Gretchen Nicholson

EDTC 610

EDTC 610 Final Reflection

Throughout this semester I have learned about multiple strategies and designs that will

improve my teaching skills. During this course we have learned about multiple technologies that

will benefit our students in the new technological age. We have researched learning

communities, gaming, OER’s and traditional and online teaching. As a result, to our research I

was able to create an online course that will benefit our students as well.

When we first began this semester, I was very hesitant because we started by discussing

learning communities. I have only been teaching for about two years in a first-grade classroom

which does not have too much access to technology. We have a Promethean board and about

three computers. Over the semester I have come to “recognize that digital content and games

have the potential to transform teaching and learning in our nation’s classrooms” (Transforming,

2013). With digital content becoming more accessible to students it allows them to become more

student-centered instead of teacher centered. Students will be able to learn at their own pace

through multiple different ways in order to have a more tailored learning experience.

Learning about learning communities really opened my eyes to this way of learning

because as I researched it I could see the benefits. For example, having a learning community

online or in a traditional classroom as teachers we need to make sure that the three elements are

taken into account which are teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. Based

on the research that I did, all of these elements work together in order to provide students with a

successful learning experience. For example, in an article by Kevin Wilcox he stated that

“initially students may be more comfortable in a passive role and will need guidance and

opportunities to become involved in the community” (Wlicox, 2011). I believe that this is a
really important part of a learning community because in a traditional classroom it is simple for

students to become involved because they have the face to face interactions daily. While in a

online learning community it is a little easier for students to become passive and not participate

because they do not feel a connection. Throughout the semester, I learned that it is important to

use strategies such as gaming in order to have students make the connections with not only other

students but also their professor.

Using gaming as a way to connect with students is a major part of the online learning

community. As previously discussed it is difficult for student to connect when in an online

learning community. Using games such as Minecraft or prodigy.com allow students to connect

with other students in their learning community. They are able to work together in order to

create, learn, and assess their knowledge. When teachers use gaming as a way to bridge the gap

they connect with their students, in my classroom I use prodigy.com as a way to do this. Students

use this online learning community to practice mathematics skills. I can assign them different

tasks that are aligned with what we are working on in whole and small group. At the same time

students can pick different worlds that their friends are in and cast spells as a wizard. A key to

gaming that Liz Kolb states that we should “encourage learners to work together on quests, a

common practice of gamers who team up in order to achieve an epic win” (Kolb, 2015). Prodigy

gives students the opportunity to work together in order to beat different animals in order to

move on to the next level. My students love this gaming tool and use it even at home which hits

the blended learning topic we covered in this course too. Therefore, allowing students to be in

control of their own learning whether it is in the classroom (traditional classroom) or at home

(online learning). Over the course I really can see how important gaming is to students learning

experiences.
 Another key concept that we researched and developed during the semester was online

educational resources (OER) which are “accessible text, media, and other digital resources that

are useful for teaching, learning, and assessing” (Sparks, 2017). When we were first tasked with

finding an OER I was confused about what this type of resource was. After doing some research

on what an OER was I was extremely surprised because as a teacher we use these types of

resources all the time, now at the first-grade level they are more difficult to use. But I can easily

see myself creating more of these in the future when I do have more access to technology for

students to do research projects and other activities on. I believe that OER’s are really important

to an online learning community because it sets the students up to succeed. For example, the

OER that I picked for my online course was a graphic organizer that students can use to take

notes on. I believe that this type of resource yet it is very simplistic it will help students stay

organized and when they create their final project which is assessed they will be able to succeed

using this OER.

A key factor that was extremely important with online learning is making my lessons

universally designed for students with multiple disabilities. I believe that making courses

accessible to all students by providing “audio descriptions, providing independence, and

allowing students to engage in all course activities” (Chaaban, 2015) make learning successful

for all students. With students with multiple disabilities I think it is also important to consider

students who have different learning styles such as auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners.

When creating an online course, it is vital that teachers include videos, audio, and organizers in

order to assist students with these different learning styles.

TIP: In your analysis / reflection, you should discuss your web-based

activity and web-based unit design, how it is based on best practices
for online learning, or how your design and implementation supports
student learning. I am not looking for a recap of your projects; I’m
looking for analysis of the "why" behind what you did and your
expectations for impact on student learning. Be specific in your
reflection, especially in how your teaching practice may or may not
change in the future.

Overall, all of these elements are seen within my online course development. For my

online course I decided to included videos, pictures, OER’s and community activities. My online

course supports student learning because it has multiple different aspects of a online course that

should be seen in order for it to be successful. Students are able to create a community by

commenting on one another’s introduction activities. They will be able to make connections with

each other and even their teacher. Next, my online course supports student learning because of

the multiple uses of OER’s. Students are given multiple graphic organizers in research, create,

and produce a product. These resources allow students multiple different opportunities to build

on the previous step, such as building on their research by creating a book. Also, my online

course will benefit students with multiple different learning styles. I have included visuals, clear

directions, and videos. Students will use these aspects in order to create their final project at the

end of the course. These different things in my course allow students who are more visual or

auditory benefit. My online course really encompasses what is needed in order to give students a

successful online learning experience.

I have learned multiple things about online and traditional environments this semester

that will help me with my teaching in the future. I have learned that online does have its

positives such as students being in charge of their learning which is a really important aspect

of teaching. I can see how students having taken control would be able to helpful to them so
they will be more likely to take initiative in order to complete online tasks. Also, online

courses seem to be more and more fun for students because students love to use technology

and providing them an online class will make learning more and more fun for them.
 References

Chaaban, M. (2015, December 22). Accessibility in Online Courses. Retrieved from

https://teachonline.asu.edu/2015/07/accessibility-online-courses/

Kolb, L. (2015). Epic Fail or Win? Gamifying Learning in My Classroom. Retrieved from

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/epic-fail-win-gamifying-learning-liz-kolb

Sparks, S. (2017, March 30). Https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/03/29/what-is-oer-5-

questions-about-open-oer.html. Retrieved from

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/03/29/what-is-oer-5-questions-about-open-oer.html

TRANSFORMING THE WAYS WE ENGAGE STUDENTS. (2013). Retrieved from

http://www.bing.com/cr?IG=AC9DFE9F6003428295CFEFEEAD337280&CID=3CC37B9D73

BD6F1C20DB704472126E87&rd=1&h=2qnKY4blNtNyXQ9LVdXixxoo4YzrcjsFea6tIppi8-

g&v=1&r=http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/downloads/PROJECT-TOMORROW-10-3-

14.pdf&p=DevEx.LB.1,5547.1

Wilcoxon, K. (2011, October 3). Building an online learning community. Retrieved from

https://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/761/building-an-online-learning-community