Many of us are living with the feeling of being trapped in our homes and in our bubbles due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Wanting to do something a bit different this year for my summary of learning, I decided to create an activity the style of an escape room. For those who haven’t participated in a real or even in a virtual escape room, the activity is composed of a series of puzzles that lead the user to solve some kind of enigma. Each puzzle focuses on important concepts we explored during our course.
Start by watching the following introduction video:
Your mission is to use all the electronic resources we explored in our course to solve each puzzle. Look for clues that will guide you in the correct direction. The first puzzle is accessible to everyone, but each subsequent puzzle is password protected. The correct answer to puzzle 1 will unlock the password to puzzle 2 and so on. Make sure to record each answer, as they will be the key to unlocking the Recipe for Success! Good luck!
Being an extracurricular activity, my French Amateur Radio licensing course has the main goal of teaching the basics or Amateur Radio to students ranging grades 7 to 12 in order to prepare them for writing their Amateur Radio certification exam. For more information on the profile of my course, you are welcome to consult the following Blogpost.
Built on the Moodle platform, this course is designed to be flexible in that students can advance and their own pace and at the depth they desire. Each lesson is built to provide the essential outcomes needed to pass the certification exam but also provides avenues for enrichment should students find the content interesting or stimulating. I’ve tried to provide a well-defined structure for each lesson thus allowing students to chunk their learning experience as they see fit.
Each lesson starts with a video overview of the content for the lesson. This overview is produced using the Open Broadcaster Studio software configured to display my computer screen, my iPad screen, my webcam as well as a document camera. Produced on the fly by switching cameras using keyboard shortcuts, the aim of these videos is to overview the content for visual learners who need to see and hear how things work. This also allows my course to be more accessible to weak readers and good auditory and visual learners. In addition, the on-the-fly production reduces the time needed to prepare and record these tutorials. This course being made in my free time as an extra-curricular activity, an efficient use of my time is essential. Should one of my lessons underperform, a new lesson can always be recorded and exchanged in the future.
The second part of my lesson consists of a writeup which includes visuals that were created by myself. Some are drawings that I created using my tablet and other visuals are pictures that I took with my smartphone. Being weary of intellectual property rights, I decided early-on that creating all of my own content was not only important, but essential, as a long-term goal of this course is to convert it into an Open Educational Resource (OER) free for use by anyone wanting to obtain an Amateur Radio License or teach their own Amateur Radio course. Some learners learn faster and more efficiently reading text and looking at images, this section is conceived for them. The learner will notice key terms and key concepts highlighted in bold within the text, this was done deliberately as these terms and concepts will be directly evaluated later-on in the lesson.
Bold text in my courseThe question where the bold text is used.
On occasion, I also include the occasional demonstration video for practical concepts where a real-world example is conducive to solidifying a concept. Once a student has completed the first and second section of the lesson, they should be ready for proceed to the fourth section of the lesson which is the evaluation.
An example of a video included in my written section to demonstrate a visual concept.
The third part of my lesson is an enrichment section to allow students to further solidify the concepts acquired in the previous two parts. In this section, I provide supplementary reading in Amateur Radio textbooks located in the school library. Links to external websites and videos that further explore the concepts are also provided. As I curate this section, I can ensure the quality and the pertinence of the content provided. Should a student complete the evaluation and notice weaknesses in their knowledge, this section of the lesson is where they can remedy their shortcomings.
A screenshot of my enrichment section
The fourth part of each lesson is the evaluation. The Amateur Radio Licensing exam is built from a public question bank of over 1000 multiple answer questions. Each lesson corresponds to approximately 10 questions found in the question bank. Consequently, the evaluation section of each lesson is built with questions that are identical to those presented in the licensing question bank. This allows the students to familiarize themselves with the exact wording and structure of the questions they will encounter when attempting the licensing exam. In theory, upon completion of the course, students should have answered every question in the question bank. The evaluation can be attempted as many times as needed to achieve a good result. The idea of this technique is to empower the students to recognize their weaknesses and rectify them autonomously and independently as much as possible. My aim is to use “assessment for learning” as opposed to the traditional “assessment of learning”. These evaluations are meant to be formative. The only summative evaluation is their official licensing exam.
