Session 5: Online eLearning course

The best online elearning course from our research is "Minecraft Hour of Code".

Ray

Minecraft Hour of Code 

https://code.org/minecraft

Lesson Overview:

In this one hour lesson, learners of all ages get an introductory experience with coding and computer science in a safe, supportive environment. Younger learners will probably not finish the tutorial, but will have lots of fun working through the puzzles for an hour. High school students will mostly finish the tutorial and have some time to play on the free play level at the end.

Learning Objectives:

• Define “coding” and “computer science”
• Identify key computer science vocabulary
• Use coding block to programme
• Debug the programme
• Identify places to go to continue learning computer science and coding
• Encourage students to continue to learn online

Target learners:

• students old enough to read (ages 6+)
• students are brand new to computer science and coding

Course evaluation criteria:

• Complete each level of the programming task

Pedagogical benefits of this e-Learning course:

• Attention - Students’ are stimulated by their interesting characters such as Minecraft,  Anna and Elsa, Angry bird and those popular theme. They learn through a game.
  
• Relevance and Confidence - For increasing learning motivation, there are list of inspirational videos featuring by different role models and celebrities such as President Obama, Facebook founder Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Football player Neymar, a list of successful woman working in different career. In order to raise the importance of coding.
  
• Satisfaction - The one hour learning activities consists of different levels. Learners are encouraged to climb up to higher level. For introducing a new knowledge, a video will be presented by a role model for understanding. Then learners have to work through some levels to practise and consolidate the concept.
  
  Although if you are not using the best solution to complete the task. You are still encouraged to challenge by debugging your programme or just continue to the next level but not freeze in that level without movement.
  
  
  
  
  
  Also at the end of the lesson, no matter you can challenge all the levels of the activities, you are appreciated to participate in these learning process.
  

Reflections about this course:

• According to the Bloom’s Taxonomy, the learning objective is focused on the stage of understanding and applying. It aims for raising student interested in computer science and coding.
• Game based learning activities motivate students based on the theory of behaviorism. Students reward a certificate at the end.
• Based on the theory of cognitivism,  learners were introduced new knowledge by videos. Learners can practise the skills by completing few levels. For the difficult concept, more steps will be provided to guide learners to complete it easily and successfully.
  
• After completing all tasks, the last level is the stage of creation. That is the top level of  Bloom’s Taxonomy. Learners experienced what they have learnt and master their skills to do the construction by themselves.
  
• Refer to the learning objectives, this course is suitable for the beginners of learning computer science and coding. It encourages students to continue to learn afterward.

• 

_____________________________

Civen

eLearning Course

 

Course Topic: 

Codeacademy is an interactive and collaborative online platform that teaches various programming languages. The programming languages that Codecademy covers are Python, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, JQuery, Ruby and PHYP.

Course source and link

https://www.codecademy.com/

Course Objectives: 

To be able to define the programming language 

To be able to identify the features unique to the programming language

To be able to implement the programming language in the given context 

Target Learners: 

The target learners for this course are beginners to coding. They may range from young adolescents to adults. It offers a brief and general introduction to each of the programming languages.

Course Evaluation Criteria:
Ability to complete tasks
Quizzes
Completion of topics in the given syllabus

Pedagogical Benefits: 
Scaffolding
Since Codecademy has a syllabus, the programming course for any given language is broken down into sizeable chunks. This provides scaffolded support for the user to build on their understanding of the programming language. They must be complete the task presented before they are able to move onto the next step. This can be seen as a form of cognitivism as the syllabus has organized and sequenced how the user would need to learn the programming language. They have to merely follow the steps listed when completing the course.

Formative assessment
Quizzes are promptly given after completing various task. This acts as a form of formative assessment for the user. It allows them to check their understanding and identify the areas they need to revise or revisit.

Gamification
Students are able to track their progress and compete against others. They can receive points and badges after completing a particular topic. This encourages and motivates students to continue to revisit the online elearning course.

