Sample Friday the 13th!

On September 14, 2013, in Online Teaching Posts - Not POTCERT, by Laura Paciorek
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I need to expand upon my post from last weekend about the sample learning module I put in my course this semester.

I added two things to sort of “wrap up” the learning module.

  1. A link to the Blackboard IM setup page (optional)
  2. A closing message, with a photo of me in it, inviting people to email me if they have questions.

I felt like it ended so abruptly with the sample journal that I wanted to close it with a message.  I realized, however, that I don’t typically do that each week!  I think I will close my modules with a message about what’s coming up next or an invitation to email me like I did in this sample module.

Another thing that I am pondering is what my class looks like the moment students open it up.  We talked about that in our POT face-to-face workshop today.  I am going to go through and really analyze that before I open my class up to my students.  I think a little closed-captioned video on the home page will help (super short – maybe 30 seconds).  I also want to look at my menu to see what I could combine or reorganize.

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It’s “Sample” Saturday!

On September 8, 2013, in Online Teaching Posts - Not POTCERT, by Laura Paciorek
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Tonight I decided to spend the evening making a “sample” learning module for students in my online class, which begins in 5 weeks.  My plan is to open my course early and have samples in all of the areas of the course and a few items that are ready for them (e.g., the introduction discussion board).  Then, on the main page, I will have a sample learning module.  This learning module will actually work, but it is designed more as a way to run them through what one might contain and how it might look.  There is a working sample quiz with two multiple choice questions (what is the course number and what is your instructor’s name), a sample journal entry, and a sample assignment submission link.  This is all just for practice.  I explain in each area what they will likely see in that area of the learning module when the class begins.  Here’s a visual of the module table of contents:

Table of contents for a learning module

Or here it is for you in a list:

  • Welcome to the sample learning module
  • Sample schedule for the week
  • Required: Discussion board guidelines
  • Sample lecture notes
  • Video 1: How to download Google documents
  • Video 2: That super-fun video introduction to the class
  • REQUIRED: Post your introduction here by 11:59 p.m., PT…
  • Optional: Sample quiz
  • Optional: Practice using Turnitin (worth 0 points)
  • Optional: Sample journal

I usually do a video that runs students through a learning module, or some other type of tutorial for them, but this year I wanted to try to create something with which they can interact.  I have the feeling that if they actually try some of these things, they will feel better about them when the class begins.  I am envisioning that they could work through this before the class begins or early on during the first week of class.  They don’t have to log in and complete work until the class starts, of course.  However, for those students new to online classes, they may appreciate the chance to try out the sample.

Does anyone have thoughts on this?  I am eager to hear your feedback and suggestions!

 

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Week 5 – The Syllabus

On October 1, 2012, in POT Certificate 2012, by Laura Paciorek
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I cannot wait to see what everyone posts in week 5 about the syllabus.  As I have mentioned before, I am not in the certificate class anymore, but it is great following along.  This week I wanted to share a video that I have seen a few times in a few different contexts.  There are some tips in this video that could be helpful when creating a syllabus, in my opinion.  There are also a lot of things that do not relate to a syllabus, but may be fun to consider.  I hope you enjoy it if you get a chance to watch it.

Reference: SeattleCenterSCCC (2011, October 12). Universal design [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/4FE1CLS7i3k

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Weeks 3/4 – Course Design for Interaction – Taking on Roles

On September 23, 2012, in POT Certificate 2012, by Laura Paciorek
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After reading Melissa Conrey’s post this week, I was inspired to think a little bit about my own online course design and how it impacts interaction.  I am not taking the certificate class right now, but I am excited that following along gets me thinking about my own work.  I am trying something new in my discussion board in my current online class, thanks to a suggestion made by Jim Julius at a POT First Friday face-to-face workshop early this month.  I am enjoying the results.  This past week, which is still wrapping up, I had students sign up to be an early childhood education philosopher from a certain time period in history.  Then, they were to introduce themselves as the philosopher and tell others about their philosophy.  For the replies, they were prompted to stay in character.

This has been going so well that I am doing the same thing again next week.  It just so happens that this coming week we are looking at child development theorists, rather than early childhood education philosophers, so this role-play exercise will still work quite well.  I am also thinking about how I could still have them take on roles for other topics and have a few ideas.

I wanted to mention this here because I think it is a simple shift that relates to course design.  If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, it would be great to see what you all think about this.  Have you tried something similar?  Do you have suggestions?  Do you think students might be more likely to share strong opinions when they can do it as a character and not themselves?  Is writing from the perspective of a character more challenging and could that turn people off from posting?

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