This week, we were tasked with piloting our online teaching modules in small groups. I joined a group quite early in the course and I was a bit concerned that no one would want to join my group given that my module was all about chemistry. The nature of this subject tends to scare most people! Eventually three others joined my group but they all knew nothing about chemistry so teaching out my module to my peers was certainly going to be a challenge!
The module that I designed was asynchronous; this means that my colleagues could take part in the learning activities at any point during my designated teaching day. I have taught asynchronous online courses for my school board for the past several years so delivering this course in this way was no different than what I have previously experienced. I expected my "students" to start at various times and take breaks throughout the content too. To prepare for this, I installed the Canvas Teacher app on my smartphone (ref) so that I would be instantly notified when my "students" posted on the various discussion forums that I had implemented in my course. I also used Padlet and Quizizz in my module so having these apps also installed on my mobile device allowed me to monitor student progress too. I tried to check in at various time points during the day and was quick to respond to postings.
One thing that I found really interesting was that one of my students did not complete the module on my designated teaching day. It is not unusual in an online environment for students to get behind in their work or complete tasks late. This is something that I have to constantly monitor and stay on top of with my eLearning students. In a subject such as chemistry, getting behind in work even by a day or two can really impact cognitive load for my students. If this isn't promptly dealt with, students tend to feel defeated and give up as they think they will never be able to catch up with the course material. In order to help my current "student" complete the module on time, I reached out to them by emailing them through the Canvas platform. I simply asked the person if they needed any help with any of the content or with Canvas itself. I think it is really important to approach a situation in this manner instead of asking why they are late or haven't completed their work yet. Because you don't see your students face-to-face, you are less aware of what their situation or background is so approaching it from this manner will help to build a strong and supportive learning environment. It turns out that my student just ran out of time that day to complete my module but they promptly completed it the next day.
Overall, I was pleased with the delivery of my online teaching module and I was really impressed with the effort that my colleagues put into their assignment based on the fact that none of them were chemists.
One thing that I found really interesting was that one of my students did not complete the module on my designated teaching day. It is not unusual in an online environment for students to get behind in their work or complete tasks late. This is something that I have to constantly monitor and stay on top of with my eLearning students. In a subject such as chemistry, getting behind in work even by a day or two can really impact cognitive load for my students. If this isn't promptly dealt with, students tend to feel defeated and give up as they think they will never be able to catch up with the course material. In order to help my current "student" complete the module on time, I reached out to them by emailing them through the Canvas platform. I simply asked the person if they needed any help with any of the content or with Canvas itself. I think it is really important to approach a situation in this manner instead of asking why they are late or haven't completed their work yet. Because you don't see your students face-to-face, you are less aware of what their situation or background is so approaching it from this manner will help to build a strong and supportive learning environment. It turns out that my student just ran out of time that day to complete my module but they promptly completed it the next day.
Overall, I was pleased with the delivery of my online teaching module and I was really impressed with the effort that my colleagues put into their assignment based on the fact that none of them were chemists.
Comments
Post a Comment