Extend Activity – My Journey to Becoming an Empowered Educator

Posted on October 9, 2020October 9, 2020 by admin

Curator Module: How Could I Not Blog?

It turns out that when I participated in the eCampus Ontario mOOC (Winter 2018), I never blogged about my participation in this module. It is ironic because this turned out to be the module that introduced me to creative commons licensing, how to search and evaluate Open Educational Resources (OER), the CRAAP test, and ultimately led to the Medical Terminology Collaboration project and the publishing of Building A Medical Terminology Foundation. This lit the fire that now fuels me to share my learning and passion for Open Educational Practices (OEP). Since, I will help the wonderful Holly Ashbourne, lead the curator module I dug up my old reflections and will share them with you here.

Come back in time to Winter 2018…..

My Definition

To be honest I had never given the definition of content curation any thought before this module. I know, that each Spring I search out textbooks ensuring that mine will cover what I need to meet the course outcomes, modifying what is in the text, and supplementing with extra (often online) resources. So with this in mind my definition of content curation is: The act of searching out, scrutinizing, and modifying and/or supplementing content. Then organizing content in a way that meets the course outcomes and the way that I teach my courses. Curran (2014) suggests that while content curation is nothing new there are tools for teachers that will assist in curating high quality content that is attractive to students.

Find an Image

Attribution: No changes made credit to Pennsylvania DMVA via Flickr

In this activity, we were to locate an image we could use in our teaching.
I wanted a picture that represented Therapeutic Communication between a Health Office Administrator and a client.

I searched creative commons, Unsplash, and settled with Flickr.
I used various combinations of elderly, nursing, caregiver, and communication in my search.
I tried variations using both and and or.
Finally I was able to find the image above by using “Elderly” and “Nursing” on Flickr.
It should be noted that some cheeky (inappropriate) pictures came up under nursing. There is no guarantee that the pictures you search out will always be classroom appropriate.

Find Your Fit

I spent many hours over two days searching out medical terminology textbooks. Using the Boolean suggestions, I tried variations of health care terminology, medical language and biology. Biology seemed to bring me the most luck although nothing focused specifically on medical terminology. It was easy to go down the rabbit hole and I found all kinds of cool simulation activities.

Merlot offered free medical terminology courses but no medical terminology books. I clicked on Merlot’s libraries and it brought me to a few including Khan Academy Previously, I taught Anatomy and Physiology and I often used Khan Academy’s lessons. I finally found a collection of biology course resources through Open Stax , Rice College that were broken down by body system. It would be nice to use these in combination with the A&P teacher and build in a medical terminology glossary with each chapter. While each chapter does have a basic glossary, it is without the specific focus on building medical terms we use in the program that I teach.

We were invited to share what we learned using a Padlet . Please see the Padlet images that I shared with other participants in the mOOC. The images reflect the information listed below. It is so much more engaging to read a Padlet then a wall of text and I will incorporate this tool to engage my own students

Images from the mOOC Padlet described below

I was able to find a series of Medical Terminology books through Core. They are written in Arabic and have English translations throughout the word tables. They are fairly simplified and I already have created resources similar to this one. However, the resources that I have created are based on a publisher textbook and this one would be free to students.

I think I would like to explore Donna Browne’s resources and find out if I can add to her resources and redistribute. It looks as if I would need the permission of Rice College. Please see the list of requirements below:

How to Reuse & Attribute This Content Book Page © ‎Feb‎ ‎23‎, ‎2015 Donna Browne. Textbook content produced by Donna Browne is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 license. Under this license, any user of this textbook or the textbook contents herein must provide proper attribution as follows:
The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the creative commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.
If you use this textbook as a bibliographic reference, then you should cite it as follows: Donna Browne, Digestive System. OpenStax CNX. ‎Feb‎ ‎23‎, ‎2015 http://cnx.org/contents/df1cf1c1-5ffb-48d7-80d3-12f14922e318@1.1.
If you redistribute this textbook in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution: Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/df1cf1c1-5ffb-48d7-80d3-12f14922e318@1.1.
If you redistribute part of this textbook, then you must retain in every digital format page view (including but not limited to EPUB, PDF, and HTML) and on every physical printed page the following attribution: Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/df1cf1c1-5ffb-48d7-80d3-12f14922e318@1.1.

Holy CRAAP

“Two out of Three Ain’t Bad” (Meatloaf, 1977)

I know the quote is old, but relevant, to the results of the CRAAP test for my three OERs.

