Instructional Design - Week 8

It’s the final week and all is well. I feel much more confident in my abilities in Instructional Design, and ready to start putting these skills to work. I have a check list at hand to begin making small but immediate changes to my existing online courses for professional development. Now that this course is over, I can start to make some of these small changes to benefit the learners I currently serve, and continue to work on the Historical Fiction Course in my spare time.

The very first thing I am going to do actually came from the reading this week. I am going to create a spreadsheet of links for each of my courses, and use a Script in Google Sheets to auto check the URLs. This is going to revolutionize how I check my courses for dead links and save me tons of time! This course was another whirlwind of skills and knowledge, and as always, it has been fun to connect and share ideas with a world of professionals in the field!

Instructional Design - Week 7

I enjoyed exploring Universal Design for Learning this week. The idea that there are steps we can take to make our courses more accessible for those with special needs is nothing new to me, but that those enhancements may benefit all learners in the course was something that didn’t really occur to me. From the day I started web design, it was ingrained in me to provide alt tags for images and tables to address W3C compliance, so that was old hat, and I knew that I needed to provide a transcript of any video or audio recordings for compliance. It should have occurred to me much sooner that even those little things would be beneficial to all learners, considering I am not one who learns well from audio or video, and I would much prefer to read. I really like the concept of UDL, and will strive to ensure that I meet more of the checkpoints as I continue to adapt and develop courses.

I am most excited by the Glossary of Instructional Strategies at http://www.beesburg.com/edtools/glossary.html. I can’t wait to have more time to read through the strategies and incorporate more of them in to my courses.

The rubrics for quality online instruction were particularly interesting to examine this week. With this being my final course in the eLearning Certification (before the internship) it was not surprising that my course was in pretty good shape when put to the rubrics. Clearly this program is well aligned with best practices in Online Teaching and Learning, and that made me really thankful. I have bookmarked and downloaded all 4 rubrics provided, and will be sure to consult them as I continue my work in online teaching and learning.

Instructional Design - Week 6

I am finding that I had already naturally broken my materials into chunks, with “lecture materials” and then an activity of some sort after each natural “break” in content. I am also finding that many of the introductions for chunks were there, and good (in my opinion) but that the transition from one chunk to another was not always there.

We also looked are ready-made content this week (Reusable Learning Objects, Open Education Repositories and the like). I love the idea of ready made content, but I never have much luck finding things I would use in my courses. I’m not sure if that’s because I am too picky, or if the types of things I want are just not available. Much of what is available focuses more on Math and Science, with the Humanities somewhat neglected. This has changed considerably in the last few years, but what is available is still weak. Could it be because the humanities do not lend themselves as easily to reusable objects? Some of the articles I found this week talk about what makes something really reusable, and they focus on the fact that it should be context neutral. I feel like English in particular is not always easy to remove the context from.

On another note, I played with and created an InfoGraphic, which now appears on my Syllabus page. It was interesting to lay out in images what was already spelled out in the Graphic Syllabus.

Instructional Design - Week 5

Having never had any real training in how to write a syllabus, I was pretty excited to see that I had hit on many of Sinor and Kaplan’s suggestions in my original written syllabus. And while I think that the written syllabus is still absolutely necessary to set the tone and expectations, I also had a lot of fun experimenting with a graphic syllabus.

I tried to take the ideas of everyone we read because they all offered something that peaked my interest. What I came away with was a great map of my course, that drilled down to the main objectives for each module, and could probably be further broken down with enabling objectives. I really did enjoy the process of going back and forth between building the Learning Guides and then creating the corresponding part of the graphic syllabus.Part of me really wants to make an InfoGraphic about the different types of activities students will engage in. I suppose I will have to see what kind of time I have on my hands in the coming weeks!

Instructional Design - Week 4

I was having some difficulty this week with creating Connect activities. To me, it seems that there are some things that just don’t have a connect activity. Perhaps I just need to think more outside the box. I am also having some difficulty with Do vs Connect. I feel that some Connect activities are also Do activities, and vice versa (later confirmed by Dr. Manning, which made me feel a whole lot better!). Every time I think I have it down, I confuse myself again. I understand that Do means practice, but for many of the topics I cover, I am teaching the skill, so even the connect type activities involve practicing the skills learned. It's good to know there is a cross over between these types of activities.

I was also struggling with the ideas presented by Oblinger. Based on the article, I fall into the Gen-Xers, yet I don’t feel that I share the same “qualities” as they do. I then took the “how Millennial are you” quiz, and see that I fall pretty clearly in the Millennial category. (http://www.pewresearch.org/quiz/how-millennial-are-you/results/) I think it’s interesting to try to categorize people by generation, particularly when it comes to using technology. I know many much older adults who would probably score pretty high as millennials. This was brought up in the discussion forum as well, and how trying to put people in a box may be detrimental to everyone involved.

