I began thinking about this blog post feeling a little apprehensive. As I awaited my feedback, I was already nervous. Did I download and post everything correctly? Would colleagues be harsh? How should I change things for the second module? I was a little worried until my wife sent me a link to an article,” How To Respond To Negative Feedback Professionally”. This was just a common sense reminder of the things I already knew, but it was what I needed.
Finally, the time came for me to look at the feedback and as it turned out, it was extremely supportive and for the most part positive. I didn’t have to have been so worried, but I guess that is what makes us want to keep improving ourselves and our practices. Thank you both for the great input.
Now, to nuts and bolts of the feedback. I did appreciate the positivity around how the structure of my course was easy to access and understand. When using Google Classroom, as long as you have a Google account, your students are only 2 clicks away from seeing all the classes they are enrolled in. This makes it easy for students that maybe do not have experience working with technology. I have used it with EAL students as well, with great success.
I was given a good piece of advice when it came to my course module itself. In establishing how I would evaluate the assessment piece for my module, I missed adding a rubric or some way for students to see what I am looking for as evidence of learning. Nice catch and thank you again.
The final area of discussion for my feedback is the profile. In looking over the feedback, I realized that I have to be expand on how to make this course more inclusive by explaining in detail how I would consider cultural diversity, availability of tech, differentiation and socio-economic factors. I will work on this for module 2 and going forward.
Overall, the feedback process was positive and reflective for me. I appreciated the tips and honesty, even though I stressed about it. Both the discussions and the written opportunities made me look at my work from different angles, which is what the purpose was to begin with.
Accessibility and Equity
Some of the tips I received from my evaluations were directly connected to these exact subjects. The whole premise of ” leveling the playing field” for all students is the main goal and focus. Teaching most of my career in small town schools has made me lazy in factoring in issues like cultural diversity in the classroom. Differentiation is always considered and just adding that extra little piece should not be that hard. I have to add more discussing this in my project.
In our discussions, we talked about the accessibility our students have and all the factors that impede this. From experience, most rural students I have usually have problems with Wi-Fi quality. Another factor is that there are siblings needing the technology. Asynchronous classes help that way, but there again if multiple students need one family computer, problems result. Equity factors, in as cultural and socio-economic status are becoming more prevalent, even in small towns. We need more professional development to be provided out in smaller divisions to be able to properly provide the best learning experience.
Online Educational Tool Set 