Advantages: 

Each language has its own course. The programming course is organized into sections that have interconnected exercises. When beginning a programming course, the course lesson screen has three panels. The first panel has the learning objective and introduces the teaching point. This is followed by the instructions, which lists various tasks that need to be completed. The instructions include a series of steps that users can easily follow. If they are stuck and unable to move on, there is a “hint” button and they can also go to the discussion forum to seek for help. The second panel has the code editor to write the code and complete given tasks. The third panel shows how the code entered would look like in real time e.g. when completing a HTML course, the user would be able to see how the code entered would look like on a real web page. The three panels work together to show the step by step process in coding. The user is able to develop an understanding on the relationship between the code and the effect of using it. 

During the lesson, the user can stop at any time and their progress is automatically saved. They are able to continue the lesson from where they were before. The users need to complete all of the given tasks in a lesson. The tasks are the instructions given in the lesson. After entering the code on to the code editor and running it successfully, will users be able to move onto to the next task. There is an aspect of gamification, where after completing a lesson, users are awarded points and badges.  On the dashboard, users can track their individual progress.

For teachers using Codecademy, they can find lesson plans for students, keep track of which exercises their students are on, and how much they have completed. Teachers are able to create coding lessons for their students based on their progress. Students can also keep track of their classmate’s progress and see their achievements, which promotes healthy competition among students.

In addition, there are also discussion forums for users to discuss and share with one another any problems or queries they may have. This creates a collaborative atmosphere for users to discuss with each other. They do not necessarily have to solely interact with the program itself. They are able to join this community of practice to further develop their understanding of coding. They are able to receive help from experts and refer to materials provided by Codecademy.

Since the programming courses are broken into sections, it organizes what users need to know into sizeable chunks. This makes it easier for the programming language to be assimilated and accommodated as quickly as possible. Moreover, the three panels shown on the screen demonstrate the cognitive approach where they are given the input and have to store the information in their minds. Then, they have to complete the task based on the instructions given as a form of output.  

This online learning course provides a general introduction to the various programming languages and organizes it in a way that is easy for the user to quickly learn the code. The three panels allow the user to understand what they are learning and learn how it is applied. They are able to immediately see the results and develop a better understanding on the relationship of the code and its purpose.

Disadvantages: 

When the tasks are given on Codecademy, it has to be completed in order for the user to be able to move on to the next step. They have to master the earlier steps before they can progress towards the more complex steps. This embodies the behaviourist approach to teaching and learning. Moreover, if the user is able to demonstrate the taught behaviour, they are able to see the result in the third panel and can move on to the next step. If they are able to complete all of the tasks given, they are rewarded with points and badges.

This may also hinder users’ understanding of how to use the programming language as they are taught to follow a particular sequence. They may become reliant on the programming course telling them what they need to do next, instead of thinking it by themselves. They are not given an opportunity to apply what they have learned however they want. There is a certain degree of limitation and restriction.

While the users are able to move at their own pace, the tasks that they have to complete are not personalized. If a particular user is encountering difficulty, they are unable to receive specialized help unless they post on the discussion forum or pay for the Pro courses where they have access to live technical support from professional developers. Even then, they would have to wait for responses, which may take especially long for a discussion forum. If they are stuck, they are unable to move on to the next step.

Reasons for recommending this course:
I would recommend this course to those that have little or no knowledge in any of the programming languages given. The syllabus for each of the programming languages is clearly listed and builds on what you have learned as you move to the next topic. The user interface of the three panels ensures that you have everything you need to start learning! You are given the teaching point to read on the left hand side, the middle is where you enter the programming language and apply what you have learned. and the third panel allows you to see the programming language in action. You are able to apply what you have read and understand how it works by seeing the result displayed. 