Oblinger, D. (n.d.). Boomers, Gen-Xers, and Millennials: Understanding the "New Students" Educause. Retrieved June 22, 2014, from https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0342.pdf

Instructional Design - Week 3

I find myself frustrated this week that I do not have enough time to completely revamp my course right now! The ideas presented about types of assessment really make me want to dig deeper into how I evaluate the work of my students.

I found myself defending rubrics in the discussion, but also, defending tests and quizzes in my own mind. The readings really made me question the party line “tests are bad, only authentic assessment” that I had come to accept. Sometimes, there really is a place for assessment using tests and quizzes, and I am glad to have been exposed to Grant Wiggins' ideas about using tests in online learning. As a worked on form 6.3 and laid out possible assessments for the learning objectives, I found myself consciously looking at how often I had been assessing privately, and how often I had been doing so publicly (dropbox vs discussions for example). It was interesting to see my thinking when I first developed the course, in that I tried to balance the two without even knowing truly proper online course design.

Instructional Design - Week 2

It was really interesting for me to skim through my course and look at what I had students doing, and then really determine what the objectives and goals should be for each module. I found a lot of extraneous activities that I had put in different modules, and I will have to closely examine them to see if they truly help learners achieve the ultimate objectives, or if I used them as filler.

I also found it interesting that in the two articles I found about designing accelerated courses, they stress the importance of engagement, hands on and practical application, exactly the same things should apply to any course design! I took the stand in the discussion that abbreviated courses should be abbreviated in length only, not concepts and content. I don’t know if my opinion was particularly popular, but to me, no matter how long the course, I think the same concepts and content should be delivered. I don’t take an 8 week course because it’s “easier” I take it because it fits better in to my life. If I thought I would get less out of it, I probably would opt for the 16 week course.

Instructional Design - Week 1

As with every course, I learn more and more that I need to do to create the best learning experience for my students. This weeks readings focused on making learning student centered, and on approaching instructional design in an organized fashion. I know that my courses all need a redesign, but in this program I have been focusing on my historical fiction course, so that will continue to be my focus. Form 3 helped me to narrow in on what I think needs work in my course, so that if nothing else, I can focus on those areas. I absolutely need to look at each learning experience and make sure that I am providing the content, showing them how to use it, allowing them to practice, and then having them apply it in a “real-world” scenario.

Another take away this week was to develop learning guides as a way to organize myself and my students. I have previously offered a checklist to students of what they need to do in each module, but a focused learning guide will be so much more beneficial for all of us! I’m really excited to give these a try.

Assessment for eLearning - Week 7

My final project was up early in the week, so I have had the pleasure of receiving feedback from a number of peers. Everyone has made great suggestions, from my images to my objectives. I'm working to take those suggestions and work with my gut instinct to make improvements to the final project.

Completing this project helped me to see that carefully designing your learning objectives before creating the assignments and assessments will really help to drive learning. I've heard it all before, but that was the first time I have really tried to drive the activities and assessments by the objectives.

One of my focuses with this module was to create a more student centered, constructivist module. Prior to the redesign, students read a "lecture" I wrote about information source types, then answered very low level quiz questions on information source types, then went out and found examples. The new approach gives students a number of resources, and asks them to research one information source type, then create a presentation for their peers. By the end of the module, students will have viewed all presentations, created a concept map, complete a quiz (which now focuses on higher order thinking skills) and engaged in a discussion where they determine and defend the appropriate information source type to consult.

This was quite an undertaking, but by far the most difficult part for me was creating the concept map over, and over, and over, and over. I guess I am not that good at transferring what's in my head onto a concept map for others to understand!

"Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another."

-John Dewey

There couldn't be a quote more fitting as I moved on to reviewing the products of my peers. I've enjoyed seeing what my peers have produced, if for no other reason than to give me more ideas of activities I can do with my students. Buffy and Maureen have designed projects that are very much like what I have my students do at the conclusion of the course, with the exception that my students must somehow connect their project to history, and they are allowed to present their information as a research paper or a historical fiction piece (short story or short movie). Kelly Anne's project looks at a piece of historical fiction through the lens of capturing the author's voice. This will also help me as I work with students through the creation of their final pieces. I will definitely be reliant on it to redesign some of the reading activities my students do.

My Final Project

Can be found here

Assessment for eLearning - Week 6

Cyber-Coaching Readings

Some of the ideas I took away from Petersen:

"The Cybercoaching model assumes that instructors and students have compatible online technology and word processing tools. " (Petersen, 2005) Prior to becoming a Google Apps school, I had to ask students to submit all work as an RTF document, that was I would be able to open it no matter what device I was using. Now, I don't need to worry about this, because students are asked to use their Google Apps account, which takes away from the "I don't have access to that tool" problem. Assuring that everyone has equitable access is really important in any classroom, but particularly important in a potentially global classroom. I keep thinking of Stephen, in China, who cannot access the Google products, and it is truly a shame!

