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Reflections on redesigning

Working on the details of my module 1 for my course on Blackboard connect  seems more instructive to me now as I have clearer directions of where I am going.  I have gotten constructive  feedback from the instructor as well as  exemplars of courses that I can use to guide me. I used the feedback I have received to pay attention to my  design elements selection so that they are more productive.  Since I have never created an online course before, perhaps it would have been better for me to develop a course where I knew the content of the subject matter well. Creating a new course where I had to find sources. learn the tools of the LMS and make decisions about the design elements was too much to accomplish all at once. Here are the some of the design Elements which I improved on: narrowing my communication methods, redesigning my  content and navigation elements; for example creating folders for activities for each week where the task would be more intuitive to the learner.

Since I  have never created an online course before, most of my choices for the elements that I selected were based on some of the elements that I enjoyed in some of the courses I have taken in Blackboard.  Additionally, I sought out high school students from my town and got their input on some of the design elements to include.   While I did use feedback and ideas for how my course should be constructed from this ‘focus group’ I realized that I can’t base my decisions on just what they liked about the course or what I preferred about design elements but that I have to ensure that my choice for design elements are grounded in scholarly research. As I move forward I am considering how to use the different elements and designs for pedagogical reasons and not just because they are available. I will continue developing this course and hopefully I will be able to explore the other learning management systems as I learn best by exploring.

I used GoAnimate for my digital story telling, to create an assignment for my course, Test Taking Skill Development.  Click here for digital story telling. 

The assignment is for students to create a digital story to show what they learn about Multiple Intelligences. Each student’s story will be about how Multiple Intelligences affect how their learning, and test taking ability. Students will research a famous person with the same intelligence, and reflect on that person’s accomplishments through digital story telling. This digital tool has been used by my students, and has become a preferred method by them for creating presentations and story telling. I have used this technology multiple times for presentations; it allows for customization of presentations through the use of various themes, characters, backgrounds, props, and even the addition of voice by microphone, or using the text-to-speech function. This digital tool is an effective way to present a digital story, because it allows the creator to utilize and integrate the 7 Elements of Digital Storytelling;

1. Point of View
2. Dramatic Question
3. Emotional Content
4. The Gift of your Voice
5. The Power of the Soundtrack
6. Economy
7. Pacing.

(Robin, B., 2015).

The relation between these elements and the tools within GoAnimate are listed below. Additionally, it allows students to become creators of content, instead of only being consumers. As a creator of digital stories, using the digital tool GoAnimate, here are the advantages and disadvantages of using this technology for Digital Storytelling:

Affordances:

• Multiple types of accounts are available to suit each person’s personal needs
• The finished product can be uploaded on external sites such as YouTube for viewing (depending on the account). Free accounts allow for uploads unto Google plus
• Images can be imported into the library to allow for further customization of presentations (Element #4)
• There are a variety of themes and props available
• Users can change the skin colour of characters, allowing for choice and diversity (Element #4)
• The large variety of tools within GoAnimate allow for individualization, such that no two products are the same (Element #1)
• Enter and exit motions can be applied to text, characters, etc. to allow for more interesting transitions
• A large variety of music and soundtracks is available for use in presentations (Element #5)
• The use of characters allows for the personalization of the digital story (Element #4)
• The use of both written words and audio allow for in depth presentations, that are still concise (Element #6)
• Users can adjust the lengths of slides based on the amount of content within that slide (Element #7)
• Creators can further personalize their presentations by adding their own voices to the audio (Element #2)
• The platform is very user friendly, and flexible enough to allow creators to have specific, individualized content (i.e. presentations can be made on a diverse and wide range of topics using this digital tool, allowing each presenter to have control over what they present, and how they present it) (Element #3)
• Allows the digital story to unfold frame by frame, at the creator’s discretion (Element #2)

Limitations:

• Cutting and pasting information into Goanimate can be difficult
• The range of motion for the characters can be a distraction sometimes
• The amount of motion that can be placed on the slide is restricted for characters and props
• It can be difficult to customize music to allow for seamless scene transitions
• Student accounts have time limits on their presentations, which constricts their creativity
• Upgrading to a higher level account requires money, and may not be feasible for students
• Some content is restricted to higher accounts

References:

Robin, B. (2015). The 7 Elements of Digital Storytelling. The Educational Uses of

Digital Storytelling Website University of Houston College of Education.

