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.