MEd/OLTD portfolio

• Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of LMS and non-LMS environments and tools
• Develop and design intentional learning activities suitable for the appropriate environment and the learner

     It is very important when designing a lesson to understand who your learner is. I teach Adult Learners (aged 16+) with a range of technology competences. It can be quite difficult, at the beginning of a blended course, to meet the needs of a student who struggles with basic computer skills and a student who has worked extensively in D2L (Vancouver Island University’s learning management system).  This lesson lets the student move as quickly or slowly through the lesson as they need.
     Creating this lesson also allowed me to become more familiar with D2L and what it has to offer. I certainly feel more competent within the LMS as well as supplementing D2L with some non-LMS tools. Prior to this class, I felt very hesitant in venturing outside of D2L with student learning. I, personally, now have the tools to enhance the learning environment of the student.

Edited to add: The class(es) went really well. Much better than in the past! 

• Plan learning opportunities most suitable to the strengths and challenges of a variety of environments
• Develop and design intentional learning activities suitable for the appropriate environment and the learner

Here is the summary that my group wrote at the end of the experience:
    Planning and implementation of our seminar week benefited from group discussions we had about the readings and what we would like to see in terms of workload and activities. We felt that by planning this seminar collaboratively we were able to address the material using multiple strategies. Throughout our seminar planning we used Salmon’s Five Stage Model (2004) and Kear (2011) to inform our activity choices.
    We really enjoyed working with each other. Each team member contributed to planning and facilitation based on their strengths.  Respect and trust for each other was evident from the very beginning of the process and it never flagged. There were no clashes of personalities and each of us followed through in our commitment to tasks. We were able to meet f2f but much was done online. We found communicating via email a challenge, as the threads sometimes got too long.  When this happened we met as a group.
    Initially, the response to the TedTalk discussion question was slow, but we attributed this to a combination of starting on a long weekend and many students choosing to focus on their final assignment.  Our discussion question sparked some very interesting posts and sharing of concrete ideas that others can use in their classrooms.  Our team did not feel the need to respond to every single post in the discussion; rather, it was more important to “watch” the conversation and participate where necessary to keep the conversation flowing.
    Although many of our team were feeling nervous about facilitating the synchronous session, moderating the synchronous night was a very good experience.  Some team members had never used a Jigsaw format and were impressed with how well it flowed. Most of the students seemed familiar with the format; therefore, minimal facilitation was needed. We used the moderator chat to support each other during the jigsaw discussions as well as during the presentations. The cohort had good conversations with very little prompting needed from the moderators. One thing we would have done differently is to define the role of the moderators during the synchronous discussions, as at least one group seemed to want to discuss without the moderator and another group seemed to wait for moderator prompting before beginning their discussion. Using Kear (2011) as guide, we were careful to consider our learners when planning our synchronous night, so we were glad that the students responded positively.
The Padlet wall activity progressed better than expected. Most students were able to access the wall and post without difficulty. Most posted in the first day Padlet was open, but there were a few who posted later in the week. There were only two people that needed additional help getting into the wall, which had more to do with connection issues then difficulty with the tool. The resources collected were diverse and very helpful.

• This activity fits Stage 3 of Salmon’s model – Information exchange

2. Beginning of Jigsaw activity using quotes from Kear (2011) sent out to individuals on Saturday.

3. Tips, Tricks, Problems and Solutions (Padlet activity) Students asked to post their ideas for transitioning between F2F and online

• This activity fits Stage 5 of Salmon’s model – Reflect on experiences

Synchronous activities:

1. Completion of Jigsaw activity during the Tuesday night seminar. This included two sets of breakout rooms for discussion

• Fits stage 4 of Salmon’s model (2004) – Knowledge Construction

2. Tutorial of Padlet and introduction to final asynchronous activity “Tips, Tricks, Problems and Solutions”

References:
Kear, K. (2011). Online and Social Networking Communities. New York, NY: Routledge.

Salmon, G. (2003). Five-stage model to teaching and learning online.  (University of Leeds, United Kingdom). Retrieved from: w.sddu.leeds.ac.uk/sddu-salmon-five-stage-model-alternative-version.html

• Develop and design intentional learning activities suitable for the appropriate environment and the learner
• Critically assess and evaluate resources for best practice in online learning
• Incorporate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles

One of my classes, Biology 067 (Provincial Biology) is slowly being shifted in to a blended model. This is partially due to class time being cut by two hours a week and partially so students can attend class less. Most of my students are busy adults. Often they work full time, have a family, volunteer and many many other things. By allowing them to take part of the course when they choose I believe I would reduce some of the stress they must face.

I had moved some of my lessons on-line, but I wasn’t very satisfied with them. They felt boring and under-utilizing the amazing, creative world that is on-line. I hadn’t, however, reflected on what the problem was, or how it could be fixed. OLTD 502 forced me to do so.

I had to take a close look at my lessons, see how I was applying (or not!) UDL, and change the lesson to best practices for student success. It took an extraordinarily long time. With practice, this time can be reduced, especially as the more a skill is practiced, the easier and more familiar it becomes. Educators recommend that practicing skills is a way to become an expert, that is one reason homework is assigned. Creating a lesson is no different.

Attached is a PDF of the lesson

Evidence: Pecha Kucha

Learning Outcomes:

• Develop and design intentional learning activities suitable for the appropriate environment and the learner
• Develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization

        There is a temptation when creating a power point or other learning activities to put as much information as possible. Often there is so much material that must be covered that lessons can feel crammed and busy. The focus is on the information and not the learning.

Creating a Pecha Kucha is an interesting experience in focusing on what is important. Having only 20 slides, each only 20 seconds long requires the educator to determine what is most important. This style of power point means that the creator must be succinct using images that enhance the message. It is a connectivism approach to education

A learning outcome of the Online Learning and Teaching Diploma is to develop and design intentional learning activities suitable for the appropriate environment and the learner. For an asynchronous lesson a Pecha Kucha lets the student focus on the message. The music and images emphasizes the message.

A second learning outcome is to develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization. Personalization means two things. It is important to personalize the lesson to the student. The music and images of the Pecha Kucha can be chosen to reflect the interests of the student while relating to the learning outcomes. They also can show the personality of the instructor allowing the student to get to know their teacher.

The Pecha Kucha as both a  PDF and a power point are below