Month: June 2022

Hello Nicole, Jarvis, Beliz, and Connor,

Below is a Peer Review of your “Misconceptions about Learners with Disabilities” Interactive Learning Resource (IRL).

Overview

I opted to review your IRL as the topic is one that resonates with me personally since my sister has a learning disability (LD). The creation of a learning resource to educate people on the misconceptions about LD’s is an important step towards combating biases. Additionally, I am happy to see a guide being developed for establishing inclusive learning environments.

Technical Suggestions

Initially upon reading your document, I was impressed with how organized and engaging the content was. As a result of reading your topic description, I was convinced that more advanced online learning resources were needed. My first technical suggestion is to specify what you are referring to in your first sentence: “These include an imperfect ability to ‘listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations’(Antaga, Et al. 2019).” If you begin that sentence with “Learners with Disabilities” I think it will provide more clarity. My next technical suggestion would be to spell out the word “Learning Disabilities” at the beginning of each new section and then continue with the abbreviation afterward. The last technical suggestion I have is to double-check the sentences throughout the document that state any facts and to provide citations. If the information was gathered through another source, a citation is needed in order to avoid plagiarism. 

Suggestion for a Rational

Your group wrote “A major belief is that they limit how successful an individual can be in school or their career. While LD’s can undoubtedly make things more challenging, with the right tools and guidance people can effectively work around them.” I think that this is a very powerful statement. I agree that we must offer students multiple ways to obtain information and express their learning. Although your group does not specifically mention it, I think your interactive learning design follows the Universal design for learning (UDL) model. Through human-centered learning, the UDL model aims to eliminate systemic barriers to equitable learning in any field or discipline (CAST Announces a Community-Driven Process to Update UDL Guidelines, 2020). Since your group’s IRL does not mention a specific rationale, I suggest including the UDL model to help explain why this resource is being created with inclusivity for all learners. 

Feel free to watch the video below that explains more about the UDL model. I think it is very applicable to your project. 

Structural Suggestions

Your group’s lesson subtopics seem to align with the assessments, good work! However, has your group considered condensing your learning outcomes to four instead of five? Since you have four subtopics, I think it would provide more clarity to maybe condense outcome #3 with #5. Both of these subtopics deal with critiquing the detrimental absence of accomodative features present in modern curricula. Another option would be to include a fifth subtopic so that each learning outcome has the chance to be fully expanded.

In relation to your lesson subtopics, your group might want to consider elaborating more in order to gain a full understanding. This would include detailed descriptions of the topics so that the reader can learn enough background in order to complete the assessment activities. Moreover, including the specific learning outcomes and activities within each lesson’s subtopics can benefit the structure of your resource. It can also provide more clarity for the reader. 

Asessment Activities suggestion

In terms of the assessment activities, I might suggest including how each of these activities are specifically designed for inclusion. Regarding the interactiveness of the activities, I think your group created excellent avenues for students to engage with the material.

Criteria suggestions

I may have missed something, but it seems to me that your project does not include a learning context section or a learning theory section. Right now, the document is reading as though your guide is applicable to every grade or age. Per the assignment outline, I suggest including a specific section for the learning context so it is clear who your intended audience is. In addition, your group may want to include a description of the learning theory that will be underlying your resource. This would be either cognitivism, behaviorism, or constructivism. Due to the nature of your technology tools, I would suggest perhaps cognitivism as the theory focuses on learning strategies.

Final Thoughts

Lastly, it was interesting to read about your inclusion of a digital textbook that has multiple learning formats such as braille, flexible audio, and visual content. I am curious about how braille would function in an online format, is it perhaps used with a specific device? 

Overall, I appreciated reading your resource, as the document is a great step in designing an inclusive environment for all learners.

I hope this feedback was helpful and well done!

-Mia

References

CAST ANNOUNCES A COMMUNITY-DRIVEN PROCESS TO UPDATE UDL GUIDELINES (2020, OCTOBER 6). CAST. HTTPS://WWW.CAST.ORG/NEWS/2020/COMMUNITY-DRIVEN-PROCESS-UPDATE-UDL-GUIDELINES

Hi Joshua,

I really like the topic you wrote your blog post about, brain breaks. Although the videos’ intended audience is kindergarten children, I definitely think it can be applied to any grade level/ age. This method reminds me of a study method that I have utilised throughout my undergraduate degree, the pomodoro method. This method includes taking five minute breaks after every 25 minute interval. I have found it to be very useful, and I really appreciate giving my brain a break!

