Humanizing Online STEM Showcase
Rosemary Sherriff, Professor, Cal Poly Humboldt
This site provides examples of instructional resources created in the Humanizing Online STEM Academy.
The course I worked on in this course was GEOG 106 Physical Geography.
Reflections
Where I was.
I had previously used very minimal online tools and applications to create content for my courses.
Where I am.
I have explored and dabbled with a variety of tools, applications, and I have created a few outputs that will now allow me to update and humanize my courses.
Where I am going.
I will be using each of the applications and tools that we learned for the course that I worked on as part of this workshop and for other courses. In particular, I found Adobe Express, YouTube, and Google Sites effective tools in addition to zoom and using my Iphone to create videos. By having to redo/fix some of the outputs I created, this also reinforced that I can improve and create more content for students.
The goal of this was to introduce the students to the course as a general overview and to introduce me to them as a person (humanize the instructor). I sent students the link to the liquid syllabus for the course I've been working on for this semester. I look forward to getting their feedback to see if it was useful for them. I really think this approach is a great way to introduce myself and the course.
Course Card
I chose Earth as the image because it sums up what the course is about. It's a powerful image to me. I have had this feedback from others and students as well that support this. In addition, I also now have greatly increased the humanizing components of my course on Canvas and I already sent them the Liquid Syllabus, which also humanizes me and the course. Thus, although one objective was to use an image that humanizes Canvas as the students first view the course to click into it, I think the Earth image does a good job of creating intrigue for the course.
Homepage
I have worked diligently on my Canvas homepage for the course to humanize it with information about me, create more inclusive language, intuitive prompts to find information, and increase visuals that would intrigue students. A video introduction to the Homepage is on the left (1:34 minutes).
Getting to Know You Survey
I added 13 questions to the survey. A video introduction to the survey is on the lower left (1:59 minutes). Here are a few example questions:
What would you like me to call you?
Do you have any pronunciation tips for saying your name?
OPTIONAL: try recording audio or a video of your answer. Use the button that looks like a black and white YouTube Play button with musical notes to activate your microphone and/or webcam. Select "Record." Recordings can take a bit to save after you click "save." It may look like nothing is happening, but give it time. (Sorry--this option does not work on the Canvas app)
When you use Canvas (our online platform), will you mainly use your phone, a laptop, a computer, or something else?
How do you learn best? What works for you? What doesn't?
Wisdom Wall
This is the information I shared when they click into the Wisdom Wall. My instructions for the Wisdom Wall video is on the bottom left (2:12 minutes).
Think back to the beginning of this course and try to remember how you felt. Now that our course is ending, what do you know now that you wish you had known then? And what advice would you give to my next group of students? What helped or didn't help you prepare?
Overview: The goal of this "Wisdom Wall" is a collection of "learning stories" recorded by students in a prior class and listened to by students in a current class. By listening to the advice, students see that other students have similar struggles and identify new strategies for overcoming them.
Instructions: As you wrap up this course, I invite you to contribute to the Wisdom Wall by sharing your advice for success about a particular topic with future students. By recording your advice, reflect on your growth over time and recognize what you did to navigate through a challenge in the course.
In recorded comment (either video or audio only) using the FLIP tool linked to this assignment below. You may need to refresh the page if the link isn't showing.
Note: Your comments will be shared with future students. I encourage you to give thought about what you’d like to share before you begin recording.
Need help? Contact me or canvas@humboldt.edu for help.
Grading: This is an optional assignment for 10 points towards your total grade.
Bumper Video
Learning objective: a short follow up video after covering the pressure gradient force, which is a topic that can be confusing for students and they need a little more detail sometimes than we have time to cover in class. I used video, audio voice, music and imagery. The video is available to the left (0:53 seconds).
Microlecture
Learning objective: a microlecture after covering the topic in class on evaluating how solar radiation values shift over the months of the year and by latitude, and an explanation of the diagram the students will use for a homework assignment. The goal was to explain the diagram in more detail in order for the students to be able to understand the diagram and concepts more clearly. The microlecture video is on the left (4:57 minutes).