Discussion Response #1

After completing all of the readings and mulling it over for a while, I’m not sure that there is one
distinct method of distance education that resonates deeply within me. I have had relatively limited
contact with distance education before beginning work on this masters. I remember growing up on the
coast of BC and playing with kids during the summer that lived in remote coastal communities. There
would never have been enough students to consider a school and so almost everyone we came into contact
with completed their studies with correspondence from BC Education. Consisting mainly of printed
packages of materials, the students were expected to complete the work in a timely manner and send it
back through the post. Marks and communications were completed by the mail system or occasionally by
phone or radio. I also remember discussing distance education with people in remote parts of Australia
when I lived there who had completed their education with the use of printed materials and a connection
with a teacher through the radio network that was established for this purpose.

Both of this methods would have been challenging to deliver and receive. I have achieved the
greatest success in distance education with the use of both a online face to face approach and an
established delivery through written materials. Courses that have had limited to no synchronous contact
have left me feeling removed and unattached. According to Simonson (2012), “A ​blended​ or ​hybrid
course​ combines online and face-to-face delivery; thus, 30% to 79% percent of the content is delivered
online” (p5). While I see the benefit of the hybrid course, there would be drawbacks as well. Would the
face to face component need to be in person or would a synchronous meeting online deliver and satisfy in
the same way? The delivery would depend on whether or not the person delivering the content had it
established in a synchronous or asynchronous manner.

All in all, this is probably the method that resonates with me the most as an educator. I do feel as
though there is a chance you could overwhelm students with work using this method. As a teacher you
would need to have a solid handle on the contact and connection between your students to ensure that
they were on track, supported, and encouraged. No matter what, there is an element of personalized
connection that I believe needs to me made to ensure student success.

Simonson, M. Smaldino, S. Albright, M. and Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance:
Foundations of a distance education. 5th Edition. Boston, MA. Pearson Education, Inc.

Week #2

If you ran an online school (K-12), would you allow students to have complete independence where they
can start at any time, or, would you have common start dates and then require regular, meaningful
communication events, such as online discussions?
Be sure to consider which type of learners flourish in either environment. Assuming successful students
usually start courses as internally motivated (and with high locus of control), which model could work for
students who typically do not succeed in the online environment? In other words, does freedom of
schedule or authentic interaction increase success and how? Some would argue that you can’t have both;
perhaps you want to argue that you can. And, does all this depend on your definition of success? Also,
does it depend on the type of course (fact-based vs. conceptual)?

There are many cases being presented on the forum that have great ideas and thoughts behind how they
would structure their DE schools. As much as I struggle with the thought of a DE school for the younger
grades, I think much of the success of the school would come down to being incredibly mindful,
thoughtful, and creative with how the interaction between the different groups would be structured.

Perhaps I would eventually let students begin and manage the courses on their own once I had gotten a
better understanding of building, collaborating, managing, and evaluating DE courses. To begin with, I
would imagine that I would establish some common start dates that would require established
communication times and events. I also think that this can be beneficial for students in younger grades
that won’t be as used to managing some of these tasks and responsibilities on their own. For anyone who
has ever taught a kindergarten class, they need support remembering all manner of necessary and required
clothing, materials, or simple will to make it through more than a half day of school. Also, the younger
beans in particular need the socialization of the other kids. They need to learn how to interact, react, and
respond to people. This work in the younger grades (really all grades), is critical to their development and
understanding of the world around them.

I think that Simonson(2012) did a very good job of outlining some of the challenges facing DE students,
but also some of the positive attributes as well. “ Learning time, materials, and collaboration, the big 3.
Apparently online students spent more time, had access to more materials, and collaborated differently”
(p 67). When building my DE school, I believe that there might need to be more face to face (f2f)
opportunities for the k-4 students. I imagine that some of the older students would be able to manage in a
more online based environment, but I still believe that the online discussion and collaboration
opportunities for these students would be critical to their continued understanding and improvement.

Ultimately, I think my argument would be to offer a dual track opportunity. There are students out there
in all grades that would flourish with the opportunity to complete tasks and outcomes at their chosen
speed. They would need to have materials at the ready and could complete the tasks with guidance and
support from instructors. They would choose their own dates and complete courses at a pace that met with
their needs. They would have teachers available to support them when they need it. But if you have the
skill to build a DE course that allows for autonomy and choice, could you not offer an opposing track that
had more structure and established connection and collaboration in it. If recent studies tell us anything it’s
that the scope of capacity in our students is across the board and the true goal of any education would be
personalization. Couldn't your school offer that opportunity? Perhaps that’s too much of a utopian view,
but I struggle with my school needing to be one or the other. Regardless of the choice I make, I will be
alienating and ostracizing a large group of potential clients.I think success is personal to each and every
person. We all achieve different types and levels of success, so our schooling opportunities needs to be
reflective of this.In the end, the school should offer the students the opportunity to reach their own best
level of success and the choices and options offered within the school would allow for this.