Hi Meagan,

I too appreciate how this EDCI course is designed for accessibility. The flexibility on the assignment due dates and readings have really allowed me to learn to my full potential, rather than cramping everything at the last second. Also, I appreciate how your interactive learning resource contains 3 different options for the assignments. I think this will definitely help cater to a wider range of learners’ needs. 

Hi Qiao Gao

I enjoyed reading the part of your blog post where you included a personal example of cooperative learning. I too find study groups to be very beneficial to my learning, especially when I can bounce off ideas and ask peers for guidance. I too agree that online cooperative learning is not as beneficial as in person, but I also think it is continuously improving.

Stress is an experience that I have come to loathe as I grow into my adult years, and I find myself wishing I had practiced stress management techniques sooner. When discussing this topic with my lovely partners for this course’s major group project, we found that we all felt the same way. Therefore, we decided to focus on teaching the topic of stress to intermediary-aged children for our interactive learning resource. For this blog post, I will be discussing a video that came up when I searched “stress management techniques for kids” on the Youtube search engine. Moreover, I will discuss how the video could fit into our interactive learning resource.

This video is designed in a cartoon-like style, which I find will keep students engaged in learning the material. Also, the video utilizes plain language, simple definitions, reflective questions, and examples which can enhance learner-generated interaction. Learner-generated interaction refers to media that does not have explicit interaction built in, but rather the interpretation of the material is left to the learner (Bates, 2019). If the video required the students to actively respond to the video material then it would be referred to as inherent activity (Bates, 2019). In order to make this video more interactive, I would suggest that the students write down their own examples for each of the tips (focus on the things you can control, manage your time, take care of your body, use positive self-talk, talk to a friend/adult). This activity would help encourage further reflection and enhance the quality of the interaction with the video. After the students are done writing their answers on a piece of paper, they can hand it in to receive feedback. This short activity would not take too much time or effort and is very worthwhile as it is so important that kids learn and apply stress management techniques to their own lives. In order to design this activity for inclusion, I would ensure that the subtitles are written throughout the video, and provide a printed copy of the transcript in case the students wanted to review the material.

References

Bates, A.W. (2019). Teaching in a Digital Age – Second Edition. Vancouver, B.C. Tony Bates Associates Ltd. Retrieved from https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/teachinginadigitalagev2/

Blog Prompt: How can you adjust your planned learning activities to meet the needs of your learners if an unexpected event occurs? (for example, if a pandemic arises and many of your employees must now work from home – how will you ensure that they can still do their jobs? What training will they need, and how will you deliver it, knowing they must remain at home?) This is a common discussion thread right now as many schools and universities have made the switch to teaching online.

My entire educational career prior to the pandemic was conducted through face-to-face learning and switching to online learning was a big transition. A question I considered throughout the online terms was: If a neuro-typical person (myself) is struggling with this learning environment, how is a neurodivergent person getting by?  I think the answer to this question is the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which improves the teaching and learning for any discipline or domain (CAST, 2018). The UDL guidelines are focused on human-centered learning and aim to eliminate systemic barriers to equitable learning (CAST Announces a Community-Driven Process to Update UDL Guidelines, 2020). The guidelines surround providing multiple means of; engagement, representation, action & expression, recruiting interest, perception, physical action, sustaining effort & persistence, language & symbols, expression & communication, self-regulation, comprehension, and executive functions (CAST, 2018). 

In order for my group’s interactive learning resource to follow the UDL model, we need to offer multiple means for students to express and communicate their thoughts, whether that be typing a reflection or sharing their thoughts verbally with the class. Moreover, if the class had to transition to online learning, I would suggest implementing zoom lectures as they can allow students to engage with the content and communicate with their peers and the teacher on meanings, strategies, and learning goals. Firstly, these zoom lessons should be recorded to allow for students to re-visit the content to process information. Secondly, the zoom lessons should have the transcript feature enabled to allow students who are deaf or hard of hearing to fully participate. Most importantly, the instructor should be readily accessible to students who have questions or concerns. Consequently, the UDL guidelines will help eliminate barriers for any student, and this shift in learning design can highlight even more barriers to learning that require attention. 

References

CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines Version 2.2. http://udlguidelines.cast.org

CAST Announces a Community-Driven Process to Update UDL Guidelines (2020, October 6). CAST. https://www.cast.org/news/2020/community-driven-process-update-udl-guidelines