Building a sense of community and belonging is important in both online and in-person classrooms. Teaching is a profession that is rooted in communication and fostering relationships with one another. Furthermore, it is these two key concepts that are fundamental to building a sense of classroom community. More importantly, “establishing community helps a group of learners bond and work together [which] is particularly important in online courses given the potential for students to feel isolated and alone” (6 Strategies for Building Community in Online Courses, Barkley).

In a blended classroom setting, teachers are fortunate because we have time with our students in class and face-to-face to work on establishing a strong classroom community that can then trickle into the online component of our blended course. Educators take time in planning well-thought-out lessons and hand-picking activities that will not only let them meet curricular objectives but also help students connect while strengthening the classroom community. Lessons and activities are well-organized and have a purpose. Teachers provide opportunities for meaningful discussions to take place where students can ask for clarification, learn from one another, interact with each other, and further their learning. Moreover, Bates emphasizes that “discussions need to be well organized by the teacher, and the teacher needs to provide the necessary support to enable the development of ideas and the construction of new knowledge for the students” (Teaching in a Digital Age). Additionally, Bates references appropriate technology, clear guidelines for student online behaviour, student orientation/preparation, clear goals, appropriate topics, appropriate “tone”/requirements for discussions, monitoring/responding accordingly, and instructor presence as principles that can lead to successful online discussions.

For my blended course prototype, I thought long and hard about what I could provide for my kiddos to engage in building online interactions and discussions. Grade 2 and Grade 3 students are not always the most fluent and capable of expressing themselves in French. The language and lack of vocabulary can make online interactions (writing activities) a daunting task for some students. At this grade level in French Immersion, it is much easier at times, and given the content, to express themselves orally rather than in writing. For this reason, I chose to incorporate weekly Flip activities for my students to encourage online interactions/discussions. I enjoy Flip as a tool to organize, facilitate, and monitor discussions with my students for various reasons that coordinate with Bates’ principles for successful online discussions. For starters, I love that I can provide my prompt through a video as well as in writing; the video option works really well for my students that might be struggling with reading/writing because they can just listen to me read and explain the weekly prompt (it also works well if I want to provide examples). When preparing the prompt, I can make sure I have picked relevant/appropriate topics and I can make sure that I have explained the requirements for these online interactions with my students. Students can comment on classmates’ posts/submissions and provide little reactions in the form of an “Emoji” if they are not able to write a response; I can also comment on students’ submissions and provide feedback. Moreover, I need to approve all posts and comments before they become visible on our class forum which allows me to monitor our discussions and respond accordingly. I believe Flip to be an excellent tool to use with our younger students that allows them to build an online presence as well as an online classroom community in a safe and structured environment.

Following this week’s lecture, I started reflecting on the topic of accessibility and equity in online and blended courses. Bates mentions that student demographics, accessibility, and differences in how students learn should be considered when choosing media and technology to use with our students (Teaching in a Digital Age). Furthermore, Bates states that “of all the criteria in determining choice of technology, [access] is perhaps the most discriminating” (Teaching in a Digital Age). It is incredibly difficult to ensure students have the same tools at home to access different learning materials online. Educators are not able to confirm if all students have access to the internet, computer, or tablet at home to view online content and we honestly can not demand our students have all these appropriate tools to access online content when we are not fully aware of the restrictions that may prohibit their accessibility. “Another important factor to consider is access for students with disabilities. This [could be for example] providing textual or audio options for deaf and visually impaired students” (Teaching in a Digital Age).

In any learning context, I believe it is imperative that we take the time to get to know our students and thus become aware of their instructional and educational needs. Each student is unique with their own set of needs and preferences to help them achieve success within the classroom. It is important for educators to get to know their students so that they can identify what they need to be able to complete a variety of tasks – especially when we are wanting to integrate technology into their learning repertoire. By talking with families or students we might be able to determine if they require any additional information, tools, or guidance to partake in online and blended classroom initiatives. In these types of interactions, we might come to find out that perhaps some of our families do not have technology at home that their child could access to complete components from an online or blended course; we could then approach the school and explore the possibility of letting some families borrow some technology so their child can partake in an online or blended learning initiative. It is also through these discussions that a teacher might find out their student has a hearing difficulty and could start planning to use subtitles or voice typing programs to include in online lessons so that all students can follow along. Moreover, we also discussed instances where our students’ religious or cultural beliefs might impede them from partaking in online or blended classroom initiatives which prompted many of us to consider what would be the optimal way to proceed; the majority of us agreed that we would not ask families to use any tool that went against their religious or cultural beliefs and that given this type of situation, we would find alternate solutions for students to complete the course work such as providing a paper copy of PowerPoint Presentations and printing off hard copies of activities for these students.

