Category Archives: Learning Design

Who Needs Digital Literacy When We Are All “Digital Natives”? 

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About two decades ago, American writer Marc Prensky (2001) coined the term “digital natives” to describe students who grew up with digital technologies. He suggested that they are the “native speakers” of the digital language of information technology.

Although the term is somewhat vague in defining students’ skills and competencies, it depicted a significant social and cultural change and its impact to students, teachers, and the American education system. As a result, many educators and researchers became intrigued and conducted research to investigate and validate the potential impact to students and its implications to teaching and learning (Bennett et al., 2008; Kennedy et al., 2008; Kirschner & De Bruyckere, 2017; Margaryan et al., 2011).

Putting aside research results for now, my personal and professional experiences led to a belief that the development and acquisition of any skill or competency is typically a result of intention and persistence, especially in an age where new gadgets and tools are constantly being invented and designed for specific purposes or group of users. It takes time to just familiarize yourself with the basic functions of a smartphone or a small home appliance, let alone complex systems that are designed for knowledge dissemination, collaboration, and communication.

According to Prensky’s definition, I can arguably be considered a “digital native” since I attended high school in 2003. However, at that point in my life, I had only taken one or two computer classes at school that focused on basic typing skills. I was bewildered by the dark, silent screens and did not even know how to start the machine when I entered the computer room for the first time. Therefore, it was difficult to convince anyone that I, as a high school student, spoke the native language of any technology.

Fast forward to 2016 or 2017, when I was coaching a few high school students to create a video for self-introduction. I was surprised that two of them could not even type properly on a computer. Have you seen someone dancing with one finger, and one finger only, to painstakingly search and press each letter on the keyboard? That was the reality, and it became an epiphany to me that we cannot take any skills for granted. If someone appears to be average, not even good or great, in a certain area, it is likely because they have spent some time and effort, in or outside of school.

It is no wonder that researchers seem to be resistant toward the concept of “digital natives.” Bennett et al., (2008) found a lack of evidence and called for more investigation and empirical research on “digital natives”. Kenney et al., (2008) suggested that we cannot assume that new generations know how to employ technology-based tools strategically to optimize learning experiences. Margaryan et al. (2011) argued that students may not be as connected, socially networked, or technologically fluent as previously assumed. Kirschner & De Bruyckere (2017) concluded that “there is no such as thing as a digital native who is information skilled.”

It is evident that actions need to be taken to respond not only to the evolving landscape of education, but also address the skill gap in the digital age. As an important first step, in April 2023, the B.C. Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills published the Digital Learning Strategy which lists and describes eight digital literacy competencies in detail and serves as a valuable resource for digital learning.

As an official guide, it also provides an unequivocal answer as to who needs to develop digital literacy skills. Under each and every competency in Appendix 2: The B.C. Post-Secondary Digital Literacy Framework, you will find these phrases:

  • “If you are a digital citizen, being digitally literate means…”
  • “If you are an incoming learner, being digitally literate means…”
  • “If you are an educator, being digitally literate means…”

It is clear that all of us are included in the framework, regardless of our age differences or skill level.

The challenge is, though, how to support the development of digital literacy at an institutional, program, and course level, and how to cope with the evolving nature of digital technology.

If you are eager to explore digital literacy in teaching and learning, here are a few actions you may start with,

  • Read the Digital Learning Strategy document
  • Explore the potential of using e-portfolio in your course
  • Collaborate with CTLI on simulation projects
  • Stay open and curious about new technologies, including AI-based tool

Reference

Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training. (2023, April 13). Digital Learning Strategy – Province of British Columbia. Retrieved from  https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/post-secondary-education/institution-resources-administration/digital-learning-strategy

Bennett, S., Maton, K., & Kervin, L. (2008). The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence. British journal of educational technology, 39(5), 775-786.

>Kennedy, G. E., Judd, T. S., Churchward, A., Gray, K., & Krause, K. L. (2008). First year students’ experiences with technology: Are they really digital natives?. Australasian journal of educational technology, 24(1). 

Kirschner, P. A., & De Bruyckere, P. (2017). The myths of the digital native and the multitasker. Teaching and Teacher education, 67, 135-142. 

Margaryan, A., Littlejohn, A., & Vojt, G. (2011). Are digital natives a myth or reality? University students’ use of digital technologies. Computers & education, 56(2), 429-440.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, digital immigrants. marcprensky.com. Retrieved from https://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

An Almost Complete Journey of JIBC’s Fire Investigation Simulation

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How it all started?

