Category: edci335

Learning Pod: #1

Peer’s Names: Syd Vicious, Ruth, Xayla, and Thomas

Interactive Learning Resource Topic: Brain Lobes 101 https://brainlobe101.opened.ca/

Identify components of the Interactive Learning Resource that might be missing (e.g., appropriate outcomes, alignment, interactivity, inclusivity, technology use and rationale, presentation, grammar, spelling, citations, etc.).

Alignment: Your learning context aligns with your outcomes and means of assessment, to essentially teach students about the wonders of the brain lobes.

Interactivity: I really liked the idea of the case study afterwards to get students interacting with the material with real-life scenarios. And having your assessments in the modules makes it more interactive as well. Though I think it would be beneficial for students to get to know each other, and to create a community within your asynchronous course. So maybe a discussion board to introduce each other (as we have done in this course) or a comment section or some sort of optional online space for interaction.

Inclusivity: Your interactive resource has inclusivity for learners who experience hearing loss, and you provide material in text form and closed-captioning videos. And being asynchronous gives access to learners with any kind of device.

Technology use and rationale: In your “Pedagogy” section under “Technology rationale” you mention: “This primary technology is further supported by supplementary technologies, such as the linked online textbooks, that we have selected to foster a deeper understanding through designed interaction.” I couldn’t find the textbooks you talked about so is it theoretically speaking, or you just haven’t added them yet? Also, I just want to let you know that the “The Parietal Lobe” link in “Continued Modules” doesn’t work, maybe it’s just my computer or the browser I’m using, but I would look into it just in case.

Presentation: Super organized, and definitely the strongest point of the resource.

Grammar and spelling: Looks great, no major grammar or spelling errors. Language is clear and concise, and easy to understand. Though minor spacing issues in the “Learning Context” section.

Citations: Citations looked good. I wasn’t too sure which type of citation you are using so I assume you’ve done the work to make sure you’ve followed a citation guide. You have used in-text citations and included the sources of your photos and video. Gold star!

Provide a summary of The Interactive Learning Resource’s strengths and weaknesses. Draw out specific examples from your peers’ work to justify your feedback.

Strengths

• First off, I was extremely impressed with how well-organized and clear your interactive learning resource is! The accessibility of the website makes it easy for all types of students to use (like the ones mentioned in your “Our learners” section). So a great choice to go with a website.
• Your content is really organized, like the rest of your resource. I am not a psychology student, but you made the information so easy to understand that made me think I could be a psychology student!
• Also, all of you as instructors seem very knowledgeable in the topic and as I was reading your content it felt like I was reading an EDCI blog post for course readings. And that’s probably due to your writing being concise to be easily digestible.  
• I also really liked the idea of receiving a certificate at the end of the completion, so students can add it to a portfolio or if need be, in future studies.

Weaknesses

I don’t want to call them weaknesses (as that usually has a negative connotation) so perhaps points of improvement to consider:

• Personally, as a visual learner, I like there to be images and colours included in the content. You have included those elements in your module section which is great! So maybe in your “About” and “Home” sections, you can think about adding images or colour coding to match your theme of the website.
• I know that you’ve expressed that with time constraints you are not able to construct all 4 modules, however, I think I would’ve liked to see at least 2 just to get more of an idea of what half of the learnings will be about. Or maybe have an outline of the learning outcomes and a sentence of what the material will be covered in bullet points. I know your “Summative Assessment” section does have a rough outline, but I think a little more information like I’ve mentioned would make it clearer so there’s a brief commentary for each module.
• You mention in the “Continued Modules” section: “The formative assessment is further outlined on the formative assessment page.” Do you mean the “Summative Assessment” page? Or is there supposed to be a formative assessment page, if so, I was unable to find it.
• Lastly, in your “Resource Overview” section, you mention: “Learners may decide to dive further into the content by exploring our supplemental resources.” I would clarify where to find those resources and in what section.

Provide general, specific, and practical recommendations to your peers on how to improve their Interactive Learning Resource.

Learning pod #1 you have done such an amazing job, like wow this looks like an official learning website. Honestly, I think all you have to do is tweak a few things, for example making sure your links work and double-checking formatting. Additionally, clarify what is theoretical and what you will be doing in certain sections (like the suggestions I mentioned above) and once that’s done, you’ll be golden! Feel free to add my suggestions, I think you should be fine without them but if you want to take your resource to the level, I would consider them. 🙂

Fantastic work and wishing you all the luck with the completion of your resource!

– Chantale

Interaction is a key component to learners’ success in the classroom, as it generates more conversation about the topics being learned and allows space for students to build connections. I know for myself; I love having small group conversations and activities because it allows me to vocalize the learning to understand them better and get the chance to hear new perspectives that can expand those learnings. However, as the readings this week point out, in a post-pandemic society there’s a push for online learning but what got left behind during this move was interaction. I find this true, as someone who has taken many online courses, there has been a lack of interaction. Professors try incorporating interaction through breakout rooms or class discussions, but it ends up feeling awkward and disconnected. That is why I appreciated this week’s learnings on how to best incorporate interaction in an online space since my group’s project is designed to be taught through a webinar format.

