My reflection on Lecture 7: "The DDD-E model, 'Design' Stage"

Hi guys!

I hope you’re doing well. 💘
Today, I’m going to continue talking about the DDD-E model we discussed last time, but this time, we’re focusing on the Design Stage.

The Design Stage is all about making a detailed plan for your learning project. It’s where you figure out what you want your learners to achieve, decide what content to use, choose how you’ll deliver the lessons, and figure out how to assess progress. Basically, it takes the ideas from the "Decide" stage and turns them into a clear plan with everything mapped out; content, sequence, and tools, to reach your goals (Morrison, Ross, & Kemp, 2007).

This stage is super important because it’s like the blueprint for your entire project! 💥 Imagine you’re building a house 🏠,before you start laying bricks 🧱, you need a solid plan. In this phase, you’re organizing your ideas and figuring out how everything will fit together.

First off, you need to chunk your info. This means breaking it down into smaller, bite-sized pieces, so it’s easier to digest. Then, you decide 💭 what types of media you want to use; graphics, sounds 🔊, videos 📹, animations 👧,and figure out where everything should go. A flowchart is like your project’s road map, showing the order in which things happen, so you don’t get lost along the way.

One of the best parts of this phase is looking at examples of good and bad designs. This helps you see what works and what doesn’t, so you can avoid common mistakes. Plus, you’ll get a list of requirements (like how many pages or screens your project should have), so you know what’s expected and won’t feel overwhelmed.                                                                                                                   
It’s also super important to think about your audience👫, who you’re making this project for. Tailoring your design to meet their needs makes it more engaging and fun. Whether you’re working on a website, a video, or a presentation, you’ll use different strategies like flowcharts and storyboards to plan out the layout and content.

Finally, the design phase is all about planning ahead. Storyboards and scripts help you map out every little detail, so when you start building, you’re not scrambling to figure out what comes next. This makes the entire production process way smoother and less stressful.

- Why do students play a key role  in this stage?

In this stage, students play a key role in planning their multimedia projects because they start by organizing the information they want to present, making sure it’s clear and easy to follow. Then, they decide the best order for the content by creating a flowchart to map out how things will connect.

Students get to plan all the fun stuff, like picking graphics, audio, videos, and interactive elements. They’ll also work on creating storyboards to visualize how the project will look and flow.

This stage is all about getting the plan right before diving into the actual work, so students make sure everything is in the right order and each element fits together smoothly to reach the project’s goals.

Let’s get planning! 🚀

Until next time,

Toodles ✌

My reflection on Lecture 6: "The DDD-E Model: 'Decide' Stage"

 My reflection on Lecture 6: "The DDD-E Model: 'Decide' Stage"

Hey there guys,

Welcome back to my blog. Today I'm going to talk about The DDD-E Model and more specifically, about the "Decide" stage. But first of all, what is the DDD-E Model?

The DDD model, Decide, Design, Develop, is a framework for instructional design and project planning. It emphasizes a systematic and iterative approach:

Decide: Identify objectives, define goals, and determine resources needed for the project.

Design: Create detailed plans, such as storyboards or flowcharts, to organize the project.

Develop: Implement the plans by creating content or materials.

This model supports adaptability and collaboration, making it well-suited for multimedia and instructional environments, especially in blended or digital learning contexts (Ivers & Barron, 2010).

In simple words, the DDD-E Model is a simple way to organize tasks, projects
 etc.. and it is effective for both teachers and students because it keeps work structured and clear. For students, it makes tasks easier to handle by breaking them into steps, helping them focus and stay on track. For teachers, it provides a structured way to plan lessons, create materials, and check if learning goals are met.

When focusing on the "Decide" stage, I think it is a really crucial one. It holds a significant importance as it is the base of the whole project. In it, students are presented with the topic; both the teacher and the students focus on defining the main goals, identifying the audience, and planning key requirements. For students, this means clearly understanding what they need to achieve and the tools they will use. For teachers, it involves setting clear learning objectives
and determining how to support students effectively. During this stage the teachers set goals and assess on background knowledge. They provide project guidelines and supervise selection of groups and roles. Therefore, the "Decide" stage is important because:

1-It clarifies objectives: It helps define clear goals and outcomes for the project.

2-Sets a direction: Sets the focus and guides the project’s progress.

3-Identifies resources: Determines what tools, materials, or support will be needed.

4-Clarifies expectations: Ensures everyone is on the same page about what’s to be accomplished.

5-Prevents confusion: Minimizes misunderstandings and wasted effort later on.

However, this stage can sometimes feel confusing. As a student, I’ve experienced moments where I didn’t find it very helpful, especially when the teacher didn’t provide clear objectives or instructions. This lack of clarity often led to misunderstandings and even arguments within the group. The final outcome wasn’t aligned with what we had initially expected, which made the process frustrating and less productive. To avoid this from happening, I have a few suggestions for us as future teachers:

1-We should provide clear objectives by clearly stating the goals and expectations of the class

2-We should offer examples to help the students understand what is expected

3- We should encourage them to make questions if they feel like they didn't understand a specific point of this stage

4- We could also use visual aids to explain the steps of the tasks in a more detailed way.