Back in October 2020, we had a conversation with instructors and leaders from JIBC’s Fire Fighting Program and learned that practical firefight training can be costly, dangerous, and only available at specialized locations.

Taking fire investigation as an example, instructors need to purchase used furniture, set up scenarios such as a kitchen or a bedroom in shipping containers, burn them, and then put the fire out. Only after all these steps can students enter and investigate the cause and origin of the fire. In addition, it is reported that sometimes the burn patterns do not turn out as expected.

Bedroom in a Cubicle

Bedroom in a Cubicle

A Journey of JIBC’s Fire Investigation Simulation

Early Prototyping

  • In early 2021, we partnered with a team from Centre for Digital Media and created a working prototype for fire investigation over a period of 13 weeks. The CDM team on this project did an excellent job capturing their design and development process on their blog.

  • Additionally, within the handover package, the team provided a well-designed infographic to illustrate the main features of the simulation. Kudos to the team again for exceeding our expectations.

Piloting the Simulation

  • As our ultimate goal is to integrate this gamified simulation into the firefighting program, we decided to pilot the simulation in an upcoming course section.

  • Kavita and Dennis from our CTLI team designed an HTML page that includes all the necessary information for the learners.

Pivoting Based on User feedback

  • Through the pilot, we collected and analyzed students’ feedback and found that one of the main issues is that students had a hard time downloading, installing, and accessing the simulation, especially for MAC users.

  • Even for those who were able to access the simulation, the simulation can be choppy depending on the performance of users’ computers. In short, our analysis suggests that we need to address the accessibility and usability of the simulation.

  • While users acknowledged the potential of this fire investigation simulation, a better solution is needed. Upon discussions with our team, we decided to convert it into a web-based simulation while improving its usability within the simulation.

A New Direction

  • With a limited budget, we worked with a CDM alumnus, a software engineer with a passion for health and education simulations, to convert the simulation into a more accessible web-based solution.

  • The first prototype of the web-based solution was completed in July 2022, followed up with user testings that aim to assess its accessibility and usability.

  • User testing suggests that simulation loading and responding speed, navigation and wayfinding are key areas for improvement, along with other minor adjustments needed. For a more detailed testing report, please refer to Fire Sim User Testing Report – Aug 2022.

What Next?

Design is a craft and sometimes a never-ending process. We have identified a list of achievable changes to improve user interaction and overall user experience. We are also hoping to pilot the web-based fire simulation in an upcoming course and continue to collect feedback from users for improvement.

What are the lessons learned?

  • Pivoted a few times, from the original idea of a VR application, to computer-based, and then finally web-based, we learned again that a good design needs to be firstly accessible and then usable.
  • User research is a critical task that should never be overlooked, as the False-Consensus Effect suggests: we are not users and we should not assume users will behave similarly.
  • Looking at the big picture, this simulation has a powerful impact on the overall course design: assignments and relevant instructions need to be adjusted accordingly; instructors will play a key role in supporting students when a new tool is introduced.

It’s Now: Designing and Using Immersive Simulations for Learning

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Virtual reality (VR) or immersive VR simulations for learning is no longer something to be imagined or planned in the future. If you have not done a project like this yet, the best time to start is now. 

About two years ago, I had the chance to present “Virtual Reality for Public Safety Training” at JIBC Open Symposium. After introducing relevant pedagogical significance, examples, research on effectiveness, and future opportunities, I landed on a question for the audience, “What would be the problem you want to solve with emerging technology like VR?”

The responses were fueled with enthusiasm and revealed a wide range of applications and practices that JIBC could benefit from. Just to name a few:

  • “simulate a patrolling scenario in downtown eastside”
  • “access correction centers and walk around the buildings”
  • “build empathy by living and acting like someone else”

As we can see, common to these scenarios are things that we feel difficult to design or simulate effectively in the classroom. Bailenson (2019) pointed out that high-fidelity 3D environments like virtual reality have the capability to simulate scenarios that are:

  • Impossible: you cannot change skin colour easily, but in VR you can inhabit avatars with different skin colours with profound results.​
  • Expensive: you cannot easily fly your whole school to Machu Picchu.​
  • Dangerous: you would not want to want to train emergency landings by crashing real airplanes.​
  • Counterproductive: you should not cut down an entire forest to instruct on the problems of deforestation.