"In the process of instruction, the instructor gets to know the learner’s weaknesses based on pre-stated objectives. The knowledge is formulated through consistent reflection centered on the objectives from the learner’s perspective." (Petersen, 2005) Again, reflection is vastly important to learning. Without it, we do not internalize what we knew, know and can know on any given subject.

Petersen, Naomi Jeffery. (2004). Cybercoaching: Rubrics, feedback, & metacognition, oh my! Paper presented at E.C. Moore Symposium on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Indiana University. February 25, 2005.

Discussions This Week

It is interesting to see the variety of levels amongst my peers when it comes to the idea of cyber-coaching. Perhaps it is because those in this course do not have an awful lot of experience in online learning that not many seem to use this method. I firmly believe, based on my interactions with peers, that many of my classmates would have made the transition to the cyber-coach, even without prompting.

Based on my post in the discussion forum, it is apparently clear that I have a passion for online learning, which is a nice take-away, because I really do. I never thought anyone would aspire to be anything like me, or want me to teach in their school, but this week and last has been a pretty good ego boost. It is always nice when your peer notice something in you and compliment you. I suppose that is one of the many reasons for utilizing peer feedback!

Final Project Update

I am in fairly good shape for content for the final project, I am in the process of combining some of the documents I have made to have less repetition on the pages. My biggest struggles are that I don't yet know how I want to present my final project, and that I feel like I need to actually build the module in my course. To me, a plan is not enough. I want to build every activity and assessment, video tutorials, and tip sheets, which causes me some undue strain. I know that this is my own demon, but I am struggling with it.

My Pre-Course Survey

Assessment for eLearning - Week 5

Rubrics

Sometimes I feel like I have ESP. Somehow I managed to talk about rubrics and how detailed they should be last week, and low and behold, here we are talking about them this week!

Mueller recommends providing descriptions for each point level awarded, which is one of the things I was struggling with last week. As Mueller points out, "it is very useful for the students and the teacher if the criteria are identified and communicated prior to completion of the task." (Mueller, 2002) I lean more to the side of providing as much detail as possible in the rubric after this weeks readings. This will help the student as they are working, as well as serve as a good reflective tool for them to evaluate their work prior to submission. Providing more detail will also help the instructor with assessment as it allows the rubric to be more objective and consistent, which, as Mueller points out, leads to "greater reliability and validity in the results."

On another note, I had never seen a holistic rubric before! At the high school level, I think an analytic rubric helps to pinpoint where the student needs work specifically.

Andrade gave me a two great ideas! the first is simple, use "I" statements in the rubric, which will help students connect the rubric with self assessment. The second is a little more complicated to explain. I have always used rubrics, and I have always asked my high school students to self assess using rubrics, but so often, I feel like they just picked a number and moved on. My original tactic was to award bonus points to students who self assessed within two points of my assessment, but my new technique will follow Andrade's tactic. Students will have to highlight or change the font color of their assignments to match assigned colors in the rubrics. In this way, students will be really self assessing and checking that they meet the requirements! Brilliant! It may be a little harder to do this with multimedia projects, but I am committed to adapting! I also took this idea two days ago and modified it. When students (very low level special ed students) were doing research, I gave them all 5 highlighters, one for each question they had to answer. I then had them read the first article they found and highlight the answer to the questions in the color that matched the question. It was like a total breakthrough for both myself and the students! (Andrade, 2000)

Andrade, H. G. (2000). Using Rubrics to Promote Thinking and Learning. Educational Leadership, 57(5), 13-18. Retrieved March 30, 2014, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb00/vol57/num05/Using-Rubrics-to-Promote-Thinking-and-Learning.aspx

Mueller, J. (2002, October 1). Rubrics (Authentic Assessment Toolbox). Retrieved March 30, 2014, from http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/rubrics.htm

Bloom's

I am so overwhelmed with verbs right now, my brain is about to explode. It's nice to see all of the different representations of verbs, but just a bit overwhelming! It is really hard to pinpoint where an activity falls on the taxonomy unless you use the proper verbs. Articulating what you really want students to do with learning objectives is very helpful, adding the appropriate verbs helps to drive the activities and assessments to the higher level.

I like the idea Bilyk has, of using the "presentation of information, followed by a case study in which students apply the information learned." It's definitely something I want to incorporate in my classes. Although it takes more work on the part of the instructor, the activity truly helps drive home the ideas and concepts students are learning.

