Week 6: Practicum Reflection Module 2 (part 1)

Image Credit: @Eqavet 

For this week's reflection I will be focusing on tasks that are taking up a large portion of my time... grading and providing learning outcomes. Module 1 ended on Sunday night at midnight and I have 60 students to grade materials for (60 Voice Threads, 120 virtual labs, 60 quiz / assessments). This takes a lot of time and dedication. In my syllabus and on my personal description in blackboard, I tell my students I will have all work graded within 7 days. I strive to be faster than this, but this is not a lot of time for all of the material on which I need to provide feedback. I am also focusing on bulking up my learning objectives within the modules (a continuation from Week 4: Reflection for Module 1 (part 1)). While this task will take me the entire semester to complete, I am working to stay one module ahead of my students. This week I will be completing the learning outcomes for Module 3 (but I will show Module 2 learning outcomes in this blog).

Image Credit: @pngall.com

Grading and Feedback

As I stated above, I have spent most of this week providing my students feedback and grading their materials. Blackboard provides a great place in each grade book item to provide individual feedback. I always grade all student submissions, one assessment at a time, one question at a time. This is to ensure consistency among feedback and grading. It is a common practice in the  math and sciences to grade this way for consistency and ensure no bias occurs. I also grade anonymously (a button provided in both Blackboard and LateNiteLabs allows instructors to use this option). This is important to help eliminate any perceived bias and helps to promote consistency in grading (this is also common grading practices for math and science). The first thing I grade is the discussion posts in Voice Thread (this is the only assignment that cannot be graded anonymously). The discussion posts are assessed on participation. As long as a student contributes to the discussion, the student will receive full credit. Students are provided examples of an "appropriate scientific discussion" and what it means to "contribute to a scientific discussion" at the beginning of the course and at the beginning of each module. Almost all student receive full credit for the discussion. Those that do not usually did not post a response. 

I try and provide feedback in multiple ways on this activity. I publicly reply to student posts to contribute to the discussion and encourage continued participation. I also provide private feedback to the student that discusses the academic aspect of the post. I like to provide encouraging feedback for each student and point out how well they accomplished responding to a scientific discussion. Sometimes students are nervous about contributing to scientific discussion and I really enjoy giving encouraging and supportive feedback to each student. I really enjoy getting feedback from students on how this helps them as well. It encourages me to keep taking the time to do this every module. I use a variety of methods to provide feedback. I use a combination of text, audio, and video feedback throughout the grading process and this provides students a variety of different feedback methods throughout the semester. Students frequently tell me that the audio and video feedback are their favorites... which is also supported by the literature... so this does not surprise me. 

Image Credit: P. Williams

The second assessment I provide feedback on are the labs. This is something that takes up a huge amount of time. I have to go through each step that the student completed and check through to make sure they completed the experiment accurately. I provide students a lot of participation credit as well. This means that even if the student struggled through the lab, as long as they participated and worked on the lab, they will get credit. I have a personal rubric to help guide me as I grade participation so I can ensure consistency in the grading and feedback process. There is also a section for students to write where they had issues with the lab or where they needed more help or resources. I also review all of that to ensure the students were not hampered in their lab completion process. While this aspect does not directly contribute to their grade, it provides me feedback on things students may need. I can clarify instructions for future labs or add more resources that will help them. 

Image Credit: P. Williams

The quiz is the last thing I assess. Although blackboard will automatically grade the multiple choice parts on part 1 of the quiz, I still go through each question for each student to make sure the questions were read and interpreted appropriately. I also go over all the student data to ensure that students are not all missing the same types of questions. Although every student has different questions, they all have the same types of questions in the same frequency and level of difficulty. So, if I notice that a lot of students are missing questions of the same type that give me clues on if there are weaknesses in the materials, resources, and my instruction. If this occurs, I will add points to the student quizzes and go back and look for resources that will better help a student on the topic that was causing confusion. Because I have taught this course previously, I have caught some of these issues in previous semesters, but I will always check to make sure students are getting everything they need. Each student also has one essay question that I have to grade and assess. I go through and provide feedback for each essay. For this part of the quiz (which is taken separately from the multiple choice part of the quiz) the student can use other resources to craft their response, as long as their response is in their own words. This take a lot of time on my part and I work to make sure I provide feedback on each question. 

Learning Outcomes

Image Credit: P. Williams 

The other aspect of this week, aside from providing feedback and answering student questions, was the continuation of the development of student learning outcomes. This is a task that I have taken on this semester as part of a plan to improve my courses and to help students make better connections between the material and the learning outcomes. This has been a huge success so far, but I just have to keep ahead of the students as much as I can. So, this week, I am focusing on getting Module 3 completely finished even though we started module 2 this week. It seems to be helping students and I have received feedback from students that it really helps them know what is expected and helps them prepare for the exam. I am glad this is currently helping students in the course and so happy that I chose to better connect learning outcomes to the material in the course. I will continue this process throughout the semester.

Wrap Up

As noted above, the first part of the module has been dedicated to providing feedback to each student in the course. I am very pleased with the progress the students have made through module 1. I have put in a lot of time and dedication to making sure the students receive positive, effective, and timely feedback... which is something that we have focused on in this program. As I noted before, I set a course policy that I will have all things graded and provide feedback within a week of the due date. I always strive to be faster, and I am happy to report that all 60 students received personalized feedback a few days ahead of schedule. I always feel so accomplished after working so hard to give each student timely feedback. With this many students, it is a huge challenge. Now on to the other courses I teach that are not part of this practicum reflection. 

