Module 1 in Lumi
The Before
I created my online course to help students attain a recovery credit in Math 10WA. Module 1 focuses on Trigonometry which can be a difficult unit for grade 10 students. To view my course prototype, click here.
The Now
Over the past 10 days, I have spent countless hours creating a “shell” for my first module. To say the least, I underestimated the amount of time it would take setting up an asynchronous course online. I found myself asking the same question “how will this actually work?” My head was spinning thinking of all the things I still needed to create (syllabus, rubrics, instructional videos, assessments, etc.), and I quickly became overwhelmed. I tried visualizing how my students would access all their materials without getting confused or missing important information. With a few extra cups of coffee this past week, I figured out a solution I “think” will work.
I ended up creating a “daily agenda” for my students to follow. Everything is in one document; including links to all their instructional videos, assignments, assessments, course syllabus, intro videos, extra assignments, practice tests, and more. I made the document into a checklist so they can mark off their completed tasks and stay on schedule. The students just have to click the links! Should be easy peasy (I hope). To view my course agenda, click here. **NOTE: This took a very very very long time!
To keep things consistent, I chose to create all my instructional videos in a similar format. I ended up recording all my lessons through Annotate, then edited each one in iMovie, and finally uploaded the files to YouTube. After this very long process, I copy and pasted my YouTube links into Lumi and added interactions to each one. This was the first time I used Lumi and I really enjoyed the template. The first video took me a while to figure out, but by the time I finished my 8th video, it only took me a few minutes. I integrated True/False statements to check for understanding multiple times throughout my lessons. I used Multiple choice questions for students to check their answers (before) viewing the solutions on the video. *This way they are not watching the video and becoming bored/distracted with other things around them. It forces them to pay attention to the material and practice the example questions “with” me. I added additional links into my lessons to help students navigate their calculator skills (for example: helping students reset their calculator to degrees). I also used the Crossroads feature which allows students to skip to the next question if they are feeling confident with the content. At the end of each instructional video, I added a link to their daily assignments and a link to their ‘check for understanding quiz’ via google forms. Everything they need can be accessed through the instructional video. It’s amazing what technology allows us to do! Overall, I was very pleased with Lumi and I will most likely continue using this platform for future modules.
The first video I created in Lumi was a Calculator Escape Room activity. This is a short activity I like to do on the first day of classes with my students so they feel comfortable navigating different buttons on their calculators before starting course content. Please give it a try (if you want). You will need a calculator, pen and paper! NOTE: It doesn’t work well on your phone screen so I suggest using a computer/laptop. Here is the LINK.
The other 7 videos I created in Lumi are my instructional videos for each lesson I teach. These are not as fancy or fun as my first video, but if you want to check them out, here are the links:
Lesson 1 – Pythagorean Theorem
Lesson 2 – Pythagorean Theorem Word Problems
Lesson 3 – Intro to Trigonometry
Lesson 4 – Using Trig to Find Unknown Side Lengths
Lesson 5 – Using Trig to Find Unknown Angles
Lesson 6 – Solving Right Triangles
Lesson 7 – Trigonometry Word Problems
My thoughts about assessments…
I am trying to think realistically about this course. My time is limited and I need my students to stay engaged and motivated. I have no idea if this will work or not, but some big decisions I made were:
- Keeping all my formative assessments online. At the end of each lesson, students will complete questions via Google Forms (Quizzes) and receive immediate feedback. All their answers will automatically be sent to me afterwards. Since I am teaching full-time, this seems like the easiest and most convenient way to see how my students are doing.
- Keeping all my summative assessments in-person. I want my students to be present during summative assessments and have an adult supervise to support them if they need clarifications on questions and to ensure they are completing their own work. Students will also be encouraged to draw pictures and show their work (step-by-step) to receive full marks (similar to my in-person classes).
- Incorporating an online communication piece to my course breakdown. Having my students check-in daily through Discord will (hopefully) motivate students to complete work in a timely manner and hold them accountable to communicate with others throughout the course. I have created two simple online assignments for the students to complete during the course as well. These took very little time to plan and organize.
The Future
In the near future, I plan on creating 6 more modules so I can have all my Math 10WA units online for students to access. I find that high school students do better when they have a set routine and know what to expect. I plan on creating similar videos and following the same template for my other units. I am optimistic that next module will be easier to create and upload, because I have found what works best for me.
Sarah, I appreciate the amount of detail and effort that went into your module and your course agenda. I agree that having a well-thought-out plan helps students to be successful, and you certainly achieved this with your class module. I also tried your calculator escape room and found it to be a great review to engage students at the beginning. I, too, enjoyed Lumi once I got the hang of it, and I think it is a valuable tool for blended learning purposes.
Your course is so well thought out – and I’m a little obsessed with your agenda! I had mentioned before, when I was taking online classes, it was often confusing trying to find all of the information needed. Yours is so easily accessible on just one page, and should hopefully keep students on track. Annotate also seems to work really well for you, it’s an interesting app for sure. Videos all looked great – well done! I’ve also seen others post that formative assessments are online, but summative assessments are in person. We do the same for some of our safety training, mostly to prevent cheating. For those that are online, we have a few tricks that make cheating harder – randomize/shuffle questions, have several varieties of each question in a question bank, only one question per page, and having a time limit for completion.