Reflection
When you entered my German classroom it was quite common to see my students working together as a whole class, in small groups, with a partner or interacting with me. The fact is my students are in my classroom because they want to learn how to speak German and learning how to communicate in a new language requires collaboration. Prior to the pandemic the observer could see a variety of collaboration from GAP activities to create interpersonal conversations while improving listening skills, using old-fashioned game boards to review vocabulary or to practice presentational speaking or to create cultural posters to name a few. I was fortunate last year to purchase new furniture that allowed me to set up my classroom in 2-4 desk stations (depending on the activity) which promoted more interactive learning experiences for these students. This allowed the student to engage more in the learning and gave the students the opportunity to teach and learn from one another.
This type of collaborative learning is certainly not new and has been around for many years. What changed in the world of collaboration was the pandemic that we are currently living with. How can we continue to offer collaboration while not learning face-2-face? How do we actually learn collaboratively while being 100 % remote or teaching hybrid? With the advancement of technology this has also been an option for the past few years, but with so many different platforms available, finding the right ones was overwhelming. Some other concerns were a) is the privacy and security of my students protected; b) do all students have access to the platforms; c) is there a cost involved?; d) and will this webtool benefit my student’s learning?
I was excited to see that this class Collaborative Web Tools was offered just at the right time when the pandemic forced me to revisit my curriculum and lesson plans. I wanted to continue to give the students the same opportunities to work collaboratively while being 100 % remote or in a hybrid environment. My goal was to include the same meaningful collaboration that we had in the traditional classroom in my Zoom lessons such as building peer relationships and understanding different perspectives while developing their online presence and being responsible online learners.
With this class I was encouraged to get out of my comfort zone and try new things. Many times I find great ideas that I would like to implement, but oftentimes I back down out of fear that it may not work as planned. As an educator this class has encouraged me to just “go for it and try it”. Technology can be daunting, but does not have to be scary. During this semester I created a “Connect Four” game that my students could play online to practice vocabulary and my students actually pulled off a GAP speaking/listening activity. There was a lot of planning and logistics involved, but we did it!
My Two Artifacts
The two artifacts I choose were Module 6 Discussion: Discussion Strategies, Collaboration and Problem Solving and Module 6 Writing and Assessing Collaborative Task
In Module 6 (Discussion) I was challenged to create a problem solving activity. I chose to try a 100 % online Escape room, which initially was planned to be solved in person. All activities were originally hands-on activities that if students solved correctly they would get codes that would open locks to a “treasure chest”. I had removed this activity from my curriculum as I felt overwhelmed to change everything to a virtual escape room. The change to virtual was very time consuming, but the students absolutely loved it! Of course, it did not go off without problems - I had to make last minute group changes due to absences, kids were dropped from the Zoom meeting due to internet issues and I learned that my instructions need to be 150 % clear since they are in their breakout rooms and I cannot monitor all rooms at the same time to answer their questions. Based on the feedback that I received from the students I definitely will use it again during our hybrid learning and next time include a Bitmoji scene! Once we go back to a traditional classroom learning environment, I will do a hybrid of hands-on and digital escape room. I would limit it to one or two per semester, so it does not lose its effectiveness and novelty.
The other artifact I chose was a toss up between Module 6 and Module 7, but I decided to include Module 6 Writing and Assessing Collaborative Task. For this assignment we created a collaborative task using a collaborative web tool of our choice. Furthermore, we had to create a collaborative rubric, a first for me. I used an existing lesson plan and expanded it by including various collaborative web tools. What I am most excited about is that this new lesson plan can be used in person, 100 % remote or in a hybrid classroom setting! This lesson outline is more student centered and the students have to make decisions. I thought adding a timeline was a great idea and that students turn in check points so I can monitor that they stay on task. I would change one thing: I would ask the students why in this particular instance it is important to learn to give and understand directions instead of supplying them the guiding question. I think it would be good practice as a class to practice creating guiding questions - again putting the learning, responsibility and thinking on them!
Overall this class has encouraged me to look at my current curriculum and lesson plans and see how I can improve collaboration amongst my students by including collaborative webtools no matter if I am teaching in person, 100 % remote or hybrid.
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