For the Course Introductory Module assignment, I have chosen to work in Canvas and design a module of the course I have recently developed and have just finished teaching at the University of Manitoba. This is one of the online courses for their TESL program: Resource Development and Integration. I have changed a few activities based on my own reflection after teaching this course as well as requirements for this assignment.
I have invested a lot of time in combining best pedagogical principles and overall course design, trying to make it aesthetically pleasant and pedagogically sound.
While working on the introduction to the course, I focused on including all necessary information students should have when the course starts. As the course is focused on learning resource integration and development as well as using educational technology for teaching ESL, I provided all necessary tools students will need to use during the course as well as short guides on how to use them. I have also included a detailed syllabus and a welcome letter from the instructor.
My introductory activity, Getting to Know Each Other, includes creating a comic strip, a song playlist (explain why these songs speak to you), or a video that tells a little something about learners. I have provided suggested tools and included my own video as an example for my learners. It is interesting that I created this video in one of my MET courses, and now I have found a good use to it.
It was a surprise to struggle with embedding images as I use Canvas on a regular basis and have never had any problems with that. I have also struggled with creating a good look of the pages as I was not given rights to add CSS or custom template to my course. I found a way out: I had to use my work server to host my images so that I can make them show in the course. Embedding the images from files in Canvas did not work. I had no problem embedding a YouTube video.
As I am used to backward design (we use it while designing our courses at my workplace), creating assessments while working on the introductory module was not challenging for me. I have chosen a combination of summative and formative assessments and worked on rubrics (evaluation criteria). The challenge was to think how to meet this assignment requirements and not to break the logical flow of the course as well as reflect my pedagogical views on how and when the quizzes should be used.
I have chosen various tools that support interactions in the course: discussions, Piazza (Q&A platform), Twitter, Blogger and Tutela. Some of these tools allow synchronous communication, others – asynchronous communication. I have not previously used Piazza in my courses, but conducted a thorough research on this tool benefits and drawbacks as well as had interviews with the faculty who used it in their courses as per my recommendation. This tool makes it very easy to get a discussion going as well as help students to learn using the power of community. Its functionality reminds me of Mattermost, but makes searching through posts easier (to my view) and provides opportunities for learners to create wiki pages. Integrating this tool offers me a new way of facilitating teaching and learning and provides meaningful opportunities for feedback and support for learners throughout the learning process (Anderson, T. (2008a).
Tutlela and Twitter offer opportunities for students to build their professional network, share their learnings and meet with the instructor synchronously using a web conferencing tool (BigBlueButton) available through Tutela. I agree with Bates that social media can help learners develop core competencies such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, problem-solving, self-directed learning, networking, knowledge management and decision-making (Bates, 2014). According to November, Twitter seems to be a great way to develop a professional learning community, whether it’s just by observing and following others who provide resources or by personally participating through tweets (November, 2012).
I have also integrated peer reviews in my course as I believe they can increase the quality of student engagement in learning tasks (Gibbs & Simpson, 2004, p.8). Online course allows thinking time for students before they are ready to provide feedback. According to Chickering & Gamson, students need frequent opportunities to perform and receive suggestions for improvement. … Students need chances to reflect on what they have learnt, what they still have to learn, and how to assess themselves.’ (Chickering & Gamson, 1987). According to Bates, students can extend their learning by participating in both self-assessment and peer assessment (Bates. T. , 2014), and I tried to incorporate these pedagogical techniques in my course.
In addition to peer feedback on assignments, I have allowed using “like” button for discussions and Piazza postings. While designing the course and its assessments, I wanted to motivate learners to provide peer reviews; I have decided to make them required but ungraded.
Major assessments in the course allow to students to apply knowledge and skills they have gained to evaluate and create their own learning resources using relevant technology.
Overall, I relied on best pedagogical principles and methods as well as course objectives and chose technology that I feel works well with them.
References:
Anderson, T. (2008a). Towards a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and practice of online learning. Edmonton AB: Athabasca University. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/02_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf
Bates, T. (2014). Pedagogical differences between media: Social media. In Teaching in digital age, Chapter 9. Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/9-5-5-social-media/
Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2005). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1(1), 3-31. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/fast/pdfs/Gibbs%20and%20Simpson%202004-05.pdf
November, A. (2012). How Twitter can be used as a powerful educational tool. November Learning [Weblog] Retrieved from http://novemberlearning.com/educational-resources-for-educators/teaching-and-learning-articles/how-twitter-can-be-used-as-a-powerful-educational-tool/