Onward and forward... 

Week 5: Practicum Reflection for Module 1 (part 2)

Image Credit: @Learning in Hand

Welcome to the second week of Module 1 for the Microbiology practicum reflection. The second week of any of the modules is always a busy one, but module 1 always seems to be a little more busy with students getting used to the work and expectations within each module.

Students have been spending the week responding to fellow classmates (and myself) on the initial discussion posts they recorded last week, working through the material, and completing labs and quizzes. About 10% of the class has already fully completed the module, while others are moving at a slower pace. This is fairly common from my previous experience. I have been busy helping navigate students in the virtual lab (I have mentioned in previous reflections that there is a learning curve), downloading the Lockdown Browser, and helping them through the material. Also, a large portion of my time has been responding to student discussion posts to help guide and facilitate the discussion.

Keeping Students on Track

Image Credit: P. Williams / Made with Toon Doo

One of the biggest challenges of teaching online is making sure to keep students on track. While some students are very diligent, there are some students who only want to log in on the day assessments are due. This can be frustrating because these students tend to do poorly in the course because they need to be spending a lot of time studying and working within the course. Module 1 is more challenging because students are just starting the work and underestimate the time it will take to complete the module. This is a 6 contact hour course (3 hours dedicated to lecture and 3 hours dedicated to lab each week). This means that students need to spend at least this much time just completing the work (not counting the standard study time) to learn the material. The labs themselves tend to take students the full three hours (more if the students has issues with the lab or needs to correct procedural errors). Students also have to study and learn the material for a closed book, closed note quiz (which is timed). This requires a lot of study time and preparation. When a student fails to log in on a regular basis, they tend to do poorly and/or do not have enough time to complete the assessments. I do my best to keep them updated. I try to find a balance between student responsibility (making the students accountable for their own learning) while still giving them some reminders to help keep them on track. I like to post comics to gently nudge the students along while providing them a reminder that work is due. Students tend to like these reminders. This, however, still requires the student to log in to the course to see the announcements. For very important announcements, I will also send an email notification to tell them an announcement is there, but I do not like to over use that option.

Image Credit: P. Williams from CCC Faculty Portal

If I have a particular student who is not logging in, I have two big things I can do. One, I can send them email reminders or call them to do a personal check in. I will usually try this one time and see if that helps the student improve logging in and completing that work. If this does not work, I will move to my second option. I have the ability to flag the student in our advising system. We have a system (AVISO) where I can flag students for various reasons (failure to attend, failure to complete assignments, and other personal issues). The staff in our Student Success Center will get that notification and work to contact and meet with the student to address their needs and advise them. It can be a daunting task to get students to log in and do their work. In the end, it is up to the student. But, I will always do everything I can to try and help these students along.

Working Through the Labs

Image Credit: P. Williams

Another big aspect of my week is helping students work through the labs. These virtual labs are pretty challenging and students really have to work hard to earn a high grade. The lab takes off for not following directions, completing the wrong steps, and asks them a series of questions that they will only be able to answer if they do the lab correctly. Students have opportunities to redo the lab if it is done incorrectly, but sometimes students to not choose that option. I have never understood why students will not redo a lab to earn a better grade, but that is something that occurs frequently.

At first, I thought the lack of retakes was due to not being clear in my instructions, but I make announcements, put it in the instructions, and email students who have low grade. Still, no matter what I do, I have many students who will not redo the lab. Al large portion of this week has been dedicated to grading labs, troubleshooting with students in the lab, and trying to get students to complete the lab. In the image above, you can see there are students who have not started, some that have started, and several that finished. I will continue to keep up with students throughout these last few days to try and get them to complete their labs. But... it can be tough with two classes of 30 students each.

Facilitating the Discussions

Image Credit: P. Williams

Another aspect of my week has been managing discussions from students. In my courses, the discussion is student led, but I spend a lot of time facilitating and monitoring the posts. I have been very pleased with using Voice Thread for our discussion posts. I think it is working really well and students are really participating in the discussion. At this time (we still have a few days left in the week) we have over 2 hours of class discussion on this topic alone (see image to the left). The topic we are discussing this week deals with a prion disease (that is 100% fatal). We discuss this in the first module because we are learning about different microbes that can cause disease and this discussion will introduce them to a type of microbe that is rare and dangerous for the population. It really gets students interested because it is a non-living microbe (basically  it is a protein that causes disease). So, students are very interested in learning about something that is so strange. It really introduces them to the strange and fascinating world of microbiology. 

Image Credit: P. Williams 

Another aspect of the discussion beside monitoring and facilitating the discussion is trying to get students to submit the discussion. In Voice Thread, there is a button students must click on (a big, blue "Submit Assignment" button. Even if the student makes the posts as requested, if they do not click that button then I cannot grade the discussion post for that student. This means that I have to send reminders to students and try to get them to remember to go in and click that button. Luckily, Voice Thread has an option to email the students who have not submitted the post. So, I send the message to students to remind them to click that button. The only problem is that students must remember to check their email to see these reminders. I will also post a reminder in the announcements area of the course on Saturday to hopefully allow them to see that they may be missing a step in the process. 

