EDU-658 - Instructional Design and Application: A Reflection

Image Credit: P. Williams

 It has been a busy summer. On top of teaching 4 sections of microbiology and a nutrition course, I have also been completing my last course in the Online Teaching and Instructional Design program. In this course, we are tasked with developing an online course for one of our courses. In essence, this should be fairly simple for me since I teach a few sections on online courses every year. While I had some of the starting work done, I did not realize how much moving from one learning management system to another would be not only additional work as well as part of a reflective process that would key me in to some changes I need to make in the future.
 
My online course I have developed is Microbiology. One reason is because I teach microbiology on a regular basis and it really is my passion. Another, because I am always looking for ways to improve that course and make it better in the online environment.

Switching Learning Management Systems

Image Credit: University of Oregon IT Department

My first task was moving from the Blackboard learning management system to Canvas. Mostly, this was done for ease of grading and viewing for my instructor. I cannot add access to my blackboard courses at my place of employment, so moving systems was the best option for me. It also helped me get used to moving from system to system. While my college has no plans on moving learning management systems, it could be beneficial to at least have experience in moving material just in case I need to do that in the future. Honestly, it was not an easy process. In the end, I ended up building from scratch and adding materials I used to the new course shell.

Image Credit: @Cognitive Performance Group

Another aspect I had to plan for was creating a blueprint for the summer and a course orientation module. The blueprint was fairly standard and I do those, in some capacity, when I develop my courses. I decided to use the ADDIE model of instructional design.  While I did use ADDIE in my design process, I am one of those instructional designers that uses a mash-up of a variety of models in my design process. I have posted a blog on this in the past. You can check out that blog here.

In essence, I have been using ADDIE for years. So, the development of my online courses have always been developed using ADDIE. I like the feel of moving through a set of steps to get to a desired outcome and then being able to evaluate how the design worked in the live setting. I also like that each time the ADDIE process is completed, I can redesign my courses using that model. This course development was no different. I merged ideas from my already developed courses in blackboard and used ADDIE to "redevelop" them in Canvas. This system has worked well for me and I will likely to continue to use this method throughout my future design processes.

The remaining parts of the blueprint were also helpful. It was really beneficial to put the learning outcomes in the blueprint document. It really helped me think through the design process. In fact, I have found ways of revamping my courses in the future using this "blueprint" approach. I think every time I redesign a course, I am going to use a blueprint to guide me in the process.

The Orientation / Start Here Area

Image Credit: P. Williams

This was an area that was so challenging for me.  I typically work backwards on this area. When creating my online courses, I like to complete my orientation at the end of the process. I like to film video and audio using aspects of the course to help students get acquainted with their expectations. However, in this course, the orientation assignment was due before the course development (Pathway). This caused me a little anxiety and I actually struggled to make my orientation before my course. While I got it completed, it was a challenge to be able to incorporate the topics I want to incorporate when the course was not completed. So, in the end, some aspects of the orientation I would have had in my course were left out of the orientation because I did not have them created or organized yet. I think I will go back to completing my orientation module as the last part of the creative process in the future. It seems to work best for me.

Something I learned about and added to my orientation and plan on adding to all my courses is videos and details of each of the different technology types that are used and instructions on using them throughout the course. While I always provided instructions, in this course, I decided to have more information and a page dedicated to each technology. It was like a help area that the students could look back on. Many times, students never revisit the orientation module because they are "finished" with it. In my redesign, I wanted to make sure students could see it as a module they could return to for help. I think my redesign of the orientation and the addition of the help and resources for each technology will help change students attitudes and perspectives on the orientation and its usefulness.

The Course

Image Credit: P. Williams

This part of the course was actually fun for me. While I had many of the resources I use in the course already together, I could focus on some design aspects of the course in order to make the course "look" better. One big change I made in the course is the course "buttons". In blackboard, all the tabs are listed on the left side of the page and students can click them to get where they are going. In this course, I changed how they were displayed. I was able to be creative with buttons. This was very exciting for me. I used images of perti dishes and made them "clickable" buttons to get students directed to different modules.

In the image to the left, each image on the screen is a clickable button to take students to different areas and different modules. Overall, it does not add to the content material, but it does look a lot better. It could help guide students and could make them find the course visually appealing.

Other aspects of the design of the course were similar to what I already do. One difference in this design was getting used to a new learning management system. There were so many differences between how to create something in Canvas versus Blackboard. It was a little overwhelming. After some perseverance, I was able to get it completed. In the end, it was great to see what it looked like from the student perspective.

Wrap Up

In the end, I have gained a lot of new insight. Once big idea is that I need to start using a blueprint in the design process. While it takes a lot of time to plan out, in the end it can save time and help keep things organized. Also, my course changed some from my original blueprint, but I was able to use it to help guide me in the design process. The blueprint really helped me keep my thoughts together.

I also learned how important it was to keep updating and modifying my courses to keep things from getting "dull". While I always update content and materials, this course helped me realize how important it is to make the course look interesting. Adding the perti dishes as clickable buttons for each module helped make the course look better while also giving me "new life" in the design process. It made it exciting for me again. I think that updating the "look" just as important as keeping content updated. We, as designers, must keep the passion alive and this really helped.

In the end, I gained a lot from this course and have a renewed excitement in the design process. Looking froward to what is ahead...

Week 15: A Final Practicum Reflection

Image Credit: J. McPeek

Well... we are at the end of the practicum and I have spent a lot of time working through the course I designed and implemented for this practicum. I must say, it has been way more helpful than I thought.

When I chose to teach this Microbiology course for this practicum assignment, I thought "what will I actually gain from this experience since I have taught online for years". I actually gained a lot. What I did not realize at the beginning (and last semester when I was planning my practicum experience with the program coordinator) was how much I would gain from just the reflective process. Actually having to take the time every single week to reflect on what my students were doing, what I was doing, and what I needed to work on really helped me see some areas that I need to improve and/or "firm up" in the course. The reflective process was way more helpful than I could have ever imagined.

Reflection in an Online Course is like seeing the Full Iceberg for the First Time
Image Credit: @PCWallArt

What I will say, at least for me, is that this was not a easy process. Not only did I fully set up and design the course before the semester started, I also taught a total of 60 students and reflected on the process throughout the term. The design of the course is time consuming. Some colleges and universities have master courses and pass the "course shell" for other instructors to teach the course. While my institution is moving in that direction, currently it is the responsibility of the faculty teaching the online course to design the course and then teach it. While I have taught online Microbiology for about 4 years now, the design before the semester starts still takes no less than 30 hours before the class even begins. So, much of my breaks (summer and holiday) are spent improving resources, setting up the modules, redesigning student activities, and making general improvement based on previous feedback. I almost feel like that could have been the practicum in and of itself. But, that would not have really helped me develop as an online instructor. So, teaching 60 (now 57) students in a semester and reflecting on it really was an added benefit to this experience. Even though this was not my first experience, it was almost like a first experience with regard to all the reflection I did.

