Course Schedule

EDCI 335 A01 / CRN 21070 (Maryam)

Topics, readings, and schedules are approximate and may be changed. Please check back regularly for updated information

Week 1: Jan 6-12 Orientation

• Read any announcements on Brightspace > found on the Homepage.
• Read the syllabus.
• Read the welcome to the course.
• Read the privacy, FIPPA, and consent tutorial.
• Review the opened.ca Code of Conduct, then,
• Sign up for a WordPress blog no later than January 12 –  then add a link to your blog in the following Google Doc Blog List.
• Customize your blog > Post a self-introduction to your blog – by January 12
• Form your learning pods and sign up for a group in the following Learning Pod Sign Up Form
• Join Mattermost and introduce yourself in the EDCI 335 Social Chat of our Mattermost. the link can be found here
• Check Mattermost regularly for announcements.

Week 2: Jan 13-19 Learning, Motivation

• If you haven’t already, please complete the setup tasks from last week, e.g., WordPress blog set up and Learning Pod etc.
• Read the post ‘Why is Learning Hard?’ and consider how learning design might be affected by a learner’s past experiences or motivation.
• Read the post ‘Motivation and Learning’
• Meet with your learning pod to introduce yourselves and begin planning a topic for your Learning Design Blueprint and Interactive Resource by Sunday, January 19.

Week 3: Jan 20-26 Learning Theory

• Read the ‘Learning Theories’ post on the course blog.
• Craft your Blog Post 1 and cite any resources used by Sunday, September 22. Make sure you use the title Post 1.
• Read the Blueprint assignment, a template for the Blueprint, and another page with some further clarification.
• In your learning pods, discuss your response to the blog prompt. Please comment on the blog posts of your learning pod members. Try to aim to share feedback on the posts of one or two other classmates each time we blog. Make these comments as posts on your own blog and hyperlink back to the original authors.

Week 4: Jan 27-Feb 02 Learning Design I

• Read any announcement on Mattermost.
• Read the post “What is Learning?”
• Read the post “Designing Learning,” including Chapter 21 (‘Using the First Principles of Instruction to Make Instruction Effective, Efficient, and Engaging’) of Foundations of learning and Instructional Design Technology
• Read the post “Planning Frameworks”
• Read the post “Learning Outcomes“
• Read the post “Constructive Alignment“

Week 5: Feb 3-9 Learning Design II

• Read any announcements on Mattermost.
• Read the assignment
• Complete an independent inquiry on one of the following instructional approaches within your learning pod (each of you should pick a different one) – Inquiry, Project-Based, Design Thinking, Direct Instruction, and Open Pedagogies.
• As you research, connect with other peers in class who will be exploring the same topic. Share information and resources! Give credit for the ideas, information, or resources you receive. Consider posting on Mattermost which approach you will be researching.
• Craft your Blog Post 2 and cite any resources used by Sunday, February 9. Make sure you use the title Post 2. In your blog on the instructional approach, share:
  • An overview of the characteristics of the approach
  • A discussion of how the approach does or does not align with your chosen topic.
  • If it has a place in your final Interactive Learning Design (why or why not)
  • It is fine if you post this one after the suggested timeline because the Blueprint is due on the same day. I encourage you to complete that task first.
• Please comment on the blog posts of your learning pod members. Try to aim to share feedback on the posts of one or two other classmates. Make these comments as posts on your own blog and hyperlink back to the original authors.
• Meet with your Learning Pod to discuss the above instructional approaches and select one that aligns best with your topic in Blueprint.
• Hand in your Blueprint Brightspace by Sunday, February 9. If you used Google Docs, please copy/paste a link with commenting privileges.

