Online Teaching and Learning

OTL101- Post 1 Introduction

Hi everyone,

My name is Manu Sharma. Here is a little more information about me:

*My favourite vacation spot is anywhere near the ocean, currently going to Victoria sounds good to me!

*I have not read a novel for fun for a very long time as I have been deeply entrenched in writing my own coedited volume on international experiences abroad!

*Teaching online requires a great deal of front-loading work and organization, but once it is set one is ready to go. The only catch is to ensure that links properly work and in my course there were many that were broken.

*I would like to know how to have more community building activities in an asynchronous course in which students are not very strong writers. Any ideas are welcome. Currently, I know of forums, presentations and video uploads but nothing that takes the place of in class activities in real time or ice breakers/debates/facilitating live discussion.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

Best wishes for the summer,

Manu

OTL301-Post 5

Hi everyone,

I found this post a very confusing and complex one in terms of the instructions to build the menu and self-code.

Anyhow, here is my attempt at answering the questions:

• Did you engage in each of the phases of the critical inquiry process?

I think I have attempted to engage with a triggering event, exploration, integration and resolution with different activities in my courses. With respect, to my one growth in teaching online and in f2f, I have definitely gone through the critical inquiry process. For example, if a few students had difficulty understanding an assignment they were asked to do or if there were a good number of students that did poorly on an assignment- this would be the triggering event, which would then make me explore the situation and see if I could integrate an opportunity to redo the assignment/redesign the assignment, which then would be integrated into the course and their grades. As a result, the resolution would be amicable for the students and hopefully for the future design of that assignment.

• Were you able to resolve any problems or dilemmas?

See above.

• What might you do differently in a future course?

I would redesign that particular assignment in terms of wording and weight for the final grade.

• How might you engage with your students to ensure that they are working through the entire inquiry process?

I would scaffold steps in activities that lead up to an assignment. For example in my legal issues courses, for a group presentation the students self-select a case that is complex (triggering event), that they would explore in terms of perspectives from the crown, defence and jury; next they would integrate their analysis of the perspectives; and come to a resolution.

• Do you think that working through this course in an open platform like WordPress helps to encourage reflective learning?

Yes.  The only concern I had was the technical issues of creating menus and e-portfolios were difficult to follow.

Best,

Manu

OT301-Post 4

Hi there,

Here is the summary of my interview for a course that had continuous enrolment, and was self-paced asynchronously:

• the topics of discussion and/or questions asked

How was the course designed and laid out to help wth engagement?

• answers, solutions, suggestions or other advice given/ 2 things I learned that worked!

Many pre-recorded lectures with live student dialogue also recorded. Short anime films to capture pivot concepts followed by a short voting poll and comments on it. Another tip was a self-test after each taped lecture to ensure key concepts were understood. And finally 3 major quizzes that were graded by teaching assistants and a final exam also graded by assistants.

One really neat idea was  having global conversations by Skype with students from around the world on contentious topics, such as abortion.

• how you might use what you have learned in your courses;

I like the idea of short anime films followed by a short polling question and space for comments/responses; like a discussion board.

• any other thoughts or questions that you think are relevant.

It would interesting to have guest speakers recorded too!

Best,

Manu

OTL301- Post 3

Hi Everyone,

Here is table I am using to develop one of my fall course’s it has modified LOs and they demonstrate principle 1 (creating safe environment) and principle 2 (critical reflection). Any feedback would be great!

Final Assignment: A paper on a topic/concept they found interesting in this course! (Perhaps have scaffolded opportunities throughout the week to work on this final paper).

OTL301- Post 2

Hi all,

Here are my thoughts:

1.How has your view of the effective practice changed now that you have read more about teaching presence?

The teacher needs to put a great deal of front-loading work on course design, discussion facilitation, and clear expectations and instructions for each assignment. A lot of reminders and contextual videos outlining how to do the assignment. There is a lot more work for teachers to do in an online environment in contrast to f2f.

2. In what ways did the effective practice that you identified show the characteristics of teaching presence?

I think the effective practice of having more time to digest material, speaks to the development of cognitive presence which can be better represented in such an online format.