Bilyk, R. (2012, June 8). Climbing Bloom's Taxonomy in Online Learning. Retrieved March 31, 2014, from http://lodestarlearning.com/samples/Bloom_Taxonomy/

Plagiarism

I don't even know what to say here. This topic is my favorite soapbox. I am on the Academic Integrity Committee in my building, and the un titled expert in my building. I created a video last year for all students in my building to view (though I seriously want to update it using PowToon now!). What more can you say than, if it wasn't yours, say who it came from? I have a very large issue with people who do not see using other's things without indicating their origin as a problem, particularly in the education profession when we are supposed to be modeling to our students. There are so many resources on plagiarism and copyright, I am amazed that schools do not do a yearly copyright workshop to protect themselves from lawsuits.

Peer Feedback

I love the process of peer feedback. It's nice to look at the work of others and get ideas and see how others approach an assignment. It also nice if people do not hold back and really offer helpful advice!

My Taxonomy Table

Can be found here

Assessment for eLearning - Week 4

To be specific or general? That is the question....

I am pondering the idea of giving specific requirements/instructions for assessments, as opposed to giving vague specifications with room for student creativity and direction. I was taught early on to create rubrics for assessments. The rubrics I was taught to create were always very specific, with criteria for each point value within a category. I've seen other teachers use less specific rubrics, but as a learner, I find them really hard to follow. How can I determine if I have earned 20 points, or 10. If the specifics and a rubric are provided, it is much easier to ensure that the work conforms to the expectations of the instructor, but does that stifle creativity? What if your student works really really hard, believing they are meeting the criteria, only to be awarded with a grade far below what they think they deserved? Will this cause a learner to shut down and give up? Or will they respond to feedback and make an effort to change their work to better meet the instructor expectations? Is it not better to provide more specific criteria before the student gets to a point of frustration, and chance that the learner becomes turned off to a course? It's a tough call...

High Stakes Testing

This week, I am reminded how frustrated I am by the high stakes testing that occurs at K-12 level. It is the excuse that so many teachers use to explain why they do not use better means of assessment and teaching. I hear so often "I can't do that, I have to make sure I cover everything that will be on the test." I also hear complaints about the Common Core, and how teachers can't do things, like use blogs, because the standards don't call for reflection (although they do!). I am frustrated because so many teachers use testing and "standards" as their "get out of jail free" card, when in reality, if they were using project based learning and "alternative" assessment methods, they would probably do a better job preparing students for the tests.

In the video Comprehensive Assessment, the principal from Indiana says that our reliance on standardized tests will crash as it has in the past, but this video was created in in 2010 (to the best of my sleuthing skills, although the computers being used indicate that it was filmed more like the early 2000s) and we are seeing more standardized tests than ever! Another expert interviewed asks: "The question is do we get at what we are saying we want by using the test to drive this." A third individuals says: "There is no evidence to show that you raise test scores by teaching worse." So, what the heck are we doing? I know some teachers who look at the standards, acknowledge them, but refuse to teach to the test. They are using project based, collaborative learning in their classrooms. If I were in a traditional classroom, I would do the same thing. Teaching to standards is NOT the same thing as teaching to the test. There is no need to sacrifice QUALITY assessment to "ensure" that students can pass the test at the end of the year. If the students are learning the materials and skills, then they will surely do well on the required tests.

Furger also explores the concept of project-based alternative assessments. It was only due to perfect timing that I had an interesting conversation with a co-worker the other day. Last week, he and a fellow math teacher came to me and said they wanted students to do a research project on conics in the real world. They wanted students to research different items in the real world that contained conic principals. Students are researching topics like the orbit of comets, planetary orbits, contact lenses, suspension bridges and others. They have to research a specific item from their topic, create a pamphlet, a presentation and a 3D model of their topic. While not as cool as designing a school for 2050, it's a pretty awesome example of applying mathematical concepts to the real world. And why do the teacher's feel than can do these real-life activities? Because their course does not have a standardized test at the end of the year.... how frustrating! The project, however, is going really well!

Group Projects

Some thoughts on group projects....do I see the potential value? Absolutely, but I have learned that creating the right groups is far more productive than random assignment. I did a lot of reading on creating collaborative activities in Creating Collaborative Communities, and the very best thing I took away was to do a quick personality quiz before creating groups. It is not fun to group a Type A with a Type B, either for the Type A, or the Type B! We Type A's tend to come off looking really bossy! Type B's suffer from our stress.

Web 2.0 Tools

This one is short and sweet, I love finding new tools for my tool Box. The past two weeks have had me explore Lucid Chart (for concept mapping), LiveBinders (for collaborative presentation of information), and PowToon as an Audio/Video tool. I was also exposed to Mural.ly by one of my group mates, and though she didn't seem thrilled by it, I am going to take a look anyway! I can't wait to explore the tools presented by the rest of the class!

