Let me just begin my saying, holy workload Batman! I certainly underestimated how long it would take to create a course shell and single module for my blended math course. This is something that I can see many of us are experiencing! Understandably, the initial creation of an online or blended course would be quite tedious and time consuming, but once completed, would be able to be used again and again with future groups of students. Still, there is a…
Thinking of your own context, what tools for online and blended learning seem most useful/relevant and why? If you currently teach in an online/remote/distance setting, how have you/might you bring these tools into your current context, and how has your experience been impacted by the online or distance format? OR If you do NOT teach in an online/remote/distance setting, how would you feel about teaching with these tools in an online or distance education class, and how would your current…
What forms of student/student-instructor interactions do you plan to implement in your course prototype (e.g. LMS forums, Flipgrid, blog comments/pingbacks, hashtags, video chats, etc.)? What justification can you provide for choosing these forms of student interaction? What guidelines or assessment practices will you adopt to ensure that interactions are meaningful, supportive, engaging, and relevant? This week’s asynchronous class included practical videos and readings to help prepare us for the creation of our class prototypes. The videos by Michael Wesch provide…
Visit any classroom today, and you are likely to see the use of productivity and presentation tools in some form to aid teachers and students in the learning process. I’d bet that the class is also actively using some kind of platform to store and access materials digitally, such as OneDrive, Google Drive, Seesaw or Edsby. I’d increase those chances if the teacher is 10 years or less into their career, who probably grew up in some capacity using these…
After much deliberation, I finally settled on creating a blended course for grade 7 math, focusing on fractions, decimals and percent. As someone who loved the traditional direct instruction, drill and practice math growing up, it is difficult for me to venture to the more abstract, problem-based methods of math learning, but I figure this is as good an opportunity as any to broaden my horizons. Oh, and I’m gonna give Canvas a whirl while I’m at it, too. ADDIE…
Postman wrote: “…We now know that “Sesame Street” encourages children to love school only if school is like “Sesame Street.” Which is to say, we now know that “Sesame Street” undermines what the traditional idea of schooling represents.” In a blog post, unpack the implications of this quote, particularly the idea that Sesame Street undermines traditional schooling. What does Postman mean here, and how might we extend this idea to the broader effects of AV technologies in schools, from the…
Blog post prompt #2 – Considering the readings and our discussion in class, write a post addressing the following: Which theories of knowledge and/or learning underpin your own teaching philosophy and classroom practice? How have your beliefs shifted or changed over the course of your teaching career thus far? I have to say, I thoroughly enjoy being a student. I genuinely love sitting back and listening to a lecture on a topic, and I think this is because as teachers,…
This week in class we learned all about blended learning. We looked at the (many) definitions of it and discussed the different ways institutions classify and implement it. Needless to say there isn’t a consensus on what makes an environment truly blended. Once again I was quite interested in Katia’s lecture which was mixed in with some small-group discussion on the topic. I was reflecting on my own teaching practice and the ways that I’ve utilized this style of teaching and learning in…
Everything has Changed – what a dramatic way to kick off my ECI833 blog! Fortunately it’s just a nod to T. Swift and my attempt to title each of my weekly posts with one of her songs. Why Taylor? I don’t know. She has a lot of songs. Could I get AI to do this for me? Yes. Let’s see what it can come up with: “Blank Space in Education: Embracing the Tech Revolution” “Learning to the Rhythm of Change:…