The third choice from CORE did not pass the test it had many errors, was simplistic and difficult to validate the source. Since it was open source I could potentially modify it. However, it would be quite a bit of work and it may be better just to start from scratch.

Khan Academy of Health Resources is amazing. They have lessons that are illustrated and entertaining to watch, there are quizzes and game based learning built into their lessons. The team that develops their videos are highly qualified. Khan Academy has an open forum where anyone can ask questions and this acts as a worldwide peer review.

Open Stax out of Rice College remains my favourite resource out of the three. It passed all checks on the CRAAP test. However, this resource will require a fair amount of time investment to make it what I need and it does not appear to be peer-reviewed.

Although I have been using a critical lens to curate course material the CRAAP test google doc listed about 2/3 down the page by following this link was a quick way to identify the key elements required in the curation of a resource.

Back to Fall 2020….

I am so glad that I had an opportunity to revisit my reflections on the Curator Module. I can see that what I learned in the Winter of 2018 has had a direct impact on what I am doing today. I can never get enough reflecting on my learning and my teaching because I grow every time.

Posted on March 24, 2019 by admin

Mapping My Personal Learning Network (PLN)

The Final activity in the Ontario Extend, Collaborator Module was to map my PLN. The instructions had asked us to map a particular project. However, I extended beyond the instructions because I wanted to get a sense of who was already part of my PLN and where I want to develop my PLN.

The tool I used for this mind mapping exercise is Coggle https://coggle.it/. It is a simple sign up process with either a Google or Microsoft account. The free subscription allows for three diagrams and eight colours. I am able to invite people to collaborate with me on my diagram. The paid plan includes extra configuration features, insertion of images and additional colours.

As I suspected many in my PLN are from my institution and speaks to the collaborative resources at Conestoga. I would like to extend my PLN to consider members with similar interests outside of my institution. I can see that many of my new connections have come from my interest in eCampus Ontario and the connections I have made through this mOOC. I hope to further develop those connections.

The top right of my map are my social media accounts and I can see the focus has been on Twitter. I know that this development in my PLN has been is due to my participation in the eCampus Ontario mOOC. I hope to expand beyond twitter as some of my branches are thin.

In the bottom right are my future aspirations and I have indicated those by my educational interests and future pursuits. I hope a year from now I can revisit this map and add to the bottom right corner. The good news is spring just started and there is lots of time to fill in those branches.

References:
eCampus Ontario. (2019). EXTEND 101-EN.1 – Extend MOOC. Module 4: Collaborator

Posted on March 23, 2019 by admin

The “How” In Cultivating My Personal Learning Network

The next Ontario Extend activity (in the Collaborator module) is to determine how to cultivate my personal learning network (PLN). This is timely for me because I have spent the last year seeking opportunities for growth and to expand upon what I would refer to as my personal learning circle. I think in the past year I have been in the explore, search, and follow phases as depicted in the image below.

Howard Rheingold’s (2014) reading is focused on cultivating an online PLN and while these are important Alan Levine (personal communication, 2019) tells us we can think of cultivating a PLN in other ways that may extend outside of social media networks.

Last year, I was involved in co-leading a symposium for teachers who teach in similar programs and similar courses that I do. Through this symposium I realized that we were facing the same rapid changes in our industry, we had similar changes in our student population, similar challenges to delivery, student engagement, and emerging technologies. It seemed to me that we were all working on the same issues but within the silos of our own organizations and that staying connected and sharing resources could be beneficial.

In retrospect, I wish we would have added a formal social networking element to the event. For example, a Twitter hashtag, Facebook page or Instagram account. I realize now, this may have been a simple way to stay connected while exposing many participants to the plethora of learning networks available through twitter and other social media mediums. However, I know personal learning networks were formed and connections were made and I still reach out to the connections I made albeit, usually through email. I wonder is email the new snail mail?

At my institution I have searched out opportunities to expand my PLN through in-house PD opportunities, participating in initiatives through the Teaching and Learning Centre, sharing information about eCampus Ontario and my participation in this mOOC. I am mindful to inquire about PD opportunities that my fellow faculty members have attended and compare what I am learning to what they are sharing.

The social media educators and associations that I follow via Twitter and LinkedIn are faculty from my organization, Cult of Pedagogy, MicrosoftEduCa, OISEUofT, and TED-ED. Primarily, I have explored, searched, and followed these sites inconsistently. It was through my Twitter account that I found out about the eCampus Ontario courses and this mOOC.

