This site provides examples of instructional resources created in the Humanizing Online STEM Academy, a professional development program funded by the California Education Learning Lab and administered by the Foothill DeAnza Community College District.
When first started, I had an idea of how to make videos and how to organize a module section. I had just done a redo of my organization in Canvas to ensure the module section was as useful as possible for my course. I then went about my normal teaching style of providing lectures and assignments for the semester. At the beginning of this workshop, I was pretty sure it would be a good overview of what I was already doing with some ways to improve it. I feel like this was a good exercise that taught me some new things about teaching online.
This course helped me with two major aspects of my online teaching
Using audio/video interactions is a way to build a better community for online classes. The usual discussion assignments can give students a sense of interaction. However, having the extra step of hearing/seeing your classmates can increase the connection between students
Sending out a liquid syllabus preps students for the semester. The use of the liquid syllabus can be given to the students before the semester beings. This is nice because it gives students an introduction to the course, as well as the instructor, so they can enter with greater confidence at the beginning of the semester. I predict this will also help with the first week of class, which is usually full of questions about getting started with the online course.
At this point, I plan to optimize my liquid syllabus and add in more interactive materials to my course. I feel the liquid syllabus is in a good place, but can always be improved. I will be asking students for feedback to improve it as the semesters continue. Currently, I have assignments that are offered as extra credit. I think these assignments would be great to put into the course as collaboration assignments. This would allow students to work together on some extra material, and get a better sense of community in their online learning.
My plan for the liquid syllabus is to include it in my pre-semester email. This will allow students to view the material before logging into Canvas, as well as get a sense of who I am as an instructor. I like that the liquid syllabus allows for us to give students an immediate impression of what expectations we have for the course. I predict this will make the first week a bit easier.
This image is one of the first released by the James Webb Space Telescope. Since this is an astronomy class, students will be learning about telescopes and how we use this information to learn about our universe. This image will come up later in the semester in regards to telescopes in general and gravitational lensing .
My Canvas homepage is a brief introduction to me and the course. With the addition of the liquid syllabus, I feel most of the information on this page should already be known by the students. However, I still have it here in case a student has not viewed the liquid syllabus. This page also links to the first module for the semester. This is where my Getting to Know You survey and Ice Break activities are located.
This survey is included in my module 0. This is where students will go to complete the introduction assignments and make sure they are connected to the homework system. Two questions that are included in this survey are "How do you learn best? What works for you? What doesn't?" This question gives me a sense of the best way to interact with the student. Once I know the best way to engage the student, I can offer assignments to encourage that style. "What is one thing that is likely to interfere with your success in the class?" This question allows me to keep track of student assignments and check if a student falls behind. This can allow for a stronger connection with the student and ensure that students can succeed in the course.
For my icebreaker assignment, I have students pick two values that mean a lot to them. They then share why these values matter, and give a sense of what kind of person they are based on these values. Students then have to respond to two other students posts about values they share. I like this icebreaker because it gives you a good sense of the people you are making connections with.
This wisdom wall is setup to give future students a sense of what to expect from this course. It also gives the current students a chance to reflect on the material and study habits used throughout the semester. Both of these are really important going forward so the students are better setup for success in their next class.
This video is meant to give student quick context for how light travels through space. This is a very important aspect of astronomy, since almost all of the information from the universe comes to us in the form of light. This video uses the example of taking a mirror 30 light-years away, and asking what you would see in the reflection of the mirror? This gives the sense to students that when you look at the light from a star, we are actually looking at it thousands to millions of years in the past.
Learning objectives: Define term dark matter and what evidence we have for its existence.
This topics is something that we cover near the end of the semester. It is a very crucial part of our understanding of the universe, because it seems without dark matter most galaxies would not have formed. This microlecture serves as an introduction to the definition of the material and what to look out for in terms of evidence for dark matter. This is also a quick reference that students can use to complete assignments involving dark matter for the course.
