Embedded Files
Effective teaching is inherently dynamic. Each time we teach a course, present a lecture, or engage our students in a learning activity, we teach when we respond to student questions and feedback “in the moment.” Effective teachers use experience to modify a lesson from semester to semester. Great online courses are not simply copied from semester to semester without significant changes, or allowed to run on autopilot, but rather are taught dynamically and improved with each iteration.
Reflections
Reflections
Where I was.
Where I was.
Originally, I didn't have a 'Welcome Page'. The class just started by plopping students in the 'Modules' section. Then I moved to a single welcome page that had very little information.
I would post announcements to my course, almost always exclusively text based.
Where I am.
Where I am.
I began using three different start pages. One for the beginning of the course with timely information students might need in the beginning of the course. Then, I use one for the majority of the course that has quick access to the discussions because the students will be using them often. And finally, in the final one, I have a button for 'Grades' because students are always especially concerned as the course nears its completion.
I post announcements routinely now with relevant information to students. Sometimes it is a review of the assignment we just completed (see example below) or others it is an article I think they might find interesting related to course material. My announcements now often contain videos of myself.
I have included more opportunities for 'now' to come through. I have students create their own memes relevant to their own lives, the times and the content. This affords students the opportunity to create useful and meaningful content in a non-disposable manner that can live on beyond the course.
Where I'm headed.
Where I'm headed.
I want to incorporate even more student generated content.
Over my Social Problems Summer course I implemented a page for students to share their work (by editing the page themselves).
I want to add more variety to my videos. I'm getting comfortable with making them in my office. But I want to venture out onto campus for some, the beach for others. Maybe Magic Mountain!
Examples
Examples
This video I debrief students on the assignment we just completed and expand on and connect to larger course concepts. It was a fun way to show students I'm there and to incorporate them into the class in a hopefully more fun way.
Meme assignment.pdfIn the spirit of timeliness and dynamism I created an assignment that connects sociology and memes to help connect the dots to course content and get the students excited and involved in content creation. I created a step by step guide to creating memes, provided some examples (visible in the assignment outline to the left), and added a share portion where students can share the meme outside of the course and link to it or include it in an editable page the course can view.
I think it might be cool to collect these and create a repository students can add to over and over again. Maybe in the future instead of having them post it to a page within Canvas it can be to a padlet that students add to semester after semester.
Below is an example of student generated content I had my Summer Social Problems students do. I had them research a social problem and a potential solution. Then, I had them share it with each other through a page in Canvas that they can edit. In the future I would like to have this be even more interactive. Perhaps a followup assignment or discussion centered around the feasibility of the solutions proffered from this assignment.
social problems social construction of social problems assignment.pdfI have a Q&A section where students can interact with one another and answer each other's questions. I also monitor it and chime in when it is a question only I can answer. So far, students have been great about chiming in when they thought they could help their classmate.
Finally, I added several places where students can reflect on what they've learned and let me know where they are either struggling or where they feel especially confident in what they've learned, either in the module, lesson or unit. Below I have a few examples of muddiest points/journals and roses and thorns. Going forward, I think I am going to add more frequent, and intentional opportunities for students to provide me invaluable feedback.
Journal and Muddiest Point Reflections.pdfGoogle Sites
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