As I reflect on what this process was like, I can only think of an iceberg. Before, when I taught these online courses I reflected on my experience and tried to always make my courses better. But, having to set aside time every week to really think about what I was doing made me realize the online course is like the iceberg in the image above. We really only see a small slice of the issues on the surface. The reflective process allows you to dig deeper (or dive deeper) to see all that is there and all that is needed. I feel like taking the time each week to look back and reflect allowed me to see things I might normally miss. I has been eye opening.

So, in keeping with the iceberg metaphor, this is what I found under the surface when I dove deep into the waters...

Beginning the Course...

Image Credit: @hillononlineacademy 

The course did not actually begin until two weeks into this practicum because our online courses are 14 weeks instead of the traditional 16 week course. I believe this worked well for me because I was able to reflect on the design process and to lay out a plan for the practicum at the beginning before the course started. Not only was I able to reflect on the process, I was able to make notes about the process and see where I needed improvements. The one area I discovered that needed improvement was the course orientation. While I did not reflect on that in an early reflection (I wanted to save that until now), I noticed that I need to build up my orientation to my course. We are required to give an orientation quiz at the beginning. As I was going through the orientation and the quiz, I realized I need to focus the questions of my quiz more on my policies and expectations instead of the college policies and expectations. Because students are required to take the quiz to stay in the course, it will force the student to become more aware of the course policies... even if they like to skip reading the syllabus and other information.

I think starting this summer (the next time I teach the course) I will be improving my orientation quiz so that it includes more expectations of my course. An example of this is the Voice Thread posting. With the graded Voicethread design, I cannot grade the post without the student hitting the blue "submit assignment" button. This means that a student can complete the posts, but I cannot grade it. Although I provide a video explanation, a step-by-step diagram, and announcements on how to do this, students still miss clicking that button. Perhaps if I dedicate a question on the orientation quiz, it will ensure students are getting that little detail. While there are other examples I can give, this is one that is minor in detail, but takes a long time to explain and to "regrade" when the student fixes the issue. I think it will help save me and the student time in the end.

While I already include information on the quiz about not accepting late work, I think I want to change up the questions to make sure students must "write out" the policy (in their own words) instead of answering a true/false question about it. I think it will help students realize the importance
of the policy instead of glossing over it in the orientation.

The Modules

Learning Outcomes for Module 7
Image Credit: P. Williams

Another aspect that I evaluated and reflected on in the course was the structure of the modules and the connections of the material to the learning outcomes. So, on top of designing the course, teaching the course, and managing the course day-to-day was my goal to better connect my learning outcomes. This was something that took me a lot of time. While I completed that task I set for myself, in doing it, I discovered more ways to link outcomes to assignments and how to make more of the learning outcomes "tiered". I do not think I would have seen the need for these new ideas if I had not taken on the goal in the first place. Linking each module to specific learning outcomes really helped me identify other areas that can benefit from learning outcome connections. I am very thankful that I stuck through that "extra" goal and finished it because I now have new ideas for other areas of my course with regard to learning outcomes. Sometimes I think that a lot of teaching online is centered around "playing" with ideas in order to come up with more ideas. It sounds weird to say that, but I feel like you have to tackle one idea in order to come up with more.

I also restructured the modules, as I mentioned in my Week 14 reflection, to have a lighter load in

Module Navigation Bar
Image Credit: P. Williams 

module 1 and module 7. While I am not sure if the students will realize this was a change from previous semesters, I do think that is has been well received so far. We just entered the last module this week and I have already received thoughtful messages from some students thanking me for only have one chapter in module 7. That makes me very happy and I am so glad that that seems to be working for my students. Students do not take have to take the final all on the same day, they have a total of two weeks to take it. So, I will not be able to see all the student scores by the time this practicum ends, but those that have taken it already (only about 5 students so far) have done really well. I am not sure if that is due to the fact that top students tend to work ahead and do things early so the grades are higher by default or if it is due to the structure of the module. I can only speculate.

Other things that I learned from various parts of this practicum and reflective process was things I need to add to the modules based on student feedback. Students reported they wanted more videos, but I am not totally sure what they mean by this. I already have personal videos, lectures by me, lectures by others, short animations, and mp3 files of mini lectures to listen to in the car or at home. So, I think I am going to try and add a few more personally made short summary videos to help students. I hope this helps the students and gives them what they need. 

Practicum Wrap Up

Now that I am typing up this last post and reflecting on the entire term and all the weekly reflections I posted, I realize just how much I learned throughout this program (Online Teaching and Instructional Design) and how much I have learned throughout my years of teaching online. This program has given me many new tools as well as confidence in using tools I was hesitant to use. In the course I taught for this practicum, I used a variety of tools to help with instruction (Camtasia, Voice Thread, Late Nite Labs, Wordle, ToonDoo, and others). Hopefully this helped students connect with me and the material in the course. I know that this program gave me a lot of information to move forward with and not all of it could be used and applied in this one practicum, but I have gained a lot of information to take with me. I am excited to see how my courses develop as I continue to make improvements. 

Image Credit: @webneel

Reflecting back, I still cannot believe all I accomplished in this practicum and in the OTID program. While a lot of it I do every semester, I think the reflective process gave me time to really see what all I actually do. From creating videos and media, to search and evaluating resources, providing individualized and differentiated instruction, making personal contact, creating announcements, and grading (oh the grading). So many things were accomplished and there is no way for me to express all that I completed throughout the semester. The biggest thing I will take from this practicum is that reflection really helps me see what I am doing and what I need to do. I realize that when teaching, I get into the grind of the everyday and do not spend enough time reflecting on what I am doing for my students and finding ways to get them what they need. I think the reflective process really helped me see what I am doing right and what I need to do as I take steps forward. I think I will make sure to include a reflective process at least once a month to make sure I am providing all I can for my students. I am now sold on the importance of reflection. The key is to make a habit out of it. It is not helpful to skip reflections or miss parts of the reflective process. There were times this semester when I was sick or tired and really wanted to just skip the reflective part, but still pushed on. I think this is important and I need to take that with me. I must always keep reflecting... even if I am busy, tired, or sick. Just do it and in the end, my students will have a better experience. That is what all of this is for... my students. 