The primary differentiator for high-fidelity immersive simulation technologies is that it creates a strong sense of presence and enables embodiment.

  • The concept of Presence has a  long history in psychology, Witmer and Singer (1998) defined it as “the subjective experience of being in one place or environment even when physically situated in another”.
  • Embodiment, on the other hand, means “our process of learning and understanding are shaped by the actions by our body, such as gestures”. (Johnson-Glenberg, 2018)

While presence manipulates or alters how our brains perceive the world around us, embodiment allows us to physically rewire our learning from a behavioural level. Scholars suggest that well-designed 3D simulations address some critical pieces in learning from a pedagogical perspective. Dalgarno and Lee (2010) listed five major affordances of 3D virtual learning environments:

  • Spatial knowledge representation: facilitate learning tasks that lead to the development of enhanced spatial knowledge representation of the explored domain.
  • Experiential learning: facilitate experiential learning tasks that would be impractical or impossible to undertake in the real world
  • Motivation and engagement: facilitate learning tasks that lead to increased intrinsic motivation and engagement
  • Improved transfer of knowledge and skills: facilitate learning tasks that lead to improved transfer of knowledge and skills to real situations through the contextualization of learning.
  • Collaborative learning: facilitate tasks that lead to richer and/or more effective collaborative learning than is possible with 2‐D alternatives.

Learning these theories provided us with a foundation of how we may move forward with high-fidelity simulations. But designing and customizing simulations for specialized areas in public safety remains a challenge as it requires a wide range of expertise such as content knowledge, programming, 2D/3D modelling, animation, user experience design, and user interface design. A collaborative, interdisciplinary team is the key to the development of accessible and usable immersive virtual learning environments. 

Fortunately, over the last two years, we were able to identify some internal partners at JIBC who are interested in developing simulations, and also had the opportunity to collaborate with a few highly skilled teams from the Centre for Digital Media.

Here are some video demonstrations for these award-winning projects:

Produced by LifesaVR team at the Centre for Digital Media

Produced by FlashoVR team at the Centre for Digital Media

https://youtu.be/_DvdOPLUGLg

Produced by Team Caramel at the Centre for Digital Media

Reference

Bailenson, J. (2019). Experience on demand: What virtual reality is, how it works, and what it can do. W. W. Norton & Company.

Dalgarno, B., & Lee, M. J. (2010). What are the learning affordances of 3‐D virtual environments?. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(1) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.01038.x

Johnson Glenberg, M. (2018). Immersive VR and Education: Embodied Design Principles that Include Gesture and Hand Controls. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 81. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2018.00081/full

Witmer, B. G., & Singer, M. J. (1998). Measuring presence in virtual environments: A presence questionnaire. Presence, 7(3), 225-240.

Assessment Design: Perspectives and Examples Informed by UDL

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Many of you are probably aware that I have been working with my colleagues on a series of UDL workbooks and workshops over the past year and a half, and finally June 2021 witnesses the completion of our last workbook that focuses on assessment design.

I have to admit that this journey is very much like finishing a marathon that I never imagined myself embarking on, yet there we are. We made it, with all the great ideas and relentless revisions from Seanna, Lynn, Dave, Helen, and myself!

So here is a brief introduction to the workbook from Dave:

“In this workbook, we consider how we, as educators, can design assessments to be more inclusive, accessible, and engaging for our students. We also include several examples from JIBC courses and consider what features and characteristics can help us recognize and design UDL assessments in our own courses.”

To access this workbook, click on the image below:

LifesaVR: Immersive Learning Experience for Paramedics

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Looking into the Context and the Problem

Shortly after I joined one of the curriculum committees at the Justice Institute of British Columbia, I learned that the paramedicine program has a 100-page practical simulation book, detailing how instructors should describe each scenario for simulation practice. The students, wearing their uniforms, carrying emergency cases, often stand in the middle of the classroom and try to imagine the physical environments where they are supposed to save lives.

In school, students rely on verbal explanations from the instructors to assess hazards and determine their next steps, whereas they are expected to observe the environment, identify risks, and save lives independently in the field. It is clear that there is a gap between what is learned in the classroom and what is required in the field.

As an instructional designer, I hope to fill the gap by designing and developing user-centred immersive experiences that could potentially shift the way we learn and teach in formal and informal environments.