Simonson, M. Smaldino, S. Albright, M. and Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance:
Foundations of a distance education. 5th Edition. Boston, MA. Pearson Education, Inc.

Week #3-(Week of Facilitation)

Hello 804 peers,
This week we wanted to give you two choices for your discussion topic. Please choose one of the choices
below for your response this week. We hope that through our starter questions you can be passionate and
defend your choices. Feel free to share your experiences and elaborate as necessary. Try to choose
something DIFFERENT from the posts prior to yours. ​Please ensure that your posting is online by
Wednesday and that you indicate in your thread subject title what choice you are responding to
(RE: Choice #1)
We look forward to your responses,
Sarah & Katelyn

Choice #1: Contemplating Media Selection

(Bates Chapter 8)
Bates (Chapter 8) describes a framework, the SECTIONS model, which stands for:

● S tudent
● E ase of use
● C osts
● T eaching functions
● I nteraction
● O rganisational issues
● N etworking
● S ecurity and privacy

This framework can be helpful when making decisions about the effectiveness and appropriateness of a
chosen source of media for teaching and learning. Using the above framework, look deeply and
validate one technology you currently use. Consider if you would use this model when considering new
technologies. When responding, keep these questions in mind:

● What sets this technology apart for you?

● How does it benefit you and your students?
 ● Where do you anticipate hurdles to overcome?

● Does having these guidelines help you or hinder you?

Choice #2-Broadcast or Communicative Approaches

(Bates Chapter 6, Simonson Chapter 4)

List 2-3 technologies you currently use. Describe whether they are communicative or broadcast. As you
respond, consider the following questions:

● Do you have a preferred method?

● Why or why not?
● Is there a time or place where one method is better than the other?
● What are the advantages and disadvantages of the broadcast method?
● What are the advantages and disadvantages of the communicative method?
● Were there any fundamentals or pedagogical implications you would share with others based
on one or both of the methods?
Weekly Discussions Personal Response: Sarah Simmons

● What did you like about it? I enjoyed seeing how people would respond to the questions. I was
curious to see what people would bring forward.

● What would you do again? I would go on and provide as much feedback and questions as we did.
Some of our colleagues seemed to be a little taken aback by some of our questions but I felt that
they were fair. I liked being in close contact with Katelyn as it made it easier to talk about our
responses. There were some that Katelyn took more point on and some that I took more point on.
It was good to know that we could talk to one and another and then go in to ensure that we have
even coverage of the discussion.

● What would you do differently? I think I would only give one choice next time. Our choices were
quiet different and perhaps didn’t mesh together as well as I would have liked to fully facilitate
the discussion. The posts were fairly polarized to me and while I think people liked having the
choice I would have found it easier to draw multiple people into the conversation with a stronger
theme from one option.

● How much time did it take you during your week of facilitation? Probably 1-2 hours to get the
post ready, maybe 1 ½-2 hours a night to facilitate, and 1-2 hours to get the summary ready. It
was more than I initially thought I would have to put into the week, particularly during the week
but it took me AGES to thoughtfully find ways to respond to some of the posts.

● What strategies did you use while facilitating? (Class management, time management, etc.) Not
too sure...I tried to find positive aspects in each of the posts and then ask questions that they
might not have thought about. I wanted to draw them out further or even make them questions
their stance on their posts.

