I enjoyed working on Assignment 2 – Creating an Introductory Module for an online Calculus 12 for several reasons. It was highly beneficial to work with a partner, receive peer reviews and suggestions from other classmates, and be able to connect digital design to educational theory.
To successfully deliver an online course, housed in a Learning Management System, it is essential to put the necessary time in the preliminary planning and designing of course that will hopefully engage students in an interactive learning environment. To build our Calculus 12 course, we were guided by three central pedagogical frameworks of learning 1) creating a student-centred learning environment (SCLE), 2) creating technology that is sound in pedagogy, content and knowledge (TPCK), and 3) incorporating collaborative tools to foster a social learning environment. Therefore we based our design elements, course structure, digital tools and communication tools that reflected our desire to achieve these goals.
We also made the decision to create a Moodle course that featured both of us as teachers of the same course. Often instructors can be overwhelmed with the ratio of students to instructor when courses are delivered online and the time it requires to communicate with all the students on a one to one basis. We thought by team-teaching a course, it would provide more opportunities for greater numbers of students to participate. After reading Trinh’s case study, it became apparent that one teacher is unable to handle a course load of 150 students, using multiple communication tools within a 24/7 availability time frame. However, if Moodle courses are shared by a group of teachers who offer different office hours, it may be more manageable.