Author Archives: samantha zimmer

Sam’s Final Reflection

Flight Path Precis & Overall Experience

I set out in this course with the intention of learning about and playing with a range of digital tools that will serve me in my evolving work as a collaborator and designer. In practice, this term was a difficult one for me to strike a balance between my courses, personal life, and freelance work. Unforeseen circumstances required me to make an international move which regretfully has led me to be less engaged with this course than I strive to be. That said, while I was not as involved in the weekly discussions, the readings and assignments did prompt me to explore some new tools and ideas which aligns well with my original intention.

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Sam’s Content Module Reflection

I created a module of content on “Culture & Expectations” in my “ESL Teacher Training 101” course in Google Classroom. This is the second module in the course and runs immediately after the introductory week, so I wanted it to begin exposing learners to some of the key concepts that will underwrite the rest of the course: communication essentials, releasing expectations, and intercultural interaction. The content includes some brief text, a video, external web link, my digital story, a short quiz, and discussion.

For the digital story, I chose to use Storyline software to create a brief interaction that allowed learners the opportunity to explore the communication process. The platform appealed to me as a way to make what could be a simple diagram dynamic and interactive (Siemens, 2003). Storyline is also a learner-driven model in that the user must be engaged and click “next” as they move through content. Ideally this will help to spark active engagement as students explore the content themselves as opposed to more passive reading. The story is positioned midway through the module and will break up some of the other text elements with a more memorable and unique structure (Siemens, 2003). Unfortunately, I was not able to embed by Digital Story in the course content which may detract from its effectiveness by reducing the ease of access for students (Boyes et. Al., 2005).

One issue I encountered in the earlier development of my course was in terms of facilitating a discussion forum. Google classroom has the option to post a question for students to respond to, but this might prove insufficient in the scheme of my course. For this module, I chose to create a slack room for students to share their impressions and respond to my prompts. While the requirement to switch between platforms does slightly complicate the structure, I think that the more user friendly discussion platform outweighs the inconvenience.

 

Works Cited

Boyes, J., Dowie, S., & Rumzan, I. (2005). Using the SECTIONS framework to evaluate flash media. Using the SECTIONS framework to evaluate flash media, 2(1). Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.186.6505&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Siemens, G. (2003). Evaluating media characteristics: Using multimedia to achieve learning outcomes. Elearnspace. Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/mediacharacteristics.htm

 

Assignment 3 Reflection – Sam

This activity was a bit daunting for me as I am not currently teaching any classes, nor do I identify primarily as a teacher. As such, I decided to pick a course that I felt that I would be qualified to teach, and one that I feel does not currently exist in this format. While there are lots of online TEFL and TESOL courses, many tend to be quite limited (often focused on the mechanics of the English language). I decided to blend the cultural challenges of moving to a new country with some of the basic mechanics of working as a teacher. Many ESL teaching jobs in Asia and elsewhere require a University Degree and Native English skills, but little else. As a result, the course is aimed at individuals who are seeking (or have accepted) international ESL jobs but are not formally trained in education.

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Sam’s Reflection

As a group, we tried to consider the specific context of the program we were developing by digging into the nitty gritty of accessibility, readiness, and cultural responsiveness. Overall, I am happy with the level of detail in our rubric and feel that it would be an effective starting point to help select an appropriate technology solution. In terms of working as a group, my team members were all diligent and engaged. As always, it can be a bit of a challenge to overcome differences in time zones, expectations, and work styles, but we managed to pull together to collaborate.

The context of working in Aboriginal communities was quite new to me, but I really appreciated the support my group shared in piecing together our experiences and research to understand the case as best we could. I appreciated gaining insight into how one might approach the selection of an LMS, but would also be interested to explore some of the LMS platforms in a more hands on way as well.

Sam’s Flight Path

Although I’ve spent a few years teaching abroad, I still don’t classify myself as a teacher. I stumbled upon the growing field of e-learning, and by extension educational technology through a freelance project in which I proofed a corporate e-learning course. I was immediately intrigued, started reading about instructional design, and began toying around with Articulate Storyline (course authoring software). My hope is that through the MET program, I am becoming a more competent facilitator of educational experiences with technology. Continue reading →