What activity could you suggest that they do, after they have watched the video (designed)? What type of knowledge or skill would that activity help develop? What medium or technology would students use to do the activity?

Our topic is learning French through song and how it benefits learning a new language. The video I have chosen for potential students to interact with is “How Singing Can Improve Pronunciation” by ABC Education. The video talks about how singing is the perfect exercise to learn a language as it combines speech production and speech performance, which many students struggle to use both mechanics. This video will pair nicely with our planned activity of singing French songs, which we will play and provide lyrics to sing along on the ZOOM webinar. From watching the video beforehand, they can think about how they are using both mechanics and can improve language pronunciation when singing. It can develop not only the quality of language pronunciation, but students can learn foundational knowledge in the linguistics of foreign languages.

How could the video have been designed to generate more or better activity from viewers or students?

The video does an excellent job of presenting the information in a concise and easy-to-understand way. As well, the teacher in the video speaks with enthusiasm, using hand gestures and expressions to explain certain points, and has even added captions to their video. One thing the video could’ve done is to add an example to apply the principles being presented in the video. They explain the mechanics, but to further demonstrate how they work, an example would be beneficial. What kind of an example you might ask? I was thinking along the lines of a Crash Course video, where they present the information, but include their little caricatures applying the learnings or the instructor would show a song and sing it and explain the mechanics. And then would ask the student or viewer watching the video to test it out on their own.

How would students get feedback on the activity that you set? What medium or technology would they and/or you use for getting and giving feedback on their activity?

For feedback, we are hoping to create an open dialogue where we can give feedback in real-time during the singing activity, as this week’s post calls “high touch” learning that applies learner-teacher interaction (Our Need to Interact, 2022). I understand that in some circumstances that can be intimidating and make students feel singled out giving out feedback within a group. Our approach will not be like that, we will listen to students and provide general feedback by noting which words need to be revised. Therefore, no one feels let down and can all learn from each other’s mistakes because making mistakes is nothing to be ashamed of. Additionally, we will be doing a Kahoot at the end of the webinar to test out their knowledge. With Kahoot quizzes, you see anonymously how many people got the correct answer and the wrong answer. Once the answer is revealed, we will then share why the answer is correct or get the students to explain why it is. We are still finalizing how we will provide written feedback and which system of grading we will be using.

How will you address any potential barriers for your learners in the use of this video to ensure an inclusive design?

The video was deliberately chosen as it already eliminates certain barriers by providing captions and being on an accessible platform like YouTube. The video itself may not have other barriers, but how it is interpreted by learners can create barriers. Therefore, outlining the context before showing the video will help learners know what to expect in the following coming minutes and make sure to present it in a way that flows with the material being taught. This provides multiple means of representation through the option of comprehension to “activate or supply background knowledge and guide information processing” (Universal Design, 2022).

References:

ABC Education. (2018). How Singing Can Improve Pronunciation. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjjs9pv-K3Y.

Bates, T. (2019). Chapter 9.6. In Teaching in a Digital age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning. essay, SFU Document Solutions, Simon Fraser University.

University of Victoria. EDCI 335. (October 28, 2022). Assessing Interaction. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/assessing-interaction/

University of Victoria. EDCI 335. (October 28, 2022). Our Need to Interact. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/our-need-to-interact/

University of Victoria. EDCI 335. (October 28, 2022). Universal Design https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/universal-design/

How will our interactive learning resource specifically ensure that the needs of all learners can be met?

As discussed in my previous post, my group’s project is to host a synchronous evening webinar on Zoom. Specifically, the focus will be placed on elementary-level teachers looking to expand their knowledge of the French language through the learning method of songs. With this webinar, our interactive learning resource is a sharable presentation on Canva, which will be used to guide learners during the webinar, while also providing supplementary resources such as quizzes, research articles, information pamphlets, and song playlists to use in the classroom and other language learning environments. Each of those resources will be organized in tabs, to be easy to access and faster to find the information needed. We know from the readings this week that there is such a diversity of learners and meeting their needs is crucial in designing. We will accomplish that by providing for various learners, for example, learners who may need interactivity in doing quizzes, having discussions, or asking questions will benefit from our resource. Additionally, visual learners so using colour coding and graphics, learners that thrive off reading articles and listening to discussions or learners who need to do something tangible and provide writing opportunities.

We also want to keep in mind that even though our learners are teachers who have already a range of skill sets, the material we are teaching them is most likely new “we can’t assume that just because someone knows their content or has developed a set of skills that they can share those skills or knowledge effectively with someone else.” (EDCI Inclusive Learning Design, 2022) Presenting our topic and using our interactive resource in a clear and organized way while presenting information that’s digestible and simple to benefit as many learners as we can. We understand that for some sitting at one spot during a Zoom meeting isn’t ideal, we hope that providing real-time experiential singing and then having discussions about what it is and how it’s beneficial can help keep engagement. Additionally, using the polls function on Zoom with check-in questions to see how learners feel during the webinar “providing multiple means of engagement means planning for a variety of pathways into the learning experience and supporting learner self-efficacy.” (EDCI Universal Design, 2022) Lastly, using the universal design approach, we hope to eliminate or minimize learning barriers in our design, so we can try to meet the needs of as many learners as we possibly can.