I feel that there are indeed some aspects of my blended course that considers accessibility for all my students. As I mentioned in my previous posts, I have included pre-recorded lessons that contain content in French and translations in English for my second-language learners to follow along. Additionally, I have included PowerPoint slides to go along with my pre-recorded lessons for there to be a visual component as well to help students follow along which is essential in any language course. However, there are areas where I can tweak a few things to make it more accessible to students. Following our lecture, I contemplated including some tools to help students with auditory disabilities where I could perhaps add subtitles to my pre-recorded lessons or use some type of “Speech-to-text” program. For example, when uploading videos to YouTube, there is an option to add subtitles in various languages and it will even provide graphs of the most commonly spoken languages in the world; the “Accessibility Toolkit” is a great resource to use for additional information, tools, and tips. Chris Hawkins’ article “The best dictation software in 2023” provides different “Speech-to-text” apps that are available as well. What I plan to do before starting my blended course with my students in the fall is to get to know them and discuss their needs before I start assigning modules. I will provide them with detailed walkthroughs of every program/app we plan to use for our blended course. I plan to also set some time aside with each student individually so we can address their questions or concerns before we start our blended course and I will be contacting families as well as asking them to communicate any needs they might have before we begin. These interactions with students and their families will be a key component to ensuring our blended course runs smoothly and that the students get the most out of this instructional initiative.

This has been quite the informative week in EC&I 834! It has been so much fun creating all my material and setting up my module to use with my students in the fall! It is always so refreshing to take the information we cover in class and apply it to our teaching which is what I focussed on doing this week when I got to explore Lumi to later on incorporate into my module with the hope that it would help engage my students with their online grammar lesson in French.

My first module focuses on sentence structure. Seeing as my kiddos will be in Grade 2 and Grade 3, we are focussing on proper sentence composition. We are also concentrating on identifying the subject (le sujet), the verb (le verbe), and the object (le complément) in sentences. Like with most lessons in a French Immersion classroom, exposure to different vocabulary is key to widening our students’ database in French, and we are always translating and providing new vocabulary throughout our lessons when we can.

As I mentioned in my course profile to ensure consistency throughout the school year each of my modules will have the following:

• PowerPoint Presentation of the new concept
• Pre-recorded lesson of PowerPoint Presentation in French (with English translation included to help all students understand/follow along)
• Both interactive and paper worksheets/workbooks (to be completed at home or in school if needing extra help/time)
• Boom Cards
• Quizlet or Quizizz activities
• Flip video
• Formal evaluation – Quiz (summative assessment) to be completed in class as a whole group.

The first thing I proceeded to do when setting up my module, was take the PowerPoint presentation for my lesson and I recorded a video of the slides. This video provided lots of translation throughout its entirety to make sure my students would be able to follow along when accessing it from home. I used Screencastify to record this video and it was very user-friendly while also making it easy to “export” my video. I did feel like the video was a bit long and worried if it would be able to keep my students engaged (especially when they will most likely be working from home without me around to “help them focus” haha).

I then went on to take my pre-recorded lesson and make it interactive with Lumi. In my opinion, Lumi was the perfect tool to help me insert pauses throughout my video and have my students review different concepts at precise times throughout the lesson. I explored a few of the different interactive activities and selected a true and false question, a multiple-choice question, and a summary task to include in my presentation. I also went on to create two different Quizizzes for this lesson and added two different links to the interactive video that takes students straight to our mini quiz. It was pretty easy to use but I do wish we had more options to add audio to prompts/interactive activities (if anyone knows how or has figured this out, please let me know ). I did have to play around with inserting my interactive activities correctly and at precise moments throughout the lesson; I would hope that as I get more comfortable using this tool, I will not need as much time adding the interactive activities correctly.

