My Discussion Posts
My discussion board posts from the course can be found here. Blog entries are found in "What I Think"
Feb 18, 2015
Guide on the Side for the Non-self Directed Learner
Adapting an already existing course has given me the opportunity to re-evaluate the existing course and question the most effective way to reach learners. When my course was originally delivered it was lecture, demo observation and practice. In order for online students to show proficentcy in the subject mater several issue must be addressed. With this in mind, 5 areas are of utmost importance when designing an online course.
For my current course, I will I will reverse engineer the course, First I will design the learning outcomes then the "tests"/ assessments to demonstrate meeting the outcomes. I will find and design materials that explain the concepts and procedures to be tested. The syllabus will be used to set expectation for the class from the beginning. It will outline communication channels and additional activities will be designed to increase community and support for each other. According to the Pivot-Point Learning System, 90% of beauty industry learners are non-self directed. Planning and structure will be key to creating a fun, informative, and interactive course where people invite their friends and colleges to enroll.
Guide on the Side for the Non-self Directed Learner
Adapting an already existing course has given me the opportunity to re-evaluate the existing course and question the most effective way to reach learners. When my course was originally delivered it was lecture, demo observation and practice. In order for online students to show proficentcy in the subject mater several issue must be addressed. With this in mind, 5 areas are of utmost importance when designing an online course.
- Learning Outcomes or goals and objectives must be created first. As an engineer I've learned that starting with the end in mind saves time and streamline the design process. A project is less likely to experience "scope creep" when you start at the end. What do you want the learners to know? What must the learners be able to demonstrate? What does successfull completion of the couse look like? Answering these questions first will aid in streamline planning.
- The concept of Planning in instructional design (ID) can not be taken lightly. There is no such thing as too many instruction in an online course. Planning allow you to anticipate questions and issues and answer them before they are asked by the learners. This will help them move forward at their own pace and not get stuck. There are already too many unforeseen variables when a learner takes an online course. Time, schedule, technical problems, access to materials, etc. Our job is to plan everything that can be planned so that learners can have as smooth a ride as possible.
- Communication is also a key to a successful online course. An environment must be build so that learners are confident that the instructor is available to assist in learning. Set "office hours" or a commitment to timely reply to emails as well as clear initial expectations are a good start.
- Interaction goes hand in hand with communication. People are social animals. As adults we learn better in community. Ideas can be exchanged, and classmates can learn from one-another. A learning system can be used to build structure into interaction opportunities.
- Assessments should be varied and flexible. This gives learners with different styles the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of the subject matter in a way that plays to their strengths.
For my current course, I will I will reverse engineer the course, First I will design the learning outcomes then the "tests"/ assessments to demonstrate meeting the outcomes. I will find and design materials that explain the concepts and procedures to be tested. The syllabus will be used to set expectation for the class from the beginning. It will outline communication channels and additional activities will be designed to increase community and support for each other. According to the Pivot-Point Learning System, 90% of beauty industry learners are non-self directed. Planning and structure will be key to creating a fun, informative, and interactive course where people invite their friends and colleges to enroll.
Understanding by Design (UbD): Beginning with the End in Mind
As an engineer, reverse engineering, process improvement by starting at the end, is a concept I am quite comfortable with. I was always a little nervous when my teaching cohorts got overly excited about concept. Why won't a process that saved time and effort be the natural first choice in developing a course. Then during my teaching training I watched my mentor deliver a unit. Then she asked me to deliver the same unit. Everything was laid out for us by the textbook company. These nail technology students are NOT self-directed learners. Seventy-five percent of vocational students fall into this category. Some students got it, some students didn't and then we just moved on. If I worked with them one on one, perhaps I did a demo, watch them perform the task, or watched a video. I did the things I had already done, perhaps more slowly. If they didn't care to ask for the extra help, there was always something else pulling for my time.
Watching Grant Wiggins facilitate a conversation about UbD got me excited about reaching the dis-interested student. I saw how learning could be differentiated and learners with different styles could get what they needed. I also saw how this process could save time in the long run. By the time students started working problems, they would be invested in persevering.
What I saw with UbD gives me and learners a whole new way of getting to critical thinking skills and thus long term retention of new skills. It takes reverse engineering to the next level and, most importantly, has a good chance of engaging the student that isn't already doing well or interested in the subject. Starting with the big ideas, having those ideas drive objectives and having those objectives inform the assessment device chosen, will go a long way in an integrated learning process has the learner at it's center. As I am writing this it occurs to me that my entire teaching career can be viewed through this model. The one big idea or reason for me teaching is to leave a legacy that out lives me. To make a contribution to human existence. I've chosen creating lifelong learners as the best way of achieving that goal. If I want to created lifelong learners the learners must be engaged and experience a degree of success. UbD gives everyone the opportunity to find something they can relate to in a topic being examined and contribute to their own learning. WIth a degree of success they will feel encouraged to continue learning about a topic.
The University of Alaska at Fairbanks has an excellent and consise overview of Understanding by Design (UbD).
