Designing Across the Semester: Integrating Technology Well Professor Clare Johnson FTP/ACU Centre for Liturgy

So, you’ve been asked to design a new fully-online unit?

Step 1: Compile the basic materials for the unit Unit planning grid Generic Unit Outline Contact/Learning-hours available: 24 for PG; 36 for UG Assessment Parameters (within your Faculty/School/Course/Degree/Year Level) Reading Expectations Readings, Videos, other media (+ copyright clearances) Assessment Structure (across the semester) Expectation of 150 hours’ worth of work (keep a running tally of this)

Step 2: Decide on an overall unit shape in light of the semester’s rhythm (considering where to use A/C) Consult Academic Calendar (learning weeks, non-teaching weeks, public holidays) Put together table of weeks/dates (check!) Assessment due dates (across the semester) – Other units commonly studied concurrently – Your own timetable/marking demands – Times/timezones of your students Consider how you are going to ensure through design that students work consistently throughout the semester

Step 3: Decide on number and topics of modules (& where to use A/C) Start with the list of content to be covered in the unit & see if parts of it naturally fall together Aim for not too many modules Modules can run for more than 1 week Hurdle tasks to access the next module (possibility) Be clear which learning outcomes & graduate attributes are the focus Note when the break week occurs & consider learning ramifications

Step 4: Decide on specific assessment tasks related to LO’s & course requirements May be pre-determined in generic unit outline Work backwards from the end of semester What do students have to be able to do? What knowledge do they have to demonstrate? What skills do they have to have mastered? Link each assessment task with specific LO’s GA’s & content/skills to be understood/demonstrated Have a clear explanation/expectation & description/goal for each assessment task Have a clear marking rubric for each task Determine how much time students are to spend on tasks (subtract from overall 150 hours) Determine how much time you/tutors will need to grade assessment tasks (consider budget)

Step 5: Decide on other non-assessed exercises, activities, interactions etc. Consider how to ensure good quality participation in A/C sessions by scheduling exercises to be completed prior to A/C sessions Ensure a range of learning activities/exercises across the semester (and across other units these students are likely to take) Content and skills to be learned/practiced (these can be steps to practice that aid in completion of an assessment How many Adobe Connect sessions to include (your preference, demands of content & balanced relative to all other activities & time within 150 hours)

Step 6: Decide on Readings for each Module Ensure that readings are balanced across the semester Ensure that readings are scheduled prior to assessments that require students to have read them Ensure that readings are available/activated for your unit for that semester Link readings directly to learning tasks – analyse, critique, compare/contrast, identify, apply principles introduced in a reading to a practical example, etc. Refer to readings/principles from earlier modules in later modules Annotated bibliography (reading-related assessment)

Step 7: Consider balance Between synchronous & asynchronous elements Of contact between students/lecturer & students/other students Between assessable & non-assessable tasks Of assessments across the semester Of individual & group-based work Between traditional reading/response & activities incorporating other media Between learning outcomes across the unit Of required input from lecturer/students within A/C sessions Between required work & extension opportunities

Step 8: Check how 150 hours is being used Aim to maximise student time Be specific in your planning in regard to how long things will take Aim to ensure activities/tasks, assessment etc. equate to 150 hours (not more, not less) Aim to ensure that students will achieve the Learning Outcomes if they successfully complete the unit’s work

Engendering quality participation in A/C sessions Don’t schedule too many A/C sessions across the semester (or too few!) Notify students well in advance of the semester’s start about dates of A/C sessions Have a clear expectation/requirement that they must attend all A/C classes (unless emergency/medical certificate etc.) and that attendance will be taken Always provide a ‘meet & orient’ session at the start of the semester (week 1) Prepare students to participate (set them up to contribute = coming to class pre-loaded with ideas to share) Ask them to present/share their group’s findings Don’t be boring!

Questions???