Integration and Alignment (aka: dang it)

Our instructor said in the lecture that this week of work would be the most difficult of the four. And as I look through our second assignment, I'm also looking for a way to leave the computer and go get some coffee, hoping that this post will be written when I return.

Alas, I don't think homework works that way.

Our integration assignment does come at the perfect time. Yesterday I successfully set up, through the proper administrative channels, Library Research Skills in our Moodle LMS. The curriculum coordinator for our adult and distance education was incredibly excited that her area

would directly benefit from my professional development. We both agreed that I may have decided to tackle a rhinoceros, but that this course was a terrific opportunity to move forward with the ideas we've been discussing for about 18 months.

Our first worksheet requires some reflection on my part regarding my situational factors, learning goals, and assessments. And immediately, I start running from the rhino because it turns out, my learning goals are too vague.

Situational Factors: reflection and conflicts

The context for the course is well understood and explained. Because designing a course in an online environment is a new practice for me, my learning activities still need some work. I am unsure of how well the process of foundational library skills translate in that kind of self-paced environment, and making sure students are completing meaningful work in a meaningful way.

The primary conflict with the situation of the course has to do with the disparity in technological skill. Research shows that "tech savvy" skills do not always translate into the complicated matrices that are library systems. So, even if students self-identify as technologically capable, they still need to show mastery of our specific systems. However, our programs also have students who do not have a lot of exposure and access to online systems and could have a lot of anxiety about the technology itself, forget learning library stuff. So the conflict lies within that disparity, in that space between the most anxious student and the most confident students.


Learning Goals, Feedback and Assessment

Learning Goals and Teaching/Learning Activities

Teaching/Learning Activities, Feedback and Assessment

And now, I'm off to complete the worksheet, because I can't answer the  above integration questions without thinking through the details. #facepalm