Our ToolBox

Assessment Tool Box – Team Gonzo

References

Edutopia. (2010, August 03). Comprehensive Assessment: An Overview. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9OBhKzh1BM

Furger, R. (2002, January 21). Take a Deeper Look at Assessment for Understanding. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from http://www.edutopia.org/performance-assessment-math

Assessment for eLearning - Week 3

JigSaw Activities

I like the theory behind jigsaw activities, and am trying to find ways to incorporate it into my lessons online in a way that doesn't seem forced or artificial. I am considering altering my unit on types of information sources, where students will describe to each other each of the types of sources and their benefits and drawback, rather than just reading descriptions from me. The hardest part of moving toward JigSaw is finding articles and resources for students to use, outside of the written lecture I had already created, particularly because my course focuses on learning how to do research appropriately, I don't want to send them out on a wild goose chase without guidance.

Concept Mapping

I have used concept mapping with students in the past as a way to brainstorm ideas for topics for research, and as a way to organize information they find. I really liked the idea of the "fill in the blank" concept map for class notes. Again, I am thinking about my Information Sources unit. I want to have students create a concept map of the benefits, drawbacks and location of the information sources, that they can later use as a resource when they are doing research. I am contemplating having them add a piece that forces them to analyze the information presented about information sources, and synthesize it by asking them what types of research questions would benefit most from the source types.

Learning Objectives

"The choice of a verb is all-important here. Such frequently used terms as know, understand, grasp, and appreciate do not meet this requirement." (NERC) Well, guess I have been doing that wrong all along! Of course learning objectives need to be observable and measurable! How I missed this is beyond me. Perhaps it is because I never had a course that looked so closely at learning objectives, perhaps its because I never paid attention to learning objectives, or perhaps its because I wasn't ready to grasp them yet. It makes it SO much easier to design activities and assessments when the objectives are clear.

NERC. (2007, January 17). Guide to writing learning objectives. Retrieved March 17, 2014, from http://www.nerc.com/files/Instructional_guide_writing_Objectives.pdf

Bonk

Dr. Curtis Bonk should be evaluated for his ability to see in to the future! Wow, some of his predictions really struck me! What follows are my reactions to some of the predictions Bonk made in 2003:

“Electronic Books. An e-book is text that has been digitised and perhaps re-purposed for various uses. It is often made available online or on CD...Electronic book vendors include Metatext from Xanadu, Books24x7, Questia, and ebrary.” (6) - CD! This makes me think back to the information literacy standards that asked that student know how to find and operate a database on CDRom! There are now so many eBook vendors, libraries and publishers are having a hard time figuring out licensing agreements and where to turn next. 

“In addition to simulations, online games will soon help learners review content in a fun way, including games embedded in cell phones and wristwatches that can be downloaded from university Web sites.” (10) Who wears a wrist watch anymore, but boy did hit hit it with the games embedded on cell phones. 

“Flash animations are becoming an increasingly powerful and cost effective way to illustrate current events.” (7) - And then, the iPad and iPhone killed Flash... 

“There are an assortment of tools and technologies emerging for learner collaboration (Bonk, 2002). In addition to music sharing, peer-to-peer tools might help learners share content, resources, and ideas. Of course, many will conclude that such technologies pose a significant dilemma for students since they can lead to increased course cheating and plagiarism.” (9) - This is the argument that the district I live in is using to not go Google. The board president believes that the better alternative would be to purchase each student a flash drive to bring work back and forth from home (you know, along with viruses, and losing it, and just trading them back and forth to copy assignments....), this will surely help to cut down on plagiarism. How about assignments that do not lend themselves to plagiarism?

“While sales of Tablet PCs account for just 1 percent of the portable computing market today, by 2007, they might account for more than 20 percent (Wired News, 2003).” (10) Okay, so he was a little off, but after the iPad was introduced in 2010, they certainly took off. Now, in 2014, the prediction is that Tablet PCs will take up 50% of the market (which also includes Desktop PCs and Laptops). Can you remember a world without Tablet PCs?

“Videos of well known scholars from workshops, conferences, or special institutes might be made available for others to watch.” (10) - Hello YouTube, MOOCs and iTunes U!
“In addition to computer workstations, such software will certainly enhance mobile technologies such as mobile telephones, handheld computers, and personal digital assistants.” (10) - Welcome Siri, voice activated assistance with sass.

References

Bonk, C. (2004, June). The Perfect E-Storm emerging technology, enormous learner demand, enhanced pedagogy, and erased budgets.