Here is a comparison of a question from the question bank and a question in their Moodle evaluation. They are identical.
Learning and exploring the Moodle platform was quite a steep learning curve. Given the open-source nature of the platform, I downloaded the software and proceeded to setup my own server and domain. This exercise proved to be quite challenging but also very rewarding. As a result, the course is highly accessible though multiple avenues. It can be accessed through the web using any combination of computer/browser. In addition, the course can be accessed with an application built for smartphones or tablet computers. Although managing my own server can be complicated, it allows for much more flexibility and granularity when wanting to configure the LMS. An additional advantage is the ability to completely control the stack. I know where the data on my server comes from, I know where it resides, and I can assure a tighter grip on the nature of the data collected and presented. Although large planforms such as Seesaw and Google Classroom provide excellent tools for teachers, I was uneasy relinquishing control on my data for such a large project. Should one of these platforms become deprecated or unsupported, a considerable amount of my time and energy could potentially be lost. By running my own instance of Moodle, I’m effectively insuring my time investment in this project.
The first addition to this course was the creation of a Microsoft TEAMS team for use by my students in my school context. Given this is a tool that is familiar to them, we will be using it for question-and-answer type situations. Should interesting developments happen in the Amateur Radio world, this platform provides an excellent avenue for sharing such information. I will retain the web forum built in the Moodle platform and use it in a more archival FAQ manner for current and future students.
The second addition was to include links to web based Amateur Radio receivers to allow students to explore the Amateur Radio bands and apply the concepts they are learning in a practical and concrete way. My intention is to also lend to my students, USB software defined receivers that can be used at home with free software in their own computers. Nothing is more motivating and valuable as first-hand experience. Of course, students will also have access to the school Amateur Radio station (VE5FSK) where other concepts can be practiced under my own supervision.
Overall, I’m quite satisfied with how my course prototype has turned out. I recognize improvements can always be made. New technologies and new techniques can always be incorporated. However, I’m confident in the structural bones of my course and look forward to seeing how it is received once I test it more intensely with more students. I’m sure issues will arise, but the beauty of a digital medium that is entirely created by me is that anything and everything can be modified at any time.
Should you want to explore my course, you may do so by going to the following url:
The unique nature of my course prototype makes it challenging to implement creative solutions for student/student-instructor interactions. As a reminder, my Amateur Radio course prototype is in an asynchronous flipped classroom format. Considering this course is meant to be an extracurricular activity, most student/student-instructor interaction is meant to take place in person in the school amateur radio station over the noon hour or after school. This time is planned to be used for question and answers, reviews of concepts and for practical experience using real amateur radio equipment.
Other than in-person interactions, other types of student/student-instruction interactions are possible within the framework of my course. The first method of interaction will be the class forum that is integrated within the Moodle LMS that I’m using with my course. As discussed by Bates, the open nature of forum discussions is well suited for asynchronous interactions between all parties involved in the course. Students can pose questions on the forum. These questions can be answered by other students or by the instructor. Allowing all the parties to see these discussions allows reticent students to perhaps get answers to questions that they either didn’t know they had or didn’t have the courage to ask.
A screenshot of my forum in my Moodle LMS
In addition, documenting these discussions could prove valuable for future students as a consequence of how I design my lessons, the same questions could occur repeatedly. As a result, this feedback could provide guidance on how to improve my lessons and my course in order to fill those gaps. A question that a teacher should always ask themselves is whether or not the questions they receive comes from the course or lesson itself. If this is the case, not only must this issue be addressed with the individual student, but it must also be addressed with how the course is delivered. In the traditional classroom setting we don’t have the luxury of going back in time to improve our lessons, we can only modify our plans and hope they work in the future (perhaps the next semester or the next year). Many times, we forget or just don’t get around to fixing these issues. By having an online course, those changes can be immediate, thus removing a large burden on teachers related to long term planning.