April 2015
Emily Friel
RE: Understanding by Design (UbD): Beginning with the End in Mind
Hi Lois, I would like to address your comment about your teaching cohorts being overly excited about concept. Later in your post, you describe how UbD starts with the big ideas (concept), then devise your individual assessments and modules so that they ultimately lead to that big idea. My particular course is a technical one, maybe a bit more complex than nail care and coloring, but stilll ultimately about mastering a skill. This particular module has allowed me to think about and identify the big ideas, even in a skills-based learning environment. Were you able to identify the concept/big idea for your nail care course?
April 2015
Lois Bugg Shadrick
RE: Understanding by Design (UbD): Beginning with the End in Mind
Thanks Emily,
Yes, for this course "Safety and Sanitation in the Beauty Industry" I need practitioners to know how to keep the public safe and healthy and keep their salons/spas clean. That way, they can keep their liceances and their businesses. I've gotten behind in putitng content on the CourseSite. It seems to be easier to build from scratch than to adapt an already existing course. I will keep plugging along. thanks for your thoughts.
April 2015
Min Pan INSTRUCTOR MANAGER
New course shell in CourseSites or hide what you don't want us to see
Hi Lois,
About "It seems to be easier to build from scratch than to adapt an already existing course". You are right about that. Often it would be easier to start from a blank course shell especially if you'd like to customize the course structure quite a bit.
CourseSites allows you to create up to 5 courses for free. So you can start a new course shell and re-enroll all of us. Or you can simply delete or hide all the unwanted course links from us (your students), and create new course menu links.
Here is how to delete or hide a course menu link:
When Edit Mode is on,
1. Mouse over the course menu link, a down arrow will appear on the right.
2. Click on the arrow, you will see these three links.
Rename Link
Hide Link
Delete Link
If you want to move a content area to a new location, use the Move feature available in the same menu list as the Edit feature.
Hope this helps.
1 month ago
Serko Srabonian
RE: Understanding by Design (UbD): Beginning with the End in Mind
Great post Lois! It hit me like a brick when you said " everything was laid out for us by the textbook company." At my job, I've been given the task of converting our text based Pre-license course in to an "eLearning" / text based hybrid course. Wanting to use some of the sample questions, from the text book, in an online review quiz housed in our new LMS, I contacted the publisher of the text to get approval. After describing some of my ideas to our "rep", the guy actually asked me why I wanted to go through all that "stuff" when the publisher has written the curriculum, tests, timed outlines, content and activities already.I think he used the phrase "pug and play". I was speechless when he sent me over to their (publisher) website for instructor resources. "Modern" education smells a lot like cookie cutter, assembly line, cram 'em and pass 'em crap to me.On the other hand, it is very efficient... I'll get off my soap box now...
Thanks for reminding me how much is really at stake Lois!
1 month ago
Min Pan INSTRUCTOR MANAGER
RE: Understanding by Design (UbD): Beginning with the End in Mind
I know exactly what you are talking about, Serko, and I share with you and Lois a similar sentiment about the "cookie-cutter", "assembly line" approach that "Everything was laid out for us by the text book company". Based on what I witnessed in my work, over the last five years or so, textbook publishers successfully gained the digital course content market. When I started to work in the area of Instructional Development for the college 10 years ago, a new online course typically used a print textbook and the faculty member wrote additional materials, created assessments, etc. Prior to 2010, we had less than 10 online courses using publisher's digital materials (website or course package) as a main source of course content. Now it is so common that I can't give a specific number any more (COD has over 250 online courses). Also publishers' content can now be integrated into the school's LMS seamlessly. If you are an instructor, under the Tools tab in COD's Blackboard, you see McGraw-Hill, Wiley-plus, Cengage Learning, and Pearson. When an instructor uses content provided by one of these companies, the connection is seamless and trouble-free to the student (or at least it's supposed to be).
The advantages and disadvantages of adopting publishers' course packages can be debated. In most cases, the quality of content and the variety are better than an individual faculty member can manage to produce. Usually it adds more cost to the student who pays for access to the course content, lab, assessment, academic and technical support provided by the publishing company. Like you said, it's very efficient. And yes, there is no need to "re-create the wheel". But we do lose something valuable here, don't we?
As an engineer, reverse engineering, process improvement by starting at the end, is a concept I am quite comfortable with. I was always a little nervous when my teaching cohorts got overly excited about concept. Why won't a process that saved time and effort be the natural first choice in developing a course. Then during my teaching training I watched my mentor deliver a unit. Then she asked me to deliver the same unit. Everything was laid out for us by the textbook company. These nail technology students are NOT self-directed learners. Seventy-five percent of vocational students fall into this category. Some students got it, some students didn't and then we just moved on. If I worked with them one on one, perhaps I did a demo, watch them perform the task, or watched a video. I did the things I had already done, perhaps more slowly. If they didn't care to ask for the extra help, there was always something else pulling for my time.
Watching Grant Wiggins facilitate a conversation about UbD got me excited about reaching the dis-interested student. I saw how learning could be differentiated and learners with different styles could get what they needed. I also saw how this process could save time in the long run. By the time students started working problems, they would be invested in persevering.
