ePortfolio

When given freedom to create my own custom writing class, I quickly decided that a learning management system would be needed. Since it was not provided by the university, I created a basic website to handle the needs of the class. Students were able to work individually as well as in groups using the system. One focus was to make student work open and available to the class to learn from. This openness allowed students to comment on each others' work and collaborate more easily. The course received many updates throughout the semester. The website is available here, as seen on the last week (or most current week) of class.

https://basicenglish3.weebly.com/

The final project in my masters program was to create a website that reflects and summarized what I learned throughout the program. You can go through the website at your own pace or watch the 3 min video guide on the home page.

https://rremmerswaal.weebly.com/

While blended learning is defined in many different ways by many different scholars; I use the definition of utilizing technology outside of the classroom to make room for more active learning within the classroom. An example of this is the flipped classroom, where the lecture is viewed as a recording prior to coming to class. This is only one example, as there are many tools and resources that can be beneficial for students outside the classroom, beyond video.

Technology both in and outside the classroom can be utilized to increase student understanding, participation, as well as test results. I am currently writing a literature review on blended learning in the English Language Learner classroom. This will be followed by the creation of a course design which incorporates these best practices and theories.

Literature review - https://goo.gl/3RM4by

Course design - https://blendedenglishcourse.weebly.com/

Experience design goes beyond designing one resource or one lesson. It's not simply making something more visually appealing. Experience design in the classroom is ensuring that the student experience is consistent from beginning to end, that resources complement each other, and that it is all easy to use and understand.

With a group of peers, I created a website lesson to take fellow students through experience design.

You can visit the site here.

http://experiencedesign.weebly.com/

AppSheet is a great platform for making an app that works on any platform (iOS, android, PC, Mac, Linux) which means it is very accessible for students. As part of a group, I designed an app to use with English Language Learners to improve their English writing skills. This app is easily updated and/or modified for many other uses. The goal was to provide real resources, such as shows, news articles, YouTube clips that students would want to watch and have assignments based on these.

For a deeper description on the design of the app, how it would be used, and to view it, please visit:

http://ell-engagement.weebly.com/

In designing an online course, there were many unexpected challenges and aspects to consider. Using Moodle, I designed a blended learning course for junior high school students with limited time to attend a physical class. The course incorporates Google Hangouts to allow for lessons to be attended at a distance as well as be recorded for any student who misses the class or would like to review.

To view the rationale and my reflections during the design process, you can visit my site: https://blogs.ubc.ca/rremmerswaal/

To view the actual Moodle Course, visit http://Moodle.met.ubc.ca with

username:student66b password: @Student66b

In the directory ETEC 565A-May 2017 choose Section 66b and scroll down to Robert Remmerswaal

Often the risks of that technology can pose to health are ignored or forgotten when bringing technology into the classroom. The following paper looks at current research concerning these risks and ways to mitigate them. I fully endorse the use of technology in the classroom, but teachers, students, and parents should be educated on the risks.

You can view the document here: https://goo.gl/Tscirb

Many students have grown up with technology all around them. This has given students 'hyper-attention'. It's not all bad and in today's society it can actually be good. Visit this site to spark some ideas on how you can motivate your students in class.

http://psychologyandphenomenology.weebly.com/

The theories of situated learning, constructivism, and distributed cognition are described and summarized on a website that I created with a team. A sample framework was created to demonstrate how an instructor could utilize and combine these theories when designing a class. These theories help shape my current lesson plans as well.

Visit the site below for more details.

https://opensourcelab.wixsite.com/etec512

To view a sample of how these theories can be applied, please view a lesson critique and update paper I have written at the below link.

https://goo.gl/4ubXcC

I had the opportunity to learn how institutions can incorporate eLearning into their strategic plans and the value for institutions in making eLearning a priority. As part of this learning process, I reviewed several institutions and applied theory learned from class to suggest improvements. The final project compared a very technologically mature university's eLearning strategy to an institution that was in the process of reaching maturity.

You can view the analysis at the following link.

https://goo.gl/dfjZ7P