Retrieved from http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/page.cfm?id=27&cid=27

https://youtu.be/CBnmYE8LQbU

“Platform Evaluation” – group assignment

In this assignment we were asked to evaluate a LMS for an organisation. We selected from three organisations: a secondary School (K-12), a community organization (non-profit or for-profit); and an institution of higher education. We subscribed to groups based on the type of organisation we were interested in, so in a sense it be could be said that our group was self-selected but mediated by the type of organisation that we each selected.

On-line group work provides the opportunity for shared labour, synthesizing ideas, trading feedback but, it also requires the ‘meeting of the minds’ to get tasks accomplished and to meet deadlines. Our group divided up the tasks and we had timelines which we met.  Even though tasks were divided up, it is always the understanding for the final product that collaboration requires what I call a ‘crossing of the boundaries’ to work with each other so that a final product that everyone is happy with can be achieved.

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Which of the sets of criteria seem the most informative and relevant to your experiences?

The ISTE set of criteria seemed most relevant, because it speaks to my professional goals and aspirations, it also reflects more of where we are right now in the world and seems to have more relevance in this digital age.  It also connected with me because it offers the ethical considerations that are an important part of our technological interactions.

Are there any other criteria that you normally use for assessing your technological proficiency?

The assessment of my technological proficiency is often gauged by what colleagues in my collaborative school districts are doing  and the technology they are engaged with; which I often look out for at teacher education conferences.   Also now that I am a part of a technology program, my assessment is often based on what is happening in the MET program.

• What are some of the “digital-age” skills that you plan to learn and start practicing, or want to further develop?

My personal philosophy for developing my digital age skills is centered around trying to become proficient in a specific technology and learn it well rather than engaging in  too many things at once- developing digital fluency for myself and my students. More specifically getting a ‘handle’ on twitter and having an ethical social media presence is one of things I would like to develop.  I think it is important to not just know who to use technology but also to know how to how use it in pedagogical sound ways.  I would also like to understand the world of gaming in education and how to use it  to foster authentic learning experiences.  I started a Minecraft club in my school and I am hoping that this will be my starting point for understanding how gaming intersects with learning. It is a small step but it a good beginning as my students seem to “live and breathe” Minecraft and other gaming related activities.

In your own teaching, in what ways do you:

•           facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity;

I encourage students to bring the technology that they are engaged with to their learning, so there is no partition between learning and technologu and hopefully that will lead to more choices about how to showcase their skills using technology  they are confident with and able to navigate. Removing the partition between learning and technology will help to maximize the  value of technology in many areas of their lives.

•           design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments;

This is ongoing for me as educator as I try to provide students with technology choices that they can use to show their learning and that suits their intelligences, however I would like to move from being just consumers of the technology that is offered to them to becoming producers, and creators of technology

•           model digital-age work and learning/ promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility-

I am working on teaching and modeling to my students ethical digital citizenship and encouraging them to become ‘upstanders’ as they exercise what they understand to be their inherent right to use technology.   I have started to use the framework from the http://globaldigitalcitizen.org/ as a guide for developing our digital fluency and ethical global footprints and assessing our technology transactions are so that we leave a sustainable legacy.

•           engage in professional growth and leadership?

I don’t have a huge launching pad for leadership in my  school district, however, because I am the one that will take the ‘risk’ and regularly use technology in my classroom, I often take the lead in initiating projects or activities with the students and staff around different technology platforms. I am also a part of a professional learning committee constantly learning and gleaning from others in the field and I also demonstrate to my students  that I am learning from them.