Now my journey takes me to a different program and further learning... but I will use the knowledge I gain from this practicum and the OTID program for as long as I teach (and even beyond). I am so glad I chose to start this program. It has improved my instruction and hopefully the experience for all my students. 

Now... on to graduation. haha ;)

Week 14: Ending Module 6

Image Credit: N. Stohlman 

Wow... I am writing a post for week 14 of this practicum. I cannot believe there is only one last reflection post I need to make after this one. Time flies so fast and I had to go back and look at some of my earlier reflections just to get a since of where I am. Hopefully that is a normal feeling.

So far, in this online microbiology course, we are in Module 6, week 2. This translates to the 12th week of the semester. This week has been pretty standard with regards to instruction. My students just had a short break for the Easter Holiday and returned on Tuesday to continue forward. I think it was a much needed break for some and catch-up time for others.

What am I Doing This Week? Mentally Preparing for the Finals!!!

Image Credit: @OdasseyOnline

This week is pretty standard with the exception that the final exam is coming. We are preparing for the big exam and the culminating experience for the students in the class. It is important that the students work through module 6 and module 7 at a steady pace, because the end comes so quickly. I think this is the most stressful time for instructors and students. So, some of my time this week has been to start "mentally preparing" students for the final. I have an announcement going up on Friday (after this blog is published) about expectations of the final exam and what the students need to do to prepare for it. The final exam is housed in module 7, but I like to start getting the students prepared during module 6. I find this helps most students, but I will acknowledge it does stress some students out. I find it hard to balance between preparing and scaring.

In this online course, students have one main final and a lab practical (the culminating experience). So, basically, it is two big tests in the last module. I try and help the students out by not presenting too much new material. In the past, I had three chapters of new material plus the finals. I have worked it out this semester to have only one chapter of new material. Students seems to like this. But... I am not sure that they realize that I cut it down from previous semesters.. they just know it is less chapters to learn than the previous modules in the course. They are very happy about that.

The downside to having less new material is that earlier modules have more material in them. This can still be frustrating to some students. Haveing 4-5 chapters every two weeks can be frustrating. I had to make a choice. I cannot cut material from the course, I can only arrange it. So, I choose to weight the material heavier in module 2-6 and lighten the load in modules 1 and 7. I lightened module one to help the students ease in to the course and lightened module 7 to ease in to the final. I am looking forward to seeing if this helps students on the final exams in the class. Unfortunately, this practicum will be over before my students take the final and finish the course, so, I will not be able to report the results in this practicum.

I will be making more frequent announcements from this Friday on to the end of the course. They vary from encouragement to strict statements about deadlines and policies. I try to balance out the range of announcements, but I find it is essential to discuss both with the students. The more "harsh" announcements are about the structure, timing, and proctoring aspects of the final. While the students have lots or written instructions in the course, the syllabus, and on the orientation quiz, I still like to make sure the instructions are very clear. As you know, I have a no late work policy in the course. Even so, I reiterate that there is no acceptable reason to miss the final exam. I make it clear that sickness and technology issues are no excuse and encourage the students to take the exam as early as possible to avoid any last minute issues. Most students take that warning and get it done several days early, but some risk it and start taking the test with minutes to spare. I think it is important to constantly remind students the steps and procedures they need to take and be aware of as the final approaches. I know my words sound harsh, but I have learned that more heartache occurs if it is not presented, in detail, ahead of time.

What Else am I doing? Finishing My Extra Goal!!!

Update to Module 7 Learning Outcomes
Image Credit: P. Williams

So, for this practicum, I chose to setup and teach this online microbiology course. I actually have two courses that started with a total of 60 students. I am happy to say that I still have 57 of them at this point in time. The drop deadline has passed, so that number should stay the same. On top of that, I wanted to challenge myself even more and add some course revisions. As you know from previous reflections that task was to better integrate the learning outcomes into each module. I finally finished that task this week and I am so thrilled. I will be writing about that accomplishment in the last reflection next week, but I will say, I am so happy and proud of myself. I really pushed and challenged myself to put in lots of time and effort into this practicum and use it to better the courses I teach... and... I feel like I have really done that.

Other Things Going On

Module 6 Voice Thread Discussion
Image Credit: P. Williams 

As always, the general day-to-day tasks need to be completed. There is no getting behind on those tasks. Responding to 57 students (once was 60) on a day-to-day basis is challenging. There is no way to get behind. So, I am constantly making posts, checking in on students, and working to make sure the students have everything they need. 

Another big aspect is responding to students in the discussion forums (using VoiceThread). That is a daily job. It is not only responding, it is also getting in to make sure that student comments are being monitored as well. Students  can choose to respond in a variety of formats as long as one posts is audio or video recorded. I have students that do all three methods. I also have a lot a students who prefer to respond by typing. This is fine as long as the students make one of their posts with audio or video. As you can see in the image, there is over 1 hour and 40 minutes... and we still have a few days left in the module. This takes a lot of time to listen / read through and to respond to as well. So, this task alone takes a lot of time. 

Examples of Some Announcements Posted for Students
Image Credit: P. Williams 

Other aspects of the course is making sure to keep students informed and just letting them know I am there for them. I also like to post announcements about all the stuff going on around campus (even through some of our students are not near campus). I like to make sure students know that there are free events and activities for them to do around campus if they would like to be involved. This week is Spring Fling and there are lots of free food and activities for students. I like to make sure they are aware of these fun things. Sometimes students do not check their email and this just gives another point of contact to get information out there to students.

Wrap Up

So... that is a little about what is going on throughout this week. It is a very busy and stressful time during the semester and it is all about keeping up (and a little ahead) so that students feel supported. I spend a lot of time just trying to make sure my presence is known and that everything I do is in support of the student. As we make our way into Sunday this week, students will be approaching the last module and heading into the final exam. 

Next week will be my last post for this practicum... hopefully... I can provide a good wrap up to all my work this term and where I hope to go from here. 

Now... on to week 15... 

Week 13: Hanging in There

Image Credit: @englishOSAca 

It is week 13 of this practicum and week 11 of my 14 week online course. It is that time of the semester when both students and instructors are just hanging on. I have always found this time of the semester the hardest to push through, both as a student and as an instructor. Everyone is tired and many have worked really hard. A lot of times, instructors fear to let their students know that they are tired and just pushing through. I feel like some instructors want to keep those feelings from students. I have never understood that sentiment.

