FORMATS & MODALITIES

Design Forward

An emergent exploration of critical instructional design.

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Do you feel like you would benefit from talking to someone about the topics, resources, and activities of this module? Do you want to start thinking about how to apply what you’re learning in an upcoming course? 

Feel free to make an appointment with Martha in the CoLab or Megan in ET&S for one-on-one support! 

Meet with Martha

Choose this appointment if you have a quick question or problem you want to talk to through–or if you need help navigating some part of the module!

30 Minute Virtual
30 Minute In Person

Choose this appointment if you need a longer conversation about your teaching, courses, projects, etc.

60 Minute Virtual
60 Minute In Person

Meet with Megan

Consult with Megan on academic technology questions related to the module. 

Schedule Consultation

Weekly Dispatch: November 7, 2022

Each week, the Dispatch provides suggestions about what to focus your attention on. You may use it as a kind of weekly syllabus, with a suggested topic to explore, resource to read and annotate, questions to answer, and activities to complete. However, you should also feel free to deviate as you like from the suggestions; we want your participation in this module to reflect your own goals and interests.

We encourage you to choose at least one “engagement” a day:  join a conversation by responding to a question, complete an activity and share it in your portfolio, or choose a resource to read and annotate

We are now entering week two of the module. It’s great to see everyone engaging online and thinking about their teaching across different modalities. We’ve focussed a lot so far on our pre-conceived notions and biases, this week we’ll be turning our attention to thinking more clearly about the different affordances of different formats.

Remember, this dispatch can serve as a guide as you determine the best way to engage each day, but you should always feel free to explore in any direction that makes sense for you. Also, keep in mind that you can always post a new question to the group on the Questions page, if there’s a particular topic you’d like to discuss more.

Topic in Focus

This week, we’re turning our attention to thinking about the affordances and possibilities of different teaching modalities. How can we avoid a “deficit” mindset when we’re thinking about teaching in different formats, instead focusing on what works well, is uniquely effective, or offers us new opportunities within our classes?

Suggested Resources

The “Group” reading from this week is an excerpt from a recently published book about online learning (you’ll need to be logged into this site with your DF account to access/annotate the reading). It’s a longer piece but does a fantastic job of pushing our thinking about how we can consider online as a format of its own — as opposed to something “other” than face-to-face. (If you find it interesting, the entire ebook is available through Lamson Library for PSU users.)

The other suggested readings provide a range of perspectives on teaching in different contexts and for different audiences. Make sure you’ve chosen at least one “Choice” reading to read/annotate before the week is over!

Suggested Questions

Use the questions this week to deepen your thinking about teaching in different modalities, and remember to submit your own, if you like!

Suggested Activities

In “Let’s Get Ven” you’ll have an opportunity to map out the differences and overlaps among different formats. “Rules of the Room” encourages you to think about how your own experiences in online communities can teach you something about online course design.

The Rules of the Room

Draw on your own experience in online community to reflect upon how online groups organize and govern themselves. How can you apply these experiences to

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October 25, 2022 No Comments

Let’s Get Ven

In this activity, you will diagram how different pedagogical considerations are reflected in different modalities. Use the ven diagram construct to visualize where these considerations

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October 26, 2022 No Comments
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