I recognize that message boards/forums are not always the most attractive method of communication for students. Our division uses Microsoft TEAMS and I seem to have a good rate of success related to student engagement using this tool. In many cases, it’s easier to use the platforms that are already popular with the students rather than migrate them to a new system. Being that students are already in that environment on a daily basis, this might perhaps be a better more efficient mode of interaction. Even though TEAMS is still a mostly text-based system like the Moodle Form, students can also initiate video calls with the instructor at almost any time. This type of face-to-face interaction might reduce friction even more be more efficient by allowing the use of screensharing to go over concepts and information that might prove challenging to do in a text-based forum. With this in mind, I will create an Amateur Radio Team within the TEAMS platform to facilitate this type of collaboration.
An adage that circulates within the world of Amateur Radio is that you only start learning Amateur Radio once you obtain your license and get on the air. Given the primary objective of my course prototype is for my students to obtain their license by passing the licensing exam, I hope to allow my student to get as much hands-on real-life experience as possible. Applying and practicing the concepts learned in the course to real world situations is essential as it makes the subject tangible and practical.
As a growing part of Amateur Radio over the past few years has been the ability to remotely operate a radio station. As no license is required to listen to signals, I will incorporate more practical aspects of amateur radio through the use of web based receive only radios such as WebSDR and KiwiSDR. In addition, the advent of inexpensive electronics has allowed for the availability of inexpensive (around 30$) USB based software defined receive only radios that can be directly used by the students on their home computer regardless of platform. Practical exercises and activities can then be fashioned to allow the students to be active and engaged in the service. Although this would require a small investment on behalf of the student or perhaps the school, I think it could be well worth it.
An example of such an activity could be to install a USB SDR radio and configure it to listen to the local airport radio tower. This would require knowing the frequency and the modulation of the station as well as building of an appropriate antenna using formulas and theory provided in the course material. Students could then share their experiences through the communication platforms mentioned previously or in person.
The only formal assessment for my course is the final licensing exam at the end of the course. The integrated multiple answer assessment provided for each lesson aims at preparing the students for this exam. From these results, the students should be able to determine their level of preparedness for taking this final exam. All other practical activities are aimed at reinforcement and engagement of lessons by providing real world situations where these concepts have to be applied. From the sharing of these experiences by students, I as an instructor should be able to assess how well the students are assimilating the content and concepts my course is trying to covey. As Bates discussed on the core design principals of OCL, I don’t want to evaluate the level of participation but the more intrinsic understanding that students have acquired.
Another important factor is that in the OCL model, discussion forums are not an addition or supplement to core teaching materials, such as textbooks, recorded lectures, or text in an LMS, but are the core component of the teaching. Textbooks, readings and other resources are chosen to support the discussion, not the other way round.
This is a key design principle, and explains why often instructors or tutors complain, in more ‘traditional’ online courses, that students don’t participate in discussions. Often this is because where online discussions are secondary to more didactic teaching, or are not deliberately designed and managed to lead to knowledge construction, students see the discussions as optional or extra work, because they have no direct impact on grades or assessment.
It is also a reason why awarding grades for participation in discussion forums misses the point. It is not the extrinsic activity that counts, but the intrinsic value of the discussion, that matters (see, for instance, Brindley, Walti and Blashke, 2009). Thus although instructors using an OCL approach may use learning management systems for convenience, they are used differently from courses where traditional didactic teaching is moved online.
Rounding back to the nature of an asynchronous, self-directed study course with a flipped classroom component, I aim to concentrate real-time interactions within defined time slots as to contain the time commitment on behalf of the instructor and the maximize the limited face-to-face time during the noon hour session in the school radio station. This whole course is meant to be an extra-curricular activity for fun and exploration and I want to avoid it taking over too much time from my professional duties. I love Amateur Radio and I don’t want to tarnish that love by turning a hobby into a burden. Thus, my aim to keep my asynchronous course as asynchronous as possible.