Wrap Up

As you can see, I spend a lot of time trying to make sure my students have  a smooth experience in the course and try to make sure that the students feel supported. While I am constantly looking for ways to improve, I really work hard to make sure students have the best possible experience while taking my online courses. I am still looking for better ways to reach out to my students and to make sure they have all that they need to succeed. One of the things that this program has taught me is that it is a never ending search for better ways to reach out to students. Incorporating Voice Thread was one of the ideas I got from this program and it has really improved communication in my course. As my time is coming to an end in this program, I am continuing to use what I have learned to make improvements in my courses. I am excited to continue my reflective process throughout this semester to discuss how this program has helped improve my courses. As we continue this journey, I hope to discuss more ways I have improved and continue to improve my online science courses.

Here is to another week in this journey. Now... on to week 6. There will be a lot of grading next week... due to the end of module 1. So... here's a shout out to the coming busy week.

Week 4: Practicum Reflection for Module 1 (part 1)

Image Credit: @eqavet.eu

Welcome to the first week of Module 1. My students are now diving into the basics of Microbiology. Module 1 is a basic introduction to the world of Microbiology. Because the Module last two weeks and just began this week, this will be a shorter reflection about the Module setup and some of the early experiences I had for this week. 

This module introduces the basics of microbiology. This module allows the students to get familiar with basic microbial terminology, microbial classification, and some of the background of the field of microbiology. There is a lot for each student to get acquainted with throughout this module. Students will start to realize the importance of the history of microbiology and how it shapes the field even today. There are some things that I do to help guide students through their initial journey and here are some of those aspects. 

Welcome to the Module

Image Credit: P. Williams 

The first thing that I like to provide students at the beginning of the module is a welcome to the Module announcement. While I have always done this, I have perfected it over the years, applying some tidbits to it while learning from the courses in the online teaching and instructional design program. I make sure to give a simple overview of what the module covers and I provide the due dates that occur within the module. This module is a little funny because they have an extra due date that is not found in other modules. As you recall, we have a required orientation quiz that must be completed by the census date. This census date falls in the middle of the first week of module 1. So... students have an extra date to worry about outside of their Sunday due dates. So, I posted that reminder within this post as well. But, this is a general announcement to get the students ready for the module that is ahead. 

Resources for Learning 

Image Credit: P. Williams 

Within the module are a variety of resources for the students to use to help guide them through the information they are learning.

As stated in previous reflections, students have all the resources provided, a discussion and labs (which I will reflect on in Week 5 reflection) and quizzes for the module. 

Students are provided with a wide range of resources that hopefully help students with different learning styles. I have added variety over the years to try and make sure I am helping the most students I possibly can. I provide students with recorded lectures for each chapter (each are closed captioned), provided Power Points (which are ADA compliant), and provided animations and other videos that students can use if they want to get extra information. I also provide a short recorded MP3 file (which contains a transcript for students with disabilities) that contains a quick review of important information that they can download to their phones or other mobile device and listen to in their car or during short breaks. Students who utilize each resource have provided me with very positive feedback for each type of resource. I keep statistics tracking on in each area of my course and follow how long students use each resource. I find that students who use the resources consistently have the highest grades in the course. Students how do not use the resource or use them inconsistently tend to have lower grades in the course. This, of course, is a perfectly logical trend and something that I expect. 

Image Credit: P. Williams 

One of the newest things I am working on now is adding more connection to the assignments and the learning outcomes. I have been working on Module 1 over the last week to ensure that students know what is expected of them. I started using the "lesson planner" feature of blackboard for the first time last week and I love it. It allows me to connect learning outcomes to different parts of the course. While I am still getting used to it and learning the specifics, I have already applied it to Module 1 resources. 

Image Credit: P. Williams 

The lesson planner allows me to put the Learning objectives in the area where the materials are located. It allows me to put a better description (than the usual description box provided) and break down the instruction to different levels (see image above). The students can then scroll down and find all the resources they need (see image to the left). 

Now, the learning objectives are listed directly above each of the resources areas so the students know what to look for within each resource. I have recorded lectures, notes, study games, and animations provided. I am looking forward to seeing if this helps the students learn the information better. Since this is the first time I have done this, it may take a few weeks to get a good feel for the perceptions of the students. 

Wrap Up

While I have less to reflect on this week due to the timing of the modules and the due dates of the reflections, I have found out a few useful things from my students. I am still receiving messages from students telling me they like the setup of the course. A few have pointed out that it is the best organized course they have been in. That makes me feel great and makes me feel like I succeeded in trying to look at my course organization from the student perspective. This program has allowed me to view online courses from the perspective of both the student and the instructor, so I feel the program has helped guide me in that aspect of development. I still have a lot to learn, but I feel like I am on the right path. 

I have also been spending a lot of time replying to Voice Thread posts (both for Module 1 and for the introduction posts). I am making sure to respond to each student... which takes time since I have a total of 60 microbiology students (30 in each of the classes I am teaching). I will reflect more on that experience in next weeks reflection because it will be the end of Module 1. 

I am looking forward to continuing to move forward, make improvements, and teaching material as the days go on. Here's to another week. The semester is starting to fly by. 

Practicum Week 3: Welcome to the Course

Image Credit: onlinelearningtips.com 

Well, it is the beginning. The course I am using for this practicum started this week. The beginnings of courses are always a busy time and lots of work goes in to helping guide the students through the course and to help students get acquainted with the expectations of the course. There are always challenges to getting students through these first few days. There are always students that are new to online learning and they need extra time and attention to calm their fears and get them settled in. There are veteran online learners as well. They are the learners that like to jump right in and get going, but may jump ahead too fast and not read / listen to all the instructions right away. With the wide array of personalities, it becomes a full time job just helping students get everything together.