By addressing these potential issues early on, we can ensure a smoother and more productive process for both teachers and students.

That was it for today, thank you for your attention!

See you next time,

Toodles✌

My reflection on Lecture 5: "Project Based Learning"

 My reflection on Lecture 5: "Project Based Learning"

Hey there girlbosses,

I hope you're having a pleasant evening💗

Today I'm going to talk and reflect on the Project Based Learning approach which we covered in our lecture last week.

First of all, PBL is an educational approach in which students work in groups to solve challenging problems that are authentic, curriculum-based, and often interdisciplinary. They actively explore real-world problems and challenges through hands-on-projects. In this approach, students create knowledge and understanding through learning activities built around intellectual inquiry and a high degree of engagement, with meaningful tasks.

Thinking back on it, we've actually been practicing PBL since we were in elementary school. Remember those biology projects where we had to plant beans or seeds in cotton and observe their growth in both sunlight🌞 and darkness⚫? What about the physics activities where we had to light up a bulb💡 using a potato🥔? Or the projects where we had to build models of our neighborhood🏙 or school🏫? Even the tasks where we focused on relatable topics like community, animals🐈, or the environment🌳? All of these tasks are considered Project-Based Learning activities. They allowed us to explore concepts in a hands-on, real-world way, engaging our creativity and critical thinking while solving practical problems.

As we can tell from the activities I mentioned above, PBL activities promote:

Active Learning, by engaging students actively in their learning process;

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving by encouraging students to think critically and make decisions;

Collaboration and Teamwork, because many PBL projects involve group work, which helps students develop collaboration skills

Real-World Connections, because PBL often focuses on real-world problems or scenarios, making learning more relevant to students' lives.

Deep Learning and Retention, because PBL tasks involve deeper engagement with the material, which helps students retain information better

Interdisciplinary Learning, because PBL often requires students to use knowledge and skills from different subject areas, helping them see the connections between different disciplines, etc.

With all the benefits that PBL offers to students, I can see why many educators embrace it as an approach. However, sometimes it becomes difficult to apply in the classroom. Reasons for this include resource limitations - not all schools have access to materials, technology, or resources that are required; time constraints, as PBL activities often require a lot of time to plan; classroom management - student-centered learning can lead to noisier classrooms, etc..

Thinking about it as a future teacher, I’d love to include as many PBL activities as possible, of course in alignment with the school curriculum. Some of the activities I’d implement in my English teaching would be creating a class magazine or blog (since that's what we're actually doing now 😛), DIY projects, designing a language learning game, creating a class podcast, etc.

Overall, PBL makes learning hands-on and fun, bringing lessons to life!🔥

Until next week, 

Tooodless✌

My reflection on Lecture 4: "Cooperative Learning"

 My reflection on Lecture 4: "Cooperative Learning"

Hey guys💗

I'm back yet again, and today, I'm reflecting on our latest lecture, which was about cooperative learning.

Cooperative learning is an educational approach which involves organizing classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences, where students work together in small, structured groups.(Merriam-Webster). It is a way of learning by sharing thoughts, ideas and working with other people. A process in which students get to know more about one another and their perspectives. In such a strategy, the students gain from each other's effort, and they recognize that all group members share a common fate. In other words, cooperative learning is group work, and we have all been there and done that.

As a principle, working in groups should be a beneficial and fun activity to do, especially when you get to work with friends you associate with (teehee). You share your tasks and, with mutual understanding, you get the job done 99% of the time. However, personally speaking, that doesn’t always happen😐.

Most of the time, only one or two students take the task seriously, while the rest of the group benefits from their efforts without actively engaging in the work. When the task is completed, these students also take credit, which feels unfair to those who contributed more. For that to not happen, there are several things a teacher can do, in my opinion.

First, the teacher should define and specify each of the students' roles. This way, every student feels the responsibility of the task they have to complete.                                                                              Second, set group goals. By setting goals students understand the importance of their contribution to the overall success of the project.                                                                                                              Third, the teacher should structure the activity or choose those kind of activities which require input from all members.

What's also very important, the teacher should monitor each of the students throughout the process. She/He should provide support, and encourage quieter students to share their ideas💥.                            Furthermore, the teacher should provide positive feedback and acknowledge each of the students' work. It is important that every student feels seen and heard. Using peer assessment would also work in such cases, because in this way students assess each other's contributions, promoting a sense of responsibility and accountability.

I believe that cooperative learning is very helpful in the learning process when done the right way. It is important because it puts constructivist ideas into practice. As someone who strongly supports constructivism, I see that both approaches focus on teamwork, being involved, and the role of social interaction in learning. This allows them to work well together to create a meaningful educational experience.

Here’s a video on how I believe successful cooperative work is done https://youtu.be/zR6rTKPkjgQ?si=3nMRMJykHpRqIUDU

Until the next one,

Toodles✌