Week 6: Feb 10-16 Assessment

• Read any announcements on Mattermost.
• Read the “Alignment and the Assessment Triangle”
• Read the post “Assessing Learning,” including Chapters 1 and 4 of Assessment Strategies for Online Learning,
• Read the post “Feedback” and the attached selection from Hattie’s book
• Read the post “Reliability and Validity”
• Read the post “Measuring Learning“
• Meet with your Learning Pod to begin drafting your Interactive Learning Resource, focusing on Assessments by Sunday, February 16.  Begin with the end in mind to revise your assessments in your Blueprint and align them even better with identified outcomes. What assessment pieces will you include in your Interactive Learning Resource? Begin by isolating the verbs in your outcome statements and planning related verbs in your assessment piece(s). Consider how you may conduct formative assessment throughout and if you plan to include any learner self-assessment.

Week 7: Reading Break February 17.

Week 8: Feb 24-Mar 2 Designing for Inclusion

• Read any announcements on Mattermost.
• Read the post Inclusive Learning Design
• Read the post Universal Design for Learning
• Craft the Blog Post 3 and cite any resources used by Sunday, March 2. Make sure you use the title Post 3.
• Please comment on the blog posts of your learning pod members. Try to aim to share feedback on the posts of one or two other classmates. Make these comments as posts on your own blog and hyperlink back to the original authors.
• Meet with your Learning Pod to continue drafting your Interactive Learning Resource, ensuring accessibility and inclusion by Sunday, March 2.

Week 9: Mar 3-9 Designing for Interaction

• Read any announcements on Mattermost.
• Read the post “Interaction”
• Read the post “Our Need to Interact,” including Chapter 9.6 Interaction: Teaching in a Digital Age,
• Read the post “Assessing Interaction“
• Craft your final Blog Post 4 entry based on this prompt by Sunday, March 9. Make sure you use the title Post 4.
• Please comment on the blog posts of your learning pod members. Try to aim to share feedback on the posts of one or two other classmates. Make these comments as posts on your own blog and hyperlink back to the original authors.
• When you have completed all four posts and comments for peers, choose the post that represents your best work and copy/paste it to Brightspace
• Meet with your Learning Pod to continue drafting your Interactive Learning Resource, focusing on interaction design, by Sunday, March 9.

Week 10: Mar 10-16 Technology in Learning

• Read any announcements on Mattermost.
• Read the post: Starting to Think About Technology in Learning including Chapter 7 of Teaching in a Digital Age,
• Read the post: Platforms for Learning
• Read the post: Promises and Perils of Technology
• Read the post: Social Media
• Post your final blog entry if you have not yet done so. Use the title Post 4.
• Meet with your Learning Pod to continue drafting your Interactive Learning Resource, focusing on the alignment of learning outcomes and activities/assignments with the affordances of technology, by Sunday, March 16.
• Signup for a peer review by Sunday, March 16.

Week 11: Mar 17-23 Making Content Accessible &

Open Education and Pedagogy

• Read any announcements on Mattermost.
• Read the module about creating accessible content and review each of the linked resources
• Only create accessible content moving forward
• Read Open Education Pedagogy module and the linked readings
• Incorporate these concepts into your final Interactive Learning Resource

Week 12: Mar 24-30 Neuro-Myths

• Read any announcements on Mattermost.
• Read the post: Fixed and Growth Mindsets
• Read the post: We Use 10% of Our Brains
• Read the post: Left Brain/Right Brain
• Read the post: Learning Styles
• Read the post: Remembering Pyramid
• Complete your first draft of your Interactive Learning Resource and share your resource with the peers who have signed up to offer you feedback
• Start reviewing one other group’s Interactive Learning Resource you’ve signed up for.
• Complete a peer review of one Interactive Resource as a post on your own site by Sunday, March 24.

Week 13: Mar 31- Apr 4 Completion of Projects & Final Reflection 

• Read any announcements on Mattermost.
• Choose which best blog post you would like to submit for assessment,  and then copy/paste the url in a text file to Brightspace by Monday, April 4.
• Meet with your Learning Pod to polish, revise, and submit your final Interactive Learning Resource by Monday,  April 4.
• All members of the Learning Pod should submit the same document/link on Brightspace 

Have a great Summer!

Topics, readings, and schedule are approximate and may be changed. Although you are encouraged to follow the suggested timeline above, please feel free to work ahead at your own pace.