Living on a Prayer

Lowe, John D.EDLD 5318

In the infamous words of Jon Bon Jovi:

“Whoa… we’re half way there!”

The following descriptive outline represents the first three of six Canvas modules that will be created in my proposed faculty professional development course.  Each module will consist of various items which could be a content page, file, video, external link, discussion board, or other LMS feature.  The first module is a course overview rather than actually containing instructional content.  Even though the audience will be faculty learners, I am developing this intro module for the purposes of EDLD 5318 as if this were an online course for students and will provide information relevant to students at Baylor University in the overview sections.  If nothing else, this overview module can serve as a model for faculty to incorporate into their own courses.

Course Overview

  • Start Here – This page will be a simple welcome to the course content page in Canvas with a short description of the course, a welcome video from the instructor, and contact information for the instructor. This page will also provide information about the course schedule on the Syllabus content area (since there isn’t a true syllabus for a PD course), links to the primary text resources being used, information about the library and digital literacy skills, technical requirements for the course, Baylor’s standard academic integrity statement, and information about Canvas.
  • Course Structure – This page will contain information about the format of the course, a general schedule of the assignments, and explanation of the four basic parts of each course module.  For example (screenshot from currently disabled course page since it is still a work-in-progress and not ready to be published yet):
  • Communication & Netiquette – This page will contain information about the communication expectations in this course along with information about the Announcements feature and Discussions feature in Canvas. The second half of this page will also contain information about general do’s and don’ts about communication in online classes.
  • Help and Support – This page will contain information for learners about how to get help with Canvas, course materials and content, and again how to reach the instructor for help via email. This page will also contain information from Baylor’s Office of Access and Learning Accommodations related to students needed special accommodations related to a disability, Academic and Student Support Services information, Student Health and Welfare information, Library Support, and Technical Support.  Many of these are items recommended by our Provost to include in all courses in Canvas.
  • Introductions – This discussion forum will provide a place for students to introduce themselves to the other students in the course. For example (screenshot from currently disabled course discussion since it is still a work-in-progress and not ready to be published yet):
  • Prayer Requests & Praises – As a private, faith-based institution, it is common practice to provide a location for students/faculty to share their faith with each other. This discussion board will meet this requirement of all Baylor courses.  In addition, part of this page will also be the following quote from Baylor’s “Unambiguously Christian Educational Environment” page about the Four Pillars on which Baylor is founded (https://www.baylor.edu/illuminate/index.php?id=951740):

    Baylor’s culture of intellectual curiosity and academic freedom is an expression of Baylor’s Christian identity. We are called as Christians to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourself. Accordingly, Baylor’s faculty, staff, and students are dedicated to exploring and deepening our understanding of how the life of the mind and the life of faith are united. Through an intentional, campus-wide emphasis on Christian values and perspectives, Baylor prepares students to serve as leaders in their professions and communities who will have the faith and integrity to do what is right in the face of competing pressures.

  • Summary – This page will simply be a completion checkpoint for the orientation module. It will show remind the students what they have completed and provide a way for them to address any questions or concerns that they might have.

Week 1

 

Week 2

  • Overview – This content page will serve as a general overview or guide for the content in this module.  It will also list the following objective, purpose for this module, and a brief agenda that previews the upcoming sections in the Week 2 module. Review publicly available and institution-provided platforms for creating ePortfolios. Evaluate several ePortfolio platforms, and identify which ones are provided by our institution or are available publicly on the Internet for anyone to use.
    • Objective: Learners will evaluate and select appropriate software and ePortfolio solutions for the development of projects.
  • Instructional Content – This content page will contain the links and information about the following content resources:
  • Assignments – This page will describe the assignment objectives, criteria, and instructions for this week.
    • Review publicly available and institution-provided platforms for creating ePortfolios.
    • Create a basic, personal ePortfolio using one of the platforms evaluated.
    • Publish a basic ePortfolio framework with two sample posts.

The following is a screenshot example of the Week 1 Overview page currently under construction in my Canvas course.  The overview for Week 2 will be similar, but it has not yet been fully created in the LMS until week three of this course.

 

 

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