Reflection: Content Module
In reflecting on my experience in completing this assignment, I can’t help but think back on the group discussion we had in week 3 regarding Benoit’s decision in using either Blackboard or Moodle. One of the questions was regarding how much time he would need to develop his online version of the course. Looking back now at how much time I spent on this assignment, I would likely change the answer I posted in the discussion forum.
Although I had access to some course content from an instructor who teaches the course, this assignment helped me realize the effort and attention that is required in transitioning content from a face-to-face setting to an online learning environment. I feel as though I’ve learned a valuable lesson in creating the content module, in that it is not as simple as adding the content online.
Module Content and Presentation
One of the things I found challenging when creating the content module was deciding what to include in terms of introductory information at the beginning of the module. Unlike a face-to-face class setting, where students are able to ask questions for clarification immediately, in an online setting one must think preemptively what concepts might be more difficult for the students. Therefore, it seemed necessary to decide which type of information may be required to provide students with sufficient background information prior to their independent learning activities, such as readings, videos and discussions. Bates (2014) states that it is important make relevant core information easily available to students when designing a course. For this reason, I included a brief introduction at the beginning of each topic. Not only did this allow me to give an overview of the important concepts of the content, but also it gave me the opportunity to include specific information that was not present in the assigned readings.
One key aspect from Bates’ (2014) article that I wanted to pay attention to was that of student learning preferences. I wanted to incorporate instructional material using text, readings, videos, a Prezi presentation and the digital story as a means to provide a “range of options for student learning” (Bates, 2014).
According to Chow et al. (2012), high school students tend to scan online material when seeking information. Although the authors attributed this behaviour to teenagers, I believe it can also apply to adult learners. Therefore, I was cautious in how much text I included in each of the topics’ overview, making sure that only relevant material was being presented in order to avoid overwhelming students with too much information.
At the beginning of the course, students typically have difficulties learning new terminology and biological concepts regarding bryophytes. However, in the face-to-face course, students are often able to grasp these concepts and vocabulary words relatively quickly in the laboratory, as they are able to apply them in a hands-on setting. Seeing as this would not be possible in an online setting, I felt it was important to incorporate images in the introductions to highlight certain key terms they should become familiar with. Bates (2014) reinforces this notion by suggesting that visual learners can benefit from the addition of diagrams and illustrations.
I had initially hoped to use Articulate storyline as a way to present a lesson, however, unexpected difficulties arose. Unfortunately, the program does not run on Mac computers, therefore I was required to borrow someone’s slightly outdated PC laptop. Once I had downloaded the trial version, I began playing with it, but the learning progress was significantly slow, despite watching tutorials and trial and error approaches. After a day’s attempt, I began to think back on Bates’ (2014) comments regarding cost in terms of time such that “if a great deal of time has to be spent by the students and teachers in learning how to use for instance software for the development or delivery of course material, this distracts from the learning and teaching”. After some reflection, I concluded that this choice was not ideal and I decided to use Prezi and a few videos to help students learn life cycles and reproductive strategies. Seeing as these strategies are diverse, adding more representational pictures and visual components would help students recall the text information (Carney & Levin, 2002) while increasing the level of engagement. Initially, I had created the Prezi as my digital story; however, I felt this was more fitting as part of a lesson. The Prezi gave me the opportunity to incorporate educational text, images that coincided with structures being discussed, as well as videos to further illustrate the concepts. I decided to limit myself to these tools because I didn’t want to add too much varying media that distracted the students, thereby causing them to disconnect with the content.
Reflection: A Digital Story
Creating a digital story was definitely an interesting assignment and what I liked most about it was how it focused on creativity using technology. Having had little experience in creating digital stories, I did some preliminary research on how to best approach this assignment. According to Boase (n.d.), the effectiveness of your digital story largely depends on the actual story you’re trying to tell and how you present it.
I found deciding what story to tell was a difficult task because I didn’t want to create something that was simply descriptive or instructional, I wanted to create a story that meant something and had a purpose. Once I decided on my storyline, I then had to choose the proper tool to create it.
My goal was to create a story that would convey not only the beauty and diversity of mosses, but also highlight their importance ecologically, economically and medicinally. Moreover, I wanted the story to evoke an emotion in students and invite the viewers to care about the species they are studying. Boase (n.d.) states that carefully selected images and text can be used as a powerful communication tool to engage viewers, while Bull & Kajder (2004) suggest that “properly employed music can enhance and underscore the accompanying story, adding complexity and depth to the narrative”. In the end, I decided that Camtasia would be the right tool to use because it allowed me to use pictures and add text and music with ample creative freedom to achieve those goals.
Why was this the right tool for you to use to tell your story, from a pedagogical perspective?