From that point on, I went on to prepare worksheets on Google Slides that students could submit back to me for review and went to select BOOM cards that I would also include in my module. I also prepared a video that walks students through both the Google Slide worksheets and BOOM cards activity where I translate a good chunk of the content for students to help them complete these assignments. Additionally, I provided one extra Quizizz for students who were wanting some extra practice.

I also created a Flip prompt/activity to go along with this module where I ask students to come up with a few of their own sentences, write them out at home, and then record themselves sharing their sentences with me. I emphasized that when they share each sentence with me, they need to also identify the subject, the verb, and the object in the sentence. This not only helps the kids review what they learned but also provides them with the opportunity to practice speaking in French. I do plan on using the kiddos’ Flip responses as a formative assessment to track their progress.

Lastly, once I had all my material prepped and ready to go, I went into my Google Classroom and set up the module for my students. I wrote up a prompt that provided instructions – this was done in English for parents to understand what to do in case they are helping their child. Adding the activities to Google Classroom was quick and efficient; we are able to add different media, videos, and links to our assignments in Google Classroom which makes it easy for the kids to locate all the activities and have access to them in one place.

Moreover, I think it is important to consider that younger students will need help gaining access to their Google accounts and log-in information. More precisely, teachers will need to walk their students through step by step all the different activities and components of their blended course before allowing them to have access. In previous years, I have set up times for whole-group instruction to take place when I am introducing a new tool, application, or website. I like to project my computer screen on the whiteboard and have students follow along on either an iPad on Chromebook depending on what is available for them to use. For example, when we started using Kahoots, we practiced how to type in the correct address in the URL bar, insert class code correctly, choose names properly, and submit answers correctly. With any new tool – especially relating to technology – it is essential to walk children through all the steps to access and use it correctly. I anticipate setting a couple of weeks aside where I walk my students through Google Classroom, BOOM cards, Quizlet, Quizizz, and Flip so we can do a couple of practice activities together before starting our modules for our blended course. Additionally, at the beginning of each module, I will be explaining all the activities so the kids know how to access all their resources on Google Classroom and feel confident completing the assignments for me from home.

Here is the link to my interactive lesson “La structure de la phrase” (sentence structure). I am excited to see what everyone else has set up!

Art is not about pretty things, it’s about who we are, what happened to us and how our lives are affected.

Elizabeth Broun

Northern Saskatchewan communities has always been a source of fascination and inspiration for me. The land, the trees, the lakes, the light, and the people inspire me to look at life in positive and bright perspectives. It has been four years since I left La Loche, I still think about the place. It continues to inspire my art. This inspiration moved me to do something in return.. to give back and to show my gratitude to the land and the people.

I thought about many ways how to show my gratitude. I think that helping Dene students make art and show their talents would be beneficial. This online and blended art education course for high school students answers the need to earn credit in their postsecondary while they are still in high school.

Advanced Placement in Visual Art Education

It provides means for developing and maintaining physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being of students. There is a need for rich, wide array, differentiated resources and instruction to develop skills in art. It provides opportunities to learn and use of natural and indigenous materials in visual art. It will showcase talents and skills, and use of indigenous resources in art. Students in Northern communities face different social and economic issues that hinder learning, like lack of resources, transportation problems, and family issues.

ADDIE Template

This course is designed for High school students needing credits for Advance Placement (AP) who are not able to attend a regular secondary program (i.e. pregnancy, physical and psychological health reasons, economic, etc.). Advanced Placement course is a college level course developed by AP Program. Interested students earn one semester introductory college course in 2-D art and design. There is no prerequisite course which makes it accessible to anyone. However, there will be AP exams administered once a year.

Learning Environment

There are opportunities and limitations based on the following perspectives of the learners, facilitators, the domain and discipline, learning technologies, access and cost. The program is flexible in different aspects like time. Students have access to a wide range of learning activities and materials.  Although, students need to work independently, there are also opportunities for personalized and collaborative learning. In this course, students will develop self-discipline and motivation. There are limitations that students must take into consideration. They need to consider technological requirements and accessibility. There may by limited hands-on and practical experience. Since it is an online course, there is a potential isolation. Students may feel alone and isolated.

