Summary of Online Learning Experience

By: Taylor Bright

ITEC 7481

Overview

The module I created for this course is a social studies unit covering the Native
Americans. I was also able to integrate reading and writing standards into the unit. The
module will be taught in English, to third grade students in a dual immersion program.
The classroom is taught entirely in-person with the blended learning model in mind. The
outcome for this unit is for students to understand how the Native Americans used the
natural resources for survival. Students will also be able to compare and contrast the
various regions discussed.

Standards:

SS3H1 Describe early American Indian cultures and their development in North America.

a. Locate the regions where American Indians settled in North America; Arctic,
Northwest, Southwest, Plains, Northeast, and Southeast
b. Compare and Contrast how American Indians in each region used their environment
to obtain food, clothing, and shelter
SS3G3 Describe how physical systems affect human systems. (a only)
a. Explain why American Indian groups occupied the areas they did (SS3H1a), with
emphasis on why some developed permanent villages and others did not.
ELAGSE3RI10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts,
including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the
grades 2-3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
ELAGSE3W2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas
and information clearly.
ELAGSE3W7: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
ELAGSE3W8: Recall information from experience or gather information from print and
digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
Context

This unit will be taught to third grade students, during their English class. The
unit is approximately six-weeks and will take place during the reading and social studies
periods (90 minutes). It will be an entirely in-person class using the blended learning
model. The class consists of 19 students with 63% of the class being Hispanic and 37% of
students being white. 47% of students in the class are EL students and 37% are on
provided RTI interventions.

The Hall County School District is a 1:1 correspondence district. Each student is given a
Chromebook at the beginning of the year. Students will use this Chromebook device to
complete the activities in this course. Students will also need access to Canvas and
Launchpoint, which is all available from the district.

Assessment Practices

Vai and Sosulski (2015) state, “It is also important to evaluate learner
performance based on a variety of assessment types (i.e. not just tests).” In the unit a
variety of formative assessments will be completed throughout the unit. The formative
assessments are in the form of quizzes, discussion posts and student research. As the
instructor I will use the information from these assessments to tailor instruction and to
guide my small group discussions. Students will also complete several summative
assessments that I will use to show mastery of content. Summative assessments will be
in the form of an informational essay, a compare and contrast essay and student’s final
digital presentation.

Accommodations

While I do not currently have any special education students in this class, I do
have students who are receiving tier 2 and 3 RTI interventions, as well as ESOL students.
These students will be provided accommodations such as text to speech, visual
resources and the ability to respond to discussion posts in audio or video format. My
ESOL students will also be provided their individual accommodations listed in their TPC
document. Many of these accommodations are extended time on assessments,
frequent breaks, and small group setting during assessments.

Universal Design/Accessibility

Universal design (UDL) is the why, what and how the learning takes place. When
designing my unit I took these principles into play. One way I used UDL in my unit was
in allowing students to have choice in many of the assignments. CAST (2018) states,
“Offering learners choices can develop self-determination, pride in accomplishment, and
increase the degree to which they feel connected to their learning.” Other ways I used
UDL in the creation of my unit was in the design. I made sure to include visual, video and
text resources throughout the unit. Having material presented in a variety of ways
allows all types of learners to be successful.

One of the reasons I like Canvas is because of the accessibility tools available.
The use of the immersive reader is great for students who struggle with reading or for
my EL students. One feature within Canvas is the accessibility checker. This will give you
suggestions on how to improve your page to best support the accessibility tools. I was
able to use these suggestions to improve my course and ensure accessibility for all my
students.

Differentiation

One of the first ways the course is differentiated is by taking student interest in
mind. At the beginning of the course, I have an interest survey set up. The survey will
ask a series of questions and show students several pictures to choose from. Using the
information from the survey I can assign students a tribe and region that best fits with
their interests. Another way the course is differentiated is by the research notes. My
students who are performing at a lower academic level will receive a template in their
research notes. This template provides them with guiding questions and sentence
starters that will help them as they conduct research. Students will also have the
opportunity to respond to discussion posts via audio, video or text. Another way the
course is differentiated is by the final product. Students will have the ability to choose
the type of product they want to present. They have the option to pick between a digital
presentation or more tactical type of project.

References

CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from

http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Vai, M., & Sosulski, K. (2015). Essentials of online course design (2nd ed.). Taylor &

Francis. https://insite.vitalsource.com/books/9781317673781