3. How could the idea of teaching presence have made the experience even more effective than it was?

Well more interaction with students with respect to follow discussion points after reading all of the discussion forum. More, reminders from the instructor through out the course about assignments, and perhaps scaffolded instruction for larger assignments throughout the weeks of the course.

Best,

Manu

OTL301- Post 1

Hi Everyone,

Here are my thoughts on effective practice as a facilitator of online learning:

I remember when I thought that online learning was good for flexibility and equity reasons. I still believe this because many may not be able to come physically into a campus if they another day job that is necessary to pay the bills, or if they are child rearing, but nevertheless want to get ahead in their career goals. I think it is helpful to give students the flexibility and organizational tools to plan their life and address the requirements of the course. Transparency in the course is important and clear expectations are required. I think in terms of a particular practice, I have always like to think through written reflections of others and my own, as once things are written there is more time to process them in contrast to hearing them quickly in class when you may be distracted by something else.

Best,

Manu

OTL201 Post 6

Hi Everyone,

Here is a portfolio update, again it is not in the portfolio as I don’t know how to do this and I am awaiting a response from OL. Please note all my activities strive to be possible in an asynchronous delivery:

(d) Scavenger Hunt- with several links to important documents that require students to work in self-selected groups (e.g. different type of curriculum documents for Language Arts- from each province). I would provide questions that require them to navigate these documents and do a comparative analysis of them while interjecting their critical thoughts on what they think is missing from them (e.g. to make them more social justice oriented).

(e) Jamboard Session- when brainstorming about their paper I would ask students to do a jam board about topic ideas, key concepts in the course, and perhaps questions they still have. I would then respond to this via a class announcement most probably in a podcast. Is there a simple way to do a voice recording in Moodle?

Best,

Manu

OTL201 Post 5

Hi Everyone,

Here are my thoughts on this week’s topic of student engagement:

1. What are the 2-3 most important concepts that have impacted your thoughts on student engagement and retention during this course?

The interaction dynamic between student to student is important even if it is an asynchronous course, as it still makes them connect outside of just posting separately. The other idea I liked was the idea of podcasts created by students to bring their voice into conversation with others.

2. Discuss your rationale for implementing 1 or 2 course facilitation strategies to increase student retention and engagement.

Social presence is important in creating a community of online learners to make them have a sense of belonging and collective identity in this experience. Thus, making intro videos and having forums where students post their thoughts and respond to others is helpful to connect socially and cognitively.

3. Identify 2-3 specific goals that you would like to achieve in light of what you have learned about social presence and creating effective educational media

(a) I would like to have students self-identify themselves with their preferred name and pronoun in a  self-created video within the first week of class. I will do a demo for them.

(b) I would like students to respond to one another on the weekly discussion forum with voice feedback files to bring their voice into this space, making it more of a conversation instead of typed.

4.Think about some questions you still have with respect to student engagement and retention. Post these questions and also a strategy for finding the answers.

I wonder about more asynchronous courses in which you are supposed to do team building, how do you do this? It is an ungraded course. I will reach out the instructional designers at TRU and CELT fellows.

Thanks,

Manu

OTL201 Post 4 My video

Hi Everyone,

Here is a link to my welcome video to my incoming students with an overview of a course I will teach in the fall.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lIC7YhpxiOnIpyUt8nOIzUsqqeeblRfj/view?usp=sharing

I think aligns with social presence as it gives them me in real time video and also a thoughtful overview of the course.

Best,

Manu

OTL201 Post 3 (a)(b)(c)

Hi Everyone,

I couldn’t figure out the learning portfolio but here are my 3 activities:

(a) Activity #1:

Dear Students,
Please do a short video (1-2 minutes) introduction of yourself so that your peers and I can get to know you. Please use Kaltura Capture Express on Moodle, so that you familiarize yourself with it. More information on how to use it is under the Resources tab.
In this video please be sure to include the following:
Your preferred name and pronoun
Your reason for doing the M.Ed program
One interesting/unique fact about yourself that you want our online community to know
Please submit this assignment online and let me know if you have any questions.
After completing your video please be sure to view your colleagues videos and comment on 1 or 2 of them.

Many thanks,
Manu

(b) Activity #2

Dear Students,

In an effort to get to know you and what you know about curriculum, please fill out the attached questionnaire. Please note, I will be grading this on completion and require an attempt at all questions. All your answers will remain confidential with me. I will only report back on the themes that originate from some of the broader questions to help inform all of our online community the different experiences people bring to this course.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Warm Regards,

Manu

ps. Please see attached.

