Online Course Audit

Choosing the appropriate technology to aid in the fulfillment of the desired learning outcomes is not an easy task.  Several methods exist for the choice and subsequent analysis of educational technologies to help students succeed.  The SECTIONS model presents and details criteria to ease the evaluation of the technology used in a course.   Videos, quizzes and a discussion board are the educational technologies used within The Qur’an Between Judaism and Christianity.  I will be focusing on the use of discussion boards and evaluating them using the SECTIONS criteria.

Students

The discussion boards provide a platform for open communication between participants in the course.  Students can post and/or respond to others.  Being able to successfully utilize the discussion board is a transferable skill that is of benefit in MOOCs.

Ease of Use

The course interface is very easy to navigate with each module broken down into topics and subtopics, so there is no new technology that needs to be mastered.  The discussion board is similar to that used within Moodle and needs no instructions before use.

Costs

The discussion board is fully integrated into the course, so there is no additional cost to students.  If a student wishes to upgrade in order to continue having access to the course after it has finished or gain a certificate upon completion, they will have to pay.

Teaching and Learning

The discussion board aids in the completion of two of the learning outcomes:

  • Collaborate with others on broadening your historical knowledge
  • Debate historical aspects of religion with people from various backgrounds

Students can engage as much or as little as they are comfortable with.  Communication remains open so long as it remains respectful.  It is difficult to speak to the assessment side as the posts are not graded.

Interactivity

The discussion board supports communication between all participants within the course, both past and present.  The interaction can be synchronous or asynchronous.  The discussion board cannot be accessed by those, not in the course.

Novelty

At one time, a discussion board interaction would have been seen as novel, but it is more par for the course now, every course uses it.

Online Learning Activities for my Learning Outcomes

  • respond to text in personal, creative and critical ways in a form of their choosing
  • show how language can be used to construct their identities (cultural, social and personal)
  • describe the features of oral language

Animoto/PowToon would provide students with a different way of presenting their chosen poetic form in a new way.  This would aid them in meeting the outcome of responding to text in a creative and personal way.

A Meme generator would allow students to play with language and show how it has affected their identities.  This could also be used to show the different features of oral language.