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Designing a Module in Google Classroom

When designing this module, I adhered to the vision outlined in my previous reflection. I focused on the characteristics of my audience to inform my design. Below are some of the design decisions from my previous reflection and how they are reflected in my design of Module 5.

Simple, clean, coherent design

  • The module was structured in the same way that the previous introduction module was. Posts were organized and numbered. All of the attachments were labelled to correspond with the naming and numbering conventions of the posts.

Limited external technology

  • A deliberate effort was made to use tools within the Google Suite of applications. The reason for this was to avoid busy learners from having to setup and register new accounts and learn unfamiliar technology. The one exception was an optional webinar recording in the module notes.
  • I explored the use of Pear Deck while developing the module notes. Pear Deck can be incorporated into Google Classroom through a plug-in for the Google Slides. The service seemed promising but ultimately, I had too many concerns about the level of permissions and access to my Google Account that the service wanted. I also was trying to be conscious of the urge to add additional flashy bells and whistles that I find interesting but might ultimately confuse my learners.
  • I considered using Padlet as a collaborative space to brainstorm and discuss ideas. I eventually opted to use the collaboration features within Google Docs to ensure limited unnecessary external technology.

Assigned deadlines

  • Deadlines were added to all of the activities.

Applied and authentic assessments

  • Learners are asked to work with materials from their own classrooms in the activities. For example in Activity 5.4 learners are asked to complete the exercise using a learning objective from their own course.
  • The final product of the group work activity will be used in the summative assignment in the next module. Importantly by the end of this activity learners will have a tool that they can immediately take and use in their own professional practice.

Group Discussion and Collaboration in Formative Activities

  • Opportunities for discussion and collaboration are found throughout the module.

Aysnchronous Learning

  • The activities can be completed at the learner’s own pace. There is built in flexibility, although students are still bound by the week deadline to complete the module.

Mobile Friendly

  • I tested out the Google Classroom page and the attachments from within a mobile browser. Everything worked as intended.

Iterative Design

  • While creating my project for this course I was given the opportunity at work to deliver a workshop and pilot the content in a face to face session streamed for off-campus learners. I included the recording of this session in the module notes. The session went well, and learners were engaged with the activities. The anonymous feedback on the session was overwhelmingly positive. One of the criticisms was that one of the activities was too complicated. I simplified activity 5.5 to be a more straight forward activity with detailed instructions.
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Designing a Course with Google Classroom

This post is the reflection portion of my ETEC 524 Assignment 2 Part 1. For this assignment I was tasked with creating a unit of learning within an LMS environment. Below is how I approached the assignment.

Overall Approach 

I have designed an online faculty development course for Rady Faculty of Health Sciences (RFHS). This course is intended to be an introduction to assessment that will provide the foundation for more advanced work in assessment. I carefully considered the needs of my audience throughout the design of the course. 

Audience Characteristic  Design Decision 
Multiple Campuses – RFHS is spread between two different campuses on different ends of Winnipeg. This makes face to face delivery difficult to coordinate. Online Delivery – The course will be delivered online. 
Learner Diversity – RFHS is comprised of 5 different colleges including dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and rehabilitation sciences. Currently, the colleges are not all using the same LMS. Some are using Brightspace and others are using a custom version of Entrada (Elantra). Neutral Platform – I chose Google Classroom as the LMS to avoid the appearance of favoritism. Part of this design decision is more politics than pedagogy but there are also a number of other benefits of using Google Classroom I will outline below. 
Emphasis on Interprofessionalism – One of the reasons for forming RFHS was to encourage interprofessionalism. Group Discussion and Collaboration in Formative Activities – The activities have been designed to encourage discussion between participants. Ideally learners will be able to learn from participants in other disciplines. 
Busy Adult Learners – Learners will likely be working full time while taking the course.Simple, Clean, and Coherent Design – the course has an intentional minimalist design with a lack of visual clutter. I used Google Classroom defaults based on Material Design. Material Design is visually impactful, mobile-friendly, accessible, and based on industry best practices (“Material Design Accessibility,” n.d.). 

Limited External Technology – I intentionally limited external technology and kept activities within the LMS and integrated G Suite apps (Google Docs, Google Forms, Google Slides, YouTube). The reason for this was to limit the cognitive load on learners so that they can focus on the content instead of learning new technology (Mast, 2018).  