A subject that I consistently struggle with as a teacher and that I constantly question is that of evaluation. Whether it be in the traditional physical classroom format or in the online/blended learning format, tracking student progress and the level of understanding they have acquired compared to the learning outcomes is essential to being an effective teacher. Good evaluation should lead to better teaching practice and a better learning environment for the students. The ADDIE model of instruction clearly describes the importance of evaluation:
“Although evaluation is listed last, in practice it is included in every aspect of the process. That is, the overall design process is meant to be iterative, with elements fine-tuned along the way. Interim evaluations, referred to as formative evaluations, are those that are conducted prior to implementation to confirm that the learning resources meet the specifications established in the design phase. A summative evaluation would be conducted after implementation to determine training effectiveness on three bases: participant satisfaction, participant learning and participant performance.”
In my mind, evaluation is messy and doing a good job at it is challenging. Here are some of the few questions I often ask myself:
How do we know we are properly evaluating student achievement?
Are we sometimes evaluating other skills rather than the intended one?
Is the type of evaluation I’m undertaking the best for the situation?
If I evaluate the same outcome using other methods, shouldn’t I have the same results?
When is the best timing for formative and summative assessments?
Do my assessments have bias?
How much do my unconscious biases influence my assessments?
Am I assessing fairly?
Why am I assessing at all?
Am I evaluating skills or memory in this evaluation?
How do I assess students on an online/blended learning context?
I could go on listing questions related to assessment, but instead I continued my journey for understanding by scouring the web for articles about evaluation. Effectively evaluating online learning programs by John Sener was an excellent article that resonated with me and helped me reframe many of my thoughts about evaluation. In his article, Sener refers to Frame theory and how mental structures forms the basis on how we view the world. In many cases, changing perspectives on a situation or an approach can help in better interpreting the choices we make as educators and how these choices are justified. Sener states that: “Ineffective evaluation of online learning results from faulty frames based on misconceptions about both online learning and evaluation itself.”
The 5 quick examples Sener provides in his article demonstrate how reframing situations can lead to better solutions. Here are his 5 examples:
Use what you already know.
Avoid: Online Learning Evaluation Is a Different Universe
Alternative: Evaluation is Evaluation
My thoughts: When we really think about evaluation, we must not be too flustered by the different environment provided by the online/blended classroom. We must keep in mind the purpose of evaluation stays the same as in the traditional classroom. Many of the tools and techniques we use in an online/blended classroom are the same and merit consideration in both contexts. Within my own teaching practice, I often hit the wall when thinking of evaluation in an online context when I really shouldn’t. No evaluation tool or technique is perfect, and I need to keep that in mind.
Seek value and meaning.
Avoid: Evaluation as Judgment
Alternative: Take Evaluation Literally
My thoughts: The idea behind evaluation is to gather data and information to inform teachers, students and parents on how things are going. We shouldn’t think of evaluation as a finality but rather a piece of the bigger puzzle. The gathering of data shouldn’t always be the portrait of how a student is doing. It should also inform how a teacher is doing and the state of the environment for all involved.
Evaluation is an important part of a bigger picture.
Avoid: Evaluation as Episode; Evaluation as Autopsy
Alternative: Integrate Evaluation into Ongoing Practice
My thoughts: I have to admit that in many cases, sections of my courses end with a summative evaluation. I struggle to keep in mind that evaluation should be continuous and doesn’t need to always be summative. As part of the ADDIE model, this continuous evaluation should serve as a basis for constant improvement on behalf of the teacher and student. In an online/blended learning course, risks must be taken with new approaches, technologies and methods and evaluation is key in framing the levels of success achieved from those risks. Personally, I need to take more risks and rely on the data to judge success as opposed to falling in the mind trap of “this will never work!”.
Products and results are important; process is important too.
Avoid: Content is King
Alternative: Evaluate Process as well as Products
My thoughts: As educators, we’ve all faced the situation of evaluating student projects and assigning the higher grade to the incredible looking project and the lower grade to the mediocre looking project. When looking deeper into the assignments, it sometimes becomes evident that although the content of some projects isn’t perfect, some students gained valuable skills within the process of completing the assignment. We must keep that in mind when evaluating. As I often tell my students, I’m not too concerned about them retaining content. I’m more concerned about them retaining abilities and habits, in other words, process. Content can only take a student so far in life; process is what takes them the extra mile.
Making if better is the ultimate aim.
