i. Where the sources of content for the previous version of the course were heavily weighted towards physical text books, this plan aims to be more flexible by introducing more of a variety of content sources.
Of course it is still important to draw from books, journals and other printed material, but this will be combined with online documentation, videos such as TED talks and Lynda.com courses and interactive online tutorial applications. An example of the last is the interactive “git” tutorials widely available online for beginners to take a hands-on approach to learning about source code control.
These sources of content will be curated on and accessed via a Moodle course.
ii. Activities will be developed less rigidly than they used to be. For example, instead of Word-document-based worksheets with step-by-step questions, activities will be designed to be flexible by using platforms like One Note Class Notebook.
Collaborative experiential activities with team problem solving (i.e. group work) will be designed to focus on the processes, such as team decision making, rather than rigidly focussing on the steps needed to achieve the end goal. This will be developed by writing scenarios that have some room for interpretation and decision making, and providing instructions for the activity which have been carefully designed so that the answer is not in the question, so to speak. These aspects of activity development are intended to account for cultural diversity in the learning approach, encouraging learners to be comfortable making their own decisions.
The implementation strategy will borrow from Backwards Design model whereby the parts are constructed in this order: identify and record the desired results, determine how to distinguish when the results are met and then design schedules and activities (Bowen, 2017). This framework can be used to design a timeline and define the order of the desired milestones.
Milestones and timeline
The milestones as outlined in Part 1 mostly come in at the last stage of the Backwards Design process: planning learning experiences and instruction. As the learning outcomes are already in place, the first step has been done.
Portfolio assessment - designed, instructions and rubrics written and pre-moderated by mid February 2018
Thus, the first milestone to define in this plan is the assessment, or determining acceptable evidence (Bowen, 2017). This aligns to objective 4: designing assessments using portfolios. These must be completed before the course is delivered, so before the beginning of semester 1 2018 at the latest, but should be finished sooner so that there is time left to design the next step. This milestone will require writing an assignment brief, a rubric or marking schedule and perhaps finding or creating a model example. It also required deciding on what method will be used for hand-in and delivery of feedback (probably Moodle).
Course schedule - topic areas defined and sessions laid out by end of January 2018
Next, aligning with objective 1, it would be a good idea to sketch out a course schedule. This will include the broad topic areas to be covered in each week of the course, and then a short list of topics for each session. This ensures that all the content and activities will fit into the semester. This will need to be completed by the end of January.
Lesson plans and activities - designed, including formative assessment activities, by late February 2018
Lastly, aligning with objectives 2 and 3, lessons plans and activities probably need to be developed in parallel. This includes formative peer- and self-assessment opportunities and designing the collaborative experiential activities themselves.
Pressure points
The main risk is resource availability changes. This might include workload changes where time needs to be devoted to other things like D4LS, preventing the completion of milestones at the planned time. To mitigate this it will be important to be flexible within the timeline, and if it’s possible to complete some parts sooner that will help to alleviate time pressure. It also might include availability of technology and content sources. For example, if GitLab or Lynda.com were to suddenly be unsupported. To mitigate this it’s important to have a plan B, for example being able to use an alternative technology or source of content such as GitHub, or YouTube.
Resources needed to implement this plan are quite minimal. The time required for activity design is already a part of normal weekly preparation time. Technology resources already exist: the Moodle shell is in place, the One Note Class Notebook is available (set up for Learning in a Digital Age) and there are no physical materials required beyond a classroom and computers. Some learners will BYOD, but this course is always taught in a computer lab anyway.
i. The evaluation for this plan will measure learners’ attitude towards working in teams as well as the uptake of team work processes and workflows.
ii. Potential participants in the evaluation process will include the learners themselves, colleagues who teach those students subsequently and, ultimately, people who employ our graduates in the IT industry.
iii. Data collection methods will include learner written reflection (collected as part of their assessment), course surveys and face-to-face focus groups towards the end of the semester. In the first half of the following semester, colleagues who are teaching the same cohort will be asked to provide either written or verbal feedback as to the evaluation factors in (i) above. These data collection methods are appropriate to the factors under consideration as they are focussed on ascertaining information about attitide, which is best related in prose or spoken word and is difficult to measure quantitavely. In order to measure uptake of processes and workflows, the best method of data collection will be observation in the classroom or workplace.
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