Tablets to make up 50% of PC market in 2014. (2013, November). Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://www.canalys.com/newsroom/tablets-make-50-pc-market-2014

And...after all that blabbering....my concept map of my information sources unit:

Best viewed when you can zoom in on the original

Assessment for eLearning - Week 2

I felt a great deal of frustration this week. The instructions led me to believe that the artifacts for this course and the reflective posts should be in the same place. I struggled with adding static pages in Blogger, as it just seemed the wrong thing to do with a blog and I wanted to find a creative way to satisfy the requirements as I understood them. Whether I was reading too much into the instructions, or whether they are a little unclear, the lesson this has given me as a student is to ASK before wasting time, and as an instructor, be sure that the instructions are very clear and easy to follow. When most students encounter situations in which they do not know how to proceed, they shut down. As an instructor, it is very important that I avoid situations in which I close students out of the learning process, and it is something I have to be very cognizant of.


The readings about blogs helped me to solidify my thoughts about blogs, and also gave me other ways to use them beyond reflection and a place to publicly post work. Having student look at each other's work, as Renee pointed out, is a great way to encourage growth. I too learn by seeing the work and reading the reflections of my classmates. If nothing more, they show me ways I could improve my own work.


The discussion forum is hopping as usual, with so many classmates in this class, it is a bit overwhelming when one feels the need to read every single posting! I know it isn't a requirement, but I can't stop myself! Reading the ideas and understanding of my classmates helps me to generate new thoughts and ideas of my own.

Creating Collaborative Communities - Week 8

I hereby resolve to

• Try to connect with classmates outside of the course to bounce ideas off one another
• Go over my already built courses with a fine toothed comb to see where items can be improved by collaboration, community and critical thinking
• Build my new courses with collaboration, community and critical thinking in mind
• Maintain and update my “Online Teaching Playbook” as I find resources
• Refer back to my “Online Teaching Playbook” as I redesign and build new courses

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my natural instincts for online discussion facilitation were pretty good. The tools, resources and activities throughout the course allowed me to refine my skills, and gain insight and knowledge from my peers. One of the things I liked the most about this course were the role playing discussions. It was so valuable to see how different people would respond to different situations, and many of these were situations that you might not guess would happen. Even in my time as an online instructor, I have not seen some of these things, but I guess I was just lucky!

I found the community built in this course to be astounding, I don’t know that I have ever felt more connected to my classmates, or my instructors. It felt so natural, as if I had known everyone for much longer than 8 weeks. Ultimately, I am very happy that I took the courses out of order, and was able to establish relationships with students who I will now learn with in Assessment for eLearning.

Using a resolutions list in my reflections has helped me to not only reflect on the week, but set specific, achievable goals for the courses I design and teach based on what I have learned in this course. I can refer back to them often, and see where I need to improve my teaching based on what I promised myself I would do.

Although not a requirement of this course, I created my Online Teaching Playbook, which I think will serve as a very valuable tool as I move forward in online teaching and learning. Gathering resources and articles to remind myself of different considerations was a wonderful experience for me, and something that I have thought about doing for a long time. I am thankful that Dr. Kay encouraged me to explore this because it gave me the drive to do it.

One final thought, as I read through the finals chapters of Making the Move to eLearning, I need to add audio and video files to my portfolio! I’m thinking, either on the Welcome Page, or on the About Me page, where I can tell prospective employers about my accomplishments, rather than have it presented as just text, while showing that I am comfortable and confident using technology.

Assessment for eLearning - Week 1

One thing that struck me this week was that you need to make sure your topics and discussions do not leave anyone feeling left out. The Ice Breaker activity was to choose a movie that held a special place for you, describe the movie, then describe your connection with it. As someone who is not a movie watcher, this prompt left me frustrated and worried that I was going to start out the course very poorly. Although I did ask, and was granted permission to change the prompt to a book, I still felt very left out of the conversations of others. I am normally the student who comments on at least 50% of my classmates opening posts because I feel some sort of connection, and love making those connection. Although I had heard of some of the movies, the number I had watched was really low. What this left me with was the understanding that not everyone fits into a little box, and that as an instructor, I need to be careful to make sure that I don't leave anyone behind. Being flexible, as my instructor was, will help me make sure that I include everyone in my activities.


I was intrigued to read about the 6 purposes of assessment this week, and to share our ideas about the opening activities on the discussion boards. Debora and Buffy helped me see the connection between surveys and metacognition. Prior to this, I wasn't really certain how they helped other than as a way to gather feedback and data. I greatly appreciated the connections they helped me make, and I will be brainstorming ways to use this metacognition type of assessment in my courses.


