Engagement: 15%

As part of our learning community you will meet virtually and connect with a Learning Pod. Each Learning Pod will consist of 4 members who will meet weekly at a time that works best for all Pod members.

During your weekly Learning Pod meeting you can discuss the blog posts you all have made as part of Assignment 1. This is also a time to ask Pod members for help or ask your peers questions.

Assignment 2 is mainly about connecting with your Pod and giving feedback on their blog posts as a means to document this connection. You will make at least one comment to one Pod member each week. Meetings for Learning Pods take place at a time decided by the group each week and should last as long as it takes to discuss all 4 members blog posts and any other questions that arise. Details of what your comments should look like are below.

Blog post feedback for members of your learning pod will be graded as complete/incomplete by your instructor based on the criteria below.

General Requirements

Due prior to weekly Learning Pod meet time (decided by Learning Pod)

This assignment is worth 15% of your final grade. Guidance below should be used for every post.

  1. Each week choose 1 Learning Pod member then post a comment on their blog post (1 comment per week 7 total)
  2. Link each comment to your own site (How to create track back and ping back on WordPress)
  3. Use the edci337-feedback category for each of your feedback posts (How to use categories in WordPress)
  4. Comment posts can be approximately 100 words or more
  5. Identify and describe 2 (or more) elements that are well done
  6. Highlight and state specifically the multimedia learning principles and learning theories they have followed and why they are effective
  7. Suggest any improvements in a positive way (“I wonder if…”) using professional feedback avoiding negative language/tone

General Blog Post Feedback Guidance:

We recommend that you comment on others’ posts by creating a new post on your own site and including a link to the post you are commenting on. This will create a ‘trackback’ on the original post, which is just like a comment. Make sure you check the comments on you own site, because you will have to approve them before they are visible. You will see a notification in the side menu of WordPress when you have comments that need to be approved.

Suggested Prompts for Comments on Your Classmates Blogs

Please remember that these blogs are shared publicly, as are your comments. It is important to use your comments as way to provide supportive, constructive feedback, to initiate a conversation, or to share connections. Keep your language positive, offer suggestions, and focus on the content of the blog post.

  • My new thinking after reading your post is…
  • I agree with the idea of … because ….
  • I am wondering if you have read this article/website/book (share a resource link)
  • I noticed that our thinking differs in this way …
  • A connection I made between your work and … is ….
  • I really liked how you explained … and I am wondering if you can tell me more about …
  • Something I am wondering after reading your post is…
  • Example: if the blog post is a summary of a technology without much critical analysis, you might say, “I wonder if, in addition to your excellent summary of iMovie, it would be helpful for your readers to know what you think its strengths and weaknesses are as a teaching tool?”

Phrasing your suggestion this way will make it less likely that the person receiving the feedback to become defensive, and more likely that they will seriously consider implementing what you’ve recommended.