Since starting this mOOC I have become active on Twitter which includes commenting and re-sharing tweets. This was intimidating at first because once the tweet has been sent, the thought no longer belongs to me. I wish that Twitter had an edit feature as the only way to make a correction is to delete the tweet and any comments that have been made along with it.

In the Collaborator Module, I am expanding my PLN by following: commenting and retweeting my fellow extenders and eCampus Ontario fellows. I took suggestions to follow Dr. George Couros, Dr. Veletsianos, and Educause. I have expanded my educational social media followings through LinkedIN, Instagram, and Facebook. Previously, I had compartmentalized those accounts into either personal or business.

Rheingold (2014) recommends following people who interest you and he refers to this as tuning your network. I noticed that one organization I was following was quite negative so I stopped following them. Davison, Hagel III, & Brown (2010) argue that is important to stretch out of your own thinking and seek out other interests and differing points of view to follow. I agree that it is important to seek out discourse but I think it must remain professional. In my opinion this is important to my online presence.

An interesting notion I have learned is regarding filter bubbles. Pariser (2011) suggests it is important to watch for filter bubbles meaning ways the internet filters your options based on what you have previously viewed. I noticed a few years ago, after vacationing in Quebec, that I was receiving advertisements and news from Quebec City in my social media accounts. So, it is interesting to think about how filter bubbles excludes information that may challenge my thinking or at least expose me to other perspectives. To learn more about filter bubbles from Eli Pariser watch the Ted Talk below.

References:
Davison, L., Hagel III, J., & Brown, J. S. (2010). Deloitte Development LLC. eCampus Ontario. (2019). EXTEND 101-EN.1 – Extend MOOC. Module 4: Collaborator, FlipGrid Extend Activity, Alan Levine (personal communication)
eCampus Ontario. (2019). EXTEND 101-EN.1 – Extend MOOC. Module 4: Collaborator, Ways to Collaborate
Rheingold, Howard. Net Smart: How to Thrive Online. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2012. Print.

Posted on March 17, 2019 by admin · 2 Comments

My Collaborative Dining Table

The first activity of the Collaborator Module in the Ontario Extend mOOC is to reflect upon the process and people involved in a professional collaboration project. Inspired by the creative Prezi presentation by fellow extender Melanie Jones, I decided to make a PowToon of my reflection https://www.powtoon.com/online-presentation/g5MN1zwLmJH/?mode=movie# .

In this module we are thinking about communities of practice. Meaning groups of people who exchange information to solve problems and improve what they do (Bates, 2014). Through this mOOC and twitter I was exposed to Melanie’s Prezi which made me think about this activity in a different way. To extend beyond the parameters of the activity and learn something new. I learned about Prezi (a software I had heard about but never used) then I took what I learned and applied it to PowToon (an account I have had for awhile but had not used). In addition, to learning new software applications I was able to think about the roles, processes and challenges of the people involved in my collaborative project.

My key takeaway is that it is important to include as many people outside of my circle to gain fresh ideas, perspectives and to work together to breathe new life into my projects. Bates (2014) proposes that in this age of digitization that communities of practice will play an important role in knowledge sharing and informal learning. From my perspective the Ontario Extend mOOC is a blend of formal and informal learning. The informal learning I am doing with my fellow extenders through reading their posts, blogs and Twitter feeds is improving what I do as an educator. According to our reading a community of practice has three primary features. In my opinion, the Ontario Extend mOOC meets all three features.

Domain: We are a group of people focused on post-secondary education who have knowledge and experiences to share.
Community: We are coming together to learn.
Practice: An excellent example of practice in action is Melanie sharing her work, the tool she used and her resources. This enhanced my learning in this module and I believe, is a great example of knowledge exchange.

References:
Bates, T. (2014, October 1). Online Learning and Distance Education Resources. Retrieved from https://www.tonybates.ca/2014/10/01/the-role-of-communities-of-practice-in-a-digital-age/
eCampus Ontario. (2019). EXTEND 101-EN.1 – Extend MOOC. Module 4: Collaborator, Ways to Collaborate
Jones, M. (2019, March 11). Melrad.ca. Retrieved from MelradJones: Exploring Technology in the Classroom: http://melrad.ca/tech/the-collaborative-dining-table/h
Powtoon Link: https://www.powtoon.com/my-powtoons/?#/
Prezi Link: https://prezi.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw4LfkBRBDEiwAc2DSlD2Xtcg4cm3y6ffsQHj6QZg3uy-b-uDQ4faiyB_kt_Sjp-HvaE-_RhoCalsQAvD_BwE

Posted on February 24, 2019 by admin

The Challenges of 8:00 a.m. Classes.

