Extend NZ/NZEXT104/Let's Experiment/Experimenter activities
| “ | Learn something new. Try something different. Convince yourself that you have no limits. | ” |
| —Brian Tracy | ||
When you experiment with new things, you can often add tools to your teaching toolkit. As you work through the Experimenter activities below, think about what you'd like to add to your toolkit.
Remember, for this module you will complete three experimenter activities out of the following ten options. To better appreciate the experience on mobile devices, at least one of your Experimenter activities should be done using a tablet or smartphone.
If you or your students do not have access to a tablet or smartphone, consider the following resources:
- Utilising technology and devices available at your own campus library: Consider putting devices on hold at your campus library for activities that require students to use particular devices so that all students have access.
- If your own campus library is not equipped with devices needed for an activity, think about local libraries and other local resources too. For example, some public libraries and/or community centres allow for laptop and digital equipment loans
Sharing your work: After you complete each experimenter task, please add your work to your Extend NZ blog or e-portfolio.
1. H5P Interactive Activities
H5P is a free and open-source content platform independent framework based on the HTML5 standard. You can create a wide range of interactive widgets, such as “find the hotspot” or “fill in the blanks” that can then be used within web sites and LMS platforms (e.g. Moodle, Blackboard, or Canvas) as well as in WordPress. Learn more about the capabilities of H5P content types and explore live demos. The team in Ontario have created their own hotspot content type in H5P to share examples of responses to Ontario Extend Module Activities.
Your Task: Use H5P to create an interactive activity for your class to review for a test or to assess prior knowledge about a topic.
As evidence of completion, please add the web address or uploaded H5P learning object for your response to your Extend NZ blog or portfolio.
2. Animated GIFs
Animated GIFs are familiar as expressions of emotion in social media, but are also of educational value as short looping videos to demonstrate a process.
Your Task: Think about a concept or process in the subject you teach or are most interested in. What might you be able to demonstrate in an animated GIF form, one that allows rapid repetition in a few frames? Try the Giphy Make a GIF tool to generate an animated GIF from a section of a video or a series of uploaded photos.
As evidence of completion, please add the web address or uploaded GIF learning object for your response to your Extend NZ blog or portfolio.
3. Online survey or audience response tools
Online survey or audience response tools are powerful for capturing opinions and understanding your learners or colleagues better.
Your Task: Explore an online survey tool. Experiment by creating and conducting a five-question survey of your peers about ways to use technology-enhanced activities. You could try SurveyMonkey, for instance, or, if you're familiar with the Google suite, you might try Google Forms, which store data in a spreadsheet in your drive (and can be embedded in other sites). Other survey tools like Socrative and Poll Everywhere are specifically aimed at collecting audience feedback on mobile devices.
As evidence of completion, please add the link to your survey results or upload a copy to your Extend NZ blog or portfolio.
4. Bridges and Hooks
A bridge or hook is an effective teaching approach to gain a learner’s attention and build motivation.
Your Task: Create a video, that serves as the bridge or hook to welcome learners to your course (think 'course trailer' even), or to your blog website, with one of the freely available tools highlighted in the video section of the eCampusOntario toolkit.
As evidence of completion, please add your video or web address for your response to your Extend NZ blog or portfolio.
5. Photos and Graphics
Have you ever taken a photo or created a graphic that you would like to use in class, or found the perfect image online and wanted to use it? It is helpful to learn about finding and attributing openly licensed images (OER Commons).
Your Task: For this activity, experiment by building or customising an openly licensed graphic or other resource for a concept related to your discipline, and share it via OER Commons, the “public digital library of open educational resources”. Use their Open Resource Builder to assemble and publish your OER. Why share here? It can be part of a global commons of Open Education Resources (worth exploring too).
As evidence of completion, please add your OER Commons resource link or upload the PDF it generates to your Extend NZ blog or portfolio.
