Students will focus on blended learning theories and their potential role in brick-and-mortar and online learning environments. Current models of blended learning will be examined using specific case studies. Students will apply instructional design concepts to the creation of blended learning opportunities. Frameworks for blended/hybrid learning environments will be developed.
OLTD 511 - Introduce Yourself Using an Online Tool
OLTD Program Outcome Addressed
Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within a variety of online learning environments and tools
Engage in building learning communities and communities of practice
Evidence to Support Outcome
In the first week of this course, we were challenged to create a short autobiography to introduce ourselves using an online tool. Since I have now tried many new tools since starting in this program... why stop now? I decided to try PowToon to make my autobiography. Enjoy!
Reflection to Support Evidence
This activity was so much fun. We did something similar in another class where we created a short video to introduce ourselves, but with this one, we were given the freedom to use any tool that we wanted. A few of the other students has already mentioned PowToon.com.
All the things they were saying within the Google+ community made it sound easy and fun so I thought why not give it a try! Sure enough it was. There was about a 20 minute learning period and I was off to the races. The final product that I submitted is still very simple and there is much more you can do on the site but I am proud of what I did and will certainly use PowToon again.
The really fun part of this assignment was watching all the other autobiography's and getting a glimpse into their lives while seeing how creative they can be. I found this to be a neat way to connect with each other and think that in the DL world it could be a very resourceful way to get to know your students and even other colleges if you work from a distance. I think that it can be a useful tool to use to introduce yourself in any type of online learning community. Heck, I might send it out to new employees at work just to introduce myself :)
All in all, it was a fun and an easy way to make a real connection to others.
OLTD 511 - Major Inquiry Project
OLTD Program Outcome Addressed
Critically assess and evaluate resources for best practice in blended learning
Engage in building learning communities and communities of practice
Create blended structures that fit in your potential or existing teaching environment.
Evidence to Support Outcome
In the last two weeks of the course, we were asked to play the role of school builder / administrator and create our own blended school model. I decided to work with Fenella again as we seem to work so well together. We co-wrote the paper using Google Docs and created our presentation using Google Slides. Hooray for Google!!
Reflection to Support Evidence
Throughout the course, we were instructed to read Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools by Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker. The book took you through a journey of how to develop a blended learning environment of your own. Fenella and I took from each chapter to create a blended learning environment for her school that promotes credit recovery for non graduated adults by using eDynamic Learning courses. This was a great project! It gave us a chance to take all the information we acquired throughout the book and actually turn it into something real. For me it is just a vision as I am not currently working in a school but for Fenella it has become a reality! She has been in contact with her administration since the project and their goal is to increase their students by 100+ come next September. They are also meeting with eDynamic Learning to acquire the use of ministry approved courses in early 2016. It was a success all around and will be key in helping these students graduate.
Besides the success in building a blended environment, I also learned that group work is possible from a far. We have done some group work prior to this assignment but with all the tools that I have learned over the last year, it seemed like Fenella and I were not hundreds of miles away. We spoke not only on the phone, but through the magic of Google Docs and Slides. We added, edited, revised and commented on the work we were doing and it was all in real time. Before this program, I would have never thought that two people could write a paper together... never mind doing it online!
Because of this assignment and the course in general, I believe I am fully equipped to create blended structures in any environment and I will be a better teacher because of it. I know there is still a lot to learn and there will be a lot of trial and error in any given environment but now I can hit the road running!