● In reflecting upon your facilitation experience, is there anything you've seen in the textbook that
supports or challenges your assumptions? (It's a difficult question!) I think one of the assumptions
I had was that people would have read the information that came prior to our week and would
have been ready to post by the expected date. This was obviously not the case as several peers
pointed out. Simonson talks about course outcomes and testing applications on page 135. Both of
these resonated with me for different reasons. I did try to put myself in the theoretical role of the
course designer when considering the posts. I thought about the readings and tried to hone in on
what I thought the key message thread that was throughout the many, many pages. “What
knowledge, skills, and feelings does the instructor really want the students to gain in the
course”(P 135). I tried to keep my responses to my colleagues on point with what I thought the
theme of the week was. Also, Simonson talks about testing applications and not rote learning. I
tried to bring this more to light with talking to my colleagues about how they applied the
technology in their own classrooms with their students. We can all sit back and theorize about
 how great or terrible something is, but until we have lived it and seen how it works I’m not too
sure that we have much of a leg to stand on. When I posed questions I wanted my colleagues to
go a little deeper with their thinking about the tech, or even take a step back from the tech and try
to see how it was woven into the bigger picture. I enjoyed using the SECTIONS model as I felt it
really asked our colleagues to be thoughtful and mindful of why they have chosen the tech that
they did. It was interesting to see some of the answers that they brought forward for this work and
the honesty in which they approached the task. While the text supported most of the assumptions
that I had about online environments and working with adult learners, I did find I got more out of
the Bates book in terms of usable information.

● How did you divide up the work with your team? Katelyn and I worked in tandem on all of it. We
exchanged cell numbers and texted back and forth throughout the process. She initially started
some of the work and I would come in and give feedback for tweaking. I wasn’t worried about
any of it because I know she is pretty similar to me with her work ethic and output. I was a little
concerned that I would fall behind and fail her, but I think we meshed pretty well. I feel we both
responded to our colleagues lots and probably fairly equally throughout the week. We were both
online in the evenings, both in and out with other work and kids, but I think people got responses
in a reasonable amount of time.

● Other observations or comments? It was an interesting process and one that I found both
challenging and frustrating all at the same time. The posts that people brought forward were ‘safe
posts’ in my opinion and I had hoped to have them be more polarized so that we could debate
them back and forth. In the end I think we did pretty well but I had hoped for the responses to be
a little more lively….

I don’t have a ton of different experiences with different LMS. The only two that I have used extensively
would be Blackboard for university and D2L by Brightspace.For the purpose of this space I will focus on
the D2L perspective. I worked extensively on D2L many years ago acquiring my ePD certificate through
my board by completing a number of online courses. I enjoyed working on D2L and providing my
students with an opportunity to interact with that space. I enjoyed being able to gather large amounts of
information for my students online and have it act as a repository of the work we do in the classroom.

Analyze Each of the students in my course was able to personalize aspects of their
pages. As the teacher I spent lots of time designing the spaces on my course
that my students could interact with. Lots of information was researched and
added to the course and lots was added throughout the course as needed. Most
of the course was delivered as a supplementary course to the work we did in
the classroom but I used to have opportunities for the kids to respond to little
sound clip questions I would pose.
 Design Honestly, as this was one of the first times I had run an online classroom I was
not necessarily thinking a ton about the design as I was doing it. Looking back
now I would be much more thoughtful about how I structured the information
on the course and when students would interact with different areas.

Develop Most of my testing went something like this: “Wow, that was terrible. I’m
never doing it like that again!” or “Hmmm, I think the next time I do this I
might change it to look like …” D2L is openly encouraged as the only real
tool to use in my district so I was pretty safe with most of it.

Implement Students would get walk through lessons when encountering new things
within the course. I had created several modules on how to check out different
spaces within the course that would walk the kids through the ‘how to’ parts of
things. I delivered content on the course and would routinely provide feedback
and assessment to my students as they were working on tasks and assignments.
Unfortunately, it was a one size fits all kind of course and there were only
several entry points for my students. Looking back, I could have definitely
managed that better with providing some more choices to students on how
they wanted to experience different parts of the course.

Evaluate Based on my course I was asked to present at several conferences in Alberta

and ran several tutorials for my own staff and staff at neighbouring schools. I
also sought feedback from the parents on how they felt the course could be
changed to offer more for the students.

I think it would be great fun to design an online math course for grade 5 students. This course would
endeavour to offer students the opportunity to experience rich tasks based on the grade five Alberta
program of studies.If I were challenged with this task I think it would make the most sense for me to use
the branching design for instruction. Many aspects of math act as layers to the next level and I think this
method would lend itself well to this content. Students would be given the opportunity to enter into the
modules as they saw fit and experience it in a way that was meaningful to them. The shift to the branched
design over the linear would allow students to move forward at a more personalized pace throughout the
course. This would allow students to seek out support and guidance at a place and time that was
meaningful to their learning.

Week #5

● In chapter 3 of his book Teaching in a Digital Age, Tony Bates outlines a variety of campus
focused teaching methods which include transmissive lectures, interactive lectures, experiential
learning, apprenticeships, and more. For the distance education course that you have chosen for
 your project, discuss one specific method that you would use, and one specific method that you
would not use in your distance project.

