Teachers who are new to online teaching and learning need a place to begin, some scaffolding to help them restructure their courses and make sense out of this new world. So I came up with these 5 building blocks to give our teachers a foundation on which to build their online courses.
Our Building Blocks
I. Content – Provide students with content to learn.
*Goal will be to use more than one content type per lesson
- Etext
- Video
- Presentations
- Podcasts
- Games that teach the concept
- Simulations
- Interactive learning modules
- Google Earth, Sky, 3D
- Online flashcards
II. Social component—(learning is socially constructed)
Asynchonous (not in real time)
- Discussion boards
- Commenting on each other’s work
- Gmail
- Collaboration
- Small groups in Edmodo
- Interview someone through email
Synchronous (in real time)
- Gchat/video chat
- Live classroom discussions
- Collaboration with peers
- Interview someone through skype or google video chat
III. Do Something – the assignments –these are as authentic and relevant as possible – real problems or challenges
- Write, produce, create, think critically, solve problems…
IV. Share It – students should then share their Do Something with peers or with the online community (the Creative Commons) – to build knowledge. Our students are Knowledge Curators and Producers, not just consumers.
V. Assess learning
- Can assess their Do Somethings
- Peer review Do Somethings
- Quizzes/tests – formative and summative
- Standardized assessments when needed
- Pre and post testing to measure success
Just like with real building blocks, teachers can rearrange them, stack them, lay them flat, and build until they have created something that reflects their vision. Oh, and it’s fun. 😉
Robin Worley 