Peer Review

 "Peer review is the process of reviewing and critiquing a manuscript by several (usually two or three) knowledgeable professionals known as peer reviewers" (Connelly, 2017, p.146).  It's having someone impartial review your work with fresh eyes, and provide you with feedback and suggestions to help improve your work  The review process is not about proof-reading..it's questioning your research or statements you have made in your document, why your have made certain claims, and how you have conducted your study. You are under no obligation to make suggested changes however the review is usually done by a respected peer and their questions and suggestions will improve your work.  When work has been peer reviewed, it tends to be seen as more scholarly and will appear in more reputable journals.

The pre-course peer review process was extremely beneficial! I was very fortunate with my review partner.  She is someone I trust completely to provide honest and helpful feedback.  My review was detailed and full of support, divided into things I should change as well as things I could change.  I will take her feedback and make the necessary improvements to the module I created.  Many of these suggestions were oversights on my part, which made my module look unfinished, for example, an incomplete syllabus and course schedule, so I am grateful to have been given this opportunity.  I will spend the week making the necessary additions so my module is complete before pilot-testing.

References

• Connelly, L. M. (2017). Peer re.view. MedSurg Nursing, 26(2), 146

Development of the Online Module

Development of the Online Module

When it was time to develop the online module, I was very excited.  I knew what I wanted my module to look like and I knew the content I wanted to include.  I actually found the process enjoyable. My first step was to create the pages for everything I wanted to include and then I researched the topics and built my module.

Canvas is an excellent Learning Management System to work with.  It is very simple to use. The creators of the Canvas provide tutorials to guide in the process of course creation which made the process quite smooth. If I had an issue, I would watch the tutorial and figure it out.  It is very intuitive and I enjoyed the process very much.

I based my instructional design on previous courses I have taken in the M.Ed program. I felt it was necessary to introduce topics with small bits of information via text and then used video to add further content.  This definitely reduces cognitive load which I know from personal experience. In order to reduce transactional distance and increase social presence, I included an activity at the start of my module to 'break the ice'.  In a discussion thread, I asked the students to share 5 interesting facts about themselves.  I made a video for my post and encouraged the students to do the same.  For those who are not comfortable, I provided the option of listing their interesting facts in the discussion thread.  Although my model is asynchronous, I provided opportunities to interact so the students would feel part of a community of inquiry.

I use twitter daily and therefore made posting to our group hashtag part of the module. For those who would like to take part in our community of inquiry, please feel free to follow and post to #AssessForSuccess. I am hoping to generate many discussions on this topic via twitter, not just for this course as I'd like to continue indefinitely.  I feel this is an area where we can all improve and we owe it to our students.

My module is complete with the exception of evaluation rubrics.  I don't like creating rubrics and have been procrastinating...The good news is, my storyboard is now complete!

Creation of the Storyboard...in Theory

The Process of Creating the Storyboard

I understand the reasons behind the storyboard.  I spent an entire week watching videos and staring at templates of the process of creating a storyboard.  It makes perfect sense...make an outline before jumping in to create the actual module.  As they say, what works for most does not work for all!  I am in that minority group where the storyboard is not only not helpful; it's discouraging and halting my progress!  I lost an entire week as a result of trying to go through the process.  It has left me with feelings of insecurity, questioning my own capabilities, and crushing my self esteem.  That has not helped anyone and has left me feeling very low. 

"E-learning storyboards have been a useful approach in distance learning development to support interaction between instructional designers and subject-matter experts" (Salim, 2012, p. 652).  I understand the benefits of a storyboard...it's just not a benefit to me. In my current situation, I am the instructional designer and the subject-matter expert therefore I am conducting both roles. It has been extremely challenging for me. 

I have competed a brief outline for myself as a starting point and have finally made some progress.  I have started to create my module in Canvas and hopefully the process gets easier.  This has really been a difficult process.

References

Adeboye, D. (2014, October 21). Principles of Storyboarding for e-Learning design. Retrieved July 15, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9PZ2bEuKFA&feature=youtu.be

Gutierrez, K. (2014, September 15). A Simple Guide to Creating Your First eLearning Storyboard [Web log post]. Retrieved July 15, 2018, from https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/a-simple-guide-to-creating-your-first-elearning-storyboard

Salim, S. S. (2012). Investigating cognitive task difficulties and expert skills in e-Learning storyboards using a cognitive task analysis technique. Computers & Education, 58(1), 652-665.