Avoid: The Comparison Trap
Alternative: The Ultimate Aim = Make Things Better
My thoughts: Once again, keeping the ADDIE model in mind, evaluation is a critical link on the process of making things better. Evaluation through feedback mechanisms can be quite valuable for students and teachers alike. A trap I try to avoid is that of comparing students when evaluating assignments. We all have our stronger students and weaker ones; however, evaluation should never be used to classify them a such. Each student is different and requires different things to achieve success. Learning in an online/blended environment is no different than in the traditional classroom. Regardless of the format of a course, students are individuals and as a teacher, I must keep this in mind when designing a course. Varying approaches online and in the classroom is often aimed at giving all students the opportunity for success. With these efforts, we should always keep an eye out for improvement.
Conclusion
As much as I’d like to think I’m a good teacher, I certainly have weaknesses that need to be addressed in my teaching practice and upon reading Sener’s article, I’ve reframed my perception of evaluation as one for continuous improvement. We’ve all learned this when obtaining our education degrees, but I consider it even more important when integrating new tools and technologies in an online blended learning course. Without the feedback of evaluation, we as teachers risk not meeting the needs of our students in this constantly changing world of educational technology.
In his blogpost where he explores the work of Andrew Miller’s article : Summative Assessment in Distance Learning, Dylan goes through a good list of things to consider when considering assessment in online learning. He ends his post talking about how building relationships is a key step in a teachers’ responsibilities. I think this is important to keep in mind in the online world where anonymity is ever present. Evaluation should be a tool to building these relationships and not an end.
This week’s exploration of the world of evaluation in online learning made me realize that evaluation is imperfect, and we cannot let the perception of best practice get in the way of good practice. We can all improve in some way, shape or form, it’s matter of seeking the data to facilitate this improvement.
Before the sharing sessions that took place during our February 23 class, I was a bit anxious to see what others had produced in comparison to what I had prepared for my initial submission for your major project. Working on your own within your own little bubble, it’s difficult to know whether you’re on the right track. The projects elaborated by Jillian, Dylan and Riley were all fantastic and the time we spent exploring our projects helped me evaluate the strengths and the weaknesses of my own online course offering. The general guidance that resulted from our conversations was that everyone was overall on the right track and that sometimes, risks must be taken.
My original choice to use Moodle as my LMS seems to have been a good one as the structure of the course (asynchronous, self-paced, flipped) fits well into the organization provided through the software. Using an LSM conceived for the world of education minimizes the amount of resistance in developing an online course as opposed to using a tool that isn’t built for education. Consequently, the built-in evaluation tools are proving to be excellent in automatically tracking student success and progress. From our conversations as a group, I have concluded that I should explore more varied non-traditional forms of assessment for my course. I’m leaning towards trying to find tools that are built in the “assessment for learning” style. Does anyone have suggestions?
The mix of delivery methods for content I’ve included within my course seems to be adequate. Integrating self-produced and external YouTube videos within the platform is working well and seems to be a trend among our group. I have to admit that despite my experience of recording video lessons from the beginning of the global pandemic, I still struggle in making my video lessons efficient and concise. I seem to have a bad habit of talking too much thus producing lessons that are a bit longer than I would like. I’m currently recording 10-minute lessons where I’d like to be in the 5 to 7 minutes range in order to maximize the limited attention span students can have while using YouTube. I might try incorporating edpuzzle as explored by Trevor a few weeks ago, in my next module lessons as a way to more actively engage the students with the content.
I can’t wait to keep exploring these new tools and techniques and perhaps borrow a few more ideas from my colleagues as I keep developing my online amateur radio course. I’m sure more thoughts will emerge once the work continues. Onwards with discovery!
In the spirit of diving into the unknown, this week I decided to take a look at Quizlet. Quizlet is an online tool to make and prepare electronics flashcards in order to facilitate studying terms and concepts. Upon signing up for a free account, I found the software intuitive and quite easy to use. Once logged in, one can immediately start creating flashcards in a simple efficient interface. For each lesson or unit of learning, a set of cards can be quickly be created by the teacher by typing important terms and their associated definition. Following the creation of the cards, the card sets can be integrated in multiple ways to create activities to aid students in learning the information from the cards.