The next activity in Module 2, eCampus mOOC is to identify a learner challenge. I thought my empathy map was too broad to identify a manageable challenge for this activity. So after reflection, I decided to ask my students about their current challenges in one of my courses.

I facilitate a health-care communication’s course in a case-based discussion format. This semester that class begins at 8:00 a.m. The weather conditions have led to poor driving conditions and a snow day. On top of the weather issue I have noticed many students coming in late, tired, and very quiet.

I used a modified version of Stephen Brookfield’s Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) (Brookfield, 1995). Brookfield suggests that asking to students to reflect upon their learning and letting students know you have read and considered their responses builds trust between the teacher and her students (Brookfield, 1995). One of the five questions that I asked was What is your biggest obstacle to coming to class regularly? I expected to hear about transportation issues, family morning routines and working too many hours. The overwhelming response was the 8:00 a.m. start time.

We were asked to add our challenge and possible solutions to the mOOC Padlet. Padlet is an online collaboration board that is being used as a way to share our ideas with participants in the mOOC (eCampus Ontario, 2019).

My Contribution to the eCampus Ontario mOOC Padlet

In one of the mOOC small stretch exercises I was introduced to the answer garden (eCampus Ontario, 2019) The answer garden looks similar to a Moodle. Students answer a question with one word as words are the same they grow so that the most important words stand out. Please see their site for a demonstration at https://answergarden.ch/demonstration/. I think the answer garden will be an effective way to facilitate the one-minute paper. The one minute paper is a teaching technique in which the facilitator asks students to write down in one minute or less the murkiest point and the clearest point they are experiencing in the lesson. This is a technique I learned years ago while completing my B.Ed. Utilizing the answer garden will be a visual for everyone in the class to see how the learning is going.

After that small stretch, I wondered that building interactive online activities (such as the Answer Garden and Padlet) in the beginning of class would be a way to review material from the previous lesson and engage learners at 8:00 a.m. The flip side to this learner challenge is many learners arrive on time ready to learn and they do not like it if I hold up the class for people who are late. I think by incorporating interactive activities at the beginning of class I may be able to engage the learners who are on time. On time learners may feel that they are getting extra information to assist with assessment. Learners that arrive late can join in once they arrive and hopefully by the end of the interactive activity everyone will be warmed up and ready for the lesson.

References:
Brookfield, S. D. (1995). Becoming a Crticially Reflective Teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
eCampus Ontario. (2019). EXTEND 101-EN.1 – Extend MOOC. Module 2: Teacher for Technology.

Posted on February 14, 2019 by admin · 2 Comments

Solving Challenges With Technology (amended from original posting)

This next activity is to “identify a challenge that could be solved with the purposeful use of technology” (eCampus Ontario, 2019). We started by filling in an empathy map. I considered my Student’s Appraisal of Teaching (SATs), one minute papers that I have conducted in the past, Critical Incidence Questionnaires (CQIs), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and verbal feedback that I receive regularly from my students.

I have been using the concept of the one minute paper and modifying as a technique to be responsive to my learner’s needs. This was a technique I learned through my B.Ed. Papers take less then one-minute to complete typically you ask students what is the muddiest point and what is the clearest point in the lesson. I have modified the questions to include what is the biggest barrier to your learning, to your success, and to attending class regularly etc..

One of the biggest challenges my students have is how overwhelmed they become due to outside commitments. Many of my students are single parents, in the sandwich generation (looking after parents and children, and/or have part-time jobs (greater then the recommended 15 hours/week).

My institution has worked hard to address these stressors by providing course based registration (CBD) which allows students to build their own schedules. The goal is students may build a schedule around their outside commitments. This in my opinion, has been a purposeful use of technology.

One of the challenges is first-come-first choice nature of CBD. This leaves the students at the end with the left-overs and this may not be a schedule that works with their outside commitments. So, it is here that I ponder if I could do more within my individual classes.

Coincidentally, this week school was closed for a snow day. So with my coach @jesslyndw (see her article below), some willing students and advice from my new learning community (Ontario Extend mOOC participants) I gave an online lesson using Zoom and recorded my screen to post for students who could not make the online meeting. It was out of my comfort zone but turned out to be a positive experience for myself and my students. It is opportunities like this that make me think maybe more lessons could be done this way. I imagine a parent home with a sick child watching my online lesson and maybe feeling a little less stressed about missing a class.

Check out jesslyndw’s article Educators are Like Coaches @https://syncdup.wordpress.com/2019/02/11/educators-are-like-coaches/

References:
eCampus Ontario (2019). EXTEND 101 – EN.1 – Extend MOOC. Module 2: Technologist.

