Thank you to our fellow classmate for their [peer review of our Interactive Learning Resource] and the positive feedback this summer semester. The final project reflected the research and attention to details this pod had throughout this past month. Apart from the positive reviews there were a few suggestions which have been addressed to further amplify the resource in order to make it as inclusive and accessible as possible.

The first recommendation was a positive one. The layout and easy navigation of our website was acknowledged and the overview in general seemed to be helpful. We left the simplistic nature of the design the same for this reason. Each lesson was laid out and the text provided links to the required content.

The second acknowledgement was of [our decision to use Direct Instruction (DI)] to instruct Parallelism: “Your assessments allow Direct Instruction to really take hold in this course.” Each lesson was praised for the encouragement of learning we have provided throughout this lesson style. We have taken note of the effectiveness of DI and are glad the concept remained clear throughout the learning resource.

The writer suggests that we include information on how long each activity should take in the outline. Due to the variance of abilities within this course and the scattered timeline we are assuming exists for our students, we have not changed this feature. We feel that the time reference may exclude students who learn at a slower pace. We did not want a suggested timeline to make students to feel stressed and discouraged if they have not completed the activity within a certain time frame.

Another suggestion is to provide a plan on when the students should expect feedback. We agree with this suggestion, as it is helpful for students to know if their work is on the right track. As the teachers, the [blog portion of the lesson] acts as a constant conversation hub for the students and teachers. This allows for speedy feedback, allowing student responses to see their review within 1-2 days.

One suggestion addresses additional barriers which could arise within our group of students. The writer notes the cultural barriers, lack of internet or technology, lack of family support etc. These are issues which every teacher must consider and are important. However, due to the inability to address these from the source, it would be difficult to provide appropriate aid in those types of situations. As our [technology design is web-based], accessing the course without internet connection would prove to be a barrier. Lack of internet can be helped by guiding students in locating free internet locations, which could include both public and university libraries which usually have free-to-use computers and internet access, as well as extending deadlines upon request. Extended deadlines could also be given to students facing familial issues. Perhaps in the future by starting programs or being an advocate for learning in under privileged areas, we can improve these unfortunate situations which are a reality for many students across the globe.

A final suggestion addresses the specifics of our [learner demographic]. We have stated our learning demographic is university students who are highly educated and English language learners. We can further outline this demographic by stating “suitable for partially to fully proficient in the English language who are attending university”. A test or exam prior to the course would further exclude students and I would hope that if the students are struggling with the content they would reach out to other students and teachers for assistance to help them succeed in the course.

 

Thank you again for the wonderful feedback!

 

Read the peer review of out Interactive Learning Resource here: https://westcoastteacher.opened.ca/2020/07/23/peer-review-for-pod-2-interactive-learning-resource/