I enjoyed the process of developing the course prototype. At first, I was a little worried because I had never used anything like this before, even in Covid I had only used google slides. Although I was unsure of what it would take to develop a course, I was excited to try something new. I appreciated that the weeks scaffolded each other, and not only did it make creating the prototype not seem like such a big assignment, but it also introduced me to new technology I might not have tried using. I found that each week I was able to add something to make my prototype better and more engaging.

Being able to apply this assignment to my own classroom was a game-changer for me in this course. I wanted to create something that I could see myself using with my students. However, this also did create some challenges in the design process.

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I created this course for my grade 1 class. Creating usable technology for young students is always challenging. At times I felt certain parts of the course I would not be able to use- especially the collaboration pieces. I loved seeing how other people made collaborative spaces through different apps but when looking at my own course I did not feel that it would compliment my course in the same way.

I also found the interactive video on LUMI a bit challenging in practice. I thought it was a cool tool but again having quiz questions with reading is difficult, especially for the first part of the year in grade 1.

https://www.teachhub.com/technology-in-the-classroom/2013/11/advantages-disadvantages-of-the-ipad-classroom/

Despite these challenges, I found I was able to still create a course that I felt included these many important aspects as well as (hopefully) work for my students. I found that creating the initial google classroom was simple and with the help of the ADDIE template I was able to organize the course easily. Adding activities and linking videos, websites, & lumi were incredibly easy. Learning about accessibility made me make sure I slowed down and filled in all the accessibility features LUMI had to offer.

After our class with feedback, I felt reassured that I was on the right track. I told my group I felt that I had not made enough, and it was hard to compare mine to other students who were designing courses for high school. My group made me feel that I had considered the age and skill level of my students and I should not add more just for the sake of having more. They brought up good points about the attention span of a 6-year-old and my courses seemed to work for keeping them engaged in that short amount of time. We spoke about how we each had to take the technology into our own environments and make it work for our learners. The only thing I changed was making sure that I turned on data on my LUMI activities for assessment opportunities.

I found this entire course to be extremely interesting, I have already spoken to several of my co-workers about LUMI and I am excited to try this course in the fall and bring what I have learned about online and blended learning to my school.

Attached is my summary of learning and course walkthrough

Online Collaborative Learning

I have enjoyed learning about the collaborative side of online and blended learning this week. I have found when talking to people about completing many masters courses online they are always surprised when I say I prefer them online rather than in-person. The response is always the same “Don’t you miss being able to talk and have discussions with people, it must feel awkward online”. I have to explain to them that the way we have advanced in online learning now, I honestly don’t feel like I do miss out on that aspect because we are still able to have conversations online and I enjoy the flexibility it allows me when I am teaching full time.

Chapter 4.4 introduced me to a new term; OCL, meaning Online Collaborative Learning. It started to make me link classes and experiences I have had online and how those instructors had built the courses perhaps using this model or a version of it. Allowing for effective collaboration online does not just mean letting people talk- it is more planned and purposeful. I thought it was helpful to think of the role of the teacher as the moderator. This is a practice I have been working on in my own class. Taking learning experiences and seeing what different students take away from the experience allows for a much deeper understanding of the content.  In the summary, it said, “Many of the strengths and challenged of collaborative learning apply to both face-to-face or online learning contexts”. This statement made me think about the things I do in my own classroom such as partner work, rotating stations, pwim boards, pocket chart centers etc that get my students engaged and working together. I can use these same ideas and concepts when planning an online course.

Photo: https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/mar2019/speaking-listening-primary-grades

Integrating collaborative learning into my course

Since my course is a technology station during my literacy stations, I had to think a little outside the box when thinking of collaboration. My students are also in grade 1 and therefore I do not plan on having zoom meetings, online forums, etc. I have to keep it very basic and simple. I used the design principles outlined in the text when thinking about how I could integrate some sort of interaction. I also found an article specific to early years collaboration.

Student-student interactions:

• Online games: I have made a matching game on LUMI where students could play this game with partners. This experience works well because students are still practicing the skills I need them to practice in a fun low-stakes environment. They are also learning great communication and turn-taking skills. I would have pre-teach how to play games with each other and what that would look like using the iPad.
• Teacher commenting: I can use the google classroom format to comment and motivate students. I can also use it to check on how the students are doing in the course and if I need to make changes to the course or its implementation.
• Partner activities: For some activities, students can complete in pairs. This allows the students to practice working together while practicing staying on task. They can work on problem-solving skills toward a clear goal
• Peer support: Students who are able to use the technology quickly and efficiently can be peer helpers to support students who may have difficulty accessing the course or come across other technological issues. This allows them to start practicing independence before asking an adult to help

I found our discussion on accessibility and equity interesting and eye-opening. As a person who has privilege in this area, I have not had to think about accessibility for myself and therefore I realized I might not be thinking about it for my students.  I thought the Boston University Article did a great job outlining some accessibility considerations when teaching remotely or online. The idea of being flexible was outlined in this article. Be flexible with how students can participate and demonstrate their learning. Be flexible in choosing your resources. I think that sometimes being flexible can be hard for teachers who are trying to build a course and meet the curricular outcomes. But when we provide options for students, we provide them with an overall better experience online and it benefits their mental health.

