Moving out of the kiddie pool

[smoore5]

I just started using Canvas 4 weeks ago. My experience so far has been to build a very traditional set of classroom assignments (reading homework -> quiz -> chapter test -> unit test) and now I'm ready to start pushing into more project based learning using the tools that I am learning about in the Canvas training videos. The biggest inspirations have been seeing how to leverage smartphones into learning devices. 

My school is fighting an unwinnable war with students and their mobile devices. As an Instructional Technology Facilitator, I have been trying to get teachers to see the powerful tool that their students have at their fingertips. The biggest disconnect though, is that you can't just throw a smartphone at a traditional assignment and expect the same learning outcomes. Many of the teachers at my school are unwilling to rethink what it is they are actually trying to accomplish in student learning. The fundamental question is: am I teaching to give a grade OR am I teaching to measure learning? 

So, rather than ask people to do something I haven't done myself, I'm taking the opportunity to experiment with the 1 class I teach this semester - Honors Anatomy and Physiology. I'm ready to implement the tools and examples I have seen and ready to reshape how we quantify learning with my one small class as the start. 

My plan is to build modules around the next 4 body systems that we will be studying. They will be self-paced, allowing students to have freedom of choice in demonstrating clearly defined learning objectives that they will demonstrate through a variety of digital media assignment submissions. I'm also planning to put in performance requirements that set a minimum score threshold before the student unlocks the next module. All while sharing and demonstrating with my colleagues.