Week 5 Discussion Posts

Q1. After adding to our group page on tools and resources, which one did you try out? How was it?

I am a huge fan of Canva. I use it to make PPT presentations, images on the postcard templates and Twitter posts. I am lucky enough to have the premium version of this software, so I access to all of the good stuff. This is probably the tool that I use the most in my work. I like that I can collaborate with people in my organization. The files are easy to add to Brightspace. I think the templates are interesting and engaging. It is also a very versatile software, so you can easily upload your own stuff if they do not have what you are looking for. 

QR code monkey is useful for including digital resources on a print format, such as a poster. https://www.qrcode-monkey.com/. Pro tip - always doublecheck that your QR code works.

I use https://niram.org/read/ to calculate the reading time of websites, journal articles and other text based items. I add this information for my learners before linking to an article in Brightspace.

Finally, I use Camtasia for video editing. I have been using this software since 2010 and think it is the most intuitive video editing software there is. It is easy to use, and have a huge list of functionality and features that make it worth every penny.  

Q2. Though there are no formal discussion questions this week, the floor is yours. What do you want to talk about? What questions do you have based on this week's topics/themes?

There are so many great tools out there, but I would add that all of this is useless unless you make a concerted effort to apply the Universal Design for Learning principles and make the items accessible. For example, captioning video, adding transcripts, and supplying alternative formats (i.e.: PDF and a Word file). UDL moves your items from decorative to functional. 

Week Four Discussion Posts

Q1) What’s the one thing that stood out to you from this week? One key idea? Strategy? Something that either validates what you are already doing, or has transformed the way you are approaching your learning experiences.

Storytelling as an active learning technique is so powerful because "your brain remembers pictures first. It then remembers the emotional context, and finally, it remembers language" (Stevenson, 2016, para. 4). There is a connection between the emotion, the image and then the language. This connection equates to the learner being able to successfully recall the key premise of the story or presentation. 

I am fascinated by the components of recall and memory in effective learning experience. How storytelling can improve memory because of the emotional connection to the information that is being shared, is an important concept for instructors to remember.

Storytelling is an excellent way to incorporate Indigenous Ways of Knowing into your curriculum. 

Q2) This course has a bit of a bias towards the digital side of experience design. But what about the physical world? What about the “Offline” space? How do we begin to reimagine this environment? Have you seen any good examples or strategies for transforming the classroom?

I think it is very important to transform our physical spaces so that they meet Universal Design for Learning principles, such as aisle space, accessibility and movement around the space. This is a difficult  question to answer though, as my mind immediately goes to the work that we have been doing to incorporate technology into our classrooms. 

And perhaps we also need to ponder, are we ever truly offline anymore?

Q3) Have you ever encountered a learning experience where storytelling made all the difference? Share your story.

I recently attended an Office of the Treaty Commissioner session on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. The presenter was an incredible speaker and shared her personal story of residential schools. The images and information that she shared will haunt me for a long time. She kept repeating "can you even imagine" - such a simple and powerful statement. 

It is important work and I was incredibly grateful to be a part of the session.

Reference

Stevenson, D. (2016, July 26). Storytelling and brain science: This is your brain on story [Blog post]. https://www.td.org/insights/storytelling-and-brain-science-this-is-your-brain-on-story

Week Three Discussion Posts

Q1. This is the..uh.. third question I ask every client when kicking off a project: "What does success look like for you?" Often times, it's the same ol' "We want them to like it" or "People took the training" (whatever the hell that means), but every once in a while I'll get an honest answer. It's an incredibly simple and deceptive question when you really try to answer it honestly. Look deep into your own environment's experience design and ask yourself: What does success look like? What does success look like for your (various) stakeholders? How will you know this learning intervention succeeded?

Success looks different for each project and is completely dependent on its purpose. In the past year, I have been responsible for creating two online modules that will be mandatory for all new permanent full-time faculty. Here success would be engagement, motivation, and the ability for the learner's to apply what they have learned. In other words, have they achieved the learning outcome? The online modules include a number of assessments, discussions and a final project; the module is pass/fail based on the completion of all of these items. There is a final evaluation of the course as well.

I also am responsible for producing one-off professional development sessions. Success would be attendance. Were people interested enough in the topic/description to attend the session. Then I would question whether the material was valuable, applicable and useful? We do send out evaluations here as well, which ask for feedback on the session, along with ideas for further offerings. 

Q2 a) What's a data point that you currently work with and what can it tell you (and not tell you) about your learners or the experience you have designed?

This is an interesting question, as I am not directly involved with any data points. All of this work happens behind the scenes by an administrator and I am not responsible for the creation of the surveys nor what happens with the information that the data gives us. 

I believe we measure attendance, engagement in Zoom session (whole session, half session, etc.), and then the evaluation survey (rating out of 5, comments, key takeaway, going further [learn more about this topic]).