Fall 2020 Student Questionnaire EDUC5030

(c) Activity #3

Hi Everyone,

This week’s introductory reading is attached. Please reflect on the question italicized below and be sure to post your 200 word response in the Wk2 Discussion Forum.

Why is it difficult to understand the term curriculum? Or write about one key insight from the readings you gained. 

Be sure to respond to 1 other colleague’s post and try to respond to someone you don’t know and have not yet interacted with in this online community. The goal is get you reflecting, engaging with one another on the readings.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

Manu

Egan, K. (1978). What is curriculum

OTL201: Post 2

Hi Everyone,

Here are my answers to the following:

1. Describe the ways in which your introductory post should have enhanced social presence in a course that you teach

There is a visual connection and audio connection. A personal fact about my twins and family that students can connect too.

2. Identify at least one improvement that you might make in light of what you know about social presence since completing your first post.

I think I would encourage student to student interaction. I would like to figure out a way in which all the 1 minute intros done by my students in an asynchronous class can be watched without having to open each file, any ideas??

3. Describe how your thinking about social presence has changed since your first post.

There are levels of comfort that can be still met in terms of just a voice presenting, or an image, instead of the person in real time presenting. I believe these levels of comfort will increase over time, but it nice to see just like in a f2f class there can be a gradual growth in social presence.

Please note, I could not access any other colleague’s post 2 for course 2 so have not had a chance to make comments. Please advise.

Best,

Manu

Course OTL_02: Post 1

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11Ipecs3bal7SlAPoALA5r1nZsSoqBPDr/view?usp=sharing

My intro video can be found at the above open link from my google drive

OTL101- Post 5

Hi all,

Here are my responses:

1. Write a few words about why you think that post or those posts stand out:

I think my first post in which I ask about community building activities holds true and my last post on feedback are tied together. If feedback is to help support where students are going to next, I hope that they have also felt a sense of community in the course to help them along with the next steps in their journey.

• What are 2-3 of the most important ideas that you have studied during this course?

Cognitive presence and the 3 questions for feedback that is meaningful.

• What are 2-3 questions that you have as a result of this course? Identify ways that you can begin to answer those questions.

I still wonder about my comment to a colleague based on post 2, and I await their response.

I also wonder about community building in synchronous courses, I have been tasked with teaching about communication and team building in an online setting that is asynchronous and I worry about how to do this.

• Identify 2-3 specific goals that you would like to achieve in light of what you have learned about cognitive presence, approaches to learning, and feedback.

I would like to know how to understand whether students are participating in superficial/surface level or deeper learning approaches due to lack of interest or lack of engagement? I am not sure if this could be measured in a survey?

Another goal is to see if the feedback based on the 3 questions offered by Hattie is something all students appreciate. Again could this be measured in a survey?

Thanks,

Manu

OTL101- Post 4

Hi everyone,

Hope all is well. Here are my thoughts on the following questions:

1. Are there any gaps between your practice of offering feedback to students and what Hattie recommends?

Although, I like what Hattie recommends in terms of  her feedback model “Where am I going? (What are the goals?) How am I going? (Whhttps://masharma.trubox.ca/wp-admin/post-new.phpat progress is being made towards the goals?), and Where to next? (What activities need to be undertaken to make better progress?). The key dimensions of performance are processes of understanding a task, the regulatory or meta-cognitive process dimension, and/or the self or person (unrelated to the specifics of the task).” I am not about the power relations assumed in them given different cultural contexts of students, which is a point she later takes up indirectly.

For me, I think the feedback I give is usually with a rubric and further comments. I have focused on what are the goals of the assignments and how students are making progress towards them. In the feedback I try to highlight the goals and share strengths and areas of improvement in order to achieve these goals. This is not always perfect because I have yet to have a student converse with me about grades in an online platform, yet in F2F I do have conversations about grades, I wonder why that is the case?

2. In what ways can you improve the effectiveness of the feedback that you provide for your students?

I think providing a voice recording with my thoughts on questions 1, 2 and 3 in the above model. And for question 3 that often is left out of the feedback to bring it back to the student in terms of what they plan to do with the knowledge they gain from the course?