Photo: Security Magazine

Reflecting on the course I am currently building I think it is accessible in terms of access to technology. Since it is being used in an in-person classroom all the students will have access to the same technology, the same internet, in the same space. Therefore, limitations such as lack of technology, power, and the internet do not apply. I have tried to make the course as easy to maneuver as possible, however, I do feel like this is an area I might need to see be done in practice in order to really get a picture of if it will work for my age group of students. When creating the assignments in Lumi I did not pay a lot of attention to things like “alternate text” but after our discussion, I made sure to go back and add picture descriptions and I now see the importance of including those for visually impaired students and I will continue to take the time to add those in. I appreciate that Lumi allowed for click-and-click instead of dragging which makes it more accessible for students who are unable to drag with their fingers.

An area I wish that I could have done more with is adding voice recordings or pictures to the activities. This would especially be helpful for my students who are younger but also for any student who may have a learning disability and requires extra help to read/ understand the problem or task.

As stated above I think that when implanting this course, I need to remain flexible. If I have a student who cannot complete an activity I need to understand why and think about what changes I can make to help their experience with the content. This mindset can be translated into all areas of life. As we discussed in class, what might do to help one person may actually help the whole community. This concept reminded me of the new Wascana pool that has opened. They put emphasis on making the park/pool accessible for the community. When reading about the accessibility implementations they created you wonder why we have taken the time to do these things in more places. Simple changes make such an impact on those who need it. I think it requires I shift in thinking of changes as more work and instead, we see it as an opportunity to create something that will benefit all students.

Photo: CBC News

Moving forward I will be thinking more about my own accessibility practice whether that is as a teacher, as a student, or a community member.

How are you thinking of incorporating accessibility measures into your own course and activities?

The interactive video I created in Lumi is a part of my phonics/ reading modules that will take place in google classroom. As mentioned in my course profile, I am using this course as an iPad station in my literacy centers. The goal of this station is to introduce more engaging, adaptable lessons that align with my reading scope and sequence.

Step 1- Choosing a video

I wanted to find a youtube video that had a decodable read-aloud that my students could follow. This way I would be hitting my phonics goals as well as engaging them in print. Luckily, I found a great option for the lesson I was wanting to cover. However, if I could not find a video on youtube I could easily record myself reading a book and use that as the video as well.

I liked the video I chose because it worked on the specific word family the one group would be practicing.

I liked that it started with a phonetic warm-up focusing on the vowel family (ex hat- cat- rat-

mat). I also liked that the words lit up as it was being read so that students could easily follow, and it also mirrors the listening function on Raz kids which they will be familiar with. Another reason I liked this video is it had a little bit of music and animation which I thought would engage the readers but was not so distracting that it would take away from the lesson.

Step 2- Choosing Activities

This step I found a bit more complicated. Adapting a quiz/fill in the blank format for 6-year-olds can be tricky. Some questions I had to consider were:

• Would they be able to read and understand the questions?
• Is it clear how to press and submit answers?
• Could they read the instructions?
• Was it clear enough or would I have to answer many “what is this” and “what do I do” questions?

I definitely would need to play around with this website more, but I think I found some solutions to these problems. I discovered the audio buttons when creating the activities. This way I could record myself asking the questions and listing the options. However, I was not able to add audio to the option choices, which ideally, I would have. I also would have liked to add a picture to the choices but could not see if that was an option (if you know how to do this please let me know!:)

Step 3- Purpose of Activities

I then had to decide what I wanted the students to gain from these interactive sections. I decided to go with some simple recalling reading comprehension (ex- what did the rat sit on) which I thought the true and false and multiple-choice questions worked well for.

The other aspect I tried to include was a rhyming activity using the drag-and-drop function. The only problem I found with this is I could not get the size as big as I wanted, and I did not see an area where I could input audio to read the instructions. So, I would have to go over this activity before the class started centers to limit confusion and interruptions.

The other aspect that played a role in my choice of video and activities was time. I plan to run these stations for about 15 minutes, therefore I needed my activities to fit into that time.

Overall, I had fun learning this new technology and I saw the potential to use this in small groups and even for whole-group instruction. If anyone has other tips for adapting it for young students (who might not be reading yet) I would love to hear them! Click here to access my Lumi video.

