understand student needs.

Learner-centered psychological principles (LCPs).  “Practices should include pre-assessments and ongoing assessments of students’ interests, goals, background knowledge, and needs to better tailor practices to each individual” (Rice, 2012).

Surveys will give teachers “valuable input from their students that they could apply to improving instruction” (Prensky, 2005).

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Online educators need to adapt their curriculum and instruction to meet the needs of all learners.

Online educators must “adapt the way we present things” through technology (Sharping, 2017).

It is essential for the teacher to be “cognizant of the diversity of the student academic needs” and make accommodations for that student (iNACOL, Standard F).

Provide “alternatives for visual information” and other impairments by changing the formatting of your Learning Management System, the documents you utilize, and the formatting in which you teach curriculum (UDL, Checkpoint 1.3)?  For example, adding alternative text for images, being cognizant of how you format tables, and utilizing proper headings for documents so that a screen reader properly reads the document ("Demonstration: Screen Reader Accessibility in Word").

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Initially, I was very skeptical of online education. I thought it only catered to students who could not make it in a brick and mortar school. After reading Chapter 4 in "Making the Move to K-12 Online Teaching" by Kerry Rice, my view changed dramatically.

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I loved how online instruction provided students with autonomy. I believe this teaches students responsibility, accountability, and gives them intrinsic motivation.
Evidence:

Online educators and schools should help “students take advantage of […] new tools and systems to educate themselves” (Prensky, 2005).

The self-evaluation tool, which allows us to “assess learner autonomy, self-regulatory behaviors, and preparedness to take ownership of learning” (Rice, 2015)

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This was one of my personal favorites.  Allow the task originally seemed daunting, teaching a synchronous lesson online was one of my favorite assignments of this class.  I was able to try zoom.us, which allowed me to teach a lesson on limericks to students in different remote locations.  Although it took some preparation, I found that the online synchronous tool was easy to use!
Here's the link to the lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kUIa3tqsTc&t=19s.

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I cannot stop thinking about how I am going to use this resource next year. My grade level is moving to 1 to 1 laptops next year, which means my fifth graders will always have technology at their fingertips. I keep thinking about all of the social studies videos I will create using EdPuzzle, and incorporate quiz questions to check for understanding.
Check out my first EdPuzzle on animal cells: https://edpuzzle.com/assignments/5b1880be30c97640b9c27381/watch

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The idea of a flipped classroom and blended learning was very intriguing to me. As I read about the different models, the following stood out to me:

In the article, Flip your Classroom, the authors encourage the use of technology, because students “understand digital learning” and so “to them, all we are doing is speaking their language” (Bermann & Sams, 2012).  This piqued my interest because I agree with the statement, and it allowed me to think about how this could apply to my own classroom next school year.

Some of the pros to blended learning are: allowing for flexibility, providing more differentiation, and improving student-teacher interaction (Bergmann & Sams, 2012)

The Station-Rotation model was the blended learning model that resonated the most with me (Staker & Horn, 2012). This model was one I could realistically see myself utilizing in my classroom.

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Discussion threads in online classrooms allow for “more reflective and thoughtful responses” (Rice, 2015).  This form of asynchronous participation allows “students who are more introverted to participate on equal footing” (Rice, 2015).

Online discussions give more confidence to students who may be more introverted rather than synchronous forms of communication that cater more towards the bold, extroverted students.

"Collaboration using technology increases achievement, promotes positive attitudes, enhances cognitive and social development..." (Rice, 2015).

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The following examples are ways I would integrate both synchronous and asynchronous tools into my online classroom.

Using Padlet, Gliffy, or other online tools for brainstorming synchronously

Establishing discussion threads to foster community (a specific thread designated for students to get to know each other), and discussion threads to analyze and discuss content and curriculum.

Establish forms of communication from student to student, from teacher to student, and from student to teacher.  Examples being email, chat, and web conferencing.

Promoting collaboration by establishing small groups for projects and assignments.