As the AP teacher, there are opportunities that I can take advantage of. The program offers enhanced accessibility, flexibility in content delivery, increased student engagement, and personalized learning experience. There are also limitations like limited non-verbal cues, technical difficulties, reduced social interaction, self-motivation and discipline.

In the domain and discipline, the following opportunities are possible: access to a wide range of learning resources, flexible learning schedules, and collaborative learning opportunities. lack of immediate feedback. Limitations like limited face-to-face interaction, and limited practical hands-on experience. In learning technologies, opportunities like flexibility and accessibility, interactive and engaging content, personalized learning, collaborative learning experience, and access to global resources. However, there may be some limitations may ensue like technical challenges, lack of social interaction, self-discipline and time management, limited hands-on practical experience, and digital literacy requirement.

Access and cost is another that needs attention. The program provides opportunities for global access of information and learning, flexible schedule, diverse course options, and it is cost saving. The students need to consider technological requirements, digital literacy, limited hands-on learning, and reduced social interaction.

Design

Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

• Develop 2D skills through materials and processes: graphic design, photography, collage, printmaking, fashion illustration, and others.

• Create artwork that reflects learned knowledge, skills and own ideas

• Skills:

Investigation – materials, processes, ideas of artists and designers used

Communication – own ideas about works of art and design

Practice, experiment, revisit ideas as you create your own work

Instructional Approach

Learning experiences or activities

• lectures , inquiry-based learning, simulations using screencast lectures and demos

Assessment:

Formative: observation or art making processes during synchronous and asynchronous activities

AP art examination – once a year

Major Platform

List the LMS and/or other educational technologies that will be used.

Advanced Placement College Board

ZOOM

Google Arts and Culture

Kahoot

Mentimeter

Educational Technologies

List the ways that the platform and other educational technologies will be used to support student learning.

individual and group conferencing

Online studio work

Artwork presentation and feedback activities

Course Design

Hello. I am Lourdes Ghazal. I currently teach elementary school overseas. I lived and worked in Africa for more than a decade before moving to Canada. I was in La Loche, SK before moving to Kuwait in 2017. I am a registered nurse back in The Philippines and used to work in health facilities. I joined education later in my life and loved the change. As an educator, I welcome change. I view it as a path to tomorrow’s world. I admire those who light the paths, the trailblazers. I adapt to new ideas and practices which I think beneficial for teaching and learning. Technology is always a concept that will scare me, but I am willing to learn and use it for the benefits that it offers. I think communicating with parents through emails and sending electronic assignments to students is my very first encounter with online learning. Before that, I was also receiving and sending back assignments to my instructors in my undergraduate courses at the University of Regina.
“Victory comes from finding opportunities in problems.” Sun Tzu ” A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
The pandemic brought remarkable advancement in technology and it impacted education as we all witnessed it. I remained in Kuwait for almost two years without any hint of what will happen in the future. With too much time on my hand, I decided to start my graduate studies. Since then, I started to use online learning technologies. I learned to use the university’s learning management system (LMS) and other online applications. Some of those technologies were not easy to use at the beginning. I have encountered difficulties especially learning to use those technologies. Another important aspect of challenges was the limitation imposed on the use of internet in my host country, Kuwait. Countless sites and web pages that were assigned to visit in my courses were restricted in the country. Fortunately, my graduate instructors were helpful and accommodating when I communicated my difficulties.
At the same time, our school transitioned to online learning. Teachers, students, and parents needed to learn and adapt to technology. We have encountered plenty of challenges which we all learned eventually. The learning curve was stiff for everyone. At that time, we all had no choice but to adapt and go with the flow of change. The first year back to face-to-face learning was equally hard. Everyone at school needed to adjust and re-learn skills in learning in the classroom.
It was indeed a trying time for all. However, we emerged victorious because we learned new knowledge and skills. Those knowledge and skills were not futile because we continued to use them today. We can easily switch to online if needs arise without disrupting teaching and learning. Technology will continue to evolve and we are ready to learn them, use them, and adapt them to our fast changing lives.