Have you ever looked around during literacy stations and at your “listen to reading” station you see:

• Some students reading
• Some are only updating their avatar instead of reading
• Students disengaging with the reading material because they are not yet reading

Because SAME! As much as you pre-teach all of these skills and expectations when students are left to their own devices without supervision they do not always stay on task. It is also unfair to ask students to “listen to books” and “read to self” when they have not yet acquired those skills.

Grade 1 is a magical year, there is so much growth, and eventually, apps like Raz Kids are fantastic for students who are ready for it, but during the start of the year, our little learners are at very different stages in their reading development. I never loved using Raz Kids as my only listen-to reading station, but I felt it was easily accessible for the students and easy for me to implement as a teacher.

However, as I have gained experience in reading instruction, I have learned that there is a systematic way that you can teach fundamental reading skills that coincide with how students take in and process information.

Through my own development and research into the science of reading, I feel that I am not utilizing technology effectively during these literacy center times. I believe that if I can create a station with more explicit instruction that is differentiated for learning needs, I will have students engaging in more meaningful learning opportunities with a set goal in mind with the assistance of technology.  The consequences of not addressing this need will result in students only staying on task for a small duration of the centers and not maximizing their learning potential when engaging in activities. It also creates more management work for the teacher who is tasked with teaching and monitoring their own small group.

Who are the learners?

In my class, the learners will be in grade 1, 6-7 years of age. This course will take place early in the year and continue until Christmas when students’ skills will then be reevaluated. These students are focusing on routines and procedures. They have been practicing using their Ipads leading up to this course but still require some assistance. The learners in this class vary in their reading ability. Most students are still working on letter recognition and letter sounds, while some are already starting to blend and read words.

Major Themes

The major overarching theme of this course is developing phonemic awareness and reading comprehension. Activities in this course will build on each other and grow with the students. Students will work on modules that are targeted toward their skill level at that time. There will be a variety of resources used that are engaging and appropriate for their age and skill level.

Learning environment

@HayleyLewallen

When working with small children there are always great opportunities but also limitations. Grade 1 students are typically eager to learn, they LOVE getting to use Ipads and try different things. The limitations are lack of independence, stamina, and attention span. However, with these limitations, there are opportunities to work on and build on these skills. As the teacher, I feel that it is a benefit to focus on small groups and adapt the lessons to the needs of my class. The modules also allow me to check for understanding or things I need to revisit. However, if there is no additional help in the room, I will be left with dealing with tech issues which will take away from focusing on my small group. Keeping activities up to date is also time-consuming and will take commitment. I think this content area is a great opportunity for students to get more targeted practice with specific skills that will help them become confident readers. I might find that some activities may end up being too hard/ easy for some. Using this technology will be relatively simple for students to access (with prior lessons learning how to do so) and is it laid out simply. It also can be used for when students are absent, and parents wish to have homework. My only fear is the student’s ability to log in and the teaching that will need to be done covering user error issues such as switching screens or tabs. By using this platform there will be no additional costs (other than perhaps buying online resources to use in the modules) but we have a class set of Ipads that are available to check out. I also have a set of 6 Ipads that stay in my room, as well as my teaching partner, therefore we can combine our Ipads when needed. The limitation of using this technology is our internet has been unreliable in the past, especially if multiple people are using it. Planning and coordinating will need to be done among myself and other teachers if I am using multiple sets of Ipads.

Course Level Objectives

The outcomes this course will be working towards are:

• CR1.3

Listen to and comprehend a variety of texts (including a book read aloud, a person speaking, and directions) to retell the sequence and key points (who, what, when, where, why, and how).

• CR1.4

Read and comprehend grade-appropriate texts (including narratives, informational texts, scripts, and poems) by relating the sequence (i.e., beginning, middle, and end), the key points (who, what, when, where, and why), and the problems and solutions.

My hope is that by the end of the course, my learners will be able to recognize and identify letters of the alphabet and their corresponding sounds, identify first, medial, and ending sounds, begin to blend and read CVC words, and sequence and identify main ideas of a story.

Instructional approach

What will this course look like? Learners will have access to videos focusing on a task or skill. There will be opportunities for hands-on activities after viewing these videos and lessons. Students will also participate in online activities such as online games or assignments. Students will also continue to use Raz Kids to test reading comprehension and sequencing of events. These learning experiences will last about 15-20 minutes and will be completed 1X/ week.

Assessments for this course will look like observations from myself or an educational assistant. Assignments such as word sorts and sequencing activities will be assessed. Raz kids’ data will also be used for assessing and understanding. At the end of the course, students will engage in 1 on 1 phonemic or reading (ORR) assessments with the teacher.

