Wow its nearly 4 weeks since our last class and I'm quite amazed at how much I've achieved - and not done as well. Its almost as if, for each task I complete, another 2 sprout into existence. As usual, some incredibly productive days were balanced with some lazy ones, but ultimately I have produced an online activity I am proud of and which should translate quite easily into the new Learning Management System (Canvas) at work which I am about to use with my new class from Wednesday. That was the second great milestone for this month, 2 weeks ago I was told I'd be using it from Sept 6th and I was only for 15 % confident in its use, not close to ready to train my workmates and certainly had only the vaguest idea how to create what I could so clearly see in my head as my new student website! Roll on to today and the feedback from 2 of my colleagues has been positive for the online activity as well as for the student site. Marc as well, was very positive ans let me know he found it to be clearly set up and that the flow is logical.
Hooray!
Feeling really satisfied - until this morning when a new student mailed to let me know she found it to be a bit greek - I HOPE its because it's a completely new look and feel and she isn't clear on what the course is all about...yet....
I'm pretty sure I saw a few of these guys along the way during my journey to the other side of the amazing maze I've created, hopefully they have found their way out and I've left enough viewpoint for the students to get their bearings. The homepage should do that nicely. A few inconsistencies to tidy up and we shall see.
So, the Teaching Action Plan: building Canvas first was the right thing to do. I tried to have all my files ready and uploaded, then I tried to have all my thumbnails ready as well. That got me quite a long way but the more I made the more I had to do, to complete the vision. I think for me the process of creating a new site and activity is an organic one. One thing leads to another and the process of building shows me what is needed in the next step. At least I know this and don't get too stressed anymore - I gave myself enough time to get it all together, which was great. The hardest thing was to start on my Teaching Goal of resetting the way in which I establish group work, which for some reason seemed to be a really big mental hurdle. I'd done a bit of hunting around and had a few likely things lined up ready to use, then at the last minute did another search and ended up with other ideas that seemed to be right, which I will use from tomorrow. It feels like what I know, what I have been reading and searching for, allowed me to cherry pick what felt right from the resources I found, so hopefully that bears fruit over the next few weeks.
The activities to help introduce and hopefully motivate solid group work next Trimester are pretty much outlined and set up in Canvas. A video, a questionnaire, an icebreaker for another angle on the personality test all contribute to that. The Shop assignment is is going to be a Google Shared file again, I just need to see if it will be a collaboration or I just set up sections (groups) and give access that way. Interesting discussion with Des about ownership - should the students own the responsibility for their submissions or should we create more access for ourselves so we can keep monitoring their progress - how often is too often? (I believe the students need to take the responsibility and that I should check once a week - more often and surely that becomes interference and not a trust you extend to them to work for themselves). How else will we give our students the beginnings of independence? I fully understand the need to guide and support, but we can't be mollycoddling and holding hands for everything they do.
The production plan has grown organically - it's now a study guide timeline on an editable calendar sheet and it shows what students are advised to do and when so they keep on top of things. I'm curious to see how successfully this more structured approach will be received and how much it will be acted upon. Need to build triggers into the lesson plan so I remember to monitor activity on a weekly basis ans set the tone of the coming week's work for them.
At this point what is resonating with me the loudest is that I feel much more focused into what the students will be going through. When I am honest with myself the symptoms of failed group work were visible much earlier and more often than I took the time or had the head to recognise. I hope in the future I'll take note of these signs more quickly - at the same time it takes time to refine new programmes and when you are working on a Trimester basis the challenge is balance. Now that the assessments and lesson plans are 95% complete there has been space to consider the problems I ave last time and really address them. Of course taking I've used it for my study as well thus forcing the issue, but realy I would have to as the timing is very good and I am pleased with the relationship between the online activity of completing the spreadsheet order, and making sure group work is meaningful and concludes positively.
This week's Goals:
1. Reflection for the MLT and where that is at
2. A summary of how the TPA Action plan is progressing
3. start implementing the action plan in class this week (make the lesson plans for that tomorrow)
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