Course Objectives & Learning Outcomes
This course will explore the continuum of learning that can take place in online environments from supplementing face-to-face class teaching to mounting hybrid/blended or fully online courses. Topics include comparing pedagogical approaches, creating and selecting resources, building levels of interactivity for learning, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and facilitating change.
Course Learning Outcomes
- Become familiar with common terms, definitions and elements related to face-to-face, blended and online learning environments.
- Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within face-to-face, blended and online learning environments.
- Plan learning opportunities most suitable to the strengths and challenges of face-to-face, blended and online learning environments.
- Develop and design intentional learning activities suitable for the learning environment and the learner (Incorporation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles; and selection of strategies and resources appropriate for the learning environment, learners, and learning outcomes)
- Create assessment and evaluation methods and tools most suitable to the strengths and challenges of face-to-face, blended and online learning environments.
- Integrate current cognitive learning and change management theory (examine current research on emerging practices for face-to-face, blended and online learning environments).
- Develop practical and technical skills in all phases of concept, development, design, implementation, etc. for face-to-face, blended and online learning environments.
- Develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization based on characteristics, needs, stages of development, current personalized learning mandates, and misconceptions.
- Continue from OLTD 501 (engage in learning communities and communities of practice;critically assess and evaluate resources for best practice in online learning; consider responsibility, accountability and civility in online environments; continue evidence and reflection collection in a D2L ePortfolio template to demonstrate course and program mastery; and cmintain a personal web space to support your learning throughout the OLTD program).
Evidence of Learning #1 : Lesson/Unit Redesign
Previous Learning Sequence--Social Studies 11: WWI
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UDL Learning Sequence--Social Studies 11: WW1
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redesign & Critique of learning activity
Learning Outcome Addressed:
This piece of evidence is my Critique of an Existing Learning Activity and Redesign. I used a f2f lesson plan that I had successfully used several times for Social Studies 11. Formalizing a learning sequence for social studies allowed me to reflect in a deeper and more creative way about how to design and structure the learning activities for online learning. As an online facilitator it is important that I am able to design and implement learning activities suitable for the online learning environment and engaging for the learner.
Rather than providing a solitary lesson plan, I chose to include the entire learning sequence, which allows for chunking the material into short and meaningful activities that build on one another, or cognitive scaffolding--guiding the learners’ actions and also promoting regular reflection. The lessons are part of the first teaching unit in social studies, and by reflecting on the process, I have found that the students are not yet prepared to write a full five-paragraph essay on their own. Many students are overwhelmed by the content, and at this point in the semester, lack the writing skills to put their thoughts to paper. As a result, I've adapted the expectations from writing a five-paragraph essay individually, to writing a five-paragraph essay with a partner (collaboratively). In the revised lessons, the students write three (body) paragraphs for the essay, and in collaboration with another student, they share in the process of writing the full essay. The learning methods and activities I've employed focus on the process of learning, which are intended to help the students gain knowledge of key social studies concepts related to Canadian identity.
The learning sequence has been adapted to an online learning environment, one that utilizes synchronous learning activities. Students work through the material synchronously in Collaborate, while the teacher guides them, using direct and indirect instruction methods, throughout the lessons. Good practice necessitates active learning techniques and social venues to collaborate and explore the material. Within this learning framework, students are expected to talk about what they are learning and write reflectively about it, which draws on social constructivist theory that emphasizes group construction of knowledge. As well, the use of Web 2.0 technology, such as Google Docs, supports a social constructivist method of learning, whereby the students collaborate on writing a shared document, thereby constructing knowledge together.
The challenge was to integrate the online tools, learning theories, and standards to create a pedagogically informed learning activity. The revised sequence builds on a learner-centred model, where the idea of a “community of inquiry” (Lipman, 1991) allows for supportive collaboration within the learning community and ensures that the focus is on learning, or knowledge construction. The sequence was also informed by the what makes for effective “best practices” in online learning and teaching environments, specifically, UDL (Understanding by Design) standards, or “backward design” which emphasizes “teaching for understanding” by looking at the learning outcomes before designing the assessments and instructional materials.
