OLTD Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of online learning environments and tools
- 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
- Incorporate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles
- Select strategies and resources appropriate for environment, learners and learning outcomes
- Understand, design and commit to student success in online learning environments
- Design inclusive learning environments
- Create assessment and evaluation methods/tools most suitable to the strengths and challenges of online environments
Evidence to Support Outcome:
Reflection to Support Evidence:
This piece of evidence was the second major assignment for OLTD 507 in Fall 2014. The video above outlines a series of lessons developed using the “Standard Online course design” as described in 507. Within the LMS I used a variety of LMS and non-LMS cloud tools to create a series of lessons that allowed learners to interact with each other and develop a project in the course of 5 weeks.
This video shows my ability to put together a basic lesson sequence using a variety of tools, both within the LMS and outside of the LMS. I took care to allow options for tool use when cloud tools were suggested to learners so those that did not want to use cloud tools could still participate fully in the lesson series. This lesson series tried to take advantage of what cloud tools were good at doing (sharing and collaborating) and what the LMS was good at doing (providing a skeleton for the series and displaying information). Throughout the lesson series I attempted to provide instructions and content in a variety of ways (text and audio/video/images) and also tried to incorporate active projects and interactive discussions, following UDL principles. I borrowed content heavily from a variety of courses were appropriate to the lesson series, but customized information as needed for the specific audience I was targeting. My lesson series contains all major unit pieces, including getting ready for learning, content and assessment and reflection.
Designing online lessons and lesson series is a critical aspect of many online instructors’ positions. Being able to leverage the advantages of a variety of online assets (both within the LMS and outside of it) will create a richer and more dynamic learning experience for students overall. An online instructor must also understand how to structure online assessments so they are fair and allow students to demonstrate what they know. Given that the online environment is a challenging one for many students, instructors must be able to provide the most accessible and inclusive environment possible to meet the needs of all learners.