Starting the Course

One of the biggest things I learned in this program is the importance of being very specific with instructions and providing a lot of resources to help guide students. I have noticed the more specific and descriptive I am in my courses, the less questions I get asked. Every semester is a chance to fix any issues that cause students to have questions. So, over time, I have learned to get more detailed in everything I do. Here is some of things I do to help students get acquainted with the course...

Announcements  

Image Credit: P. Williams

I have always believed that announcements are important in an online course. Students need to feel connected and need to feel our presence. I think the first step is in providing updates and announcements. While there are a lot of announcements to post in the beginning, I believe it is our job to provide regular announcements and updates on the course. My students were greeted with several announcements on the first day. Some people may ask if this is too many announcements for the first day, but I have found that if I make one announcement that is too long, many students do not read it or watch the video. But, if I break them into several shorter announcements, more students follow through and read them. 

Image credit: P. Williams

I always make sure to provide students with a nice welcome announcement that helps break down how the course is set up and some of requirements the students need to be aware of. I also provide students with a Welcome Video where I provide students a virtual tour of the course with me guiding them through the course from the student's perspective. Other announcements in the beginning are tutorials on how to use the virtual labs, access codes needed for the course, and more information on important dates and course schedules. 

 Getting to Know the Course (and each other)

Image Credit: P. Williams 

One of the biggest things I have learned, both through trial-and-error as well as through this program, is that students need to few days to get settled in to their course before content is started and due. It is essential for the student to have a few days to play around in the course and get a feel for what is expected. It is very challenging for a student to dive right in to the material without having enough time get get acquainted with the course and its expectations. I have provided students with about a week to get just get into the course and get used to the material. We have an orientation quiz requirement at my institution and it must be completed before the census date (10% date) of the course or the student will be dropped. The date for this course is February 1st by 11:59 pm. So, I use this time to allow students to get acquainted. I will note that the content modules actually start on Jan 30th... so they have about a week to do this without having to worry about content. Students have reported (in previous semesters) that they really enjoy the time to get used to the course, to download and sign up for outside sources, and to read and learn about expectations. It also provides students a few extra days to get their textbooks.

During this time, the students have a few things to attend to. They must make an introduction post about themselves in Voice Thread. This is where we get to know each other and work on building community in the first few days. I work really hard to learn about each student through these posts and make sure to respond to all students to make a connection with each student (see image above).

Image Credit: P. Williams 

 They also must complete the orientation quiz by that census date . Most students complete that in the first few days of the course, but it is something that they need to spend a little time on. The quiz covers different aspects of the course exceptions and the students must read the course syllabus, read the announcements, watch the "Welcome to the Course" video, and play around in the course in order to answer the questions. This allows the student to become familiar with the course while requiring them to read things they may choose to skip over if  not assessed. I do allow the students unlimited attempts at the orientation quiz so that they can earn a 100% in the end. The goal of this quiz is not to be punitive, but to encourage each student to seek all the information needed for the course. The quiz is designed as a module that students work through so they can become familiar with sending messages, setting up email, submitting assignments, using blackboard instant messenger, and to access the syllabus and course information.

Reflection on the Week

While the week still has a couple of days left, I feel like I have enough feedback and work throughout the week to post a reflection of my experience. Most of the week has been helping students navigate the course and getting them acquainted with all the day-to-day workings of the course. Many students have already committed on the organization of the course and how they are able to find everything easily. I have only had a few questions where students were confused, but mostly due to these student's not following instructions on reading. The good thing is that these students contacted me and I was able to direct them to the appropriate place. 

Overall, I feel very positive about these first few days. In the introduction posts, I have learned a lot about the students (those that have posted so far) and I have learned a lot about their needs for the course. I was able to calm some fears of a few students who are taking this course as their first online course ever. Science is a hard class to do online, and it makes it even harder when it is your first one. The only negative feeling I have is wishing that more students would log in and start their journey closer to day one. Usually students who wait until the last minute to login to the course, tend to be students who do not do as well in the online course. I just wish students would be more proactive about getting in the course and working. I guess that is a personal trait of mine (being proactive) and some students may not have that particular strength. 

I am looking forward to next week when we begin the content material for the course. Module 1 is one of my favorite modules because it has a lot of history in it... so I get really excited.

Now to finish off this introductory week and get ready for Module 1... 

Practicum Week Two: Course Design

Image Credit: John Hopkins University School of Medicine 

Welcome to the wonderful world of online course design for the sciences.

This has been something that I have been perfecting for years now. Designing online courses for the sciences is quite challenging. The sciences are very structured and have specific requirements that must be completed throughout the course. In the sciences, we must have a strict set of summative assessments to ensure students are making progress. It becomes a design challenge to figure out a way to work in some formative assessments along with exams and labs without overburdening the student. This blog post will focus on some of the things I have developed in order to give my students the best possible experience in Microbiology.