Setting up Achievable Goals

Working with a team from the Centre for Digital Media, our goal is to develop a working VR prototype that simulates immersive learning environments for paramedics. The prototype will provide both experiential and reflective learning opportunities for trainees to apply critical assessment and decision-making skills, leading to better response when real events occur.

In addition to the realism of the learning environment, our design includes: 1) functionalities to track, analyze, and review how trainees made their decisions during the simulation; 2) non-intrusive user interface and exemplary user experience for reflective learning; 3) and a final package that can be easily installed and used in different physical settings.

Building, Testing, and Iterating the Prototype

Through iterative design, rapid prototyping, and user testing, we created a simulation in which a young adult is struck by a vehicle and becomes unresponsive. In the simulation, the patient is found lying supine on the pavement, with obvious bleeding; there are broken glasses on the ground near the patient, and the gas is leaking; police have stopped the traffic and firefighters are at the scene to assist.

Students are required to identify all the hazards, and then use three dressings, in the correct order, from the emergency case to stop the bleeding. In order to analyze students’ decision-making processes, we also designed a dashboard that collects two sets of data: attention and reaction time. Attention, tracked through head movement, measures how long students look at an object, while reaction time measures how long it takes a student to complete a task. The dashboard is cloud-based so instructors can read the analysis and provide feedback from anywhere.

Presenting a Mid-Project Video Demonstration

Halfway through the project, we were asked to present this project to JIBC donors, faculty, and staff. Although the final prototype has evolved from this iteration, this video provides a succinct introduction to our design. I personally adore this video for its energy and simplicity. 

Designing and Redesigning the Dashboard

The team conceptualized, prototyped, and iterated the dashboard in two or three weeks. Click the image to view the final interface of the dashboard. 

Installing the Final Prototype and Putting on the Backpack Devices

Walking Through the Final Prototype

And Finally Meeting the Team

Centre for Digital Media

  • Eris Lam, Developer
  • Kyle Liu, 3D Artist | Unity programmer
  • Julia Read, Product Manager | UI Lead
  • Farbod Tabaei, Concept Artist | Game Designer
  • Sooq Won, UX Researcher | Graphic Designer
  • Yuan Zhang, 3D Artist | Game Designer
  • Robyn Sussel, Faculty Advisor

Justice Institute of British Columbia

  • Junsong Zhang, Instructional Designer, CTLI
  • Robert Walker, Director, CTLI
  • Svetlana Larson, Regional Training Coordinator, PCP
  • Eric McConaghy, Regional Training Coordinator, PCP

And a big thank you to people who participated in the user testings and provided valuable feedback.

UDL Strategies for Blended and Online Learning

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Blended and online learning has become a prominent feature of our educational landscape because of COVID-19. The drastic shift in the learning environments has created challenges and opportunities for teaching and learning.

Collaborating with Dr. Seanna Tacks and Helen Lee, we developed a guide that explains how UDL principles can support both instructors and students. This guide is rich with practical tips, strategies, and examples whether you are new to UDL or a seasoned practitioner.

If you are interested in learning more about it, click on the image below to assess the guide. 

Five Practices for Rapid Course Design and Development

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Start with Backward Course Design Approach

If you start your course design with content selection, you are likely to spend a lot of time but making little progress. Backward course design approach is outcome-based and therefore efficient. It also helps us to align assessment plans to learning outcomes, and align content and activities to assessment plans.

Here are the simplified steps for backward course design:

    • Step 1 Learning outcomes: identify what students should get out of the course
    • Step 2 Assessment: determine how to assess learning outcomes
    • Step 3 Activity and Content: select content and design activities around assessment

Here is a Course Plan Template that supports backward design.

Design a Proper Syllabus

Even with tight deadlines, a syllabus should at least contain 1) Instructor information, 2) Course description, 3) Course learning outcomes, 4) Required texts and materials, 5) Course schedule, 6) Assessment plan, 7) Assignment descriptions and expectation, and 8) Course policies. A good syllabus helps everyone (SME, Instructional Designers, and Program Managers) to imagine how the final product will look like.

From a backward design perspective, it is critical to be clear on the assessment plans and assignment descriptions. For example, if you are asking students to post threads in discussion forums, you should elaborate on your expectations in the syllabus such as the length of the post, whether or not they should reply to other students, and when they should complete the tasks.

Build an Effective Process for Content Development

Course design and development usually requires strong collaboration between multiple parties. Here is what makes the process effective based on my experience and observation.