Assigned Deadlines – To help student keep on track I assigned due dates to activities and assignments using Google Classroom. This allows learners to sync these dates with their calendar and set reminders.
Specific Learning Goals – Learners are taking the course for a specific reason. They want to create better assessments for their learners. The course needs to be directly applicable to their professional context. Applied and Authentic Assessments – after completing the course learners will have produced something they can immediately apply to their workplace. Authentic assessments incorporate important cognitive and social skills that are aligned with the contexts and prior knowledge of learners (Beck & Hatch, 2010). Authenticity in assessment directly addresses adaptability and transfer of knowledge in educational programs (Billett, 2012; James & Casidy, 2018). Learners are encouraged to explore topics and questions directly from their workplace. 
Shift Workers – Many of the Faculty in RFHS are shift workers that work professionally in clinical settings. Asynchronous Learning – The course has built in flexibility for learners to complete when it is convenient for them. Synchronous activities and lectures have been avoided. 

Mobile Friendly – The content of this course can be accessed from mobile devices.
Culture of Continuous Quality Improvement – It is expected that work within RFHS is continuously improved. Iterative Design – The course has an iterative design and feedback collected during the formative activities will shape the overall direction of the course. This can be seen in how the introductory activities are revisited later in the course. One of the affordances of using Google Docs is that content can be dynamic. If it is linked in several spots it will constantly be up to date. This was important for Challenges activity. 
Accessibility is important Built in Google Accessibility –  Google Classroom and G Suite Apps have accessibility features readily available for learners (“Accessibility for every student,” n.d.). This was another reason to avoid external tools that might not have similar support for accessibility. 

Writing for Screen Readers – Content was formatted using heading tags to support screen readers. 

References 

Accessibility for every student. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://edu.google.com/intl/en_ca/why-google/accessibility/?modal_active=none.

Beck, L. M., & Hatch T. (2010) Authentic Assessment. In: C. S. Clauss-Ehlers (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural School Psychology (pp. 135-137). Boston, MA:  Springer. 

Billett, S. (2012). Authenticity in Learning Activities and Settings. In N. M. Seel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning (pp. 388-391). Boston, MA: Springer.

James, L. T., & Casidy, R. (2018). Authentic Assessment in Business Education: Its Effects on Student Satisfaction and Promoting Behaviour. Studies in Higher Education, 43(3), 401-415. doi:10.1080/03075079.2016.1165659

Mast, K. (2018, October). Multimedia in E-Learning; How it Benefits, How it Detracts and the Dangers of Cognitive Overload. University of Arizona Campus Repository. Retrieved from https://arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/bitstream/10150/556151/1/Mast-ConfPaperMMElearn.pdf.

Material Design Accessibility. (n.d.) Retreived from https://material.io/design/usability/accessibility.html#hierarchy.

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Future Directions

When I entered University I had a hard time visualizing where my career would take me. I started in general arts and eventually found my way into Education. I knew I wanted to travel and an education degree was my best chance at seeing the world. After graduating I quickly found a job overseas in Sweden and had two of the most personal and professional transformative years of my life.

When I returned to Canada I was ready to try something new. I was debating law school or pursuing a new degree. I found a job with the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta teaching the public about their legal rights and responsibilities. I quickly realized this was where I wanted to be and I made it there with a lot of luck and without a law degree. I needed an outlet for my creativity and an opportunity to be a leader, and the freedom to be a designer.

My career shifted from designing for learning to designing for assessment during my time working in the non-profit sector. As I worked on public education initiatives the foundations and government grants wanted to know that their investment was making a difference. This meant regular reporting that included outcomes measurement. I continued to experiment with designing for learning including creating infographics no human rights, videos on resolving conflict, and an android app for landlord and tenant questions.

My experience in my Master of Educational Technology has mirrored my professional trajectory. I started off with a focus on designing for learning and as I complete my final courses my emphasis has shifted to assessment and evaluation.

When I started working as an Instructional Designer for Extended Education at the University of Manitoba my supervisor wanted to put my skills designing for assessment to use. So in addition to designing online courses I was also tasked with creating program evaluation plans. I recently started a new position with the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the university. I will continue to develop my skills in designing for learning and assessment.

Looking back I have been fortunate to gain experience in diverse workplaces that include a junior high schools, non-profits, and university campuses. I have found them all rewarding in their own ways and am excited where I may end up in the future. I am particularly excited about the opportunities that may arise from working in health care. I will continue to try new things and be open-minded about where my background in design will take me. I am a lifelong learner and anticipate my future learning will be design focused. This might be in the field of education but maybe one day in healthcare, sustainability, or community.