The Learning Curve

As with anything we are learning, we have trial and error and a learning curve to get past. My journey

Image credit: bhwn383 on cartoonstock.com

into online teaching is no exception. While I taught and improved my courses before starting this program in Online Teaching and Instructional Design, it was not until a got into the "nitty-gritty" of instructional design that I really started making real connections between course design and student needs. I knew my students needed material and resources, but I failed to fully understand that connections between course material and course assignments were vital to student success. I also failed to understand the extra time and care that is needed to make these connections in the online environment. There was a disconnect. So, this program has helped guide me to putting ideas together to design them in a way that most benefits the student. I learned that I was not doing anything wrong, I just needed to add more and make better connections with my students. Once I made this realization, I was able to really move forward. Here is where I am now...

Course Design: The Online Microbiology Course

Throughout the semesters I have been teaching online courses and learning about how to teach online courses, I have made many changes that I believe have helped improve my instruction in the online environment. My institution uses blackboard and I am very lucky to have a college that will provide me with almost any technology tool I can ask for. So, as I work to improve my courses, I keep adding more tools to help improve my instruction. 

Structure with Flexibility

A short view of the Online Microbiology Course showing the Module Structures
Image Credit: P. Williams 

One of the big things that I wanted to make sure worked in the design of the course were the structure of the modules and the corresponding due dates. I had colleagues who taught classes online with only one due date: the last day of class. Those students never seemed happy and I could never figure out why an instructor would design a course like that. It had to be a nightmare... for both instructor and student. I have had colleagues that chose to have multiple dues dates with a very short time frame on different days of the week. That did not seem any better. So, I sat down and thought about what to do. I wanted to make sure not to rush students and give them flexibility while also setting hard deadlines to keep students on track and for me to give them appropriate feedback throughout the term. I settled on modules that last two weeks each. All assignments for that module are always due on the last day of that module (Sunday). I felt two-week modules gives students time to learn the material while still keeping it structured. There is some breathing room within that structure, while still be task oriented. After using this structure for many semesters, I have received a lot of positive feedback. Students tell me that it does not overburden them and they feel like they can learn. This has given me confidence in this particular set up.

The online course I am teaching is set up in 7 modules, each lasting two weeks. The course is 14 weeks long (actually... counting holidays and some funny state requirement rules.. it is actually 15 weeks long... so the students will have a week to get their feet wet in the course before they are required to start the modules). The course is a 6 contact hour course and students have a pretty hefty workload for the course. Each module contains material for between 2-4 chapters worth of material, lectures and notes (prepared by me and closed captioned by my college). There are lots of videos and animations for the students to study with as well as games, study guides, and other resources to help students do well. 

Assessments 

Each module also contains different assignments (formative and summative) to ensure students are learning the material and succeeding the best they can. Here are some examples of their assessments....

The Discussion and VoiceThread

During each module, the students (and myself), participate in a discussion. There are seven total discussions in the course. Each discussion relates to a topic we are learning about within the modules. These discussions are more of a formative assessment. Although there is a grade for the discussion, it is more about participation, effort, and gaining knowledge about our course content with real world examples. The discussion is designed to get the students talking about a complex scientific issue. Just as in the course module design, the discussion lasts two weeks in length. Each student posts an initial post on what they learned or found interesting during the first week of the module. The students then respond to at least two fellow classmates (or myself) by the end of the second module.

Image Credit: M Yerger

While I have always had discussion posts since I started teaching online, I learned about the using Voice Thread as a tool in this program. One instructor in our program used it several times and I loved it. I really wanted to use it and inquired about the tool at the college where I teach. My institution then invested in the educational account where we have unlimited access to the tool and all of its features. I decided it would be great to use it as a discussion post tool. There were several advantages to using this for discussion posts. The biggest advantage is that it helps connect the students and me to each other. I require the students to use the video or audio component for their initial post. This help brings the class together into a more connected community. I feel like we get to know each other better and can really put names to faces. The second component is that is is free for the student and even if they do not have video or audio on their computer, they can still post and respond on the phone (which is a great feature). I have had several students use that approach and they give it positive reviews. While last semester was the first time I incorporated it into my online courses, this semester I have made it even more integrated with our course material and offered the students different options on how they would like to respond to the material. For this semester, I have given the students more opportunity to respond to the discussion prompt in different ways. They can discuss the biological concept or the ethical implications of the topic on society or the environment...they can be as creative as they want as long as they provide facts with resources. I hope that this will allow students to learn more about the material and the topic we are covering. I am looking forward to the students impressions once the semester starts. 

One downside I have with the tool is that it is not fully ADA compliant and therefore may not accessible for some students. While this has not been an issue up to this point, it could be in the future. Right now, I load accessible images, texts, and files to the VoiceThread, but the posts that I and students make are not individually accessible. I am currently working to find ways to make this accessible. At this point, my college offered to transcribe all posts on the VoiceThread if there is a student with the disability requiring it. I hope to find a better solution and will continue to work through this issue as much as possible. 

The Labs: It's always a Work in Progress

Finding the most appropriate tools to use for lab is always a challenge... especially when trying to make them fully ADA accessible. This is probably the one area of my course that I worry about with regard to ADA accessibility the most. There is not one single program (at least that I can find) in the online world that has fully accessible virtual labs. Many of them are "partially" accessible, but that is useless with regard to federal law. I am in a constant search for accessible labs and it takes lots of time throughout the semester just to search for them. For now, I am using Late Nite Labs. It is a great tool and offers students the best "hands-on" experience in the virtual world. With this program, students can make mistakes, blow things up, redo lab experiments, and test new tools in as close to the real environment as you can get in the virtual world.

