OLTD 504- Learning Systems
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Mar/Apr 2017
Evidence of Learning: Moodle LMS Build - Brave New World
Learning Outcomes Demonstrated:
- Be familiar with common terms, definitions and elements related to Learning Management Systems (LMS) and non-LMS environments.
- Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of LMS and non-LMS environments and tools.
- Plan learning opportunities most suitable to the strengths and challenges of a variety of LMS and non-LMS environments.
- Create assessment and evaluation methods/tools most suitable to the strengths and challenges of LMS and non-LMS environments.
- Integration of current cognitive learning and brain-based learning theory.
- Develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization based on characteristics, needs, stages of development, current personalized learning mandates, misconceptions etc.
- Be familiar with common terms, definitions and elements related to Learning Management Systems (LMS) and non-LMS environments.
- Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of LMS and non-LMS environments and tools.
- Plan learning opportunities most suitable to the strengths and challenges of a variety of LMS and non-LMS environments.
- Create assessment and evaluation methods/tools most suitable to the strengths and challenges of LMS and non-LMS environments.
- Integration of current cognitive learning and brain-based learning theory.
- Develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization based on characteristics, needs, stages of development, current personalized learning mandates, misconceptions etc.
I have chosen to highlight my Moodle LMS Build because I really engaged in the activity, enjoyed myself immensely, and have already put it into practice by offering it to my English 12 students. For this build, I chose to adapt a unit from my face to face days for use in my online classroom. I also modified assignments to better reflect my developing credo for education and current theory to increase social and teaching presence.
This assignment confirmed how much I love curriculum design. I relish the challenge of meshing what we know about our students into what outcomes we would like them to master, and how to make it engaging and productive for them. I explored the Workshops function of Moodle, which was new to me, and also played around with Choice, Wiki, Class Blog, Survey, and the use of quizzes to measure student engagement and feedback rather than just academic achievement. I feel strongly about the need to reduce transactional distance in online education (by increasing student agency), so I built plenty of opportunity for choice and freedom into the learning tasks. I also want my students to become more adept and giving and receiving detailed feedback, so I included an advertising campaign assignment with Moodle Workshop as a way for the learner to engage in self- and peer-assessment. I also firmly believe that tasks should be fun and authentic, so I tried to design the tasks around skill and application of creativity, critical thinking, and literary knowledge, rather than something that might be less engaging.
Why is this important for my practice? Anytime I get to share something that I love and can get excited about with my students, we all win. I am passionate about literature and "peeling back the veil" to analyze the machinations at work beneath what appears to be true. This novel study has rich opportunities to explore propaganda, manipulation, big concept ideas, and other notions that I think connect menacingly to the political and global climate today. If my students leave my class with a little more cynicism about "reality" and some hope for how to build a better world, then my job is done.
Furthermore, I work with Moodle daily, and this build allowed me to learn about different methods I can deliver and assess content within this incredibly rich platform. I have built lots of discussion into the unit, particularly the marking scheme, so that what I value as an instructor is being adequately “valued” in the grades. I also want to work towards increasing student reflection on their own achievement, and this unit works towards that goal. I would never have built this unit if I hadn’t been enrolled in 504. The time restraints I experience working full time and being a parent are pretty limiting, and without the push of the OLTD program, I wouldn’t be stretching myself to learn more and improve the educational experience for both my students and myself.
This assignment confirmed how much I love curriculum design. I relish the challenge of meshing what we know about our students into what outcomes we would like them to master, and how to make it engaging and productive for them. I explored the Workshops function of Moodle, which was new to me, and also played around with Choice, Wiki, Class Blog, Survey, and the use of quizzes to measure student engagement and feedback rather than just academic achievement. I feel strongly about the need to reduce transactional distance in online education (by increasing student agency), so I built plenty of opportunity for choice and freedom into the learning tasks. I also want my students to become more adept and giving and receiving detailed feedback, so I included an advertising campaign assignment with Moodle Workshop as a way for the learner to engage in self- and peer-assessment. I also firmly believe that tasks should be fun and authentic, so I tried to design the tasks around skill and application of creativity, critical thinking, and literary knowledge, rather than something that might be less engaging.
Why is this important for my practice? Anytime I get to share something that I love and can get excited about with my students, we all win. I am passionate about literature and "peeling back the veil" to analyze the machinations at work beneath what appears to be true. This novel study has rich opportunities to explore propaganda, manipulation, big concept ideas, and other notions that I think connect menacingly to the political and global climate today. If my students leave my class with a little more cynicism about "reality" and some hope for how to build a better world, then my job is done.
Furthermore, I work with Moodle daily, and this build allowed me to learn about different methods I can deliver and assess content within this incredibly rich platform. I have built lots of discussion into the unit, particularly the marking scheme, so that what I value as an instructor is being adequately “valued” in the grades. I also want to work towards increasing student reflection on their own achievement, and this unit works towards that goal. I would never have built this unit if I hadn’t been enrolled in 504. The time restraints I experience working full time and being a parent are pretty limiting, and without the push of the OLTD program, I wouldn’t be stretching myself to learn more and improve the educational experience for both my students and myself.
Evidence of Learning: Non-LMS Build
Learning Outcomes Demonstrated:
- Be familiar with common terms, definitions and elements related to Learning Management Systems (LMS) and non-LMS environments.
- Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of LMS and non-LMS environments and tools.
- Plan learning opportunities most suitable to the strengths and challenges of a variety of LMS and non-LMS environments.