  • Use cloud tools such as OneDrive and Google Drive where possible (please check your organizational privacy policy first).
  • Adopt a clear and consistent structure for content and asset organization. Assets could include images, videos, documents, and any other files for course design and development.
  • Design your content document purposefully. The more your content document resembles the final product, the more efficient everyone could be.

Be the Product Manager

Put on your Product Manager’s hat and be clear on the requirements! Your final product is most likely a course that lives in a learning management system (LMS). To avoid surprises, here are some of the questions for you to think:

  • Is the design for a new course or integration into an existing course? A new course design usually starts from scratch while integration is a redesign based on what is already in the course. This is particularly important for online courses because the design process and the final product could look very different.
  • How will the course menu look like in the learning management system (LMS)? Is there a particular structure that everyone needs to know?
  • How is everything named in the LMS? Will your students and instructors be able to understand and tell the difference? Do the naming of your assignments align with what is in the syllabus?
  • How are your learning modules built? Simple file upload into LMS, customized HTML and CSS pages, or designed in e-authoring tools such as Articulate Storyline and Rise 360? 
  • How do learning modules open in your course? Pop-up in a new window or opens within the LMS? Open within LMS often means less on-screen space for content presentation. This may look minor but it could have a huge impact on student learning experience, especially for those who use mobile devices or tablets.
  • How do your courses move into LMS? Are they in a test environment before they go live? Are there any components that need to be imported as SCROM packages or HTML pages into your LMS? How are other departments such as IT and Scheduling involved?
  • Can you be agile? Do you have to wait for the SME to develop everything and then design the course? Think about the modules that you can design already.

Some of these questions may sound technical but it is what makes a good product manager great.

Make Technology Work for You and Students

There are multiples ways to success in life and at work. The same to technology.

  • For video recordings, Kaltura is recommended at many institutions, but if it doesn’t work for you, use your phone, your webcam, or any tool that works for you.
  • For synchronous online learning, Collaborate or Zoom is commonly used but it doesn’t mean that you or your students have to be in synchronous sessions all the time. Why not blend asynchronous and synchronous learning?
  • For courses delivered through LMS, is there any flexibility for course completion? For example, do students have to complete everything within the day if it is a 1-day course? Can the course be available for a longer period, particularly the asynchronous components? Maybe you just opened this course to more students who couldn’t register previously by doing that.
  • And lastly, always ask for help when it comes to technology.

Universal Design for Learning: A Practical Guide

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In the past months, I have been working with Dr. Seanna Takacs on a project that aims to mobilize Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for faculty and staff at the Justice Institute of British Columbia.

Implementing the UDL framework can be challenging because it requires us to contextualize UDL principles, develop actionable ideas, and foster a mindset of (re)design. Considering those challenges, we created a UDL guide that integrates Design Thinking and offers actionable ideas.

Universal Design for Learning: A Practical Guide 

This guide is perfect for those who want to explore the what, why, and how of UDL. Feel free to share with your colleagues. Your feedback is certainly welcomed!

Photo from the UDL Workshop

Learning Creative Learning

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Nine months ago, Dr. Sandrine Han suggested that I should check out Learning Creative Learning created by Lifelong Kindergarten at MIT Media Lab.

I hesitated for a moment because I was not sure if I would be able to complete this open online course. After all, the average completion rate of MOOC courses is about 15%. To my surprise, not only did I finish the entire course, but also go back and review some of the articles and resources provided by Mitchel Resnick and his lab team.

Learning Creative Learning is now officially a source of inspiration for me. The course materials are fun to read, the course structure is well-designed with 6 easily digestible modules, and the principles and strategies can be applied to any discipline at any school or university. I would recommend every educator to take the course if time allows.

However, if you do not have the time to finish the entire course, these are the things I would like to share with you:

  • The spiral process of creative learning
  • The core concepts of 4P’s: Project, Passion, Peers, and Play
  • Strategies to foster creativity

1. The Spiral Process of Creative Learning 

In the first chapter of his most recent book Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passions, Peers, and Play, Mitchel illustrates the spiral process of creative learning: an iterative process when someone engages in a creative activity.

Creative Learning Spiral (Courtesy of Mitchel Resnick)

According to Mitchel, IMAGINE is usually the first step, followed by actions to CREATE things. PLAY refers to a stage where people experiment or tinker. SHARE create spaces for collaboration and peer feedback. Reflect basically means “how might we improve,” typically guided by a teacher or facilitator.