I think it is important to let students know that everyone gets tired and everyone gets burned out. I like to let students know it is okay to reach that point because, in reality, it happens in work and in school. Too often, I think students feel teaching is an easy job and that only they get tired.  I want students to see that being tired and struggling is a part of life. I also want to set the example of what you do when you are tired and just hanging in. When I tell my students, "Yes, I am exhausted and just hanging in there" and I show them that I push through and get everything done ahead of time, it sets a standard and an example for students to push through as well. I think it helps them realize that pushing through is also a learning process.

What Do I Do?

I know this sounds like a basic thing, but it takes a lot of work and energy to push through when we are tired and need a break. The first thing I do is let students know that it happens to everyone, including me. I have students message me to tell me thanks for sharing how I feel about something because it makes them realize that their feelings are normal. I never realized how important this was until I encouraged students to open up to me. I then realized that students want to know that a lot of people feel the same way. So, once I tell students how I feel, I like to send them encouraging messages. I like to point out to each student what they are doing well and how I can see their hard work paying off. When a particular students stands out, I send them a message letting them know I can see their hard work and that I appreciate it. 

Image Credit: M. Yost

I also will message students that seem to be struggling or slowing down (compared to the beginning of the term). I like to let these students know that we are almost finished and to hang in there. This seems to give some students that extra burst on energy to push forward. It also provides an open door for students to tell me their struggles. I find that when I contact students, I get a flood of emotions from students in return. They open up to me about personal issues and other struggles they are experiencing. I find this an opportunity to help guide them and offer any advice or support I can. I did not really know how helpful it would be until I just starting doing it. 

On top of that, I post general announcements with encouragement and support. I always make sure to thank my students for their hard work and dedication to the course. I find that students tend to respond well to that type of encouragement. Now... one problem I have is getting all the students to read each announcement, but that is another issue entirely. I also like, as you have seen in previous blogs, to post comics, images, well wishes, and other positive messages in the course. For example, The Easter holiday is this weekend and students will be greeted with an announcement to wish them fun times with family and friends during the short break. During this time, I encourage students to take a break from the course for at least a day and spend time with family/friends or just get some much needed rest. I also let them know that I will be doing the same thing. I let each student know it is okay to take a day or two to not even think about this course at all. It is a time of no worries. I think students appreciate this. I actually had one student message me in a previous term to thank me for encouraging them to take a break. The student said that they felt better know that I did not have an expectation for them to be thinking about the course all the time. I think it is important to let students know that this is okay and that this is something even I, the instructor, do in the very same course. 

Wrap Up

While I think some of the things I mentioned in the above blog seems very simple, I believe it is something that took me a long time to learn to incorporate in my courses. The longer I have taught, the more comfortable I get in doing these small things in my courses. Also, I have seen one of our instructors in the OTID program do something a little similar (at least with regards to being open about needing time and breaks). In some of our virtual class meetings, one instructor is very open to let us know when they are tired and just "pushing through". This encouraged me to continue to do this and continue to find ways to connect with students. When I see other instructors do certain things, it then encourages me to either try it or improve it. I think that is the beauty of this program in OTID... not only are we learning things to use... we are seeing it modeled in some of our courses. I think it is wonderful. 

While I know my blog post seems very simple, all of these things take a lot of time, practice, and even a push to get it all done. It is an aspect of online teaching that I did not realize is needed until I dived into the world on teaching online.

Also, a large portion of my week was spent doing the general daily tasks that always needs to be completed. This week is the beginning of a new module and that always means a lot of grading. I succesfully made it through all the grading for Module 5 work and posted all the information in annoucenemtns needed for Module 6. I also completed Module 7's update of learning outcomes. That was a huge task this term and I am so happy it is completed. Like I have said before... online teaching is a never ending job. You really have to work hard to stay ahead of the game.

Now... on to week 14...

Week 12: Midterm Feedback

Image Credit: @gearedusa

Wow... week 12 is going by fast. This week I will be sharing some of the feedback I have received from my mid-term survey that I sent out to my students. It is an informal survey and is developed by me to give me some insight on what is helping or not helping students in the course. While this is not an official survey and is made in google forms, I think it provides me a lot of insight into student needs in my courses. Also, students will continue to respond to this survey for a few weeks, so I still expect more feedback from students.

Why Do I Do This?

There are many reasons I do this. The OTID program actually showed the importance of doing these. While it was not part of one of our classes, our program coordinator sends one of these surveys around midterm to get student feedback. When I first got one, I thought it was amazing. So, I started implementing them in my online courses. So, I got the idea from courses I have taken because I thought it was so helpful.

Image Credit: @impactCEE

I also think they are very informative. I find that they really give me feedback I would not otherwise receive. The students are able to tell me what helps them or what needs improvement during the semester and I can use that feedback to have positive changes while I still have the students in my course.

The standard course evaluations that schools give at the end of the term are just not as helpful. First, the questions usually to not elicit responses that are helpful to my instruction. For example, one question on the formal survey is.. "Would you recommend this instructor to other students?". I find this question is not very helpful. What can I actually take from that information. The answer is "yes" or "no". I usually get all "yes" responses with an occasional "no" every other year or so. But... that does not tell me anything really. I have no clue how to take that information and translate it into making improvements for instruction. Many questions in these surveys are like the one above. They seem like a popularity contest instead of providing useful feedback. Also, the surveys are given at the end of the term. Any issues the students do have are not reported to me until after the course ends. This means I cannot help the students during the time they need help. This is frustrating.

There is a lot of research supporting a mid-term feedback survey. While I do not plan on writing a supporting paper on this... as this is not the point of this practicum... I did want to mention that there is research out there that demonstrates many positives of offering this type of survey. The positives range from improving student learning during the semester, improving student learning in the long term, creating a better connection and relationship between the instructor and student, and so on.
So, I think it is important to offer students a chance to give feedback by asking questions that can give me real insight into how to really improve instruction and help students succeed. So, I developed a survey that can give me feedback to help.

Image Credit: @atomiclearning 

It is a very basic survey where I just ask some straight forward questions. A couple of these questions include...

1) What aspects of this course have been helpful to your learning and success?

2) What aspects of this course have been not so helpful to your learning and success?

3) Do you have any suggestions on things I (the instructor) can do to improve the course and your experience in the course?

They are mostly open-ended questions that ask the student to give me an open and honest response. The students can choose to answer the survey or not and can provide as much or little feedback that they want.

What Did I Learn? 

@johnnyfit

While this is an unofficial, informal survey, I have gathered some important feedback from my students who choose to respond. I like that a lot of the feedback can be addressed immediately, but there is always feedback that cannot be changed easily or even at all. No matter what the feedback, it really keeps me thinking and working toward better ways to improve instruction for students.

