nimble narrative for week 5 DRAFT RF

Developing NIMBLE Courses (Navigation to Innovative Mobile & Blended Learning Environments) Planning for the unexpected in higher education has now become a way of life. As we design and develop courses for fall 2020 and beyond, it is important that we do so with agility, flexibility, and nimbleness in mind. What does this mean for you as a course director? It means starting not only with plan A, but also with a contingency plan. Why? …because the overarching question is “how do I design my course to be adaptable should the need arise to pivot quickly to a *blended or all online format?” To be nimble or agile necessitates that we plan for fall by reviewing the entire course, while asking “What will make it easy for me and the other instructors to transition all online if necessary? How do I do that from a content, participation, learning activities and assessment perspective? It all starts with the course and lesson learning objectives. Your measurable and observable objectives will underpin and inform all that happens in the course. And, they do not need to change just because you move to an online or blended delivery format. However, if you find you need to compress the allotted time you have for the course (or lessons) think about what is essential. What is the key, bare bones learning, cadets need from the course? What can you remove from the course or lessons and still achieve the learning objectives? What do you want cadets to remember from the course two, three, and five years from now? To start, consider reviewing the course with content curation in mind. For example, what is the best content I can find from multiple sources that supports the course description, objectives AND works online and in the classroom? From what I curate, what is the most relevant, the most essential for cadets to learn? What value can I add to that content with commentary, context, and real-world examples? Is there extraneous content I can eliminate? Do I have too much “nice to know” content that interferes with what cadets need to know and should be focusing on? As you review your course for fall and beyond, look at the content, the learning activities, assignments and assessments in two ways: 1. How will they be implemented in a face-to-face environment? 2. What adjustments are needed to achieve the same learning objectives (and appropriately assess learning) in an online or blended format. Content (kim to add a bit more here; mention to Front load what needs to be face to face inI early part of the course, if possible, in the course in event all online later on) 1|Page

For example, what content can easily be presented in the classroom AND online? Are there Learning Activities What other equivalent activity can you implement, similar to what you have cadets doing in the classroom? In many cases, you may be able to use the same activities for all delivery modalities but with different \"wrappers\" or add-ons to tailor the experience. When reviewing your course, look for how the various elements can serve a dual delivery purpose. Make note of your ideas, setup folders that offer the content two possible ways: online or F2F delivery. Note the adaptations or wrappers you may need to add to quickly move online. Consider using a mix of synchronous (e.g., video-conferences) and asynchronous (e.g., discussion forums, videos) sessions on a regular basis now, even when teaching in the classroom. This acclimates cadets to working in both delivery modalities, while allowing you to coach them through more confusing areas during face to face meetings. Make the asynchronous online sessions focused on a problem or question that is relevant to the readings and topics for that lesson or block, or that were explained or demonstrated in the classroom. By creating two paths or alternatives now, you may save yourself frantic work should the need to switch from F2F to online occur without much advance warning. When reviewing your course, do so with a learning-centered approach; foreground learning through coherent connections between the online and face-to-face components of the lessons if your course takes a blended format. Clearly and explicitly integrate and connect what happens in the classroom to the work being done online. This connection (i.e. the alignment of what’s happening in the class and in the online portion of the class) is key to a successful blended course. Assessment CALLI part Conclusion As you consider or work through this nimble course design process, always let your course and lesson objectives be your pedagogical compass. All that you do in a course or lesson should work towards helping cadets successfully achieve these objectives. Decades of research has demonstrated that students can learn successfully through online courses just as well as they can in face to face classrooms. However, what makes or breaks student success and satisfaction in either online or face-to-face courses are the same two things: 1) the course design and 2) the facilitation of the course learning. 2|Page

CEI has created two documents that may help you when planning your courses with both classroom and online delivery modalities in mind. The first document is an infographic that outlines in detail, a process for not only creating dual purpose materials, but also testing those materials and refining them as you move through the process. The second document is a worksheet (template) that may assist you in planning your course and lessons in a dual-purpose manner. Feel free to customize it to suit your specific needs. *Blended learning is defined as combining face-to-face instruction with technology-based learning and instruction. The terms “blended learning” and “hybrid learning” are used interchangeably in instructional science (Kerres & de Witt, 2003). Blended learning environments provide pedagogical richness, give flexible access to information, encourage/support social interaction and collaboration, enable a fast revision of learning content, and can provide alternative assessment possibilities. Kerres, M., & de Witt, C. (2003). A didactical framework for the design of blended learning arrangements. Learning, Media and Technology, 28(2 & 3), 101–113. 3|Page