Distance Learning

Distance Learning Module for 9th Grade

Gary Sullivan

Towson University
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Introduction

For my final project I decided to create a distance learning instructional module using the

website itsLearning. ItsLearning allows you to create customized pages with links, activities,

videos, etc. My module will be focused around the Vietnam Memorial Wall and the differing

viewpoints associated with the memorial.

Target Audience

My target audience for this distance learning module would be 9th graders or children

aged 13-14. They should have prior knowledge of World War II, the Vietnam War, and know

what "mood" is. By the point I would be teaching the module they would be familiar with the

itsLearning program enough to navigate the assignment page on their own.

Content/Subject Area

The content and subject area for this module would be Social Studies. There are some

important elements gained from this module that could apply in an English classroom as well,

but I am mainly focusing on making it applicable to my Social Studies classes.

Learning Objectives
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My objectives with this learning module are representative of standards for Harford

County Public Schools grade level objectives for Social Studies classes. In my module students

are going to need to gather and analyze information from different types of sources. For instance,

podcasts and videos. They will then have to look at the subject from different viewpoints in order

to answer the guiding question for the module.

Instructional Strategies and Activities

Activity 1: In order for students to achieve successful learning in my module, I designed

it to be both collaborative with other members online, as well as having strong individual effort

portions required. The module begins by having students examine two photos of the Vietnam

and World War II memorials.

Students will submit their answers to the motivation questions where after they will

respond to the answers of at least 3 other students.

Activity 2: Following the motivation activity, students will have been sorted into

preselected groups of four (similar to our module two assignment) where they will be asked to
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examine and analyze 1 of 4 different resources related to the Vietnam memorial.

The note sheet mentioned in the link looks like this.

Each student will select from the following resources to complete their note sheet.
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Students will post their notes taken about their assigned form of research in the group

discussion area. Students will then answer the following questions on a collaborative padlet

page.
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Activity 3: After the completion of the group padlet, students are directed to the final

activity which is a constructed response using all of the knowledge gained thus far.

Supporting answers with evidence from the text is one of the essential skills students

need in 9th grade. It aligns with state standards, school and personal SLO's as well.

Closure: Following the constructed response, students will finish the module with a

closure.
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Teacher Role

The role of the instructor in this online module is to facilitate the successful learning of

students. Besides designing the instruction, teachers need to be consistently available to answer

questions, whether through itsLearning or email. If a student is stuck, without a timely response

from an instructor to help with their question, it's not unlikely that they will give up and not

return to the module.

Student Role

In this module students are responsible for reading, listening, and responding to a variety

of content related to the Vietnam Memorial. They must work individually as well as

collaboratively.

Distance Education Technologies and Usage

In this module students and teachers will make use of several different distance learning

technologies. These include:

ItsLearning – an online classroom with pages for assignments and areas to submit

content individually and collaboratively. This technology is similar to blackboard, but feels more

intuitive and easier for students at my targeted grade level to utilize.

Padlet - Padlet is a digital canvas to create beautiful projects that are easy to share and

collaborate on. Padlet lets students see responses from others instantly and in the same place.

Youtube – The biggest video sharing website in the world. Youtube lets the instructor

link educational and relevant videos for the group assignment.

Internet and Government Websites – A basic internet browser may seem out of place

in a module like this, but the ability to access historical documents, photos, etc on government

websites related to the module content is just as important!

NPR Podcasts – NPR has great podcasts about just about any content you could imagine.

Some learners find podcasts easily accessible and helpful. Many students are not familiar with

podcasts and using them in a module like this can help students have new avenues of learning

opened for them.

Assessment Strategies for Student Success

In this module I have included a variety of different types of assessment meant to

measure the level of student comprehension, learning, and overall success in mastering the

provided content. The standard for learning I used when designing this module is "the extent to

which participants change attitudes, improve knowledge, and/or increase skill as a result of

attending the program" (Kirkpatrick, 1998). This is present in both the motivational warm up

activity and closure activity. In my motivation, I ask students what differences they see between

the two memorial, and what mood each might evoke. I have them revisit this in the closure, when

they examine people behaving differently at each memorial and attempt to answer why that

might be. The goal of my module is that by the closure they are able to effectively communicate

the difference in attitudes and mood at each memorial as a result of the different situations the

United States faced in WWII and Vietnam. Being able to effectively do so would meet

Kirkpatrick's definiton of learning.

The other big assessment strategy included in my module is the constructed response in

activity 3. Utilizing all the knowledge gained throughout the rest of the module, students are

assigned with citing evidence to support their ideas to answer the prompt. In order to

successfully complete activity 3 requires students to have learned the previous content, and their

writing will be a strong indicator of learning.

Support

I selected a lot of the activities and assessment strategies for my distance learning module

based on resources we read and utilized in this course. I utilized several different points

commonly seen in course readings about trends in distance learning. For instance, I based my

first and second activity around fostering a sense of community online to increase student

motivation and sense of connection to the work. My student and teacher roles are based on the

successful approaches to distance learning we looked at in module 2 and 3.

Specifically, for assessment strategies I looked at the Handbook of Distance Education by

the University of Michigan, which states "Assessing student work on a regular basis provides

both the teacher and the student with a sense of the student’s progress, indicates strengths and

areas for improvement and helps the teacher plan appropriately to meet the student’s needs."

Petty, L. I., Johnston, J., & Shafer, D. (2004)

I tried to incorporate this concept in my module as while students would be submitting

different sections of the module, the instructor can provide feedback directly. There are

opportunities for students to learn and grow from section to section of the module, and this type

of assessment is the biggest part of student growth in a distance learning environment.

References

Kirkpatrick, D. L. (1998). Evaluating training programs. San Francisco: Berrett-

Koehler.

Petty, L. I., Johnston, J., & Shafer, D. (2004). Handbook of distance education for adult

learners. Ann Arbor, MI: Project IDEAL Support Center, Institute for Social Research,

University of Michigan.