As a spiral process, the creative learning cycle is iterative in its nature. That means students need to try out different ideas and approaches to solve problems and improve their solutions. In order to support the creative learning process, Mitchel introduced 4P’s: Projects,  Passion, Peers, and Play. 

2. Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play

Projects

In chapter 2, Mitchel suggests that project-based learning is critical because it is the key to fluency, a similar concept to mastery.

“… When you learn to write, it’s not enough to learn spelling, grammar, and punctuation. It’s important to learn to tell stories and communicate your ideas…  Imagine trying to learn to write just by working on crossword puzzles. It could improve your spelling and vocabulary, and it could be fun, but would you become a good writer, able to tell stories and express your ideas fluently? I don’t think so. A project-based approach is the best path to fluency, whether for writing or coding.”

Mitchel also argues that learning by doing is not enough. Students should engage in  learning by making, which is the process of designing, building, and creating something:

“in the culture of the Maker Movement, it’s not enough to do something: You need to make something. According to the maker ethic, the most valuable learning experiences come when you’re actively engaged in designing, building, or creating something—when you’re learning-through-making.”

The idea of learning by making can be challenging to many of us. If you are wondering where to start, I would suggest thinking about these questions:   

  • How do your current activities, feedback, and assignments support or do not support the “making” process?
  • How can you create authentic projects that support the acquisition of 21st-century skills?
  • And more importantly, are you willing to try out new approaches?

Passion

In chapter 3, Mitchel introduces the idea of “wide walls” building on Seymour Papert’s concepts of “low floor” and “high ceiling.” “Low floors” means technology should provide easy ways for novices to get started. “High ceiling” means technology should also provide ways for people to work on increasingly sophisticated projects over time.

According to Mitchel, “wide wall” adds that technology should support a wide range of different types of projects because people have different passions. He also suggests that passion leads to a phase of immersion in learning.

“Developmental psychologist Edith Ackermann described the process in terms of diving in and stepping back. When people work on projects they’re passionate about, they’re eager to dive in and immerse themselves. They’re willing to work for hours, or longer, and hardly notice that time is passing… But it’s also important for people to step back and reflect on their experiences. Through reflection, people make connections among ideas, develop a deeper understanding of which strategies are the most productive, and become better prepared to transfer what they’ve learned to new situations in the future. Immersion without reflection can be satisfying, but not fulfilling.”

He points out that we need to encourage “hard fun” instead of believing the misconception that students want learning to be easy.

“Too often, teachers and educational publishers try to make lessons easier, believing that children want things to be easy. But that’s not the case. Most children are willing to work hard—eager to work hard—so long as they’re excited about the things they’re working on.”

Although it is obvious that people learn the best when they are led by passion, it is not easy to implement when students just need certain courses in order to complete their degrees. However, whenever possible, it is our job to create space for flexibility and agency that ignite passion.  

If there is not much you can change in your course content, how about giving students choices to decide the format of their assignments? If they enjoy creating videos, can they submit a video instead of a writing assignment? And even before that, do your students know that they can talk to you about their interests or preferred ways of learning?  

Peers 

Mitchel suggests that we need to shift from think-it-yourself to make-it-together.

“This approach is more aligned with the needs of today’s society, where almost all jobs require collaborative effort, and the most important social issues require collective action.”

With peers, students collaborate with and learn from each other to create prototypes and artifacts. They seek for team members offline and online and develop communities by themselves. These meta-cognitive strategies enable them to become more self-sufficient.

But how should we support this? In chapter 4, Mitchel addresses it by discussing the shifting role of teachers:

  • Catalyst: The best way for a teacher to provide a spark is to ask questions. By asking the right types of questions, a teacher or mentor can catalyze exploration and reflection, but the learner remains that active agent, in charge of the activity.
  • Consultant: The goal is not to “deliver instruction” or “provide answers,” but to understand what people are trying to do and figure out the best way to support them.
  • Connector: An important part of teachers’ job is to connect learners with other people who they might work with, learn with, and learn from.
  • Collaborator: Teachers or mentors don’t simply provide support or advice. They work on their own projects and invite people to join in.

Play

Why is play even relevant or essential? In chapter 5, Mitchel explains that play helps students to explore the unknown and the uncertainty.

However, not all types of play are equally valuable. Citing work from Marina Bers, he agrees that there is a difference between playpen and playground.