- Create assessment and evaluation methods/tools most suitable to the strengths and challenges of LMS and non-LMS environments.
- Integration of current cognitive learning and brain-based learning theory.
- Examine current research around best practices and emerging practices for both LMS and non-LMS environments.
- Develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization based on characteristics, needs, stages of development, current personalized learning mandates, misconceptions etc.
- Be familiar with common terms, definitions and elements related to Learning Management Systems (LMS) and non-LMS environments.
- Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of LMS and non-LMS environments and tools.
- Plan learning opportunities most suitable to the strengths and challenges of a variety of LMS and non-LMS environments.
- Create assessment and evaluation methods/tools most suitable to the strengths and challenges of LMS and non-LMS environments.
- Integration of current cognitive learning and brain-based learning theory.
- Examine current research around best practices and emerging practices for both LMS and non-LMS environments.
- Develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization based on characteristics, needs, stages of development, current personalized learning mandates, misconceptions etc.
Explore my thinking and rationale more deeply here.
Reflection to Support Evidence:
Next I have chosen to highlight my non-LMS build, which was an incredible project because I got to imagine all the "what-ifs" that I would use in my classes if I had total freedom (and if there was an LMS apocalypse). This is the yin to my LMS yang - the "outside the box" version of the online class structure, which actually fits neatly with my credo, with its emphasis on student choice and divergent thinking. I created this shortly after my LMS build and some deep exploration of my core values surrounding education, so I was able to look at how I could use the vast educational resources of the web to empower my students to graduate with dignity, purpose, and options.
I thrived with the organizational structure for this assignment. We were given guiding questions, and tasked with solving them our own way. I am a voracious problem and puzzle solver, and this felt like fitting pieces together to build a beautiful picture of what an educational experience could be like. This got me exploring applications and systems that I hadn't used at all before, especially the Office 365 suite of applications produced by Microsoft, which has some incredibly intuitive and powerful uses, especially since I'm a pragmatist, and my district has use of Office 365. This allowed me to connect this learning to my own practice in a way that was not purely hypothetical. This piece demonstrates my ability to think divergently, and challenged me to free myself from my typical linear organizational style, which fit so nicely into my Moodle Unit Build. This learning further confirmed my emphasis on student agency, and helped me come closer to seeing how I can open up my classes and move towards even more student choice. I was able to envision how I would use Communities of Inquiry to structure my content, rather than linear and progressive lessons. Additionally, becoming more adept with different methods of delivery can allow for greater differentiation of instruction, which fits into the Universal Design for Learning template.
One of the beauties of teaching is that we get to meet and work with so many different people and experience all of the strengths and values that they bring to a classroom. The Non-LMS build mirrors that for me. You get to take a little bit of something great from here, a little bit from there, and you're able to find out what works best to build a functioning and engaging classroom experience. It's also crucial to know how to do this in case I ever work in an environment where I don't have access to a Learning Management System. Fluency in a variety of platforms can only build a more rounded instructor, which in turn can only make the educational experience richer and more varied for our students. I also feel it is important to suit the nature of the discussion to the preferences of the group. If a class were more interested in posting discussions in one particular application rather than another, I would support that, as long as the number of different apps involved did not become overwhelming (and the district and FOIPPA would allow it). Any of the tools listed in my infographic are designed to help both me and the students create an engaging learning environment. To get us interacting with each other and the content, while reflecting and assessing as we go. The teacher is as much a part of the learning as the students are.
I thrived with the organizational structure for this assignment. We were given guiding questions, and tasked with solving them our own way. I am a voracious problem and puzzle solver, and this felt like fitting pieces together to build a beautiful picture of what an educational experience could be like. This got me exploring applications and systems that I hadn't used at all before, especially the Office 365 suite of applications produced by Microsoft, which has some incredibly intuitive and powerful uses, especially since I'm a pragmatist, and my district has use of Office 365. This allowed me to connect this learning to my own practice in a way that was not purely hypothetical. This piece demonstrates my ability to think divergently, and challenged me to free myself from my typical linear organizational style, which fit so nicely into my Moodle Unit Build. This learning further confirmed my emphasis on student agency, and helped me come closer to seeing how I can open up my classes and move towards even more student choice. I was able to envision how I would use Communities of Inquiry to structure my content, rather than linear and progressive lessons. Additionally, becoming more adept with different methods of delivery can allow for greater differentiation of instruction, which fits into the Universal Design for Learning template.
One of the beauties of teaching is that we get to meet and work with so many different people and experience all of the strengths and values that they bring to a classroom. The Non-LMS build mirrors that for me. You get to take a little bit of something great from here, a little bit from there, and you're able to find out what works best to build a functioning and engaging classroom experience. It's also crucial to know how to do this in case I ever work in an environment where I don't have access to a Learning Management System. Fluency in a variety of platforms can only build a more rounded instructor, which in turn can only make the educational experience richer and more varied for our students. I also feel it is important to suit the nature of the discussion to the preferences of the group. If a class were more interested in posting discussions in one particular application rather than another, I would support that, as long as the number of different apps involved did not become overwhelming (and the district and FOIPPA would allow it). Any of the tools listed in my infographic are designed to help both me and the students create an engaging learning environment. To get us interacting with each other and the content, while reflecting and assessing as we go. The teacher is as much a part of the learning as the students are.
Photo Credit: Kyle Albert tinyurl.com/gsjmhqr