Feedback on Technology

When looking for trends in the feedback, I have noticed students seem to struggle with and are frustrated with technology. I fully understand this. I know that when asked to use new technology in courses, which are high stress anyway, it can create some frustration. I need to find more ways to help guide the students through the technology. I already provide written instructions and video instructions and demonstrations. I am trying to figure out what else I can add to the course/modules in order to help them troubleshoot and understand the technology better. Perhaps making some info-graphics instead of the typical instructions. Although, then I run into ADA issues with info-graphics. It is hard for me to gauge all of what is needed to help student navigate some of the technology stuff.

Feedback on Resources

The second common thing that was reported is that the students would like to have more videos. This actually surprises me. I have video lectures, short videos, animations, study videos, etc. I also pulled the data and noticed that some of the videos are infrequently watched. So, I am wondering to what extent students want more videos. Maybe they want more short videos on sub-topics. I have already identified that as a future goal. So, maybe I should make more short videos concentrating on individual topics instead of entire lectures.

Some Positives

There was also a lot of positive feedback, including feedback on my quick grading and feedback and a lot of comments on how fast I am at responding to messages/emails and grading assessments. That makes me feel good because I do really work hard at ensuring I answer students questions and provide fast, but quality feedback.

Hopefully I will continue to get responses and can update the information in next week's blog. Now... on to week 13.

Week 11: Continuing Forward

Week 11
Image Credit: @snapsurveys

Wow... I cannot believe it is week 11 of the course and we are completing our 11th reflection. Time moves so fast. While it is the 11th week of the course, I feel like I have very little to report on this week. It's not that I have not been doing anything... on the contrary... I have been busy. It's just that all my work and experiences this week are a snapshot of things that I have discussed in previous weeks. In essence, it has been a standard week answering questions, grading, and providing support for all my students. Nevertheless, I am going to provide an update on where we are in the course and then provide a short reflection on a few things that occurred this week.

Goodbye Module 4, Welcome to module 5

Sunday marked the end of module 4 and Monday started the class on a new journey. This is actually my favorite time in this course. We move on from background information on the immune system and identifying and classifying microbes and move into the diseases caused by microbes and how they effect each system of the body. This is the part of the term that students really love as well. I love talking about infectious disease and all the "gross" stuff that happens. This is also the time when students feel a stronger connection to the material. This is the part of the course where they learn symptoms of various infections and how they will diagnose or treat these infections in their future careers. I have designed this course to be taught and set up by "body system". There are two ways microbiology can be taught: "by disease" or "by body system". When I was a professor at Lenoir Rhyne, I first taught the course by disease. I soon realized that it really helped students if the material is presented by body system. There are many reasons for this, but one of the main reasons is that they are taught Anatomy and Physiology by body system and it helps if this class is set up like A&P as well. I learned, early on, that many of my students are taking this class along with A&P 2 (students cannot take this class unless they pass A&P 1 or General Bio 1). So, I learned very quickly that this class should resemble other medical courses they are taking. 

Examples of Different Body Systems
Image Credit:  @wisegeek

While students are learning the same information, presenting it in a different way really helps them progress through the material. I think some of the courses in the OTID program have demonstrated this concept as well. Many of the assignments in the courses build from one course to another and many of the projects overlap. While I know this happens in science, it is great to see it in other programs. Seeing how it is done in the OTID program has helped me understand other ways at organizing course information. I may be a child of two different fields, but I can use aspects of these two fields to build upon each other. So, Module 5 marks the intro to disease by body system. We start with the integumentary system and move into the nervous system.  This helps the students keep in line with what they learn in the A&P courses and continues to let them learn with a similar mindset. 

A light-hearted look at grading.
Image Credit: @PhDComics

More Grading

Since it is the beginning of a module, it means another module just ended and much of my time is spent grading. While grading seems like a never ending job, the end of the modules are loaded with grading. While the comic at the left is just a funny comic about teaching and grading, it is important to note that grading is an intense and serious activity. I feel like I spend lots of my time grading. I will say, this program has changed the way I approach grading. Since starting this program, I have been more detailed and even encouraging in my grading. After taking a few courses in the OTID program, I now make sure to point out some things students did really well. Before, I focused on the areas where students needed to improve. Now, I realize it is important to point out to the students where they really shined and succeeded. I still also point out where and how they can improve, but I make sure to point out some strengths as well. I think that has helped the relationship I have with my students. While this is a personal opinion, I feel like students talk to me more now that I have improved my feedback. My guess is that it makes the students more comfortable with me. I want to make the learning experience a positive one (if I can) and I feel this has helped me improve my interaction with my students.

Now on to week 12. I hope to have enough responses from my midterm survey to be able to report on those next week. :D

Week 10: Small(ish) Improvements

Image Credit: Wikimediacommons 

Wow... I cannot believe we are on the 10th reflection of the semester. It is both a good time and busy time. A lot of my time is spent grading and answering student messages. It really is a never-ending job. This program has provided a lot of information for me to take away. One big thing that I am glad this program has reinforced is that teaching online courses is a constant work in progress. I always strive for perfection in my courses and I used to get personally flustered when something in my courses did not work correctly (such as technology issues, links, or other random issues that can pop up). I also would get frustrated when I found gaps in instruction that could have been better. While I would always fix these issues, it would personally upset me. This program provided me the tools and the understanding to realize that online courses are always being updated and are always works in progress.

With all of that, I have spent a good portion of my time making some small changes and updates to the course this week (outside of my normal daily work for the course).

Updating and Incorporating Learning Outcomes

Image Credit: @thepeakperformance

One of my tasks this semester is working to incorporate learning outcomes in a more clear and connected way. My class is currently in Module 4 of the semester and I worked to incorporate the learning outcomes in Module 5. While this task was identified at the beginning of this practicum, I decided to go in and modify some of those outcomes to better "build" off of previous outcomes. In science, so much of the material in one module (or chapter in the traditional setting) builds on previous information. I realized, that while I had lots of great learning outcomes, I needed to have a more tiered approach to those outcomes. It is something that needs to build throughout the semester. I am not sure why I never thought about that aspect before (with regard to the learning outcomes). So, I decided to take some time to look over the outcomes and build them from previous outcomes. Basically, the same outcomes, just reworded using language from previous learning outcomes. 

Here is an example...

In module 4, a couple of the learning outcomes contained information dealing with specific terms students had to understand in order to understand material from Module 5. 

Example of outcomes from Module 4...

• Compare and contrast the terms infection, disease, morbidity, pathogenicity, and virulence. 
• Contrast symptoms, signs, and syndromes.
• Contrast incidence and prevalence.
• Define epidemiology. 