What I saw with UbD gives me and learners a whole new way of getting to critical thinking skills and thus long term retention of new skills. It takes reverse engineering to the next level and, most importantly, has a good chance of engaging the student that isn't already doing well or interested in the subject. Starting with the big ideas, having those ideas drive objectives and having those objectives inform the assessment device chosen, will go a long way in an integrated learning process has the learner at it's center. As I am writing this it occurs to me that my entire teaching career can be viewed through this model. The one big idea or reason for me teaching is to leave a legacy that out lives me. To make a contribution to human existence. I've chosen creating lifelong learners as the best way of achieving that goal. If I want to created lifelong learners the learners must be engaged and experience a degree of success. UbD gives everyone the opportunity to find something they can relate to in a topic being examined and contribute to their own learning. WIth a degree of success they will feel encouraged to continue learning about a topic.
The University of Alaska at Fairbanks has an excellent and consise overview of Understanding by Design (UbD).
April 2015
Emily Friel
RE: Understanding by Design (UbD): Beginning with the End in Mind
Hi Lois, I would like to address your comment about your teaching cohorts being overly excited about concept. Later in your post, you describe how UbD starts with the big ideas (concept), then devise your individual assessments and modules so that they ultimately lead to that big idea. My particular course is a technical one, maybe a bit more complex than nail care and coloring, but stilll ultimately about mastering a skill. This particular module has allowed me to think about and identify the big ideas, even in a skills-based learning environment. Were you able to identify the concept/big idea for your nail care course?
April 2015
Lois Bugg Shadrick
RE: Understanding by Design (UbD): Beginning with the End in Mind
Thanks Emily,
Yes, for this course "Safety and Sanitation in the Beauty Industry" I need practitioners to know how to keep the public safe and healthy and keep their salons/spas clean. That way, they can keep their liceances and their businesses. I've gotten behind in putitng content on the CourseSite. It seems to be easier to build from scratch than to adapt an already existing course. I will keep plugging along. thanks for your thoughts.
April 2015
Min Pan INSTRUCTOR MANAGER
New course shell in CourseSites or hide what you don't want us to see
Hi Lois,
About "It seems to be easier to build from scratch than to adapt an already existing course". You are right about that. Often it would be easier to start from a blank course shell especially if you'd like to customize the course structure quite a bit.
CourseSites allows you to create up to 5 courses for free. So you can start a new course shell and re-enroll all of us. Or you can simply delete or hide all the unwanted course links from us (your students), and create new course menu links.
Here is how to delete or hide a course menu link:
When Edit Mode is on,
1. Mouse over the course menu link, a down arrow will appear on the right.
2. Click on the arrow, you will see these three links.
Rename Link
Hide Link
Delete Link
If you want to move a content area to a new location, use the Move feature available in the same menu list as the Edit feature.
Hope this helps.
1 month ago
Serko Srabonian
RE: Understanding by Design (UbD): Beginning with the End in Mind
Great post Lois! It hit me like a brick when you said " everything was laid out for us by the textbook company." At my job, I've been given the task of converting our text based Pre-license course in to an "eLearning" / text based hybrid course. Wanting to use some of the sample questions, from the text book, in an online review quiz housed in our new LMS, I contacted the publisher of the text to get approval. After describing some of my ideas to our "rep", the guy actually asked me why I wanted to go through all that "stuff" when the publisher has written the curriculum, tests, timed outlines, content and activities already.I think he used the phrase "pug and play". I was speechless when he sent me over to their (publisher) website for instructor resources. "Modern" education smells a lot like cookie cutter, assembly line, cram 'em and pass 'em crap to me.On the other hand, it is very efficient... I'll get off my soap box now...
Thanks for reminding me how much is really at stake Lois!
1 month ago
Min Pan INSTRUCTOR MANAGER
RE: Understanding by Design (UbD): Beginning with the End in Mind
I know exactly what you are talking about, Serko, and I share with you and Lois a similar sentiment about the "cookie-cutter", "assembly line" approach that "Everything was laid out for us by the text book company". Based on what I witnessed in my work, over the last five years or so, textbook publishers successfully gained the digital course content market. When I started to work in the area of Instructional Development for the college 10 years ago, a new online course typically used a print textbook and the faculty member wrote additional materials, created assessments, etc. Prior to 2010, we had less than 10 online courses using publisher's digital materials (website or course package) as a main source of course content. Now it is so common that I can't give a specific number any more (COD has over 250 online courses). Also publishers' content can now be integrated into the school's LMS seamlessly. If you are an instructor, under the Tools tab in COD's Blackboard, you see McGraw-Hill, Wiley-plus, Cengage Learning, and Pearson. When an instructor uses content provided by one of these companies, the connection is seamless and trouble-free to the student (or at least it's supposed to be).
The advantages and disadvantages of adopting publishers' course packages can be debated. In most cases, the quality of content and the variety are better than an individual faculty member can manage to produce. Usually it adds more cost to the student who pays for access to the course content, lab, assessment, academic and technical support provided by the publishing company. Like you said, it's very efficient. And yes, there is no need to "re-create the wheel". But we do lose something valuable here, don't we?