While very large and in-depth, I have found this to be one of the most useful and hands-on learning assignments I have done. Creating an online content module for my “course” required me to reflect on my own pedagogy, what I would like students to take from the course, and to utilize the knowledge gained from the ETEC 565a Learning Modules in authentic ways. It was a lot more challenging that creating a face-to-face course. I have never taught an online course and have only had my experiences in the MET program to draw from which made this assignment that much more interesting.
I would like to focus on Content Modules 1-3 in my Makerspace course. I developed the content module framework for my introduction assignment which allowed me to make sure that each of these content modules contained subject-specific content while still being student-centered. Within each of these modules I have created a series of smaller assignments/activities for students to engage in including my digital story as part of the Course Introduction. Some activities/experiences are independent, some are collaborative, some are text based, while others involve visuals and Padlet. My goal was to be creative in the delivery of the content and allow students to respond in a variety of ways, as I would do in my Makerspace classes at school.
Module 1 – Introduction
- Introduction Activity – Window Into Your Making World – Contribute to group
- What is a Makerspace Quiz – Individual
- Setting Up Your e-Portfolio – Individual
- Digital Story – Magnificent Makerspaces – Individual Reflection
- Maker Activity – Deconstruction Challenge – In classroom/school
Module 2 – Getting Started
- Common Myths – Add to group discussion
- What Are You Doing Already? – Group Padlet
- Tools of the Trade & Safety in Your Makerspace – In classroom/school Canva Assignment
- Make Activity – Upcycling & The Compassionate Maker – In classroom/school – Add to Google Slides
Module 3 – Do I Have Time?
- Curriculum Connections – Group Assignment
- Maker Activity – Paper Circuits & e-Textiles
Why have an online Makerspace course and why use this technology in the first place? Through a platform such as Google Classroom, the course knowledge and experiences can reach a number of students without barriers due to geography or financial cost. I used the SECTIONS model (Bates, 2014) to inform my initial choice of this platform. I was very cognizant of TPCK and how I could convey this to students using this platform. As I have never seen an online Makerspace course/curriculum, I was pulling the content from my own experience last year (and consulting the BC curriculum) as well as relying on conversations I have had with other Makers in my PLN via digital media such as Twitter, and my reading of Makerspace literature over the past few years.
In hindsight, I’m not sure that I would have chosen Google Classroom for a Makerspace course. While I can attach a variety of “assignments”, it certainly lacks the visual appeal of Moodle for example. I also am not fond of the linear scrolling action of Google Classroom for this type of course. It is, however, fairly straightforward to navigate. I was not able to incorporate a “splash page” as Google Classroom does not facilitate this, but I included my own photo as a header on the main page. Throughout my modules I have incorporated a number of different types of activities so that the course was not unnecessarily text heavy. “The challenge is to select the media type that most effectively presents the learning material in order to achieve intended outcomes” (Siemens, 2003). This was a challenge. Not only did I have to think about the intended outcomes, but also the variety of tools that I have to use, and had previously used, as well as being mindful of the different types of learners taking a course such as this. Due to the hands-on nature of the course, I didn’t want to include a variety of “fancy” tools that students would have to spend a lot of time learning to use. I think that I would include further down in the course a list (possibly with tutorials) of some of the tools and software available. I didn’t think it fair to ask students to spend a lot of time learning how to use a tool and then conduct the hands-on maker challenges. So there are a variety of media formats included (video, text, visuals, and collaboration) which allow the focus to be on the learning.
From our readings and my experience in MET courses, I understand the importance of interaction between students in a course. How to do it effectively is challenging. My vision was for students to have some opportunities to work in small groups asynchronously where they were able to share ideas, successes and challenges, as well as having the opportunity to work independently as well as in their classrooms/schools. During “Curriculum Connections” students need to work collaboratively in their small groups using Google Groups to analyze a Makerspace activity from a variety of curricular lenses and report on their findings. I did not find this route the most engaging but appeared to be limited to what I could do through Google Classroom.
An e-Portfolio is a natural artifact and final assessment tool in this course. Students have the opportunity to document their thinking and add videos/photos of their projects. I wanted to give students the option of how they would like to present their e-Portfolio and did not limit it to a blog format.
My Digital Story
For my digital story I used VideoScribe and believe it was the correct tool to use for my story. I have used VideoScribe a couple of times previously and I enjoy the flexibility it allows and the fantastic opportunity for visuals. I do not like to be on camera myself, so I can “hide” behind and use real photos from my experiences and classes or images from Creative Commons media. If I were to do this again I would like to own my own music to the video as the ones offered did not really suit what I was trying to achieve. I hoped that the visuals and text, combined with the story would provide interest to the viewers and get them thinking and reflecting about their own vision for their space. Boyes, Dowie, & Rumzan (2005) also spoke about the importance of text labels and “supporting contextual information” when designing resources for students new to a course such as Makerspace.
The story itself is a little “out-of-the-box” to use in this course and purposely so. Makerspace is a little “out-of-the-box” as well and it can be kind of messy. Rarely is it perfect and we, as educators, need to be more comfortable with that. Regardless of what we do, if we put the interests of our students at the front, our Makerspace will be “Magnificent”.
While I may not use this version of the digital story in Makerspace again, I certainly like the idea of using a digital story as an engaging means to reach your learners, whether at the beginning of a unit, as a summative tool, or any number of other purposeful variations. Having us actually create our own stories was absolutely worth the time and effort that it took. I certainly appreciated the hands-on experience and have learned greatly from it.
References
Bates, T. (2014). Teaching in digital age, Chapter 8. Retrieved from
https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/part/9-pedagogical-differences-between-media/
Boyes, J., Dowie, S. & Rumzan, I. (2005). Using the SECTIONS Framework to Evaluate
Flash Media. Innovate Journal of Online Education, 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