While incorporating outcomes I noticed in Module 5 that students were having to identify pathogens and how they cause harm in particular body systems. I realized that I need to make sure that I am using the terms found in module 4 learning outcomes in the specific learning outcomes for Module 5. While some of them already did this, I realized I could do a better job at connecting the modules by using all the terms from Module 4 within the learning outcomes for Module 5. 

Examples of  Learning Outcomes in Module 5
Image Credit: P. Williams 

Here are some updated learning outcomes for Module 5...

• Describe the actions of six virulence factors of Streptococcus pyogenes. 
• Describe the pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of necrotizing fasciitis.
• Discuss the virulence factors of Staphylococcus that enable it to be pathogenic, contrasting the virulence of S. aureus with that of S. epidermidis. 

While this is only a small sample, I am working to connect the terminology within the modules. I think this will help students make better connections with the current material and previous material. One of the biggest goals I have for my students is for them to see connections between the material and why it is important in everyday life. I think this is a big step in that process. I hope that rephrasing and adding connecting terminology will help each of my students.

On top of connecting all the terminology, I am still working through making connections within each module as I started at the beginning of the semester. That process has been going smoothly so far and I am getting ready to start working on Module 6 Learning Outcomes. So... I am getting close to making it to the end and working through each module. I will feel very accomplished once I get through all of that work.

General Day-to-Day Tasks

Examples of Announcements in Microbiology
Image Credit: P Williams

As always, part of my reflection from this week is really a repeat of every other weekly reflection. A lot of what I do daily are the same tasks with just different information in different modules. My week has been working to contact students about individual needs, checking in on students who have not started working on the current module to make sure they are okay or checking to see if they need help. Also, a few small glitches occurred with VoiceThread which did not allow students to click the blue "submit assignment" button on some posts. I had students contacting me concerned about how to submit that assignment. While it has been resolved, it took a lot of time contacting VoiceThread to see what was wrong (apparently there was a problem when students tried to submit in the mobile app). Just keeping up with day-to-day tasks takes a lot of time. As always, I enjoy crafting fun announcements to grab students attention. Funny thing... I wished all my students a Happy Vernal Equinox and I got a couple of messages asking what that was. At least that shows me some students are reading the announcement. haha

Looking forward to the next post... on to the 11th reflection. 

Week 9: Troubleshooting 3rd-Party Software

Image Credit: @successrebellion 

Well... I guess it is that time of the semester when most of my time is spent fixing problems. Such is the life of an online instructor. I have learned over the years that no matter how hard you work to make sure everything works properly, something will go wrong. I always feel bad for students when they hit these unexpected bumps. I really work hard try and find solutions for students, but much of the time, the third-party software issues are out of my hands. So, during the week, there was a strange glitch with the virtual lab program that I use in the course. It is developed and managed by a publishing company that has nothing to do with my college.

Where is the Problem? 

Something that I have learned that takes much more time than I ever thought it would is just simply finding out what the problem is. Is the problem something the student is doing? Is it me because my instructions were not clear? Is it internet connections, software, or even 3rd party problems? Establishing the cause of the problem in the online setting can be more time consuming than it really should be. The online instructor must really pay attention to what is going on.

In this situation, the first student contacted me saying that they were shut out of working on the lab. Basically, she was working on the lab and it just shut down. The student wanted to know what to do. So, I did a quick check of the virtual lab program and it worked fine for me when I logged in. So, after making that check, my conclusion was that she must of had an internet issue from her provider. So, I addressed the student on what to do. But, then, I started getting more questions from students about similar issues at different points in the virtual lab. So, now it is a pattern. Something is not right, but when I log in, it is perfectly fine on my end and everything works. At this point, I contact the support in the virtual lab. Their response is that everything is fine.

Image Credit: 9gag

Well... what do you do in this case. Everything is fine on my end. Everything is fine on the 3rd party side of things. But.. clearly students (about 10%) are having issues. This is something that does not occur a lot, but as online instructors we really need to think about it and be prepared for it. One of the things this program has taught me is not to worry about "glitches" or "issues". We take is one day at a time and one problem at a time. I posted an announcement asking students to report any issues they have to me and to the virtual lab support. My thought is.. if they contact me... I have a running tally of the issues so I can look for possible patterns. Also, if they report these issues to the virtual lab site... the company has the information to look for the issues on their end. I asked students to report to me what the issue was, what browser they were using (even though all the browsers typically work) and various other information if they had issues.

To make a long story short, the 3rd party software did have an issue, but the issue was intermittent and on the side of the student accounts (not on the faculty and administrator side of the virtual lab). So, to all those people who serve as the "checks and balances" of the programs were not having the issues.

This is an example of where a group of people have to come together to find where the problem is. If I, as the instructor, did not try several things and ask for extra information, I could just have assumed the issue was the internet connection of the individual students and just told them to try again.

I decided to discuss this as the main aspect of my reflection this week, not only because it took a lot of my time (unexpectedly), but to point out a couple of other things...

• No matter how prepared we are, we still need to be on top of everything we do. We must check in on all aspects of our online courses and make sure things are properly working. Checking link and resources at the beginning of the semester is not enough. We must work constantly and with our students... checking and double checking. No one, that actually taught an online class, has ever said the job was easy. :D 

• Even when we do all the things we need to, things will unexpectedly happen and we need to take care of those things. It is important we stay caught up on our work and responsibilities, so that if the unexpected happens, we can still deal with the problems while still be ahead of schedule.

• We must also seek more information than we think we may need. We (my class and myself) were able to identify a problem because we all asked questions and collected more data than we thought we needed to find out if there was a problem. This solved the problem for our class as well as others who may be using the program in other classes and at other schools. 

• By involving my students, we got to be analytical about the situation. Almost like we were applying some steps of the scientific method to the problem. Obviously it is not "real science" but in the end it allowed the students to apply some scientific approaches to finding a solution. And... guess what... that is one of my learning outcomes for the course. haha. Students got a little extra "experience" for that and it was totally unplanned. I guess this is my attempt at trying to find the good in everything.

While all of this may seem very trivial to the reader, it took up a lot of my time and my students time to figure out the issues with the technology. It was such a large component of my week, I just thought I would reflect on it. 

