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Choice Reflection from Independent Readings

Module Five: Assessing for Engagement and Mastery

After conducting some scholarly research on the digital tool Padlet, I discovered it supports student engagement in many content areas. The peer-reviewed article I shared below addressed the need to improve students’ writing skills, specifically in Indonesia, as the country’s literacy is technically in a “crisis” (Sulistiyono, 2016). The article, “The Teaching of Writing Recount Texts by Utilizing Padlet,” discusses the importance of teaching students how to write recount texts, while acknowledging they “tend to be uninteresting and monotonous due to lack of students’ interaction” (Saepuloh et al., 2020). The authors claim that a lack of student interaction typically goes hand-in-hand with a lack of enthusiasm, which will likely result in “poor writing.” The study discussed in this article examines how using Padlet to teach the writing of recount texts can increase student engagement and improve their quality of writing, allowing for more expressive and unique ways to summarize events or texts. 

Course Outcome Four: “Foster collaborative opportunities for students, and develop a sense of community within diverse virtual learning environments.”

The study found that Padlet is an ideal place for a learning community to collect and share ideas, while having the ability to modify those ideas in the future upon further reflection and/or discussion. Saepuloh et al. claims that Padlet “encourages students’ creativity to create and gather ideas, photos, citations, and others stuffs in one room” (2020). Additionally, Padlet serves as a virtual notebook to collaborate multiple perspectives. 

Course Outcome Ten: “Provide feedback to peers to support greater understanding and application of learning.”

Although students in the study were familiar with writing recount texts, they oftentimes struggled to recall the schematic structure of recount text including orientation, record of events, and reorientation (Anderson & Anderson, 1998). In addition to the schematic structure, “Students should apply the linguistic features of recount in their text, including specific participants, circumstance of time and place, first person, additive conjunction, material process, and past tense (Gerot & Wignell, 1995). This is quite a bit of information for students to remember when crafting a recount text. As a result, mentor texts and visual examples are necessary, as well as scaffolding this lesson by chunking the information (i.e., teach the structure first then add in or edit for the linguistic features, rather than teaching both all at once). Through Padlet, students could submit their recount texts one sentence at a time for specific instructor feedback and to eventually build it into a recount paragraph. Students are able to edit their writing instantly and reflect on previous drafts. Peer feedback can be achieved with Padlet as well; students can comment on each other’s texts and progress. This can help develop a sense of community, while practicing peer encouragement and engagement. 

[mschristinamcgrew]

Choice Reflection from Independent Readings

Module Five: Assessing for Engagement and Mastery

After conducting some scholarly research on the digital tool Padlet, I discovered it supports student engagement in many content areas. The peer-reviewed article I shared below addressed the need to improve students’ writing skills, specifically in Indonesia, as the country’s literacy is technically in a “crisis” (Sulistiyono, 2016). The article, “The Teaching of Writing Recount Texts by Utilizing Padlet,” discusses the importance of teaching students how to write recount texts, while acknowledging they “tend to be uninteresting and monotonous due to lack of students’ interaction” (Saepuloh et al., 2020). The authors claim that a lack of student interaction typically goes hand-in-hand with a lack of enthusiasm, which will likely result in “poor writing.” The study discussed in this article examines how using Padlet to teach the writing of recount texts can increase student engagement and improve their quality of writing, allowing for more expressive and unique ways to summarize events or texts. 

Course Outcome Four: “Foster collaborative opportunities for students, and develop a sense of community within diverse virtual learning environments.”

The study found that Padlet is an ideal place for a learning community to collect and share ideas, while having the ability to modify those ideas in the future upon further reflection and/or discussion. Saepuloh et al. claims that Padlet “encourages students’ creativity to create and gather ideas, photos, citations, and others stuffs in one room” (2020). Additionally, Padlet serves as a virtual notebook to collaborate multiple perspectives. 

Course Outcome Ten: “Provide feedback to peers to support greater understanding and application of learning.”

Although students in the study were familiar with writing recount texts, they oftentimes struggled to recall the schematic structure of recount text including orientation, record of events, and reorientation (Anderson & Anderson, 1998). In addition to the schematic structure, “Students should apply the linguistic features of recount in their text, including specific participants, circumstance of time and place, first person, additive conjunction, material process, and past tense (Gerot & Wignell, 1995). This is quite a bit of information for students to remember when crafting a recount text. As a result, mentor texts and visual examples are necessary, as well as scaffolding this lesson by chunking the information (i.e., teach the structure first then add in or edit for the linguistic features, rather than teaching both all at once). Through Padlet, students could submit their recount texts one sentence at a time for specific instructor feedback and to eventually build it into a recount paragraph. Students are able to edit their writing instantly and reflect on previous drafts. Peer feedback can be achieved with Padlet as well; students can comment on each other’s texts and progress. This can help develop a sense of community, while practicing peer encouragement and engagement. 

[mschristinamcgrew]

INDEPENDENT READING FOR TE 790

VAI'S CHAPTER FOUR

by Christina McGrew

Chapter Four, "Visual Design Basics," of Marjorie Vai and Kristen Sosulski's Essentials of Online Course Design: A Standards-Based Guide, begins by emphasizing the necessity of online material to be attractive through achieving clarity, organization, simplicity and graphic appeal. The salient point of the chapter is that, "An open, clear, attractive page design enhances communication," which directly correlates to our course work from Module Three: Visual Design. In both the discussion post and homework assignment from this module, we explored and evaluated the five main elements of Visual Design: Overall Layout and Visual Appearance, Color Scheme, Typography (Font), Navigation/Use, and Content. Ideally, websites are visually appealing, include relevant images, and demonstrate creativity. Essentially, websites just need to be appropriate and accessible; Vai argues, "Nothing in the design of the page distracts from communication" (59). As long as communication is clear and concise, users can easily utilize websites as digital tools. When it comes to the Visual Design of websites, the goal is to NOT interfere with the user's comprehension, concentration, or learning.

In these modern times of distance learning, website accessibility and clarity is more necessary than ever. When considering accessibility, the website should be easy to navigate through, easy to read with opposing colors and legible fonts, and provide any additional resources or supports. When it comes to clarity, a website should use spacing and labeling to indicate different sections and tabs, text (like directions for an assignment) should be simple and to-the-point, and include a variation of visual displays like bullet points and numbering to help users more easily process information. As an instructor, having a class website is an effective way to deliver course material with structure, such as providing a syllabus, course calendar, list of assignments, and a pacing guide. These additions also serve as ways to establish course expectations and requirements for both students and for families. With on-site teaching, instructors can provide students with paper versions of a syllabus, but with online learning we have learned the importance of having a digital resource that students can access as many times as they need. Teacher websites are imperative in building relationships with students' families, establishing open-communication, and encouraging parent/guardian involvement.  

Chapter Four discusses some specific aspects of a evaluating the a website's page layout, such as including a significant amount of white space, maintaining appropriate spacing between lines and paragraphs, keeping line lengths short, left-justifying the text, and logically organizing headings and subheadings. Vai states, "Bold and italic typefaces are used sparingly only to emphasize important items" (65). These text variations also serve as visual cues for users to focus on certain information, which might help input-processing and remembering. I learned that underlining should only be used for links and that words in all caps should be avoided. The "Background Colors" chart (Figure 4.2) is a helpful resource I will definitely access when creating websites and digital content in the future.

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Corresponding TE 790 Course Learning Outcomes:

"Utilize digital tools to plan for the nuances of course planning in the digital era" (6).

"Structure course delivery with precision, incorporating aspects of good visual design" (8).

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