Image Credit: P. Williams

For this particular course, students will be completing labs each module. Most modules contain two labs that help guide them to a culminating lab experience during module 7. This set-up is very similar to what a student does in a face-to-face lab. Students spend a large portion of the semester learning specific techniques on how to identify different types of bacteria. They learning about staining, biochemical techniques, biochemical control, and so on. They then have their culminating lab project for the last lab (the lab final) that asks the student to use all the techniques
they learned throughout the semester and apply them to identify an unknown bacterial sample. This is one of the hardest things students have to do (both face-to-face and online). It takes the students a lot of time to get through and to correctly identify the unknown bacteria.The student's job throughout the term is to learn all the techniques so they can apply them to the final unknown lab. I use the labs in modules 1-6 as more of a formative assessment while the final lab is summative.

My job throughout the lab experience is to guide the student through the process, help then identify where they went wrong in the labs, and guide them to the best lab solutions. This aspect of the course takes a lot of my time and I must work hard throughout the semester to guide the students through the material. In the end, the lab program tends to get good feedback. The only complaints I get is that it has a huge learning curve and the first time a student does a lab, it takes a long time. But, after a couple of labs, the students start getting the hang of it and end up liking the lab program.

Quizzes and Exams

No matter what I do, these are the assessments the students hate the most. These are always summative assessments where the students must demonstrate mastery. Because this course is a gateway course to, not only other courses, but also state administered exams for some students, I must have a controlled and monitored series of exams that ensure students are learning. Throughout the course, the students have 6 quizzes (with 30 multiple choice questions and one essay) and a final exam (with 50 multiple choice questions). Students are timed on the questions that are multiple choice and must use the Respondus Lockdown Browser and a Web Cam Monitor. Students are timed 60 minutes on the quizzes and 90 minutes on the final. The essay portion of the quizzes is not timed and the students can use resources (they are not required to use the Lockdown Browser or Web Cam). This allows the students to research and write an essay responding to the question from their research.

Wrap Up

While this blog post was just a start to begin explaining the course, it has taken a lot of work to get to this point. Designing a course, improving the course, and setting it up to help the students the best it can take a lot of time. I also use some other technology in the course that I have not explained yet (such as SoftChalk) and I will add those technologies to later posts. I have worked hard to make sure the students have as close to a face-to-face experience as possible while still being online and (for the most part) at their own pace.  I hope to gain feedback from both students in the course and fellow classmates and supervisors from this practicum on things I am doing right as well as on things I can improve on for future courses.

Here's looking forward to week three (and a goodbye to week two) of this practicum. This week... my students gain access to the course. I am ready for the challenge. :D Here we go...

BIO-275: Microbiology: A Practicum Description

Image Credit: ebtraining9.com

Throughout my program, I have been thinking of the best way to design my practicum experience. As time moved on, I realized the most challenging thing I can do for my practicum is to teach an online microbiology course and make improvements as I go.

The sciences (and science faculty) are typically the most resistant to the online model, and it has been my goal to try and change perceptions. Many times, faculty tell me that there is no way to teach a laboratory online. It is a challenge that I deal with everyday. Teaching a science course online is not like any other online course. There are aspects of science that must be delicately balanced in the online environment. A lot of students tell me... "online science... isn't face-to-face science challenging enough?". Well yes... it is challenging... but my goal is to make science available to all students, whether they can come to campus or not. So, herein lies my practicum project.

The Practicum: Teach an Online Microbiology Course 

One of the best things a student, who is nearing completion in a program on online teaching and instructional design, can do is to teach a course in their major field of study. I am a Professor of Biology and Biotechnology and teach courses in a variety of formats. Over the years, I have worked to make improvements in all my courses and I believe teaching an online course in Microbiology is a wonderful capstone to round out my educational experience in Online Teaching and Instructional Design.

The particular online Microbiology course I am using as my practicum capstone is a 14 week, 6 contact hour course. The course dates run from January 24th - May 8th 2017. Currently there are 30 students enrolled in this particular course. While I understand that keeping up with 30 students in an online course is a lot, I am sure the hours dedicated to this particular course will more than satisfy the requirements for the practicum.

Because the course is a 6 contact hour course (96 total contact hours) over 14 weeks, this means I will be spending approximately 6.85 hours a week simply teaching the course in the online environment. The course will be delivered through Blackboard with one other website being used for the labs (LateNiteLabs.com).

Image Credit: Pearson

What Will I Be Doing for My Students?

 As one would gather, I will be teaching the course throughout the term. Specifically, I will be providing lectures, videos, labs, discussions, and quizzes for students throughout the semester. My course will be set up in 7 modules with each module lasting 2 weeks in length. Within each module will be recorded lectures and videos, virtual labs, discussions and quizzes.

The textbook I will be using throughout the semester is the 4th edition of Microbiology with Diseases by Body System by Robert Bauman. This is a wonderful textbook that students seem to enjoy. Since many of my students are pre-nursing majors, this text works really well because the text is arranged by body system (which is what they are accustomed to in other courses such as Anatomy and Physiology).

Within the course, the students will be provided lecture notes in Power Point format. These notes have been made ADA compliant and are available for the student to download as they wish. Also, I will be providing a video recorded lecture based on the notes. I use Camtasia to record and edit my lectures throughout the course. This provides the student with a variety of ways to learn the material. I will also be providing shorter videos and animations for the students to gain further knowledge on the material we will be covering in the course. The college captions my lectures so that each recording meets Federal ADA standards. Students are also provided lots of different study materials to help them through the material. I provide MP3 short narratives of the chapter that students can download and listen to in the car (usually about 20 minutes long for each chapter). These MP3's have a text transcript to make them ADA compliant for students who may need them. Students are also provided a variety of study games, virtual note cards, as well as an ADA compliant study guide to help each student study in ways that best benefit their learning style.

