Course Redesign ePortfolio Showcase

This project employs an interactive online textbook with video lessons imbedded throughout the chapters in order to create a hybrid course where students meet in the classroom far less regularly than they would in a traditional course. Students work in small groups or independently in order to master the skills of public discourse: oral, face to face, public communication. At first, it seems counterintuitive to attempt to teach such an immediate skill through increased mediated lessons. But we discover a variety of advantages to this model; and we also face -- honestly and squarely -- some of its challenges.

This course will be redesigned for online delivery using the Moodle learning management system 2.8, Blackboard Collaborate, Softchalk, and other online tools. We will incorporate reporting features that integrates multiple workflows for educators to map grades,Project based learning, QOLT standards, tracking student progress, and outcomes for individual students and drive student behaviors that increase achievement.

This course begins with an examination of the components, concepts, and processes of human communication and language. The course surveys issues related to first language acquisition and how language development is impacted by neurology, cognition, culture, socialization, linguistics, and psycholinguistics. Students are expected to engage in discussions, complete assignments, projects, online activities, and summative and formative assessments.

This is a high-demand General Education with a high DFW rate that needs to be redesigned to address three specific issues: 1) insufficient content comprehension, 2) insufficient content application and skill development opportunities, 3) confusion about course delivery, design and deadlines. The creation of digital supplemental instruction materials will address comprehension. Improving the accessibility of these instructional materials will also aid comprehension. Employing supplemental support/instruction for additional practice and feedback will support development of speech skills

As delivered through our LMS Blackboard, videos, online homework, and adaptive learning are employed to address high repeatable grade rates in this course. Videos will provide brief tutorials relative to student learning outcomes. Through adaptive learning, students will be assigned tasks depending upon their level of preparedness.

This course redesign project was meant to be a complete overhaul of the course, from rethinking the course learning objectives, to offering students different ways of learning, as well as, assignments that helped them identify which course material they still needed to master. Interactive Softchalk lessons and adaptive quizzes in Articulate were incorporated into this communication research methods class. Students had the opportunity to review course material based on their quiz score and retake the quiz. The results indicated better student performance in the redesigned course.

Conversion of lecture materials, readings, and shooting guides into short video-essays and training videos.

This course redesign will focus on a large lecture section of core course for communication studies majors and minors. Student response technology will be incorporated into the class in order to actively engage students in the course material and with one another. This technology will also be utilized as an early warning system for students at risk of not succeeding.