Week #4: Course Prototype

Course Prototype

Although you will find this information in the video at the end, I just wanted to remind everyone of the course, target audience, and goals of the course prototype I have created.

Course Prototype Reflection

I have always enjoyed exploring new educational tools and planning lessons for students. I guess that’s why I am a teacher! I really enjoyed making this course prototype and can see me using it next school year. The content creation was very time consuming, so I would have to build up the content for this course over the next few years. Hopefully, I can find some teachers who would like to collaborate in making this course (HINT, HINT)! I also am mindful that this is a blended course and therefore there is flexibility in completing online and offline work. With this blended course, students will be completing all work, online and offline, in the classroom.

Selecting an Idea

When presented with the project, I immediately knew that I wanted to develop a resource for my grade 9 math students. After completing the analysis portion of the ADDIE model, I could see that the need for the course was better suited for other students in the class. That is what led me to the final course idea!

Choosing an LMS

Choosing an LMS was the most difficult part of the process. The school division where I teach uses Google Classroom which should make that platform the obvious choice.

Aside from wanting a challenge and to explore a new platform, I found that integrating the content I wanted to create into the same Google Classroom as the rest of the students would be a logistical nightmare (for me). Additionally, students often become confused about which content is for them in the Google Classroom. Therefore, I had the idea of creating a link, for identified students, in the Google Classroom that would take them to the Canvas course. I think the use of a different, more user friendly platform will allow for more positive experiences for students.

Experiences with Canvas

Overall, I have to say that I have really enjoyed using Canvas. The interface appears to be very user friendly, and the pages of content are easy to create. I will be interested to use the grading and feedback tools once students have completed the work. Additionally, I have embedded several webpages and Google Apps that may or may not integrate well with Canvas. Although it was easy to embed the pages, I would like to see if the students can easily access the pages and if I can view progress through Canvas.

Lastly, I created two concept checks (using the quiz feature) on Canvas. Although I like the feature of adding a range to numerical answers, I was disappointed in the quiz tool. I found that creating the quiz was tedious, and the question types did not always display nicely. Even though creating math assignments through Google Forms is not ideal, I did not find that Canvas offered many more features.

New Tools

I really enjoyed the opportunity to experiment and explore new tools in this course. The discovery of Lumi led me to also try EdPuzzle, Screencastify, formative, and Quizziz. Classmates have also shared many other tools that I hope to explore in the future. In the course prototype, I was able to try out and utilize several new (to me) tools like Lumi, EdPuzzle, SplashLearn, and Jamboard.

Application of Learning

Through reading the blogs of my classmates, and engaging with EC&I 834 course content, I was able to make several improvements to my course prototype. The following is a list of upgrades I made to the course based on my interactions with this course:

• Checked and updated accessibility features on Canvas and embedded platforms
• Integrated interactive videos and content using Lumi and H5P

• Differentiated learning opportunities for a more equitable experience.
• Created and shared goals with students through Canvas
• Created a poster for expectations around interactions
• Purposely integrated peer engagement opportunities through the discussion feature on Canvas, Jamboards, and Desmos

Content Creation

I found the content creation for the course prototype to be the most overwhelming part of the experience. I found that I was often changing what I made as I gained new knowledge. Additionally, not only did I challenge myself to try a new LMS, but I also strived to try new tech tools while creating content. Although I am very proud of the content that I have created, I most likely will search for some pre-made resources in the future. Once my course is established, I will continue to develop my own content in the future.

End Product

I am extrememly proud with the end result of my course prototype. I feel like my choices for set-up, content, and assessment were extremely strategic and intentional. In the past, I have been disappointed with the educational experiences that I have been providing for students who will receive alternative programming in Grade 10. Although I have always differentiated, these students did not have the same opportunities for engagement as the rest of their class. I believe that the resource I have created is a step in the right direction to creating a more equitable learning experience. The blended design will allow for flexibility for both me and students. Additionally, this resource may be valuable to other students who just need some additional practice to help boost their confidence and understanding in math!

Peer Feedback Reflection

I was extremely appreciative to have the opportunity to share my course prototype with my classmates. Who better to provide feedback than other educators?! I also enjoyed listening and viewing my classmates’ courses, especially given such a diverse group of people. Listening to others gave me other ideas of how I might utilize other tech tools and course formats in the future!

Overall, my classmates were extremely kind and provided several pieces of positive feedback. They seemed to think the progression and layout of the content was well planned, and the diversity of activities would aide in the learning of my target audience. One question that was asked was about the navigation of activities from day-to-day.

With varying attendance, independence, and abilities of learners, would they be able to find the place that they ended the previous class? This was a good question that I thought about before problem solving. The original home page that I designed had the list of modules and announcements. It was not very visually appealing to students, and navigation could pose a problem. Since the module’s content is designed for easy funtionality and navigation during work time, viewing the overall module is less user friendly. As a teacher, the strategic indents and labels are all very satisfying, but may be hard for the target demographic to navigate. To fix this, I added modules as a tab that students could access in the navigation bar along the side and I redesigned the home page. The new and improved home page contains buttons that allow students to choose their destination. This creates more work for me since I will have to adjust the destination for the “Current Work” button, but with a small population of students using this course I do not feel this will be an issue. The homepage also now contains a poster of shared expectations, and some math prompts for math discussions. Below you will find a comparison of the old vs. new homepage!

Before (left) and after (right) feedback pictures of the Canvas homepage on the course prototype.

Course Prototype Walkthrough

Please follow the link to my Course Prototype Walkthrough. Let me know if you are interesting in collaborating on this course, or if you have any suggestions!