“The playground promotes, while the playpen hinders, a sense of mastery, creativity, self-confidence, and open exploration.”

“Playpen” indicates limitations and restrictions, whereas “Playground” is open and encourages social interactions. With that, he suggests that the tinkering process combines the value of “playing” and “making.”

“The tinkering process is messier. Tinkerers take a bottom-up approach: They start small, try out simple ideas, react to what happens, make adjustments, and refine their plans. They often take a meandering, circuitous path to get to a solution. But what they lose in efficiency they gain in creativity and agility. When unexpected things happen and when new opportunities arise, tinkerers are better positioned to take advantage.”

Tinkering is inherently an iterative process, similar to the process of design thinking.

“Tinkerers believe in rapid prototyping and iteration. When working on a design project, they build something quickly, try it out, get reactions from other people, then make a new version— over and over.”

In order to cultivate creative thinkers, he cautions that teachers need to understand that step-by-step instructions should be a stepping stone, not a final destination. Teachers also need to encourage students to try out different approaches and styles so that they can switch strategies as situation warrants.

3. Strategies to foster creativity

In chapter 6, Mitchel lists 10 tips for parents and teachers to support the development of creativity based on the spiral process of creative learning. You may also find the 10 Tips here.

Contextualizing Learning Creative Learning for learning design in general, I think there are a few things we could implement effectively with some reasonable efforts:

  • Low floor: A course should be designed in a way that is fun and provides a strong sense of achievement at the beginning. For example, you could gamify your first class by introducing a trivial game with a leader board, and everyone wins something.
  • High ceiling: When possible, learning tasks should be designed with a gradual increase in difficulty.  A simple way to increase difficulty is to provide less support or aids. For example, your students may be provided step-by-step instruction at first. As the course progresses, students are asked to perform a task with less or no instructional aids. Sometimes it just means you talk less. 
  • Wide wall: Consider the needs and interests of your students. Give students chances to choose projects or assignments. Empower them to figure out a topic they are interested in within the subject. An example I provided previously is to think about the format of your assignments, can students submit video assignments rather than writing assignments? Are they given the opportunities to discuss with you about their preferred ways of learning?
  • Allow play and mistakes: High-stake assessments do not usually afford mistakes. Consider “drop the lowest grade” if you have multiple projects in one course so your students could experiment different approaches, or consider allowing students to submit assignments a few more times to make improvements (iterations) based on formative feedback they receive.
  • Room for unknown: Use worked-out examples with purpose. Depending on your objectives, you may provide step-by-step instruction first, or you could give students opportunities to imagine and explore the possibilities of solving problems first. The key is that students need to understand that unknown is constant in the real world and the only way to deal with it is to try different approaches
  • Build the habit of reflection: Establish a process for reflection. Provide opportunities and tools for your students to reflect as an individual and as groups. A simple tool like KFC (keep, fix, change) will make the reflection process much easier for new students. Also, encourage your students to document their process and iterations for reflection.

So, how about some creativity with your course design and teaching practices?  

Facilitating Synchronous Online Learning

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A few weeks ago I developed and facilitated a workshop around facilitating synchronous online learning for the Learning Center at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Initial assessment showed that the main challenges of teaching synchronous online classes are:

  • Communicating with each student during the session
  • Converting face-to-face activities to online sessions
  • Audio or video technical issues
  • Using interactive tools

At first glance, these challenges seem to be technical. However, it may be a combination of beliefs and skill gaps. For example, I wonder why instructors need to engage with “each” student in a synchronous online session. Is it a need derived from learning objectives or a perception driven by the fear of losing sight to each student?

In order to address these beliefs and skill gaps, the workshop is designed and delivered to cover these learning outcomes:

  • Identify elements that influence synchronous online learning experience
  • Recognize the affordances and constraints of synchronous online learning platforms
  • List different phases and best practices in a synchronous online session
  • Apply multimedia learning principles in the selection and use of tools for interaction and assessment

A Sneak Peek of the Workshop Activity

What are the best practices for synchronous online learning?

It is obvious that best practices in teaching and learning largely depend on the learning objectives and the tool you selected within the platform.

We will go through the first page of Suggestions for Using Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication from the University of Calgary, Werklund School of Education, and work in groups to adapt it based on your synchronous online learning classes.

At the end of this workshop, not only participants learned the technical side of using synchronous online learning tools for content delivery and assessment but also formed a better understanding of relevant strategies to engage and interact with students.