Here is my content module on personal emergency preparedness: https://classroom.google.com/c/MjcwNzExODcyMFpa/t/MjgzMjg1NzQ1M1pa

This module/unit would fit in to my course plan as module 4 and covers the topics of risk assessment and personal emergency planning.

My Experience with Google Classroom

My adventure with Google Classroom as an option for an LMS began with my interest and daily use of Google Apps for personal and educational use. I routinely use Google Docs in my English and Independent Studies Classes. I use Google Earth ALL the time in Social Studies. I use Google Slides if I need to put together a hassle-free presentation. Gmail is the email of choice for me and my friends and I find the functionality of Google products to be forward-thinking and simple to use. I have to try the Google virtual reality platforms that are coming out (Expedition and the Google Cardboard Googles with my students — thanks Trish for sharing all this). I encourage my family, friends and students to get on board with Google. That being said, I was a rookie to Google Classroom. I have never worked for an institution that had access to a license and it was a foreign platform to me so I stepped outside my LMS comfort zone for this course and gave another Google product a shot.

My experience with Classroom was not as seamless as my other experiences with Google. In fact, I was a bit disappointed throughout my explorations in the introduction module and the content module. I found that Google classroom was not as functional as other LMS’ I have used but during my reflection in the introductory module, I realized others felt the same way and that Google Classroom cannot be considered a fully functional LMS at this point in time. This poses a dilemma for me. Although I have read countless articles through the MET program on the death of the LMS and the rise of other tools that together construct a course platform, I am still siding with the LMS for my purposes. I teach mainly in a fully online setting and my expectations are that a LMS will have full functionality for teacher and students and both groups have the option of bringing in outside apps and resources to add to the experience. Google Classroom fell short for me. Rearranging items is difficult and it also makes it difficult to teach with any amount of text since you cannot highlight, bold, etc., and the average teenage brain has tuned out after the first few sentences in the standard format.

Digital Story

Why was this the right tool for you to use to tell your story, from a pedagogical perspective?

For my digital story, I decided to use Videoscribe. It was a challenge but I like the end result. I wanted a platform that was able to give an unit introduction using both pictures and voice-over. I have previously seen tools like Videoscribe during my undergrad with Sir Ken Robinson’s talks put to animation. I thought they were very neat and researched these tools a little bit at the time. There were not many! Fast forward 6 or 7 years and there is a ton of tools, so many it is hard to choose. I liked that this app had everything rolled into one. There are other apps and tools I was looking into such as ‘screencastomatic’ that voices over and writes on your video’s. I would like to explore this tool as well but I did not want to create a separate video for this project so decided to stick with Videoscribe. I like the functionality of the app and believe it is something I could use to deliver content to students but also to flip the model and have students create content.

How did you purposefully select this for your storytelling tool, in pedagogical terms?

I purposefully selected the tool using some of the technological principles that Chickering and Ehrmann discuss in their 1996 article as it was fresh in my mind from this course and other courses in the MET program. I particularly focused on #6 – Good practice communicates high expectations and #7 – Good practice respects diverse talents and ways of learning. I wanted to use a technological tool that was interesting, captured attention and focused on communication the goals for the unit as well as was stimulating more than traditional text or type. I focused on the new BC curriculum as well (only to find out it is delayed another year for secondary shortly after creating the video…) because I wanted to create a tool that was relevant in the 21st century learning environment. Although I do not believe it is our role as teachers to compete with instagram and snapchat and constant visual stimuli, it is our role to introduce 21st century learning tools that could help students create on their own, think critically, and experiment with technology.

How would this story work within a course that you teach (or would like to teach) based on pedagogical arguments?

This story is subject specific for Emergency Preparedness 11 and acts as an unit overview. I am very interested in creating more of these for different aspects of courses I teach. I currently am the Independent Directed Studies (IDS) teacher for my school and since almost all of our IDS courses are online, students sometimes struggle with creating the learning contract and the self-direction that comes with this course more than any other courses I have taught or that exist in our current school system. I think creating a video to discuss the expectations, go over the contract, and help students understand their role as producer of a learning goal and course content would be very helpful to both the student and the teacher.

Content Module

The content module I chose to complete for my course was the fourth module out of five. It focused on personal emergency preparedness; specifically, understanding and assessing risks and creating personal emergency plans. This content module is aimed at high school students in grade 11 or 12, around 16-18 years old. In my teaching experience, many students at this age are not prepared for the post-high school world in terms of critical thinking. I strive to create an atmosphere of social constructive learning and critical thinking within my current teaching practices. I have moved away from traditional ‘sage on the stage’ or text heavy lessons and instead provided resources and opportunities for social construction of knowledge. I do not think this is an appropriate practice to dive into without offering the students gradual release of responsibility. In my courses, as well as in this content module, the assumption is that learner would be teacher led to begin with and by the time they reached unit four learning is mostly student driven. As Anderson (2008) suggests “a teacher makes efforts to gain an understanding of students’ pre-existing knowledge, including any misconceptions that the learner starts with in their construction of new knowledge” and builds from this platform to create “learner centered” opportunities for learning.

With the content module, I appreciated the two options I used for creating discussion within the course. I used Google groups to be able to group students and offer them a platform for communication to work on a project. I used the simple question format that is built into Google Classroom to spark a discussion using the comments section. I went a little further and asked students to upload an image to their post as well. I also feel that images are great conversation starters.

I found it difficult to upload images, documents and links in a unique way within Google classroom. It would be nice if they had alternate views for items so you can really showcase them. Arranging items is difficult as I previously mentioned in my introductory module post…drag and drop would be much better.

It is implied in my discussion posts that they are graded on the participation guidelines of the course but it would be nice if Google Classroom offered an option for grading within all posts. They offer a timeline option but not an assessment piece. Rubrics (if necessary) would need to be attached to items and percentages would need to be written in the optional instructions. This is an area where I definitely prefer a more traditional LMS.

Overall, my experience with Google Classroom and my digital story as an excellent learning experience. I worked hard to learn several new technologies through this process and am pleased with the end result and the understanding of the new technology I utilized.

References

Anderson, T. (2008). Towards a theory of online learning. Theory and practice of online learning, 2, 15-44.

British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2016) British Columbia New Curriculum Guide Retrieved from BC Government’s Curriculum website at: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/science/6

Chickering, A. W., & Ehrmann, S. C. (1996). Implementing the seven principles: Technology as lever. AAHE bulletin, 49, 3-6.