My course is mathematically based with a dual track offering students the options to work on their
computational skills as well as mathematical adventures in problem solving. As this is a supplementary
course for my students, I want to keep the work geared towards students choosing their path and when
they can work on what. The course is set up to allow students to go back and forth between the adventures
and the computational work to allow them to reassess their learning as they work through the challenges.
Because of this, the one method that I will not be using in this course if the transmissive lectures. Students
will be accessing the work at different places and different paces and this method of teaching will just not
fit my model. Students are expecting the work/computational models to be quick and helpful so that they
can get back on track with their adventures. The mathematical challenges will be integrated and quite in
depth and will require students to think critically and with a deep understanding. Transmissive lectures
are just not set up in such a way to support this.

I will be using experiential learning throughout my course. As much of the work is being presented
through a problem based approach, experiential learning will be critical to the success of my model. As
Bates argues, the four stages of “active experimentation, concrete experience, reflective observation, and
abstract conceptualization” (p211-212) will lend itself well to my course. The adventures being offered to
the students in the course will allow for them to challenge themselves by building on some of the
concepts taught in class. They will be able to go back and forth between the challenges to get more
information and support as they need it. As problem-based challenges can be tough for students, they will
be given the opportunity to work with other classmates in a collaborative approach to certain parts of the
challenges while still getting feedback from the teacher throughout.

Bates, T. (2015). ​Teaching in a digital age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning for a digital
age.​ Tony Bates Associates Ltd. Available from:​https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/

Week #6:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLpaXphIh8Q&feature=youtu.be

Week #7:

Completed on the Perusall App.

Reflection:

Overall I didn't mind Perusall, but I wouldn't have said that I loved it from the get go.

I found the system relatively easy to use but a little more challenging to go through and keep track of
everyone's comments and responses. I would argue that I did read the chapter in a more critical way, but
that could have just been that the points and comments made me go back through and re-read things
several times over. So in the end, I might have interacted with it more and gotten more out of it simply
because I re-read it a whole bunch of times.

I don't use hashtags very much. I know that they have a purpose but unless I am tweeting something or
occasionally on Instagram. The purpose of a hashtag is for organizing information. When you click on
one of the hashtags it does reroute you to another page where it would organize the information based on
that hashtag but I feel as though this is a bit of an add on. When you are using hashtags in Twitter and
other social media platforms the use of these are categorically different. I don't feel as though they added
a lot of understanding to the discussion and that they can make things seem much less formal.

I think I would recommend this to other teachers. It would be interesting to see the discussions that could
come up depending upon the book. I would love to see how some kids could take up a discussion about
the novel that they are reading. I'm not too sure that this system would apply to everyone. I needed a bit of
a course in how to use it. As a grade five teacher, I would likely be careful about frontloading the usage of
the app as well as walking the kids through it very slowly. It would be interesting to see how kids would
interact with it in a math class vs a language arts class. I would still be keen to try it or unleash some of
the grade nines in our building on it. They always seem to find things out about technology that I didn't
know!

All in all I enjoyed Perusall. I would say that I appreciate the organization of Blackboard more for the
ability to see and respond to the comments that are made. I think I missed some of the comments back and
I normally like to make certain that I get to them all but I'm pretty sure that I failed miserably this week! I
wouldn't hesitate to use it again, I just felt like I needed more time to get to know the program.

-Sarah

Week #8:

Simonson notes a shift from traditional to alternative assessments. (performance-based, authentic, or

constructivist tasks). Consider the affordances DE offers in support of such shifts. Choose one
“traditional” task from your design unit or current courses and re-envision it as one of the emerging
forms. Be sure to consider how you intend to avoid Simonson's stated challenges of logistical difficulties
and imbalanced contributions?

While my course is being broken into two different parts, the assessment on either side will be critically
different from one and another. On the one side focusing on the computational side of things I will be
focusing on more standardized quizzes, tests, and worksheets. This will allow for the students to get the
feedback that they need to know whether or not they can move on with their work. These tasks will be
more authentic in nature as they students will be going through this work as they need it on their
mathematical quests. The quizzes and tests will be mark automatically allowing for students to decide if
they need to go back and do more work or if they need to move onto the next section of learning. I also
agree with some of the other commentators that I do not like how Simonson broke down the assessments.
I always wonder when I'm giving a quiz or tests whether or not my students just don't get what I'm testing
or if I just asked a bad question. Sometimes I think that I just ask bad questions! As I'm offering both
more traditionalist and non traditionalist assessment techniques I'm not too concerned about having an
imbalanced program. I think the kids in the course will get a fair bit of data and feedback along the way. I
think to turn something on its head I would ask for students to demonstrate their understanding of the
computational work they have done with a video. This is always a great way for me to see exactly how
someone applied their understanding to solving a challenging problem. Sometimes I can pinpoint where
they might have gone wrong with their work and how I can support them with this.