Instructor welcome Video

Reflection of the Instructor Welcome Video

Creating the instructor welcome video was a very challenging task.  I used PowToon (n.d) and it took me almost 6 hours to create a 90 second video.  PowToon (n.d) is much more complicated than it looks.  It was important to create a welcome video to increase social presence. According to Richardson & Swan (2003) social presence is defined as seeing the instructor as a 'real person'.  This creates a form of intimacy and builds trust. This will have an effect on the students' learning. Social presence is also one of the 3 necessary presences in forming a community of inquiry which is essential for an effective online course (Shea & Bidjerano, 2009). In order to build social presence in my online video, I discussed my family and my hobbies.  The purpose was to show them that I have a personal  life outside of teaching.

 I believe that the welcome video will also lessen transactional distance (Moore & Kearsley, 2005).

 "It is the physical distance that leads to a communication gap, a psychological space of potential misunderstandings between the instructors and the learners that has to be bridged by special teaching techniques; this is the ‘Transactional Distance" (Moore & Kearsley, 2005, p. 224). My hope is that my video (and my module) will lessen transactional distance.

My welcome video was made to promote the course I will be 'teaching' this semester.  That was not intentional as I misunderstood the instructions.  That being said, I am glad that I did because it gave me direction as to where I'd like to take this course.  Those are my key interests and I would like to create a module that I can take and use for professional development seminars.  Had I made my video generic, I could use it for other courses which would save a lot of time but truthfully I am really proud of how it turned out and I believe I will have use for it outside of this course.

Reference

Create Awesome Videos Yourself. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2018, from https://www.powtoon.com

Moore, M.G., & Kearsley, G. (2005) Distance education: A systems view (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Richardson, J., & Swan, K. (2003). Examining social presence in online courses in relation to students' perceived learning and satisfaction.

Shea, P., & Bidjerano, T. (2009). Community of inquiry as a theoretical framework to foster "epistemic engagement" and "cognitive presence" in online education. Computers & Education, 52(3), 543. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2008.10.007

Join Me On My Journey

Topic Description and Reflection of Choice of Module Topic

I am about to embark on a new adventure which is both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time! For the past 10 months I have been a graduate student and now I have the opportunity to lead a 2 hour module...but how can I narrow down a topic when education technology has so many amazing avenues to discuss? It is completely overwhelming!

I have decided to focus on an area which I found troublesome when I was teaching...providing feedback.  I always equated feedback with a test score or a rubric; basically as a culminating tool so I'd know what mark to assign for the unit.  Clearly this is not feedback...it's just a mark...for one task...at the end.  Surely there were many who were struggling long before the quiz or test and they slipped through the cracks.  What if there was a way to keep track of their learning throughout the unit?  It would change the outcome...and basically the entire process.  I realize that I need to know what they understand throughout the learning process so I can then adjust my teaching accordingly.  Of course, it was only once I began my graduate studies that I realized I had been very wrong in what I had believed while I was teaching.  I now realize that feedback isn't just for my students...it's also for me! Feedback doesn't mean I need to give daily pop quizzes.  There are so many digital tools that allow for quick feedback like polls or games.  There are also tools for reflection and for students to show exactly what they know in formats other than tests.

Another important distinction I learned is that cooperative and collaborative are NOT THE SAME!  I used to assign group work but had the students divide the tasks and put it together at the end.  That is not collaboration and I have since learned the value of collaborative tasks.  Learning is social!  The best learning comes from a constructivist framework.  You might question why I am choosing to link constructivism and formative assessment; great question! I am doing so because I believe one needs to understand the pedagogues behind authentic learning in order to be able to provide an appropriate learning environment.  Once that is accomplished, the formative assessment  will be that much more valid and beneficial to both my students and myself.

This was the thought process that helped me narrow down my topic. Now that I have my topic, I need to figure out what I am going to do with it.  Stay tuned, folks!