Q2 b) What's a data point that you would like to collect (assuming unlimited resources/permissions) and what could it tell you about your learners or the experience you have designed?

It would be very interesting to do an environmental scan of polytechnics in Canada and then compare those results to our institution. What are we doing well? What are the areas that we could improve upon.

Q3. This week, we took a look at the LX Canvas. Between Plaut's model, the CUBI model and the LX Canvas, which one do you prefer and why? 

LX Canvas is intuitive, user-friendly and can be immediately applied to my work. It is set up much the same as the lesson plan template that we use at my institution. It poses the important questions that need to be pondered in order to create a thoughtful, organized, and meaningful learning experience. 

Week Two Discussion Posts

Q1. Looking back at Plaut's model for Learning Experience Design, which "plane" do you struggle with the most? Which one do you see as the hardest to implement into your own environment? Which one are you good at? Which one is your true blind spot in design?

Many post-secondary institutions spend a lot of time thinking about strategy, discussing what to do and how to do it. Conversation, planning and preparation are all well and good, but action is a key aspect of implementation. It is important to act before some of the strategic elements are no longer relevant or the motivation of the stakeholders has dwindled. This is a form of organization paralyses.

I personally struggle with big picture thinking, and spend the majority of my time focused on the smaller elements. This would include not adequately blueprinting a course, before I begin the creation phase. I often create as I go without a clear vision in place.

I excel at interaction. I enjoy interacting with learners online or in-person and have no problem encouraging dialogue, participation and engagement in the learning experience. 

Q2. What's one thing you wish you knew about your learners? How could you find it out? What's an experiment you can do within your environment to better your learners? It can be as high-tech or as analog as you want it to be. The goal is to find out something new about your learners. Share your experiment.

I wish I could discover why the faculty in my institution do not seem to be interested in our Technology Enhanced Learning Community of Practice. We have tried to offer the sessions several different ways, offered at different times throughout the day and have tried a wide variety of topics. We did not have any participants throughout the 2021/22 academic year until we offered a session hosted by an external speaker that was advertised as part of a larger series. 

This year we are sticking with the lecture series idea and are making the sessions openly available. 

I would like to survey the faculty at the end of this academic year to find out what they are interested in and how we could better meet their needs. I have a hunch that faculty do not want to join a community of practice on educational technology because they feel that they need to be an expert on the subject, instead of just being curious.

Q3. Why discuss something when you can DO something? : )  Here's the task: Build your own learner persona. I leave the format open as long as you cover the major sections of one, based on our readings this week. This is something *cough* *cough* you could even put in your ePortfolio down the road. When done, put that persona in our community folder  and we can all check it out. After you have completed one, what was something new that you learned from the process about your learners?

What I learned from this exercise is that there is a lot of information that I am not willing to share about myself. I am also highly suspicious of online tools that want personal information. I question what they will do with that information, how it will be stored, and why they need it. In class, this type of exercise reveals what types of questions we need to ask, and what is not relevant when we are seeking information about our users. For example, surveys that ask for information that is irrelevant and/or questions that do not supply enough options to select from (binary options, instead of a spectrum).

Recommended Reading:

Plaut, A. (2014, Feb 10). Elements of learning experience design [Blog post]. Medium. https://medium.com/@andreplaut/elements-of-learning-experience-design-1a5327ce2569

Week One Discussion Posts

Q1) What do you notice most about today's learner? What makes them unique? What's the biggest challenge they present to us in how we build learner experiences today?

I think there is a notion that our learning materials have to be quick and grab the learner's attention immediately, but I have seen my own children watch videos on YouTube that are ridiculously long and frankly ridiculous. I would argue that it is about engagement and motivation. If they are interested, they will watch the whole thing. I would also argue that they do not need to be interested and engaged in every class that they take. Some are just necessary to fulfill the requirements.

In my experience, new learners in post-secondary are not interested in online learning at all. Many of my friends' kids are starting university this year. They are horrified that they are stuck back online, or avoiding these classes at all costs. They want to be in classrooms, and interacting with peers.

Q2) As educators, we are accustomed to wearing lots of hats. But in light of the modern learner, what are the new hats we now have to wear?

I think it is the balance between the LMS and in-person presentation of content when we are in blended learning environments. We need to consider what is necessary, how it is delivered and why? Otherwise, you are doing a disservice to both learning environments.

The other thing that I would point out is that an online class never ends. Discussion boards are overwhelming, because conversations continue and there is a never ending supply of unread posts. There is so much content. When I was completing my undergraduate degree, the class was 3 hours a week and that was it. Done. Blended or online learning can make time management very challenging.

Q3) How do you define "LXD"? What does it mean to you?

The connection between Pedagogy, Instructional Design, Educational Technology, Assessment, UDL, Academic Integrity, and Indigenization. Looking at all of the various lens and perspectives to provide a positive learning experience.