Deciding which tool to use to create my story was a learning experience on its own because it forced me to try various software and programs in searching for the right one. Using Bates’ SECTIONS (2014) proved to extremely useful once again in helping me to organize my ideas and rationalize my choice to use Camtasia for this project. Listed below are some of the key elements that persuaded me to use Camtasia and why I think this was the right tool for me to use to tell my story.
- Student: When considering the audience, I wanted to find a tool that would enable me to create something that was more “mature”, therefore, some of the choices I had previously considered were ruled out such as those that used cartoons or animations. After watching a few tutorials, I found Camtasia was able to create professional looking presentations that would be more age appropriate for a third year university level course. Moreover, Camtasia can easily be rendered and uploaded as a YouTube video; therefore, students would be able to access it regardless of the device they are using.
- Ease of use: In order to tell my story, I needed a program that would allow me to upload and use my own pictures and add music and descriptive text to each slide. This was easily achieved in Camtasia as images could be quickly uploaded and I could simply click and drag them to where I wanted them in the timeline. I was also able to edit the duration of each picture, to ensure students would have sufficient time to read the text. To add texture to the presentation, I could easily add various transitions between pictures, change the size and font of the text, and edit the volume of the music. Overall, when considering the ease of use, Camtasia was intuitive and did not require a lot of time to learn how to use it.
- Cost: When considering the cost of the program, I was almost convinced not to use it, as it can cost over $300. However, since the program is available for UBC students and instructors at no costs, I thought it would be best to try it and make good use of the available, and free, resources. Another aspect I considered was the cost in terms of time. Camtasia was easy to use and I was able to learn the basics of the program relatively quickly, therefore it is a tool that allowed me to finish the project with minimum expenditure of time and of effort.
How would this story work within a course that you teach (or would like to teach) based on pedagogical arguments?
I think this story would work within the course for various reasons. Bryophytes aren’t species that are typically well known and students often register in the course with little to no background on them. That being said, this video could serve as an initial introduction to how useful these specimens are and why they matter. While the video is instructional in nature, the digital story would provide students with a different learning opportunity that would enable them to visually create meaning (Dreon et al., 2011) and engage with the content early on in the course.
In biology, concepts can often be considered abstract and students can quickly become overwhelmed when presented with new information and new terminology. For this reason, I believe this video could be useful in facilitating the learning process by providing students with visual aids with which they can create links between what they see and what they’ve read in a text. Hung et al. (2012) further discuss how digital stories used in science classes can effectively enhance levels of motivation, problem-solving abilities and academic successes by helping them get involved in the learning experience.
By using this story, it would provide students with a different approach to learn some of the material and in turn, could help accommodate the varying learning styles or preferences (Bates, 2014). Furthermore, using media that engage more senses can help students make meaning from the experience and can facilitate the construction of new knowledge, making the lesson more memorable.
Final thoughts
Overall, I found this assignment to be extremely useful in applying some of the knowledge acquired throughout this term. The assignment’s criteria not only served as a guide in the project, but it also encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone and experiment with new technologies, whilst giving me creative freedom to design course components.
Reference
Alterio, M. (2002). Using storytelling to enhance student learning. The Higher Education Academy. Retrieved from http://www-new1.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/Documents/resources/database/id471_using_storytelling_to_enhance_learning.pdf
Bates, T. (2014). Chapter 8: Choosing and using media in education: the SECTIONS model, Teaching in digital age. (p. 257 – 291). Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/
Boase, C. (n.d.). Digital storytelling for reflection and engagement: a study of the uses and potential of digital storytelling [PDF Document]. Retrieved from https://gjamissen.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/boase_assessment.pdf
Bull, G. & Kajder, S. (2004). Digital Storytelling in the Language Arts Classroom. Learning & Leading with Technology, 32(4). Retrieved from http://www.digitalstoryteller.org/docs/DigitalStorytelling.pdf
Carney, R. N. & Levin, J. R. (2002). Pictorial Illustrations Still Improve Students’ Learning From Text. Educational Psychology Review 14(1). Retrieved from http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~bmann/0_ARTICLES/Graphics_Carney02.pdf
Chow, A. S., Smith, K. M., & Sun, K. (2012). Youth as Design Partners: Age-Appropriate Websites for Middle and High School Students. Educational Technology & Society, 35(3), 402-422.
Dreon, O., Kerper, R. M., & Landis, J. (2011). Digital Storytelling: A Tool for Teaching and Learning in the YouTube Generation. Middle School Journal, 42(5). Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ934075.pdf
Hung, C. M., Hwang, G. J., & Huang, I. (2012). A project-based digital storytelling approach for improving students’ learning motivation, problem-solving competence and learning achievement. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 15(4), 368-379.
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