Students will also participate in bi-weekly discussions. While it is a student-led discussion, I will be working hard to help guide the students. I will be using Voice-thread to participate in the discussions throughout the term.

Image Credit: Voice Thread

For each of the 7 discussions (one discussion for each module), the students will make an initial post responding to the prompt. The prompt covers a topic that helps the student learn more information about the material in each module. The first discussion post will be about "Nuclear Waste Eating Microbes". Module 1 contains a lot of background and historical information and this discussion post will open them up to the unique world of microorganisms. Students will be required to post an initial post about their thoughts on the prompt and what they learned during the readings and research aspect of the discussion. This initial post is due within the first week of the module. Students will then respond to at least two fellow classmates on their posts, which is due during the second week of the module. I will be responding to posts through each module to help the conversation move forward and to encourage students through their posts.

Image Credit: Late Nite Labs

Another aspect of the course that will help the students learn their information is the laboratory portion of the course. I am currently using a virtual lab program called Late Nite Labs. This program offers virtual labs for a variety of science courses. Since I work for the state college and university system, we have a contract with this company to offer the lab program for $15.00 a year. This is much more cost effective than the $150.00 lab book... so students are usually happy to use this program. Students will have two labs to complete for each module. Each of the labs follow in line with the material we are learning in the lecture portion of the course. I will be providing feedback, guidance, and grading the labs throughout each module. Most of my time teaching in this course is spent working with students in the virtual labs.

Each student will also have virtual, proctored exams through Blackboard. I am utilizing Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor Webcam in BlackBoard to make sure students are following exam rules and are abiding by all course and college policies. The college pays for each student to have this benefit, so it is no extra cost for the student.

What Will I Be Providing as Evidence for My Practicum?

Each week, I will complete a blog post detailing my progress through teaching an online Microbiology course. I have developed this course completely on my own and that development will be part of my practicum. While some of this I have completed over the past few weeks, I will be reporting on that in my next blog post. Here is a breakdown of the things I will be providing as evidence throughout the semester for my practicum.

1) The Development of the Course (Week 2) -

I will create a blog post discussing this aspect of my practicum for my next blog post. I will be posting a blog on this on Sunday, Jan 21st by 11:59 pm. I have spent a lot of time developing this course. Just to get the course ready for delivery, I have already put in more than 30 hours of work. I will discuss the aspects that I have incorporated into the course and how I have utilized feedback over the course of previous semesters to get to where I am now. I will provide evidence in the form of screen shots, links, or documents to demonstrate my work and progress.

2) The Beginning (Week 3) - 

The course officially starts during the 3rd week of this practicum. Students will have access to the course on Jan 24th at 12:01 am. Students will be navigating the course and getting their feet wet. During this time (the first week), the students do not have science assignments due during this time. I have introduction posts and "getting to know the course" activities for the first week. This is a particularly time consuming time for me. I am making videos and helping students navigate through the course. I will be posting a blog on my work and progress through this introduction week by Sunday, Jan 28th by 11:59 pm. I will be using screen shots, documents, or links to demonstrate some of the work I have completed. I will include these within my blog post.

3) The Course Material and Course Improvement (Week 4 - Week 15) - 

This is the part of the course where the students will be dealing with the material and learning what they need from me and the material. I will be teaching the course, grading, providing feedback, guiding students, and providing support where needed. I will have video lectures, as described above, other material, and will be working closely with students. I will be working be providing examples of my feedback and participation with the students during my weekly reflections. I will also provide screen shots, documents, or videos as evidence for my progress. While this is the main portion of my work (to teach an online Microbiology course), I will also be adding some improvements to my course. I want to make a stronger connection to the material and assignments to the course learning outcomes. A part of this portion of the practicum will be adding learning outcomes to each module so better help the student understand what they are supposed to be learning. I will include progress on this aspect of my practicum during my weekly blog posts. Here is the following schedule for the weekly posts during part 3 of the practicum:

Week 4 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 1 - Sunday, Feb 4th by 11:59 pm.
Week 5 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 1 (cont.) - Sunday, Feb 11th by 11:59 pm
*** Complete addition of learning outcomes for Module 1 during this week ***
Week 6 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 2 - Sunday, Feb 18th by 11:59 pm
Week 7 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 2 (cont.) - Sunday, Feb 25th by 11:59 pm
*** Complete addition of learning outcomes for Module 2 during this week ***
Week 8 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 3 - Sunday, March 4th by 11:59 pm
Week 9 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 3 (cont.) - Sunday, Mar 11th by 11:59 pm
*** Complete addition of learning outcomes for Module 3 during this week *** 
Week 10 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 4 - Sunday, March 18th by 11:59 pm
Week 11 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 4 (cont.) - Sunday, Mar 25th by 11:59 pm
 **** Note - this reflection will include results from mid-term course evaluation to gather feedback on how students are doing in the science course. It is developed and given by me to provide me with feedback with the students are doing. ****
*** Complete addition of learning outcomes for Module 4 during this week *** 
Week 12 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 5 - Sunday, Apr 1st by 11:59 pm
Week 13 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 5 (cont.) - Sunday, Apr. 8th by 11:59 pm
*** Complete addition of learning outcomes for Module 5 during this week *** 
Week 14 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 6 - Sunday, Apr 15th by 11:59 pm
Week 15 - Reflective Blog Post with evidence for Module 6 (cont.) - Sunday, Apr 22nd by 11:59 pm
*** Complete addition of learning outcomes for Module 6 and 7 during this week *** 