- Develop and design intentional learning activities suitable for the learning environment
- Incorporation of Universal Design for Learning principles
- Selection of strategies and resources appropriate for the learning environment, learners, and learning outcomes.
This piece of evidence is my Critique of an Existing Learning Activity and Redesign. I used a f2f lesson plan that I had successfully used several times for Social Studies 11. Formalizing a learning sequence for social studies allowed me to reflect in a deeper and more creative way about how to design and structure the learning activities for online learning. As an online facilitator it is important that I am able to design and implement learning activities suitable for the online learning environment and engaging for the learner.
Rather than providing a solitary lesson plan, I chose to include the entire learning sequence, which allows for chunking the material into short and meaningful activities that build on one another, or cognitive scaffolding--guiding the learners’ actions and also promoting regular reflection. The lessons are part of the first teaching unit in social studies, and by reflecting on the process, I have found that the students are not yet prepared to write a full five-paragraph essay on their own. Many students are overwhelmed by the content, and at this point in the semester, lack the writing skills to put their thoughts to paper. As a result, I've adapted the expectations from writing a five-paragraph essay individually, to writing a five-paragraph essay with a partner (collaboratively). In the revised lessons, the students write three (body) paragraphs for the essay, and in collaboration with another student, they share in the process of writing the full essay. The learning methods and activities I've employed focus on the process of learning, which are intended to help the students gain knowledge of key social studies concepts related to Canadian identity.
The learning sequence has been adapted to an online learning environment, one that utilizes synchronous learning activities. Students work through the material synchronously in Collaborate, while the teacher guides them, using direct and indirect instruction methods, throughout the lessons. Good practice necessitates active learning techniques and social venues to collaborate and explore the material. Within this learning framework, students are expected to talk about what they are learning and write reflectively about it, which draws on social constructivist theory that emphasizes group construction of knowledge. As well, the use of Web 2.0 technology, such as Google Docs, supports a social constructivist method of learning, whereby the students collaborate on writing a shared document, thereby constructing knowledge together.
The challenge was to integrate the online tools, learning theories, and standards to create a pedagogically informed learning activity. The revised sequence builds on a learner-centred model, where the idea of a “community of inquiry” (Lipman, 1991) allows for supportive collaboration within the learning community and ensures that the focus is on learning, or knowledge construction. The sequence was also informed by the what makes for effective “best practices” in online learning and teaching environments, specifically, UDL (Understanding by Design) standards, or “backward design” which emphasizes “teaching for understanding” by looking at the learning outcomes before designing the assessments and instructional materials.
Evidence Of Learning #2: A Debate--Traditional Vs. E-Learning
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Debate: online vs. blended learning
Learning outcome addressed:
There was a hiccup to our presentation--during the online (live) discussion of this "debate" we ran into some problems with the Prezi presentation format on Collaborate--it wasn't set up for all of the cohort to properly view the presentation. Meaning, we could only present to a small group, and then present it again to another. Obviously, this format wasn't going to work for a class of twenty. After a few minor problems, we did present our ideas on another day. As an online facilitator, this was a lesson in pre-organizing, and working with an online tool that is compatible with the collaboration tool (Collaborate). And the case of our technological failure, the irony wasn't lost--learning did not take place in an online learning environments (at least not on this day), so it was clearly less advantageous as a teaching method.
- Integrate current cognitive learning and change management theory and examine current research on emerging practices for face-to-face, blended and online learning environments
- Engage in learning communities and communities of practice
- Critically assess and evaluate resources for best practice in online learning
There was a hiccup to our presentation--during the online (live) discussion of this "debate" we ran into some problems with the Prezi presentation format on Collaborate--it wasn't set up for all of the cohort to properly view the presentation. Meaning, we could only present to a small group, and then present it again to another. Obviously, this format wasn't going to work for a class of twenty. After a few minor problems, we did present our ideas on another day. As an online facilitator, this was a lesson in pre-organizing, and working with an online tool that is compatible with the collaboration tool (Collaborate). And the case of our technological failure, the irony wasn't lost--learning did not take place in an online learning environments (at least not on this day), so it was clearly less advantageous as a teaching method.
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