The Course

Comic Added to an Announcement to Remind Students of the Upcoming Due Date.
Image Credit: P. Williams - made with ToonDoo

As for the course itself, everything is moving a long smoothly (other than the bump we discussed above). We are finishing up the second week of the third module. Students are doing really well in the course and I am pleased with their hard work. I am still posting announcements and general messages of encouragement. Starting with the next module, I will be sending out a class survey. This survey will give the students an opportunity to provide me with feedback on things that are going well or not going so well. They will also be able to tell me if there is anything they need from me or if I need to provide something I am not already providing. I look forward to sharing what the students say... but that will be in two or three reflections from this one. 

Wow... on to Week 10. 

Week 8: Reflection on the Completion of Module 2 and the Beginning of Module 3

How I envision Charlie Brown grading student work.
Image credit: Charles M. Schulz 

The semester is moving along very smoothly. In the practicum course (EDU-670) we have hit midterms. In the course I am teaching for this practicum, however, we still have a few weeks until the midpoint of the semester.  I believe this blog post may be fairly short due to being a very quiet week (other than grading). Much of my time has been spent grading, providing feedback, following up with students, and flagging a couple of students for non attendance or academic concerns.

Grading / Feedback

The week of grading after each module is a time where I can barely keep up with all my work. While it is a very stressful time, I believe it is important to provide timely feedback to students. Throughout this program, I have learned a lot about the importance of feedback and that has made me even more dedicated to keeping up with grading and providing feedback in a timely manner. It is just something I make sure to do, no matter what is going on in my life or work responsibilities. I am also not very sympathetic when students do not do things in a timely manner and therefore I think timely feedback sets a good example for students in their own work. I have zero-tolerance for late work (which is a common policy in collegiate settings). Because this is a policy, I have always felt I should model that behavior with my students. So, I make sure to provide feedback ahead of my set time-frame. So far, I have found that students respond well to this and have had students report that my feedback helps them on their next set of work that is due. So, I will always strive to provide feedback in a timely manner.

The Module Breakdown / Resource Addition

Word cloud of module 3 info provided to students.
Image Credit: P Williams; made with Wordle 

As for the courses progression, everything is moving forward smoothly. At the beginning of each module, I like to provide a breakdown of the work that is going to be completed during the module and a brief intro to the material. I do this to help keep the students  moving forward and to keep them up-to-date on the material as they are working through the modules.

Students have a challenge this week to work through 3 chapters dealing with classification of microbes. While the material is not difficult, it is a lot of memorizing and figuring out correct pronunciations of the names of a large variety of biological species. This is a challenge in the online environment. While students can hear me say the names in the lecture recordings, the student really must rely on resources to get the information. In a face-to-face class, they are able to hear me say the names of the organisms in a variety of different contexts. In the online environment, it is harder to say them in different contexts (at least as much as in a face-to-face setting). This is a challenge I have started to work at this semester. In order to help the students, I have directed them to several useful websites that have recordings of all the different microbial names they need to know. They can listen to the names and classifications outside of my lectures and resources. I believe this gives them an extra set of tools to really help them hear things in different settings and in different contexts. I look forward to hearing if this is helping students or not. Since I just provided this resource this module, I may not hear feedback until a few weeks down the road.

Personal Contact

Aside from providing resources and grading, I have also been going through student participation in the course and checking in with individual students. For students that seem to be struggling, I look through the "evaluation data" found in blackboard and see what resources they are (or in some cases... are not using). I then craft a blackboard message to the student with encouraging words as well as helpful hints to help them through the material. If the student has not been utilizing a resource, I refer the student to the resource (ex. animations, videos, lectures) and tell them how they can use them to help them through the material. This takes some time and is really difficult to do along with grading, but I always want to make a point of contact with students. I usually see improvement in scores after I do this. I think, sometimes, students need to be pointed in the right direction or just given some encouragement to help them move forward. As long as it helps and I can see improvement, I will keep doing it no mater how much time it takes. If the student continues to struggle, I can then flag them in our advising system to see if there is anything the college can help them with things that I have not been able to provide. I think this works well and I like to make sure the student feels connected to the content, the course, and to me as their instructor.

Wrap Up

Image Credit: Group Therapy Associates

While my reflection is a little shorter this week, I have spent a lot of time working within the course to keep the course running and to check in on the students. I find this time to be a very busy time within my courses and there is very little time for much else. On top of this, I have other courses I am teaching in the face-to-face setting that I am also responsible for. So, with all of that said, I am looking forward to a little rest this weekend and will be taking Saturday and Sunday off from my online courses. I always inform my students when I will be away from checking in for a few days and have posted an announcement to make them aware of my weekend absence. My general policy is I do not spend a lot of time in my online courses on the weekend, but I end up doing a lot of work anyway. So... this weekend will be technology free (at least from the standpoint of my online courses). I make sure to tell students ahead of time so they can get any questions to me that they may have ahead of time. I also encourage students to do this themselves (so long as all their work is completed on time / ahead of time). I do not take a break or time off unless all my work is completed and ahead of schedule. While I am always ahead and on time... this is the time I am going to take some family time. It is important to take some time to relax and break away from the busy aspect of teaching. We all need a recharge from time to time... and this weekend is my time.

I also have a conference I am attending on biology and online learning this Thursday and Friday... so this post will be posted a day ahead of my normal posting schedule due to other commitments in my work/school/personal life. 

Looking forward to next week. Here's to week 9. 

Week 7: Practicum Reflection: Individualization and Differentiation

Image Credit: @greenbookblog

I am going to break, slightly, from my plan for this week (which was supposed to look at the second week of Module 2) and address differentiation and individualization in my online course. I will still provide some reflection on the end of the second module at the end, but I want to focus on some questions and feedback I received during the reflection process.

Individualization and differentiation are two things that are important to incorporate in our various courses. Differentiated learning is a process where instruction is tailored to meet the learning needs of students, whether that is through the subject matter, the learning process, or through the learning environment. Individualization is more about student pace in the course to help students meet their educational goals. To put it in simple terms, differentiation is the "how" and individualization is the "when" with regard to student learning. This post will focus on a couple (but not all) of the things I do in my course to provide a great learning experience for my students. *** Note - while I understand the differences between individualized and differentiated learning... I am combining them in this blog for simplicity sake ***

What I Cannot Do In the Collegiate Setting

Image Credit: Weebly

As I begin this discussion, I want to first touch on what I cannot do. While I really do not like to dwell on the things that I cannot do, it is important that I present the differences in what I cannot do in my learning environment, even if others can do these things in their learning environment. Throughout this program, I have learned a lot of different things about online instruction and design. This program is designed to teach to a variety of learners in different professions. There are collegiate instructors, primary and secondary school teachers, and business leaders in this program. This program seeks to educate all these different people and push them through their journey in online instructional design. This means that all of us will take the information we can use and apply it in our courses where we can and when it most benefits our students. I am a college science professor and microbiologist. That is how I must approach instructional design, while keeping adult learners in mind. With all of that being said, there are things that I simply cannot do.

