Reflection on the Course Design:
For this assignment, I created 3 complete content modules for the Marine Biology for Young Learners course (save the quiz questions, which I will add when I have time). I wanted my primary content to be accessible to all, while also fitting nicely into the course format. From the onset, I saw a need for the primary content to be designed as a responsive web page (meaning it would format to be readable on all devices). I also thought it would be nice if the content was presented as a web page, which resided outside of moodle, so that it could be accessed by all without having to even log into the course. In my opinion, open access to learning materials should be part of a teacher’s Hippocratic Oath, ensuring the tools they create benefit as many people as possible. Provided that teachers follow copyright laws, and promote the use of creative commons as a standard for teacher created materials, this will help to be a big equalizer in access to education.
When designing my course, I took advice from Ciampa by creating different challenges that could be selected based on what the student was looking for in the course. Creating two different paths (Marine Biology for Young Learners and Master Marine Biologist) aligns with Ciampa’s intrinsic motivator of challenge (2013). I also created motivators such as progress tracking into the course.
Another intrinsic motivator Ciampa discusses is cognitive curiosity, and I have tried as best as I could to encapsulate this in the discussion forums, which pose open ended questions urging learners to seek to further their own knowledge and share this with the group. I also thought allowing for an open ended project, with some hints into what those projects may look like, would be a good way to go.
Reflection on the Digital Story:
I decided to create a digital story using a platform which I have used in the past for active presentations. I was curious how several of the actions would translate to to a digital story. That platform was Prezi… originally introduced to me via students, this tool became a quick and effective way for students (and their facilitator) to present information. I have used it in multiple conferences as a means to present, and thought it may be a good tool to use for the digital story.
My story focuses on the “Why Marine Biology” part of my course… I offer a personal story about each module, as well as lay out the various components of the course. My objective was to create a bit more interactive of an overview to the various components of the class, and render them in a story based format. I felt this addressed two aspects Anderson states, namely that there should be community centered aspects and learner centered aspects in elearning courseware (2008). The community centered nature of this presentation is that in telling this story I attached personality to the class. The reason for the class was laid out in very personal terms.
Prezi to me had many advantages for a story format. You could add voice overs, aside videos, and links to content that was being discussed. It also was user driven, with each click advancing the story as the user wants it. The only issue I had was that I could not create a time delay on various parts of the story popping up… it created a bit of a glitch to the flow in my opinion. However, I felt that the autonomy it lends to learners going through the story and materials at their own pace is a big advantage.
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
Ciampa, K. (2013). Learning in a mobile age: An investigation of student motivation. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 30(1), 82–96. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcal.12036/epdf