Critical design decisions that I chose to implement in my blended learning course relied heavily on my 3rd grade audience. It was important that I have an easily navigable and straight forward design. Including two forms of page navigation, one in a drop down and another in as buttons on the homepage, helps make it clear to my students. By choosing to create my course using Google Sites and Google Classroom allowed me to keep the external links/hyperlinks to other sites to a minimum. Google’s integration of other resources such as video embedding, Google Form embedding, image uploading, and text editing features allows for fluid course construction and use. After some peer feedback on my course, I also included a footnote of hyperlinked resource pages to the site that includes instructor resources, standards, citations, and course overview. Presenting it at the bottom of the page and hidden from navigation allows me to direct those that need those resources but not obstruct my 3rd grade students use of the site. Students will also be supported with a physical Design Book that is supported with corresponding phases of the process. Since students have 1:1 iPads, I have included QR codes to ease the possible navigation issues as they follow the corresponding phases in the online course examples.
Critical pedagogical decisions for my online course were rooted in the 3rd grade social studies curriculum. I found it helpful for my students to have succinct resources that were to the point. My documentation of the project from last year gave me the ability to include relevant images to model expectations throughout the course. After reflecting on my experiences in the past, I decided to take advantage of technology integration by including a formative assessment to check-in with students using Google Forms. The independence, many moving parts and differing speed of completion of this project makes it hard to catch students that may be struggling. This will be a more efficient way of checking in with students. My online course also allows students that are struggling with a particular phase of the building process have access to the examples within the online course instead of always having to ask for support from a teacher. Some of the theoretical foundations of this course are that it was rooted in project based, real world problem solving. Using a UbD and assessments throughout, gives my students clear and concise expectations along the way. The cross curricular nature of the project also gives great opportunities to tie in not only social studies but also math and writing. This project also goes beyond clear curricular standards and includes important skills such as collaboration, critical thinking and giving/receiving feedback. As I was developing my course, I came across a few things that I will work to address in the future. Starting my course by jumping right into its construction was premature and I wish I had taken the time to map out the site structure before starting to build it. When working on my original content, specifically when it came to my screencast and recordings, I found it more efficient to write a script and practice. I also underestimated how long it would take to collect the appropriate supporting resources. The last aspect of my course that I found difficult was the access compatibility of Google Classroom among other educational institutions. While this course did not come without some learning curves. Overall, building this course was very beneficially and it gave me some great take aways for next time. I look forward to applying everything that I have learned this semester in my classroom.
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AuthorMy name is Ryan MacLeod and I live in Seattle, WA. I am currently a K-8 Lab Coordinator. I have a passion for educational technology integration and curriculum design, especially when it comes to the social sciences. Archives
April 2021
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