References

Foote, A. (2019, October 31). Discovering your learning style. The Pathway Compass. https://blog.pathwaynewsroom.org/2017/01/discovering-your-learning-style/

University of Victoria. EDCI 335. (October 23, 2022). Inclusive Learning Design. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/inclusive-learning-design/

University of Victoria. EDCI 335. (October 23, 2022). Universal Design. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/universal-design/

In chapter 11: Trends in open education, in the textbook “Teaching in a Digital Age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning” the approach of open pedagogy is explored and defined as “the practice of engaging with students as creators of information rather than simply consumers of it.” This definition is from the University of Texas Arlington Libraries, unlike the other definitions the author provides, I agree with them this is best. It not only focuses more on the student perspective rather than the theoretical one but points out the truth that in educational environments most of the time students are only in classrooms to consume. It further states “The product of open pedagogy are student created and openly licensed so that they may live outside of the classroom in a way that has an impact on the greater community.” I think that is extremely powerful and overall beneficial for everyone. Open pedagogy opens the door to more learners by using open educational practices (OEP) to gain open educational resources (OER) and break down barriers so everyone has access to learning. Allowing education to be more accessible through textbook resources and be free, giving support material, interactive websites and much more. Generating these kinds of resources to be more accessible will additionally help students’ engagement and encourage learning. Along with the definition, open pedagogy has eight attributes (shown in the image above) and described below:

1. Participatory technologies
   • Using various resources like blogs, social media and other resources that can be used for sharing.
2. People, openness, and trust
   • Include elements that make the learning environment a safe space so interactions and participation can flourish.
3. Innovation and creativity
   • Developing new models through technology for better sharing of knowledge and resources goes far beyond OER.
4. Sharing ideas and resources
   • For open pedagogy to be successful, there needs to be a willingness to share, trust and connect with others.
5. Connected community
   • Using the technology resources to build community through a common interest.
6. Learner-generated
   • Encourage learners to be confident in taking on roles of leadership, problem-solving and teamwork to create discussions of knowledge.
7. Reflective practice
   • Teachers and students work together to facilitate more profound pedagogical reflections.
8. Peer review
   • Students use tools to interact with other students to critique and give constructive feedback to grow their learning experiences.

I believe with the framework of the eight attributes and open pedagogy at its essence go hand and hand with the topic chosen by my group for the learning design blueprint. Our plan consists of teaching future French educators the psychology of music/singing when teaching a new language, which based on our research shows innovation and creativity. Our lesson implements technology as it is an online workshop/webinar style and provides resources which fit in sharing ideas and resources, and participatory technologies. Additionally, all resources and the workshop itself would be accessible online and hosted during the evening for those with busy schedules. Lastly, our topic correspondence to the connected community, learner-generated and people, openness, and trust attributes, as our workshop is geared to the community of French educators willing to acquire more tools to add to their toolbox and interact with other educators through shared experiences.

Reference for post and photo:

Bates, T. (2019). Chapter 11. In Teaching in a Digital age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning. essay, SFU Document Solutions, Simon Fraser University.

Share a story about how you overcame a learning challenge. Why was it a challenge? What strategies did you use?  Use the language you learned in this unit.

My relationship with learning has consistently been a journey of peaks and valleys; I faced the majority of my valleys during the elementary to middle school years of my education journey. In parent-teacher meetings, my teachers would say that I was an excellent student, yet I had difficulties understanding and learning the material. I loved being in the classroom and learning new things, though when it came to writing or testing the knowledge I learned, my mind went blank. Similar to what is discussed in the Why is Learning Hard? Post. By the time I reached grade seven, I had worked with teaching assistants, gotten extra time for homework, and got tested for various learning disabilities, but all came back with no answer as to why I was having a hard time learning. It wasn’t until that year of grade seven that it all clicked when I finally had a teacher’s aide that understood what I was going through. The teacher introduced strategies that reflect a cognitivist way of learning since I was listening to the information being taught, but I was not absorbing it. Note-taking, colour coding, organization, visuals, and memorization strategies were components of this learning epiphany and helped me succeed in the classroom for the first time.

Fast forward to today, as a university student, I still use similar learning strategies, as they have been beneficial to how I psychologically process information. Although, I’ve noticed that by taking courses and pursuing a degree that aligns with my interests, I’ve experienced fewer challenges than when I was in public school. Through post-secondary, I have developed a self-determination way of intrinsic motivation to learn and continue learning as it genuinely piques my interest while steering me into a career I wish to have, which is teaching. I still find myself having challenges when learning new things and not being as quick to grasp them compared to others in academia. Nevertheless, I don’t let that get me down because by taking courses like EDCI 335 that break down theories and the psychology of learning, I know now everyone faces challenges and has unique ways of learning.

References:

Adventure & Company. (n.d.). Peaks and Valleys Art Print. Society 6. Retrieved from https://society6.com/product/peaks-and-valleys1085449_print.