Wikis used to be something I was very much a supporter of, but I have since moved my love to Google Docs, which allows for the same type of learning/assessment activity, but also allows for simultaneous edits. I think that the ability for students to work together to create a community learning tool is important, and at first was frustrated when my new LMS did not have a wiki feature. Once I made the connection that I could do the same with a Google Doc, I actually found it to be a superior way of creating group documents. So the outcome is the same, but the means to the end is different.

Creating Collaborative Communities - Week 7

I hereby resolve to

• Create troubleshooting documentation for group chats
• Have a very clear set of “If A then B” plans in place before starting a group chat
• Create very specific peer feedback guidelines so that the feedback in meaningful and helpful to the learners

The most challenging thing of this module was to try to wrap my head around how EASyR is different from Bloom. Perhaps it is because I always knew evaluate, analyze and synthesize in that order from my library work, that maybe I never really understood Bloom? I have also tried, whenever possible, to include these activities in Information Literacy Skills Instruction (unless otherwise directed by current teacher evaluation measurements), so finding a lesson that I could update was a bit tough.

I found it interesting trying to get everyone together for the group chat. I always try to accommodate for non-tech learners and create tips sheets, but I never thought to do a mic and video troubleshooting guide. Despite the fact that I had sent out the questions ahead of time, and they had them in the module materials, and I added them to the Q&A session of the Hangout, and I had a list of extenders and redirects, I was thrown off by the technical issues, and it seemed like I was all over the place and unprepared. This frustrated me as someone who is very organized, which probably threw me even more. It was also disjointing because we created a group Google Doc, but were also using the chat window because of auditory issues, so again, it seemed like I was all over the place with facilitation.

I love receiving peer feedback, as it allows me to see how others view my work. In this particular case, how they interpret the questions I am so sure are clear (but often are not). I wish my fellow learners would do more “tearing me apart” because I know I am not perfect. I run in to this a lot with peer feedback, peers are too “nice” with their feedback. I would rather know what needs to be fixed in a peer feedback situation.

Creating Collaborative Communities - Week 6

I hereby resolve to:

• Create a syllabus quiz/scavenger hunt to make sure students read it
• Keep course due dates out of the content to make it easier to update for next semester
• Establish a file name protocol for student submissionsI am not really good at following instructions, so I actually included 3 Ah-Ha moments.

I have always struggled with a way get the students to actually read the syllabus. After reading Lehmann and Chamberlin, as well of the online version of “Time Management Tips for Online Teachers” I realized that as with anything, the only way to get students to do things is to “count” them. The only way to ensure that students read the syllabus is to create some sort of assessment, like a quiz or scavenger hunt.

Another thing I have struggled with is making sure the entire course is up to date with things like due dates. Having to change them in multiple places is a pain. It never occurred to me to keep them just in one place!

A third thing that I have struggled with is telling my students a specific naming protocol. I always just told them “make sure it has your name in the file name.” I realize now that I have to be much more specific. I intend to add naming conventions to my syllabi in the future so I no longer have a drop box full of “Untitled Documents.”

Creating Collaborative Communities - Week 5

I hereby resolve to:

• Develop icebreaker activities to build community based on the course content
• Be in frequent contact with students throughout the first week
• Be sure to check in with students who seem to be losing interest/working below their ability in the weeks after the initial course start
• Make sure I am present enough, but not too overbearing as the weeks progress in the course

The 70/30 rule will impact my online facilitation by making me more aware of how I lay the foundation for successful interactions with my students. I have always used the same Icebreaker in my courses, “As an introductory discussion, take this opportunity to tell us about yourself. Who are you? What grade are you in? What do you like to do? What are your hobbies? What kind of books do you like to read? What types of things would you like to learn more about? Why did you sign up for this course?” I did this more as a way to make sure participants knew how to post to the discussion boards than as a community building activity. It did have the side effect of allowing me to get to know my students, but that wasn’t really the intended purpose. I have also always used a welcome message to my students as a way to allow them to get themselves set up early, so they don’t feel quite as much pressure in the beginning of the course. Outside of the very easy “getting to know the LMS and each other” activities, the only other thing students will be responsible for in the first week is picking up their reading materials from the library. Based on what Lehmann and Chamberlin share, the first week is critical for student retention. One other thing I try to do in the first week is to respond to all email messages as soon as humanly possible. That means logging in more frequently than I normally would, and making sure I address students questions and concerns. One thing that will help me do this is to start building a database of responses to questions that frequently come up (see new addition of “Online Teaching Playbook” page, a work in progress).

I do wish the scenarios in this module were different than those presented in the text, as I felt like I was “copying” the responses that Lehmann and Chamberlin presented.

