Feedback, Accessibility & Equity

Feedback

First off, thank you to my reviewers for spending time going through my first module and providing feedback. It helps to have more eyes reviewing my course and different perspectives regarding what they liked about it and what could be improved.

 

Things that worked well

Things that could be improved

#1) All content and activities were organized into one google document (with hyperlinks) making it easy to navigate #2) Created multiple Lumi videos (7) that were interactive, informative, and aligned with course outcomes #3) Course appeared professional and each lesson/activity included hyperlinks to answer keys, formative quizzes and videos making it convenient for students to access everything they needed #4) Videos were welcoming and appropriate for age of learners

#1) Student agenda could be improved by renaming the document to something simpler and color-coating specific daily tasks  #2) Could begin introductions to new content with a story to show students how this will look in the real world #3) Making the important hyperlinks more prominent for students to find #4) Including more real-life questions rather than the typical word problems

 

I appreciate all the feedback from my reviewers and I am going to do my best to respond to all of it. 

 

Feedback #1) I renamed my “Student Agenda” to “Daily Tasks” and redesigned the document to make it more colorful and less wordy. One of my reviewers had a great idea to have students connect on Discord by answering a Question of the Day to initiate conversation. This is brilliant because I do this in my in-person classes and can easily send a message first thing every morning to my online students. 

 

Feedback #2) Due to time limitations, I will not be redoing my lesson videos on Lumi to include a story; however, I found a few great videos on YouTube that fit within my unit. I can show how the pythagorean theorem is used in football, and how trigonometry is applied in different situations, such as analyzing blood spatter in a crime scene and in architecture. I can easily add these YouTube videos at the beginning of my lessons for students to view without spending too much extra time editing my existing videos. 

 

Feedback #3) Since I received my feedback, I adapted my worksheets for this module to add a video icon that links learners to my instructional videos, and a text box (in red) that directs students to check their answers and complete the formative quiz at the end of their lessons. This will make my worksheets more visually appealing and help catch my student’s eyes. 

 

Feedback #4) I plan on updating my word problems in the near future. Right now, I feel there are more pertinent tasks that I need to spend my time working on. Having all my worksheets online makes it easy to modernize questions/assignment details at any time… so for now, I will continue working on Module 2 and keep this feedback in mind.

 

A question my reviewers had related to my course timeline and how students who require additional time completing assignments will be successful in my course. To answer this question, most of my students taking this course will be working closely with a student support teacher (SST) in our school. This provides additional class time (during the school day) to complete their coursework. However, if the student, SST, and I (the instructor)  meet up at the beginning of the semester and feel the student will need an extension, we can make that work. Depending on how many modules this specific student needs to complete to attain their recovery credit, we can extend their module timeline to suit their needs. I do believe that students need deadlines, so I would feel comfortable providing a couple extra weeks to complete the course, but if we drag the modules too long, they may lose interest or motivation to finish. 

 

Accessibility & Equity

After our class on Wednesday night, I spent time reflecting on my course and wondered if my future students will have difficulties accessing their materials online. Since our Zoom meeting, I have changed all my hyperlinks in my google documents to match the words describing the link. For example, instead of attaching the link to the words “click here” to get to the answer key, I combined the attachment with the words “check your answers for assignment 1.” This will make it more accessible for ALL diverse learners, and was a simple task for me! I have also researched different APPS for mathematics that assist students with visual impairments. Some of these apps include: 

1. Seeing AI: This is an artificial intelligence app that uses the camera to identify people and objects and audibly describes these objects for people. 
2. Talking Scientific Calculator: This app includes a colorful calculator with large buttons for learners who have some vision, and the option to speak for commands in large numbers and formulas (compared to pronouncing a single number at a time).

 

Since I do not have a lot of experience working with students with diverse learning needs, I plan on reaching out to professionals, including my Principal, for more guidance. 

 

As of right now, I feel my course is accessible to the students in my school presently. All students will have the option to receive a printed copy of each module prior to beginning the course. They will also have the opportunity to use the school chromebooks, desktops in the library (these are available throughout the day, including lunch hours) and computers in the Student Support Teacher’s classroom. My students also have access to calculators, protractors, compasses, rulers and other necessary materials from the school throughout the course.