I admit: I started Module 2 a bit cocky.
It was focused on moodle, and moodle is pretty easy for me since I was first introduced to this platform when I was attending Northern Seminary. The version they used was horrific, so coming to Trinity was like a dream. Not only did it work better, but Rick has always been around to answer my questions. (There was zero tech support at Northern.) And Rick's AMAZING at explaining technology in a clear, easy-to-follow way.
So I started following our learning guide, and I was uploading content left and right.
Weeks. Done.
Files. Done.
Folder. Done.
Quiz. Done.
I was on a roll until I visited Emily's page to take her quiz.
Her page is INCREDIBLE.
It looks like an online class that is ready to launch today.
(Great work, Emily! You rock!)
And that's when I remembered that I was not only trying to work with moodle, but I was trying to use moodle for an online/hybrid class.
If someone were to look at my hodgepodge of weeks, files, folders, and quizzes, they would have no idea what was going on.
So I started over.
I started organizing the course with a topics format, and I hated it.
So I started over again.
This time I used a weeks format - and hated it.
So I started again.
At this point, I can't even begin to enumerate how many different formats, images, and documents I've used in a fake class that doesn't even exits.
Yet through all the starts and re-starts, I learned a crucial lesson: always keep in mind that I am creating an online/hybrid course. My temptation was to take my good content from my F2F course and then upload it into moodle. I used the same weeks and same assignments, but it was too disconnected without the classroom discussion. So I had to think about what were some valuable classroom discussions that could be modified and shared in a way that would create interaction with the content and with the classmates.
As I continue to try, try, and try again, and as we learn more cool tools we can use, I'll try to keep in mind that I'm creating an online/hybrid course and not just completing an assignment.
I think you are being a hard on yourself! Of course, none of us should be surprised that creating an online class takes a lot of work just like a FTF class takes a lot of work. And just like FTF classes, it takes getting through the course a few times before we really have the course in the form we want and have experienced all the ways the communication between instructor and students breaks down in order to preempt that miscommunication.
ReplyDeleteIn particular, I liked your use of images, the idea of a Resource section, and the glossary of terms. I may modify your research topic discussion the next time I have projects - I don't know for my classes that I need people to see each others project topics (although maybe?), but having all those emails in the same place would be great!
I've really enjoyed seeing all the different ideas people have had. It's been a long time (other than observing Shari's class this spring) that I have gotten to sit in on others classes particularly classes in other areas.
I intentionally have students share the countries they are researching for three reasons:
Delete1. So they don't choose the same topic.
2. So they make connections and help share resources if they come across information that might help someone else (i.e. if a student is looking for information about Venezuela and finds a book that also has great information about Colombia).
3. So they can make connections in discussions in class.
I have found that it's a much less threatening first step when students just share a country and why they're interested in learning about it. It helps develop their confidence in sharing what they learned from their research in later classes, and it helps them make connections with the classroom content.
Well, thank you! But I still have a long way to go...it is so good to be able to learn from others though, as when we are in the trenches do this work each semester, we rarely have the opportunity to look at or experience the work of other professors. That is why I love this spring's pedagogy discussion groups. It really opens up our classrooms and allows us to share the best of everyone! This feels siminar for me, in that we can get energized through others' work!
ReplyDeleteI LOVED the pedagogy groups for exactly the reason you noted: it's energizing to learn through others. That's why this class is fun for me, too... even if it is also a bit frustrating at times. :)
DeleteI went through lots of trial and error too for setting up my first online course. I settled on a weekly format, and then I wanted my students to feel like things were familiar from week to week, so I put the same type of items always in the same place each week. Although there are some differences in the weeks now, the basics for each week are identical, which I think helps students to find quickly what they want.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to keep everything in the same place as well, which is why I've become found of the "label" option. It helps me to keep track of what I've added and where. And it's a good reminder that the consistency is also helpful for students, because I was doing it for my own sake!
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