Never did I realize how many decisions I would need to make in order to create an engaging and meaningful experience for my students. When I learned at the beginning of this course I would have to create an online course module, my brain fizzled. How am I going to do this? What was needed in this module? What content management system (CMS) would I be using? What did it need to focus on? What if I could not finish it in time? Too many questions went through my mind but thankfully I had plenty of time to make it a seamless course module for future students to use.
I am one to try new things however, with certain constraints such as school ending early in May (wrapping up end of the year grades AND packing up to move to a new school) and starting school early in August (Arizona is hot and we cannot start school in September when it is sweltering), I stuck with my comforts. I used many Google tools such as Forms and Jamboard for engagement with my students, and used Schoology since I used it during remote learning. Although they were my comforts, I was able to perfect and even improve on the skills I had coming into this course. One thing I did decide to do was to create a writing unit, which is definitely out of my comfort zone. Now, honestly, I believe teaching writing is a difficult skill to teach students. They are all at different writing stages or they may not know what a period or a complete sentence is, amongst many other factors. But something drew me to picking this as the focus of my online course module. It was a challenge I was willing to try, regardless of the constraints I had mentioned.
When creating the content for my online course module, I made mindful decisions that would ultimately support my students. For one, I made sure the tech tools I integrated were set with a purpose. Framing my work using Matthew Koehler and Punya Mishra's TPACK framework really helped me to make sure the content, teaching strategies, and technology was all aligned in order to best support my students on this online platform. For example, I wanted students to provide feedback to each other in Lesson 3. I could have used a Google Doc and taught the students the Comment feature. I did not think it would have been as engaging compared to using Flipgrid and having students see everyone's faces and providing feedback that way.
This online course module I created had assessments interweaved throughout. If I were to continue working on this module, the final assessment would be a multi-paragraph opinion essay on the topic of homework. Because I planned three lessons, I created formative assessments that were aligned with the objectives and goals for each lesson. They ranged from quizzes, Flipgrid videos, and Google Forms. Due to their grade level, I made sure these assessments were appropriate for them so that they were not sitting on the computer for hours completing a task. All the assessments I included in my lessons will be the students' checks for understanding. If I do see some misconceptions or confusions, that would call for some differentiation or small group sessions where I can meet with students to walk them through the lesson and support them in those prior misconceptions. Because they are digital assessments, I am automatically able to see their responses which makes it easier for me to know who needs support and who may even need extensions on their learning.
Here are a couple lessons for the future CEP820ers if they happen to hop on this blog post and want some tips as they maneuver through this course:
Make sure your CMS is easily accessible to your audience. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, Schoology canceled Basic account subscriptions to all educators. I had access to Schoology because my district used it. Because I wanted to use Schoology, I had to give personal credentials to my instructor and peer reviewer so they could access my online course module. Using a CMS such as Google Sites or Google Classroom would have been an alternative for my situation if I did consider a new platform since there is no login information to access the platform.
Learn and grow within this semester-long project at a slow pace. I can say I am guilty for just checking off the list of things to do for a specific assignment, especially if it is the fast-paced courses that last for eight weeks. Thing is, I do it pretty fast too. With this class (which was three months long), it is beneficial to stop, soak what you have learned, and really see what you can do with that information just given to you. Applying it directly into your teaching practices and your online course module really will benefit you in the long run. So play around with different CMS platforms before you choose one. Or explore a new tool such as EdPuzzle or Qualtrics to use on your online course module. Take it slow. You will really appreciate that.
Online course modules are not that difficult to create. If you know what your end goal is for your students, you know what subject you want to focus on, the platform you want to share this learning on (aka the CMS), and you make sure you align the objectives, activities, and assessments to each other, it should be an easy process. If you are all over the place, it could get difficult, as the semester continues on. The alignment table used in this course really helped me to see if everything aligned up. It also caused me to purposely think about each part of the lesson with every planning stage.
Overall, the pitfall of using Schoology on my district account does not discourage all the positives of what I gained from this course. I have a better knowledge of how to present material in an online platform to students. In the event that COVID-19 has my school district back in remote learning, I know how to create a safe and comforting learning environment all through the use of technology. I also know how to make sure the learning that occurs online is meaningful and will keep students engaged as best as they can.
References
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054.