-Sarah

Week #9

Option Three – How does copyright law impact your 804 project? What level of copyright protection will
you choose and why? What resources or materials do you need to obtain permission to use?

I don't think that copyright is a huge deal when considering my 804 project. The majority of the pictures
and materials that I will be using will be created by myself and any of the materials that I do plan on
attaching to my work are materials created by the CBE for distribution. I have contacted the board office
downtown and asked about linking to some of them and I have been given permission to use them as long
as they aren’t modified in any way. All of the documents that I am looking to link to are pdfs and I would
not be changing them anyways.

I am creating my project under the D2L umbrella provided by the CBE. Regardless of what computer I
created my course on, because I am creating it under this umbrella it remains the property of the Calgary
Board of Education. I suppose I have to approach this as I am using this tool for my own purposes, but the
board remains the owners of this intellectual property and in control of the materials. So as long as I can’t
make any money from this or claim it as my own I should be fine! The board has very clear and distinct
policies on materials created for or with materials, technology, or time that is considered to be theirs.

Week #10
Assess the course you are designing- does your DE Organization have “technology infrastructure is
sufficiently robust, reliable, and well supported?”. What recommendations would you have to achieve the
desired results? Is a help desk, or support staff available or necessary for your course?

When I consider the course that I am creating I am planning on using D2L by Brightspace as this is a fully
supported LMS for my district. D2L has been used for a number of years and is adapted in most middle
and high schools for use. I feel that the CBE does a robust enough infrastructure to support a course such
as mine.

One of the things that I have had to take into consideration when working on my project is the fact that
this will likely be the first time that my grade five students will be using D2L for any of their schooling.
This is a supplementary course, so I have time allowances to ensure that I can support my students and
build some capacity before unleashing them onto the full content. When considering some of the points
that Simonson brought up for student support on pg 322. I am working to ensure that the students will
have completed some of the early learning tutorials that are available on D2L. I can work with small
groups of students in class to ensure that they have access and understand how the course is laid out.
Students can contact me at school or through email for support and this should help as well.

As a teacher I have always had quick responses from the D2L support staff downtown in the technology
department as well. Schools often have school based technology staff that can support queries as well. I
have had responses and questions addressed through email as well as phone calls as well.

The CBE runs an online learning program called CBElearn (2017). I was intrigued by their website and
some of their guiding principles.

CBe-learn is the Calgary Board of Education's online junior and senior high school. Through our diverse
and unique programs, we offer:

● online, face-to-face and parent-directed learning environments

● personalized learner pathways
● flexible learning
● year-round opportunities
● personalized learning plans
● student services support
● part-time and full-time learning opportunities
● Alberta program of studies facilitated by certified teachers
 CBe-learn is the Calgary Board of Education's online junior and senior high school. Through our diverse
and unique programs, we offer:

● online, face-to-face and parent-directed learning environments

● personalized learner pathways
● flexible learning
● year-round opportunities
● personalized learning plans
● student services support
● part-time and full-time learning opportunities
● Alberta program of studies facilitated by certified teachers

school mission

CBe-learn personalizes student success by:

● offering flexible and responsive learning environments
● promoting and respecting individual uniqueness
● providing effective support networks
● collaborating with colleagues and students
● communicating openly, honestly and in a timely manner
● fostering the love of learning

school philosophy

We provide quality learning opportunities and options. Our learners take ownership by
discovering and developing their potential, passions and gifts. They take their place as lifelong
learners and make a significant contribution within a complex, changing world.

They also offer a link off of their main site for technical updates, faqs, and more. It can be accessed​ here.​ I
think in the long run the students and parents using my course might benefit from having access to some
of the tutorials that have been created to help people familiarize themselves with D2L. On odd occasions,
there might need to be personalized one on one support for students and parents. Overall, I’m hoping the
course will be relatively game based and it will be fairly intuitive for the kids to use and understand. But
on the occasion that it is not, we have access to lots of help and support of we need it.

Calgary Board of Education. 2017. CBElearn website. Retrieved from: ​http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/cbe-learn//