There are two main sections of in the Quizlet software. In the “Study” section, one can study the flashcards as one would in the real world by looking at the terms and flipping the cards to look at the definitions on the other side. In the “Learn” subsection, once can study by seeing a term or a definition displayed on the screen and selecting the appropriate term or definition. For simple words or abbreviations, the student must write the correct response. In the “Write” subsection, one must correctly write the terms. This part could be excellent for students learning a language or new vocabulary. The “Test” subsection automatically generates a test with the flashcards to help students study in a different way. For each activity, feedback is provided to show students which cards they are having difficulty grasping and where to dedicate their energy in their studies.
In the “Games” section, games are automatically generated to allow student to play with the concepts in another totally different context. There is a matching game, that is quite compelling and fun! I did not spring for a paid version; thus, I cannot comment on the more advanced features, but I think this tool is worth a look in its free form. I can see this tool being part of my pedagogy should I convince my school or school division to acquire a full paid version.
Here is a list of PROS and CONS I’ve found after using the software for a few hours:
PROS
Provides the integration of many languages within the software. This makes it ideal for learning languages.
The web-based software is easy to use and easy to understand. This makes for an efficient use of time on behalf of the teacher and the students.
Integration of audio tools that pronounce words automatically make the software much more accessible for students with auditory needs.
Makes for an excellent study tool for students.
Instant feedback helps students maximize their study time.
This software is available as an iOS application for students or schools with iOS devices.
CONS
The free version of the software has advertisements.
The free version is quite restricted and additional features, activities and tools require an upgraded paid version.
As part of my extracurricular offering in my school, I offer students from grade 7 to grade 12 the opportunity to explore the world of Amateur Radio by participating in the schools VE5FSK Amateur Radio Club. By joining this club, students have the opportunity to learn about topics which include wireless telecommunications, world geography, electronics, weather and space science. As the breadth of Amateur Radio is quite large, students interested in the STEM (Science, Technology Engineering and Math) subjects can specialize into their own niche and find worldwide communities that share their interests.
Un élève du Pavillon secondaire des Quatre-Vents apprend à se servir d’une station de radio amateur sous les conseils du professeur Daniel Dion. PHOTO : RADIO-CANADA / CARL SINCENNES
To be able to fully partake in the Amateur Radio Service and receive the privilege of communicating using reserved Amateur Radio frequencies, one must obtain a license from Innovation, Sciences and Economic Development Canada managed by the Government of Canada. To acquire a basic license, a candidate must complete a 100-question multiple answer exam with a minimum of a 70% average.
Target student population and demographics:
Given that I teach in a francophone school, this course will be offered in French and will be targeted towards students ranging from grades 7 to 12. However, this course could also be completed by adults wanting to obtain their own Amateur Radio License.
Course format:
One challenge I have teaching an Amateur Radio Course as a noon hour extracurricular activity is student availability. Some students are involved with other activities or require time with other teachers for myriad reasons. Consequently, it’s near impossible to have consistent attendance, thus students who miss my course quickly get behind in the content which creates a situation where almost all my students are at different stages of learning in the course. This leads to a very difficult teaching situation for me.
As a result, I aim to build this course as a flipped classroom course that can be followed asynchronously. The students will be able to advance at their own pace and in the order they prefer. Noon hour face to face sessions will be reserved for questions and answers related to the content of the course and also for operating practice using the school Amateur Radio Club station under my supervision or that of another licensed student. The face-to-face time in the station will provide real world examples and practical experience in Amateur Radio for the students thus solidifying what they have learned online. I’ve always found, as a science teacher, that when learning new skills, practical experience is critical to solidifying the theory of a concept.
