Design & Development

Writing is hard and is especially difficult doing it on your own in isolation. Whether it be writing during distance learning or even in-person learning, it’s important for students to have access to a succinct guide that allows them to access the materials at any point in time, especially for those who may be experiencing barriers that force them to miss in person instruction time often, which is a reality in the post-covid classroom  For that reason, I designed a web-based course called The Art of the Short Story. In this class, students will enroll in the course on Canvas that covers the basics of the elements of story and investigates what makes a great story. By the end of this study, students will write, revise, and publish their very own original short story. 

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When it comes to learning something new, one of the best learning strategies is to use a worked example. This involves the learner watching a step-by-step procedure of how to complete a new task. In this YouTube video, I designed a worked example of a student learning how to embed textual evidence in MLA format. This video is designed with student avatars asking questions, making mistakes, and fixing them to boost viewer engagement as it lowers the stakes and stress of the learner. This video adheres to the design and development ACTE pillars, as I have enhanced instruction by using multimedia. Learners will benefit from self-explanation of the student avatars and their own participation in the video.

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Before students begin reading a new text, building their background knowledge can be as creative, interactive, and connected to the real world as you want to make it. A Web Quest is something that can do just that by increasing student engagement and anticipation for the topics they are about to consider and the characters they are about to meet. This artifact is a Web Quest I designed as a precursor to reading the novel Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. Using technology to introduce new learning content will enhance student motivation, evident in the ACTE’s Design & Development pillars. By completing this Web Quest students will learn more about the author and his motivations for writing the book, be introduced to the poetic devices they will encounter in their reading, and explore topics of gun and gang violence that are present in the text. This activity will serve as a foundational bridge for students before beginning their reading. 

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So often when it comes to slide presentations, the audience is a passive spectator meant to simply receive and internalize new information. However, by incorporating technology into the design of a presentation, there are not only ways to check for the recipient's understanding, but a way to include them in the experience itself. By using technology to better design materials and support a learner with new learning content, this interactive slide presentation I created is an example of how I address the ACTE’s design and development pillars. The presentation incorporates images and informational videos to explain the top 5 most important components of a short story. To follow up and engage the audience, the presentation includes Slido to prompt learners with their own thoughts and ideas, turning their learning experience into a more active experience.

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No matter the subject, there are always ways to incorporate aspects of other subjects into a learning project. On this first day of school lesson, I designed a Learn All About Me Activity that uses the web tool Buncee. Here students will integrate multimedia from the arts, motivating them to share aspects of themselves and their passions. Buncee contains images and templates that students may personalize, add links, and embed pictures and gifs. Students will add their own Buncee to a class dashboard, where other students can post questions or comments. This type of technology integration, adhering to the ACTE’s design and development pillar, will create the opportunity for students to express themselves and learn more about others. 

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