Blog Assignment 5 - Course Development

     Through studying module 7, 8, and 9, I have realized many interesting and challenging aspects of developing an original course.  I have learned that there are many copyright laws that have to be followed when including work from other individuals, and I have learned that it is much better to provide the actual link to someone else's work.  I have learned that there are many ways to include information in a course; furthermore, there are many technologies that I have looked over but have yet to master.  Lastly, module 9 taught me that printed material or printable material is a must have in distance education.  I know that I like material that I can print and hold on to, but I thought that the availability of printed material was the instructor's choice.  With that being said, I am trying to organize my course this week and find material (even printable) that does not violate copyright laws.  I am also trying to write appropriate instructions for each assignment, so I believe organizing material and writing instructions are my items of interest.  However, I am concerned with my ability to do everything correctly and to the right degree.  I am going to try to get my module development assignment done a week in advance, so I will have a chance to receive feedback.  

Blog Post 4- Engagement

     The PDF reading and the lecture video addressed engaged learning and the relevance of information or tasks.  Engaged learning involves information and tasks that are relevant to the learner, and it involves student-lead and teacher-facilitated environments.  Relevant information and tasks should be the only tasks incorporated into a course.  Relevant material can relate to the past, present, or future.  The material that incorporates future relevance has shown to be the material that is retained the longest.  In another note, student-led and teacher-facilitated environments are imperative to a successful and interactive course.  In engaged learning, teachers incorporate activities and information that relate to the students' interests, and they allow the students to have a choice in their education.  My interests in this module is the use of a PowerPoint as the course icebreaker and the way I can incorporate the students' interests and needs into the course.  Also, I think I mentioned this in my last blog, but I am also interested in letting the students use discussions and a partnered project in my course.  However, to add to that, I am also thinking about letting the students have a choice in the subject of the project.  For example, I am doing a project associated with the cardiovascular module, and I think I am going to allow the students to pick which substance (tobacco) or health condition (high blood pressure) they want to research.  The concerns I have at this point, is the concern of adding too many or not enough activities in the course, and the concern of making sure the activities are relevant to the students' needs and the learning objectives.   

Blog Assignment 3 - Community and Collaboration

     During this week's reading and module assignments, I have learned many valuable aspects that I will be adding to my course outline.  In the module reading I furthered my understanding of a collaborative environment and why it is important.  A collaborative environment is important aspect to incorporate into every type of classroom because the team work and cooperation skills learned while collaborating can and will be used outside of the classroom.  Collaborative activities, however, are only effective when the stage is set, the correct environment is created, the process is modeled, and the process is evaluated.  The item that I am interested in this week is similar to last week's interest, but this week I am working on putting together the best environment for my collaborative activities and the best type of collaborative activities.  I am going to do discussion boards.  I will do one for the orientation, and I believe I will also do one about every two weeks.  I may also try to incorporate at least one discussion prompt for each type of discussion question; a metacognitive question, a practical relevance question, a more evidence question, and a student-created question.  My Item of concern is the lab report that I want to incorporate.  I want to group the students together, give each group a scenario, and require research-based evidence on the topic I give them.  I have to figure out the best way to introduce this assignment and the best way to use this assignment to connect the class to the world outside of school.  

Blog Assignment 2 - Assessment 

     As I was reading chapter nine from the ED 308 book I truly realized the endless types of assessments and assessment opportunities. Assessments in online and land-based classrooms can be used to determine where the student is academically and how the class can be refined.  Assessments absolutely have to be valid and reliable no matter what; therefore, forming assessments for a class will take time and creativity.  My course outline is based on Anatomy and Physiology, and I have decided that I will include five question quizzes throughout my course as formative assessments.  The quizzes will be multiple choice and true/false.  I believe I will also add some lab-centered simulations that students can do at home and receive a participation grade.  Also,  I am interested in incorporating discussion boards with every module because I believe that students learn a lot from their peers. I am considering basing the discussions on the lab simulations or the assigned chapters in the book.  I, however, am concerned with how I am to implement that lab term paper and the PowerPoint presentation that I want to do because I am not confident in my ability to make the assessment valid, reliable, and rubric-based.  I want the paper and PowerPoint to be the main final exam.  Last but not least, I am also still concerned about how I want to scale all of the assignments; therefore, any suggestions would be appreciated.   

Blog Assignment 1- Analysis/Course Outline

     In module 3, we completed readings associated with chapter six and seven in the Teaching and Learning: at a distance book by Michael Simonson, Sharon Smaldino, Michael Albright, and Susan Zvacek.  We also completed readings of PDFs examining how to develop and write objectives.  I was  informed on how to  find and identify the needs and traits of a learner in a distance education class.  I was also informed on the ADDIE process and how to develop the different types of objectives.  Then we were assigned the initial steps of the course outline assignment that required us to pick the grade level, subject, type of course, and learning goals of our potential course outline.  I chose the undergraduate grade level and the Anatomy and Physiology subject.  The aspect that I liked most in this lesson is the short informational videos.  I enjoy informational videos when they are kept short and to the point; furthermore, the videos provided were very helpful and easy to understand.  The only aspect that I am concerned about at this point is my ability to effectively distinguish between the different types of instructional objectives and how to use them.  I would not mind more informational videos demonstrating instructional objectives.