Best,

Manu

OTL101- Post 3

Hi Everyone,

Here are my answers to the following questions:

1. What are the intended learning outcomes of the course? Do the learning outcomes reflect high-level cognitive skills or low-level skills (pay attention to the verbs)?

Yes, in my course since it was pre-constructed and I am strictly teaching it as an instructor, I believe the intended learning outcomes are based in critical thinking, practical understanding education based legal cases and promoting discussion of the educational law in the current context of teaching in public/private schools within Canada.

Here are the list of specify LOs:

3. In what ways are the intended learning outcomes and the assessments aligned or not?

They are aligned because the LOs are embedded in what the assignment entails, and upon the completion of the assignment the LOs are met.

4. Identify 2-3 items or assessments that are worded in such a way that they limit students to a unistructural or multistructural response at best and re-write them so that they require a relational response at worst and include the results in your post.

Eg.

• Describe the legal and policy-making context of schools in B.C. (School Act, Child & Family law, Labour law).

**REVISED: Reflect and discuss the legal and policy-making context of schools in B.C. from any preferred perspective (administrator, teacher, counsellor etc.) and be sure to respond to 2 peers’ posts.

Eg.

• Discuss educator responsibilities regarding child protection

**REVISED: How do you understand the responsibility of  your professional role as a teacher with respect to child protection? Can you share an example of when would be appropriate for a teacher to intervene for child protection? Be sure to support your example with legal references. And comment on a peer’s example as well.

5. Once you have published your post, search for posts from others who have completed this activity and leave a comment or two.

I have responded to

• rradney
• Post #2 date5 June 2020 

Best,

Manu

OTL101- Post 2: Cognitive Presence

Hi everyone,

Here are my thoughts to the questions for blog 2:

• What do you know now that you did not know prior to starting the course?

I did not know about the model of cognitive descriptors model (figure 3) in the article. I wonder how figure 2 and 3 overlap

• What gaps or discrepancies do you notice between your ideas in Post 1and what you have learned since then in Lesson 1?

Well there seems to be an understanding that social presence is tied together in cognitive presence as well. The overlap is interesting. I am not sure it answers my questions on community building activities.

• What questions would you like to explore on the topic of cognitive presence?

How do you ensure the “non-class time” is used by online students to engage with deeper deliberation and other people outside of the class to deepen their thinking on any given topic?

• Provide an example of how you have seen effective cognitive presence modeled in online learning.

Well students have been able to reflect on a guiding question that connects what they have read for class with the current realities of today and students are expected to respond to one another. Also, when individual presentations were completed in my course students who presented had to pose a discussion question to the class and everyone needed to respond and the presenter needed to engage with their peers discussion answers.

Thanks for your attention to the above thoughts,

Manu

OTL301-Post 6!

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for reading these posts! I am glad to be at the last post now, and share my insights on the following chosen questions:

• How has your thinking changed as a result of completing the course?

I have become more aware of the cognitive, social and teacher presence in online teaching. I have learned that all of these components occur in synch. and asynchronous courses delivered online.

• What learning strategies were most effective for you? Why?

I appreciated some of the graphics/tables in the readings that helped consolidate key ideas in the readings. I also appreciated the videos but I think it may be time to update the ones that depicted the “slow/disengaged student” and “fast/proactive student”, as I can that the terminology is outdated and some of the stereotypes are not appreciated.

I like visuals and audio as it was a welcomed change from the static text readings.

I also appreciated some of the post questions as they made me reflect on current courses or future course delivery with a new lens gained from the readings/videos/tables. I like being proactive in my teaching design, method, and delivery.

**In addition to reflecting on your work, please include 2-3 ideas that you would like to implement in your own practice and how you might go about doing so.

In terms of adding 2 new ideas I would like to implement in my own practice are possibly a TRUBOX site for my asynchronous course in the fall for graduate students. I would ask IT services to set this up for me and start designing it. Secondly, I would like to focus on creating a social presence with students in asynchronous format, by doing more video based assignments and forums with opportunities to post sound bites as responses.

Thank you for this experience, I hope I have met and exceeded the expectations for these training courses. I must say this is the most rigorous training I have recently done!

Best,

Manu