A common practice in primary and secondary school instruction is to provide an individualized and differentiated learning environment. This can mean alternative assessments and individualized learning plans. This is great for students in primary and secondary educational settings. This follows federal laws and is permitted in the learning environment for those levels of education. The collegiate setting is very different... even with the federal laws. There are no such thing as individualized learning plans and ALL students, regardless of learning style and disability, must be assessed the same way. As college professors, we cannot give students different assessments to choose from and different grading criteria based on learning preference or disability. Everyone must have the same exam, labs, and so on. Let's put it this way... even a student with a severe disability must be assessed the same exact way as a student who does not have disabilities. We can only use accommodations granted under ADA and documented through a disabilities services center at the college/university. For example... if a student has a learning disability that makes it difficult to read and understand questions, they can only (as an example) be granted more time on an exam (such as time and a half) or a separate testing location. They cannot receive a different test, help on that test/other assessments, or leniency on those assignments. They still must have the same questions on the test and be graded in the same way. This is a huge difference from primary and secondary school where the accommodations can be more extensive and can include (in extreme cases) alternating a grading scale.

Image Credit: lifehacker

Another big difference in higher education versus primary and secondary school is that an individual chooses higher education and chooses the major they want to pursue. If a student has difficulty in one subject area, they can move to another area that fits their abilities. In higher education, the student chooses where they best learn. If a student chooses math or science, but struggles with math and science, then the student must work to find how they can best learn that information. The student can stay in that field, but they must learn the information or fall behind. In college, we must move forward and cannot slow down or simplify the information because it is too complex. It is science and math... complex is its nature. In the end, the student is responsible for their own learning.

In the end, the student must use their strengths to learn the material from what is given. Let's think of a learning example that just about everyone encounters: Driving. While some people learn better visually, auditory, or via read-write learning styles... in the end the individual must learn to drive kinesthetically. There is no other option. If you are not a kinesthetic learner by nature, you still have to learn that way. The difference for most people is motivation. If someone really wants to learn something and they feel like that learning will benefit them, they will learn it. Why do most people succeed in learning to drive a car but do not succeed at hands-on lab work? Both require kinesthetic approaches. A lot of the time it is drive and motivation. You may learn best by one learning style, but in a lot of cases, you must still utilize all other learning styles to learn all the information required of you.

Audio Lecture w/ Captions
Image Credit: P. Williams

What I Can Do In the Collegiate Setting

With all of that being said, there are things I can do to help my students. I can do a lot of different things in my courses to help the student learn. I can teach material to different learning styles, provide a variety of different assessment types throughout the course to help student demonstrate their progress in different formats, and a wide array of other methods to help my students.

By collegiate standards, my courses are highly individualized. In my courses, I offer a lot of different ways to learn information. While I cannot give different assessments, I can offer different ways for my students to learn.

Differentiated Content

Flash Cards
Image Credit: P. Williams

One big aspect of differentiation is offering content in a variety of ways for different styles of learning. All the material in my course is presented in multiple formats for students to learn using their preferred learning style. Lets take the content (traditionally referred to as lecture material). I present the material to be learned by the student in multiple ways. For students who learn best visually, I provide diagrams (with me describing them step-by-step), notes, study guides, and other materials that will help them. In addition, for the students who are better at learning through auditory means, I provide self-narrated videos and lectures, animations, lab technique demonstrations, Mp3 mini-lectures, and so on. For the kinesthetic learner, I provide activities and games on the lecture topics, lab simulations, and virtual activities to help them (a couple of the images above demonstrate some of these methods). In the end, each of the students must learn the same material and take the same assessments, but I provide a large array of material for different learners to use. 

Tiered Learning and Assessment

Another aspect of differentiation in my courses is through tiered learning and tiered assessment. There are a variety of ways this can be done in a differentiated classroom, but here is how it is approached in my online courses. Tiered learning is an approach in differentiated learning that allows students to work on material as it builds to greater complexity as the course proceeds. This allows students to have some personal choice in the direction in how they want to tackle a topic. This is also a form of individualization. It allows the student, to some degree, go at their own pace. Students that need more time on one area, can spend time learning that aspect of the topic while others can move forward. In essence, my course is designed this way, but there are some deadlines (biweekly due dates).  Although all my course material can been seen as tiered by definition, it is clearly evident in the lab portion of the course. 

Lab Setup for Unknown Lab
Image Credit: P. Williams 

My labs are designed to end in a culminating experience. The student apply all the techniques they learned throughout the term to build to a final lab. In this final lab they identify an unknown bacterial species. All the labs throughout the semester are designed to be smaller aspects of the large culminating lab at the end. It is almost like practicing before the big game to perfect your skills. The students work through the material at their own pace (with some biweekly deadlines for submission of labs) and work toward the more complex activities. While the students have deadlines for certain labs, they can continue to improve their lab skills by working through the labs until they master a particular skill. It is not all or nothing... students can improve through practicing skills (especially those in which they are struggling). The students can work at their own pace through the labs and keep learning and building on their experiences throughout the semester. This is a key aspect of individualized learning. Students who may struggle can get additional support on their topic, while a more advanced learner can move on to a more advanced topic. 

I am also a firm believer in allowing students to "retry" some of their work to demonstrate mastery. This is especially important in the labs and goes along with the tiered learning component of differentiated learning. It is also an important aspect of individualization in a course. This allows the students the experience to retry an assessment to improve throughout the term. I truly feel that we learn by repetition and providing a students a chance to demonstrate mastery really helps with learning.

Wrap Up

While this is just a small piece of the different types of individualized and differentiated learning experiences offered to my students, I hope that it provides some insight on some of the important instructional design techniques I provide to my students in my online courses. While there is always room to improve, I believe there are lots of different options for students (of all different learning styles) in my courses. I will always seek to improve my courses where needed and will continue, even after this program is over, to provide students with the best experiences possible.

As for the course's timeline now. We are in week 2 of module 2. The week is running smoothly and students are progressing through the material and working hard on mastering all aspects of the course.  As always, I am responding to student questions, offering help (video, audio, and text) on the course material where there are questions, and managing the virtual labs as the students work through them. It is a busy week and staying on top of it is a never ending job. I look forward to next weeks' reflection when we will be starting module 3 and I will be do more grading for the courses.

Now that the practicum is almost to mid-term... here's to the coming 8th reflection next week.

Image Credit: @posterrevolution 

Image Credit: @likesuccess