4) Wrap-Up / Practicum Reflection (Week 16 - Week 17)

During this portion of the practicum, I will be wrapping up the practicum experience with a reflective blog post during the final week and a half (I assume the last blog post will be posted on Sunday, Apr. 29th due to the Spring courses ending on Wednesday, May 5th. My online course does not end until Monday, May 10th, so the course I am using for practicum will end after this practicum ends. I will provide a final reflection on the experience, summarize areas I can improve, and report on the addition of course objectives through the course. While I will be doing this within each module, I will provide a longer reflection on that process in the end.

I will also be submitting my digital portfolio for review. I plan on completing Goal (learning outcome) 2.3 and 4.2 for the digital portfolio required for the program. This will complete my digital portfolio for the Master's of Science in Online Teaching and Instructional Design. I have developed a website for my digital portfolio. I will submit the link for the portfolio at the end of the course by Monday, April 24th at 11:59 pm or earlier. 

Wrap Up

While I think this practicum is a huge undertaking, I believe it gives me more experience in teaching online in my field, provides opportunity to improve my course in smaller "chunks" throughout the semester (the addition of learning outcomes to the learning module and assignments), and a way to reflect on things that I need to improve in my courses for the future. I look forward to this undertaking and hope to gain as much experience as possible while applying this practicum in a real-world setting.

And... so... lets begin...

Reflection: Instructional Design and Online Biology Courses

Image Credit: onlineeducationcourse.org

What can I say about what I learned about
instructional design and developing courses? I have actually learned a lot of information I can take and apply to developing my courses. Biology courses in general have a lot of complex topics and I have learned that with more careful design of these courses, students can actually learn more material. While I worked hard at the design of my courses and worked to make sure students had all the resources that they needed, I never realized how much a good design played into student success. There are a few concepts that stick out to me when I reflect back on what I learned this summer, but they all boil down to one major theme: design for student learning.

Design for Student Learning: Don't You Already do That? 

Image Credit: Flickr photo by Giuliana Forsythe

Well.. yes and no. Before taking this class, I worked hard to create online courses that my students
can learn the material about various topics in biology. I design a course based on what I thought the best layout would be. Basically, I worked to make sure my courses were organized and contained the most useful information to help students learn. What I did not realize, however, is that students can learn more information with careful design where the student needs incorporated directly into the design.

What does that mean?

It means that by designing a course with all aspects of the course for the student, the student will better learn the material in the course. Too often, I was focusing on the material and content I wanted the student to learn without giving a lot of thought to organization, layout, and design in general. Yes, my courses were organized, but they were organized to my liking. Yes, I worked hard on course layout, but they were designed to my specifications. While I took a lot of feedback from students on their needs and what they needed to be successful with the material, I gave little thought to how organization and presentation played a role in their learning.

Funny how we think we are doing everything we can to ensure student success... and we keep learning more about what their needs are and how we can help them succeed.

What Can I Change?

Now that I know that design and organization is just as important as content and information, I can work to provide a better learning environment for my students. I plan on thinking more about the student in the seemingly small details as opposed to just the content and material. How does that work? That is where the design comes in.

Connections: 

One big thing that I will start to do is to make connections for my students even in the design and layout of the course. One big thing I learned is that students have trouble in the online courses connecting what they are learning to why they are learning it. This can be done by making sure the connections are made clear in the design process. It is essential to make sure that each assessment or activity is connected visually to the learning outcomes. During the design process, I plan on making sure all activities and assignments are linked to a learning outcome or objective that a student can see. Making those connections will help the student learn. It, however, can only be successful during the design process. I need to make sure that students know why they are learning what they are learning. I think it is common for professors to assume that the students know why they need to know something. It is not, however, as clear to the student as we sometimes assume. In the online environment, it is especially important that we take steps to point out those connections.

Layout and Organization: 

Image credit: edtech.ku.edu

Another aspect I will be incorporating into my instructional design process is to focus more on the student perspective when designing the course layout and organizational theme. While I always focus on the student for the materials and content, I think I have failed at really looking at the student needs for the layout and organization. I have come to realize that the layout and organization of my courses have been what I like and what I think is best. From now on, I will focus more on what students need with regard to organization and layout. Perhaps my organizational layout is not what is best for my students. Not only will I obtain student feedback on how the class is going and what they are learning, I plan on asking students for feedback on the design and layout of the course. Perhaps I can gather more insight on student needs with regard to organization. I have learned that even layout and organization plays a big role in student learning and I intend to focus more on this aspect to help my students learn.

 Wrap Up

While I have learned a lot about instructional design, I have summarized some key points I plan on focusing on in my online science courses. I want to help my students learn the best that they can and I believe that good instructional design methods can play a huge role in helping the student meet their learning goals. While I still have a long way to go in this area, I have learned a lot of information to take and apply to my online courses. As long as I keep learning and looking for ways to improve the experience for my students, I will continue to make online science courses a wonderful option for my students.