May The Force Be With You, Using Eliademy
The Basics:
The URL of “May the Force Be With You”: https://eliademy.com/app/a/courses/9f154fbe03
Content Module: Types of Forces
Introduction
This content module was not created in isolation. Even before completing the introductory module, I had outlined the entire course, and possible activities and formative assessments that would help my students reach the learning goals and, ultimately, be successful on the summative assessment. In this post, I will discuss the reasoning behind the pedagogical and design elements of this content module.
Pedagogical elements
The course, and therefore, the content module were designed using the principles of Understanding By Design (McTighe & Wiggins, 2004). Since the summative assessment task had already been designed, I wanted to design a content module that would help them get started on that assessment by learning the appropriate vocabulary and practice using it in real-world situations. This creates the assessment-centered environment. Elements that enhance the other three attributes of learning are also embedded within the course design and will be discussed in turn (Anderson, 2008a).
The following decisions were made regarding the pedagogical elements of the course.
- Keep the inquiry nature of the course. Activities were chosen based on how they could lead students to be successful on the assessment task (learning-centered and knowledge-centered). Learning the proper vocabulary, while working on real-world problems will create a more meaningful learning experience and hopefully lead to students transferring their new knowledge into other situations. The ParkWorld activity has students collecting data and investigating amusement park rides while learning about different types of forces. This allows them a context in which to place their learning. They are learning by doing, not simply by reading and watching (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). This also ties in to the first video they watched on the Overview page about roller coasters. The theme of moving objects and forces acting on them continues in this content module.
- Elements of differentiation were put into the module. In addition to the fact that students can work at their own pace, and go back and re-watch the presentations, I also added in some elements of choice. Students are given choice in what to reflect on in the discussion post and also choice in adding to the concept map. This choice element allows students to show what they have learned as an individual, which may be different, but just as relevant, as someone else.
- Learning activities have formative assessment built into them. The “What is a force?” presentation is interactive and has questions for students to answer. The “Types of Forces” activity is also interactive and has the students solve a problem using the knowledge they learn while completing the activity. It also incorporates scientific skills such as measurement, graphing and data analysis. They must answer questions and make decisions as they work through the activity, which is real world. It may also give them ideas for their final assessment. This formative assessment allows students to check their learning and receive immediate feedback so any misconceptions can be corrected in the moment.
In the “Types of Forces” activity, while there are many opportunities for students to receive formative feedback as they work through each stage of the ParkWorld activity, I wanted to have students reflect on the important information learned in each stage, so I have listed a few questions for them to answer at the end of each stage. This would allow them to create summary notes for the activity that they might refer back to later, rather than having to re-do the entire activity.
- The Discussion forum is meant to help them reflect on their learning by allowing them practice with the new vocabulary in a different context (community-centered). It also continues to foster the collaborative learning process started in the introduction, as students will to respond to each other’s posts, and hopefully help each other answer any questions they may have.
Organization and design elements
- I tried to keep the content page simple, by linking out to activities. Since there is a fair amount of content, too much text could be overwhelming, so I felt it better to link out, since Eliademy does not support embedding the presentations I wanted to use (learning-centered).
- I kept the guiding question at the top of the page to keep the focus on answering that question, which is ultimately what their summative assessment will do (assessment-centered).
- I continued using visuals related to final assessment. Images were chosen, using a Creative Commons license, to show objects in motion, once again, keeping the focus on the overall assessment. Detailed references for the site can be found under the “References” tab.
- For ease of navigation, I have linked each forum and assessment task within the content. This saves from scrolling back to the top of the page to click the appropriate menu bar.
- Font choices: Headings are Helvetica (a sans serif font) and body text is Times (a serif font) as suggested by Lemay for ease of reading (1996). The entire site was changed to reflect this.
- I kept the main section titles consistent from the Introduction module (Learning Objectives, Learning Activities, Weekly Assessment). I kept them large and blue to make them easily visible. I also believe they are visually appealing given the blue highlights on the site in general, over which I do not have control.
- In Introduction module, the embedded Google form (What do I Know About Forces Pre-test) was changed to link out as the embed feature stopped working. Embedding is preferable, but if not visible to users, another option needs to be available. If I can re-embed the form, I will, but by changing it to a link, at least the activity can be completed.
- Links created within the site do not open up a new tab or window. I wish there was the option to have links open in a new tab or window, but Eliademy does not support this yet. It is helpful for students to keep the Eliademy page open while also having the new page on their screen. I have added instructions (right-click) to do allow students to have the link open in a new window, so students won’t have to use the “back” button.
- I used Emaze for my “What is a Force?” presentation. Using Emaze was easy, and I like the different templates. The transitions between slides are fun and engaging. I chose a template that was related to my course on forces showing motion of a vehicle on a road. While I’m happy with what I’ve produced, I would have liked the option to do a voiceover on the slides. I have many EAL students, and this might be helpful for them. I tried to upload an audio file, but it comes up looking like a podcast audio clip, rather than a simple voiceover and I didn’t want that as it means students would get instructions twice (visual and audio), creating redundancy, rather than simultaneously. Also, I cannot embed the presentation into my Eliademy site, as it is not yet supported, so it was simply added as a link. Emaze is new, and hopefully these improvements will happen and I can adjust my presentation.
Conclusion
I will continue to develop this course site and hopefully use it with my students. I have 2 more content modules to create, although I already have an outline of what those will look like. I just need to find or create the artifacts to go onto the site. I will continue to use the pedagogical and design elements listed above to have consistency and ease of use for my students. The focus should be learning about forces, not struggling with the technology.
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.
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Lemay L., Duff J., Mohler L. (1996) Graphics and Web Page Design. Laura Lemay’s Web Workshop.
McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2004). Understanding by design: Professional development workbook. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.