Creating Collaborative Communities - Week 4

I hereby resolve to:

• Focus on building collaborative opportunities outside of discussion forums
• Use personality assessments to get to know my students
• Use personality assessments to group my students
• Investigate Online Learning at lower grade levels
• Ask Dave W about their information literacy skills program
• Create really clear instructions on how to cite images, and which ones are ok to use

The biggest Aha moment I had was when I decided to start creating myself sort of a manual for online teaching. It was inspired by the amazing conversations I was having with my classmates, and I didn’t want to lose a single thing they had to say or resource that they posted. It’s an overwhelming task to accomplish while immersed in the course itself, so the for now, I have created a PDF of the threaded discussion in the course so I can capture the conversations. When I have spare time, I can go back through the discussion, whether the course is available in D2L or not, and try to collate them into a resource for myself, and perhaps others, to use. I am curious to see if I will be able to completely redesign my two high school courses based on what I learn in this program before I offer them to students again.

Another Aha moment I had was when we were asked to look at personality type and grouping. For so long, I have despised group projects, as a learner and as a teacher. There were always those who did more than others, and made working in groups frustrating. The idea that personality type may come in to play in creating better groups is something I am very interested in experimenting with. I am mentoring our health teacher as she builds her online health course, and she is allowing me to experiment with different aspects of the assignments as I work through this course. I used the Bourne/Bond poll to group students for their first activity, and it seemed to work out really well. I was fascinated to see that all members of the Bond teams waited until the day before to start their projects, and those in the Bourne groups started their work as soon as the groups were assigned! I am curious to see how grouping students for both projects and discussions will alter the way students see group work. I am most curious to see how online learning works at lower grade levels. I really want to see what an online classroom looks like in, say 2nd grade. How does that work? Does it work? Can it work?

Creating Collaborative Communities - Week 3

I hereby resolve to:

• Refrain from using sarcasm in my communication (p122)
• Use humor in my communication when appropriate (p121)
• Use positive reinforcement whenever possible
• Walk away from any communication that is emotional before hitting send
• Work toward understanding students’ backgrounds as they may effect interactions with the materials
• Create either electronically or paper based, a collection of tips, tricks and articles I can refer to in developing and facilitating online courses (ie: questioning techniques, activities design, etc)
• Create a list of stem starters for students to use in building responses
• Create a list of potential messages for students having difficulties
• Create a Discussion Tips Document with guidelines for participation in discussions
• Work on my VART list for students
• Find the time to re-read all of the discussion posts to begin building above mentioned resource!

This module has been quite an experience for me. Reading my classmates different techniques for addressing problems students are having and ways to build more dynamic discussion among students has been very eye opening. I want to take every piece of information shared and use it to create a guide for myself to aid in designing and redesigning my online courses. Every person brings a unique combination of experiences that allow me to see the materials from many different angles.

Creating Collaborative Communities - Week 2

I hereby resolve to:

• Work on my tendency of being a Hijacker (p146)
• Work on my tendency of being an Overposter (144)
• Learn more about myself as a person, learner and instructor
• Introduce students to the idea of “personalities” and the strengths they bring to the table
• Learn more about my students based on personality inventories
• Work toward creating cooperative groups of students based on personality characteristics
• Employ the 5 critical decision points when implementing group work

I learned that there is a name for me: Hijacker! (146) or Overposter (144). Interestingly, I do not do this in the courses I teach, but I absolutely do it in those I take! I am going to work on that consciously!

I loved reexamining the learning theories, and reconnecting with social constructivist theories. Looking at group work and personality inventories was very intriguing to me. In both face-to-face and online classrooms, it can be hard to do group work and have it be successful. The idea of looking at the different strengths of students and trying to pair them that way is something I have never considered. We do want our students to be in heterogenous groups, but without knowing much about the students, it can be hard to create those groups. I also like the idea of having students take the inventories early on to get an idea of what kind of learner they are, and maybe point out some of the strengths that they have.

Creating Collaborative Communities - Week 1

I hereby resolve to:

• Foster a community of reciprocity and cooperation among students.
• Use the list of 26 reasons online education is better than brick and mortar whenever I find myself drawn into a debate with colleagues. 
• Employ the list of best practices as I build new online courses, and as I revamp ones I have already created. 
• Do a better job in creating feedback to assessments like quizzes and tests administered online. 
• Continue to focus on the process of learning as being just as important as the product. 
• Be responsive to student feedback about my course materials.
• Learn to model in a way that does not detract from students’ individual synthesis of information.
• Update older assignments and lessons to reflect more timely innovations.

I don’t know that there was a any new knowledge gained, per say, but I did reexamine some of the things I already do and make mental changes for the future. I will use the list of 26 reasons online education is better than brick and mortar whenever I find myself drawn into a debate with colleagues. I will also employ the list of best practices as I build new online courses, and as I revamp ones I have already created. The 8 key considerations really do make for a better teaching and learning experience. I have been in courses that do not follow them, and they were definitely horrid!