Course toolset:
The Amateur Radio Course will be primarily structured within the Moodle LMS using my own server that will be managed by myself. I selected Moodle primarily because I wanted to make sure I had total control of my data separate from the offerings from my school division or large corporationss like Google. I had the experience of using Moodle approximately 10 years ago and really liked its structure and how it worked. Today with the ubiquity of smartphones and tablet computers, the ability to use an application to access the course proves to be quite valuable. As a result, students will have multiple ways to access the course based on the technologies they have at their disposal. I aim to structure the course in a way that everything can be done on any internet connected technology. (Smartphone, Tablet, Chromebook, PC, Mac…)
Moodle Smartphone and Tablet App – Moodle.org
Within the Moodle structure, I intend to use many of the built-in tools and plugins to manage and monitor the progress of my students. Given the asynchronous nature of the course, I will record screencast and presentations to be integrated within the written and visual content presented in the course LMS. In addition, I intend to use Crowdmark for assessing some aspects of the course. I’m sure other tools will arise once I get to producing the modules for the course.
Each of these sections has well defined learning objectives established by the Government of Canada. The 2 sections I hope to develop in the context of ECI834 will be section 4 (Circuit Components) and section 5 (Basic Electronics and Theory) as they will be directly applicable within the Robotics 10 class that I am currently teaching. I will not be able to cover all the content of these two modules, however I aim to touch 3 or 4 of the main concepts withing those two modules. The other modules will be developed in the future.
Assessment strategies:
The licensing exam for the Basic Amateur Radio License is based on a prepared question bank of 1000 multiple answer questions that is publicly available. When a student is ready to take the licensing exam, an exam is generated with 100 of these questions that are selected from each of the eight sections in the course. Students will be able to self-assess their proficiency using an online exam generator or free exam generators available on most smartphones.
At the end of each lesson, questions pertaining to that section of the lesson will be presented to the student to assess their progress. I hope to automate with using the question bank as a model.
In addition to the multiple answer questions, I will assign certain practical tasks for the students to accomplish in the radio station what will be evaluated in face-to-face sessions using prepared evaluation rubrics.
Considerations for common concerns:
Being an extracurricular activity that may supplement learning in certain traditional mathematics and science courses, I want to avoid adding pressure on the students to perform. I hope to make the course interesting and fun for the students in the hope of establishing positive connections with STEM in real world situations. I want this course to be constructed in such a way to make efficient use of my face-to-face time with my students and require as little intervention as possible on the learning management system side.
This week, me and a few other teachers including fellow classmate Curtis Bourassa spent an evening talking about education and blended learning while recording an episode of the podcast 832 Sips. In this episode we discussed our own perceptions and thoughts related to blended learning and technology in education. We explored many of the challenges related to teaching in a pandemic and how it may present interesting opportunities for creative teachers willing to take risks.
I’ve clipped a few segments of the podcast in video form to share with you that represents the essence of our conversation with a focus on my own views and experiences. I hope you enjoy this small window into our conversation. If you want to listen to the full episode, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast!
I would also like to thank Dean Vendermin and Matteo Di Muro for taking the time to share their thoughts during this interesting and though inducing conversation.
For a fifth and final time, I’m introducing myself to my fellow classmates for an EC&I class related to Educational Technology. My name is Daniel Dion and I was born and raised in the small French speaking rural community of Zenon Park, Saskatchewan. Just like many people who come from rural Saskatchewan, I spent the first 20 years of my life on the family dairy farm where many of my values and much of my character was shaped.
My childhood K-12 school never had much more than 50 students and this situation was difficult for an aspiring science and technology afficionado. Not having access to many of the educational opportunities my friends in large schools enjoyed, I often had to make the best of difficult educational situations. Although I had the chance of having many wonderful educators, in many cases, specialized teachers were just not available for specialized sciences and mathematics courses in my small school. Consequently, the last few years of my high school education was completed through many remote education courses. Given the technology of the time (the early 2000’s), many difficulties presented themselves which made for a hit and miss experience. Although I did have some good experiences, I also had many terrible ones. It is these terrible experiences that led me to devote myself to education in the hope to eventually get involved in making remote education a more positive experience for future students.
My three goals with this course are the following:
Explore and apply best practices related to online and blended learning.
Push myself to try new approaches and tools that I have never used before.
Keep an open mind to critically evaluate my own pedagogical practice and establish concrete paths toward improving how I approach my teaching practice.
I look forward to creating new memories and new connections with my fellow classmates. See you on Twitter!
danieldion1 