We start by setting up a learning community where we share our thoughts and perspectives and create together. In this course, we work with three platforms, in part to give you some experience with their capabilities:
WordPress
WordPress is an open source platform for hosting blogs and presenting content. Its content can be enriched with a wide variety of multimedia. In this course we will use this site to present the course content. You will create your own WordPress sites where you will share blog posts and comments with each other and create all of the course assignments.
Mattermost
Mattermost is a social media platform, similar to Slack or Discord, that allows you to quickly post and receive messages from your classmates and the instructor in a private online space. You’re not required to use this for your group communication but I will use it as a space to connect with all of you.
Brightspace
Brightspace is a Learning Management System, one with which you are likely familiar after years of studying at UVic. Its strength is in efficiently managing student data, privacy and notifications in connection with other UVic systems. We will use it for assignment submissions and grading.
Learning Pods
You will also be settings yourselves up in Learning Pods of 3-4 people to meet regularly (in person or online) to share your blog posts and ideas and collaborate to create a final project together.
To Do
- Fill out this Learning pathways survey for the course. We use this form to gather information about our learners, so that we have a better idea of what you hope to get out of this course and how we can best support your learning.
- Review the Generative AI Policy for this course. Please reach out if you have any questions.
- To set yourself up on Mattermost, follow this invitation link and set up your account.
- To set up your own WordPress blog for your blog posts and comments, you will need to create an account at OpenETC. There is a template for EDCI337. I don’t mind if you use a site from a previous course or your own template as long as the content is clearly organized and labeled.
- Post an introduction in Mattermost and in your WordPress blog. Tell us a bit about who you are beyond the classroom and what interested you about this subject.
- Download and fill out the Learning Pod Self-Reflection form (below) and add it to your introductory post on your WordPress site.
- Join a Learning Pod, sign up here.
- A large part of your learning and assessment this term involves reflective practices, such as writing blog posts and commenting on other posts. Review Producing Reflections to help set you up for success in your reflective learning this term.
Here are some more resources to help you set up your WordPress blog:
- Start Here to Set Up Your WordPress Blog – A step by step tutorial showing you how to set up your WordPress blog on the OpenETC server.
- Creating WordPress Multimedia Posts (10 min)- A resource from the Faculty of Education at UVic to help you add more media and multimedia to your blog posts.
- WordPress Resources – Still working your way around WordPress? These resources can help.
Note: There is a template available to use for your WordPress site on OpenETC but if you have some other ideas about how you’d like to organize your site or if you have an existing site from another EDCI course, or another platform you’d like to explore, feel free to use it. You just need to create clear and consistent navigation so that it’s easy to find your work. If you’ve followed the setup process with OpenETC, waited 24 hours and still don’t have a site, please let me know (marywatt@uvic.ca or Mattermost) so that I can follow up with them.
Other Resources
Questions for Mary – Post your questions about the course, the module, the assignments in this Mattermost channel and I will respond within 24 hours.
Protopage – Having trouble keeping track of all the sites and tools for this course? Set up your own dashboard with protopage.