Platforms and Technology:

The platforms I plan to use are:

• Google classroom
• Raz Kids
• Google Slides
• Youtube

These platforms and technology will support student learning by:

• Creating opportunities for peer support and problem solving
• Differentiation among students
• Creating independence in learning outcomes
• Increase students’ comfort and confidence using technology

Course Design

I plan to have two classes to begin. The first course will progress from letter recognition, letter sounds, beginning sounds, medial vowel sounds, and ending sounds. It will also include Raz kid book readings as well as sequencing activities from YouTube read-aloud. Assessments for these skills will be a range of word and picture sorts, as well as Raz kid quizzes and sequence activities. The materials for these lessons will include, YouTube Videos, sorting, and sequencing activities on google slides, as well as online games.

The second course will progress from short vowel word families (ex at, am, ap, etc.), and progress through short e, I, o, and u word families, reading and changing CVC words, as well as, Raz Kids book readings and YouTube read-aloud sequencing activities. Assessment will also be a range of sorts, matching, online games, and Google slide assignments. The materials will include YouTube, Sorting, matching, and sequencing activities on google slides, as well as online games.

And there you have it! Click Here to see the ADDIE Template

The content I have chosen for my course development assignment is a station within my literacy centers that would be used to focus on a particular phonics skill. The reason for choosing this topic is because I have often struggled with Daily 5 or CAFE or any sort of center-based activities where students rotate through different centers. Although I see the benefit to small group instruction I often have found that while working with a small group is great, the rest of the time they are not in a group students are often disengaged with the learning outcomes. I will see them not doing their best work, distracting others, or zoning off into space. This is especially apparent for students who struggle with unstructured time. On top of these challenges, I also find I use technology for the same thing during these centers. It is typically a “Listen to reading” center where my students access a reading app. Although later in the year this app is useful, at the start of the year when they are not yet reading on their own, I feel there are better skills they could be working on. 

Through my own research and professional development on the science of reading, I have created a scope and sequence for my literacy instruction that focuses on phonics and the development of phonemic awareness. I wanted to create a blended learning opportunity where students could use technology to focus on the skills we are working on in a way that allows them to be independent and engages them. I want the content to be interesting and involve hands-on aspects that students can work on either on their own or with a partner. 

I felt that if I start to use technology in this way, I would see more on-task behaviour and I would know that more of the students are participating in targeted instruction for their skill level. It would also be a great way to continue to incorporate and consolidate their letters and sound knowledge as this is the basis for reading and writing.

Hello! My name is Anneliese Davis and I am a grade 1 teacher working in Regina Public. I grew up on an acreage by Craven, Sk, and went to school in Lumsden. The outdoors has always been a large part of my identity and through my master’s experience, I have re-discovered that passion for involving and incorporating nature into my lessons. This experience has also sparked a curiosity and goal of creating more play-based/ experiential learning opportunities for my students, especially regarding reading and writing instruction. The longer I have taught the more I seemed to become panicked with reading levels and scores and I have had to work at grounding myself back to my original pedagogies and philosophies.

I would have originally said my experience with online/ blended learning would have been minimal and honestly negative. However, after reading chapters 4, and 

9 as well as our class discussion I have come to realize that these terms have a larger meaning than what I originally thought. When I think of online learning I  am thrown back to March 2020 when panic arose and I think all teachers were given whiplash from the switch from in-person learning to moving entirely online. I remember

 being incredibly stressed, lost, and overwhelmed during this time. The biggest barrier my teaching partner and I faced was; How do we do this for 6-year-olds and what does it look like? In the end, we developed a series of Google slides that was shared with our families with activities and a schedule for the day, but it mostly had to be led by the adult the child had in the home. 

Now that my understanding of online and blended learning has broadened I see that I use blended learning more in my classroom than I thought. I have students who use iPads as communication devices, we practice using iPads to access resources for math and literacy and integrate those into the day. I still would say that my use of technology is minimal in my classroom. It is an area I would like to become more comfortable with incorporating. As stated in our text, a lot of traditional classroom teaching was designed for a different age, as education grows and develops we require different teaching methods to meet the diverse needs of our students. It also touched on another interesting aspect of integrating blended learning into the classroom which is a greater focus on skill development versus memorization. We also discussed this in our break-out rooms during our lecture and this was a light bulb moment for myself. Often teachers rely on an I do, we do, you do model, but this model is not always the best way to develop critical thinking and problem-solving in our students. 

The challenges I face are my limited knowledge of technology and ways to use it and being able to use technology in a way where my students (grade 1’s) can use it effectively and independently. As mentioned earlier, I have two really big passions when it comes to teaching grade 1; Nature and reading/writing. I would love to find out how I could use technology and blended learning when it comes to these concepts. I hope to find a way to use technology more in my classroom in meaningful and different ways.