Posted on February 12, 2019 by admin

Digital Literacies: It’s Complicated!

My first activity in the Digital Literacies of Teaching module through eCampus Ontario extend mOOC is to consider what the concepts of digital literacies means to me. I say concepts and not definition because I have had to expand my thinking about digital literacy. Prior to the readings for this activity, I would have said someone is digitally literate if they know how to code, can use technology effectively, and are able to relay that information to other people. The JISC (2018) proposes that digital literacies should develop beyond basic digital performance and consideration should be given to the complexities and the situations. Now I would say it is complicated.

All Aboard Digital Skills in Higher Education

I think the image above captures the complexities as well as the potential that digital literacies can provide to a person’s growth both personally and professionally. Chung, Gill & O’Byrne (2013) identify the following 21st Century skills that they propose need to be addressed in web literacy framework “problem solving, creativity, communication and collaboration”. You can see elements of these skills and their intersections with other skills in the image of above. Now I know these skills are important but The question I have is how do I get people excited about it? As an educator I love these types of images but I am not sure that all of my students would.

Doug Belshaw proposes that in order to get people excited about digital literacies framework we have to find out what motivates them. He suggests memes are an intrinsic motivator. Watch below.

Doug Belshaw TEDx

I have learned through this activity that the concepts of digital literacies is complicated, changes with time and situations. The exciting part is there is something for everyone if we (educators) include opportunities to develop digital literacies. The British Columbia government (2018) provides a digital literacies framework and examples so that educators will be guided to integrate digital literacies into their lessons. In my opinion, a good place to start is to participate in building and maintaining the digital literacies framework.

References:

British Columbia Government. (2018). Digital Literacy. Retrieved 02 12, 2019, from Province of British Columbia: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/teach/teaching-tools/digital-literacy

Chung, A.-M., Gill, I. B., & O’Byrne, I. (2013). Web Literacy 2.0. Retrieved from Mozilla.

JISC. (2018, 09). Developing Digital Literacies. Retrieved 02 12, 2019, from JISC Guides: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/full-guide/developing-digital-literacies

Posted on February 5, 2019 by admin

Spark Curiosity: Cornell Notes

Spark Curiosity

Today I am having a cup of Rooibos tea my nephew sent me from Germany. There are hints of berries and the tea is pink. I am curious to know what is in it but the ingredients are listed in German.

There has been a new trend of students coming to class without paper or pen. In response I taught students to use The Cornell note-taking method. So I was excited to see what new things I could try in this next Ontario Extend activity. The third Ontario extend activity is to listen to a TED talk and takes notes using the Cornell method.

In the first class of Communication in Health Care I show this video by Emma and I provide students with a Cornell note-taking template. I bring blank copies and a few pens for the first few weeks. In the first class we review the notes they have taken (through a think-pair-share) and I provide a model of what mine looks like.

The designers of this activity have proposed that we structure our lesson plans so that we spend ten minutes reviewing these notes at the end of each class. This process worked well in my first class so I am going to take their advice and try it in more classes.

At the beginning of the following class I plan to revisit this summary activity. In this way students who need time to process may have more questions. My hope is students will be motivated to review and bring a question.

The TED talk that I reviewed was Ramsey Musallam’s, 3 Rules to Spark Curiosity. This is another great way to think about lesson planning. How to spark curiosity and base the lesson around the student’s questions as opposed to the teacher’s questions.

Ramsey Mussallam

Now time to run the (German tea) ingredient list through google translate.

Posted on February 4, 2019 by admin

Mind Mapping

Mind Mapping for Relaxation and Memory

One of my favourite relaxation activities is to sit down with a cup of rooibos tea and colour. So, I was pretty excited to jump into this next activity and use the sketch pad on my Surface Pro to draw out “in colour” a mind map. While I have used mind mapping before I typically use it for review before a midterm or final exam. I had never considered using it to map out a course syllabus.

As a former administrator I love to organize and categorize items. I have to tell you this mind map is pretty messy and not something I would likely share with students.

So with my committment to try new flavours I downloaded this free mind map app from Microsoft called M8. It is easier to read (then my freehand one) and was fairly easy to use. I was hooked once I discovered it converted my writing to text. The drawback is you can only access colours if you are willing to pay.

This activity has expanded the way I will use mind mapping in the future. I think this will be a creative way to lesson plan and remember the important connections I need to make when delivering course material. A replacement for colouring? Maybe.