————————————————————————————————————

Danny

1)       Course topic: Launch Your Career in Data Science

course source & link:https://www.coursera.org/specializations/jhu-data-science

learning objectives: This Specialization covers the concepts and tools you'll need throughout the entire data science pipeline, from asking the right kinds of questions to making inferences and publishing results. In the final Capstone Project, you’ll apply the skills learned by building a data product using real-world data. At completion, students will have a portfolio demonstrating their mastery of the material.

2)  Target learners:Students majored in data science,professionals worked in related area or anyone who shows great interest in it.

3)  Course evaluation criteria:Assessment,week quiz.

4) Pedagogical benefits of this e-Learning course: Implement mass media to process courses;Include both cognitive knowledge and practical skills to apply specific softwares;Real-time feedback;Course-completion certificate.

5) Your other reflections about this course: We now live in an information society thus it’s necessary to learn knowledge about data science.It help students think in logical way and behave in order.What’s more,the data-analyse applications the course recommend are free for use.

----------------------------------------------------

Jasmine

 1) 

Course topic: Materials in Oral Health

course source: https://www.coursera.org/learn/materials-oral-health

learning objectives: 

This 4-week Oral Biomaterials course unveils to you the special properties and benefits of biomaterials including, titanium and titanium alloys, other alloys, zirconia and other ceramics, and modern composites. You will gain insights of practical use and applications of these biomaterials in different aspects of dentistry and clinical implications. You will realize how contemporary dentistry is about unifying synthetic materials to living tooth and bone tissues. You will get in touch with the crucial roles of digital dentistry and learn about CAD/CAM technology in crown fabrication, 3D printing and digital orthodontics. And lastly, you will be introduced to procedures and testing methods used to analyze and test significant mechanical properties of biomaterials in the research laboratory.

2)  
Target learners:
The course is designed to serve multiple groups of learners. (1) Dental practitioners, specialized dentists, and dental technicians (global): They will keep their knowledge up to date on the basic properties and concepts of dental biomaterials and other materials used in clinical dentistry, medicine and dental laboratories. (2) Non-dental practitioners: It is informative, mind opening and highly useful for medical and dental R&D staff, material engineers, marketing and sales personnel to keep up-to-date with the state of the art development in biomaterial science and technology. (3) Dental students and students from a diverse background: The students are enabled to learn the big picture, the special characteristics and proper procedures for health, handling, safety, and infection control with respect to oral biomaterials. (4) Senior Secondary School students: The course is also a good extended learning experience for senior secondary school students who wish to pursue a career in dentistry, medicine or materials science and engineering in their tertiary education.

3)  
Course evaluation criteria: Check-point

4) 
Pedagogical benefits of this e-Learning course: 
a.Using check-point along the process of learning is a good way to test students whether they have got the main idea of this lesson; 
b.Real-time feedback; 
c.Students are free to organize their time on studying

5) 

Your other reflections about this course: 

As more and more e-learning courses for online learning, the learning model of online learning is becoming more and more popular. But there are some problems, facing a large number of learning resources, learners often do not know how to choose their own useful courses to learn.

----------------------------------------------------

Luna

Course Topic:  World of Wine: From Grapes to Glass

Course Source: from https://www.edx.org/

Course Link: https://www.edx.org/course/world-wine-grape-glass-adelaidex-wine101x-2

Learning Objectives (LOs):

Ø  give learners a broad understanding of the principles and practices of grape and wine production

Ø  can confidently describe wine appearance, aroma, flavor and taste

Ø  gain an appreciation for how cutting-edge research is helping to secure the future sustainability of the global wine industry

Target Learners: people who are interested in wine and want to know more about how grapes are grown and wine is made

Course evaluation criteria:

l   Participation in the weekly discussion activity

l   Weekly knowledge test after each class

Course Procedure:

Process	Topic	Assessment
Week 1	Wine Styles and Sensory Evaluation	1. Participation in the weekly discussion activities: - Taste/tactile interactions - Your wine notes 2. A Taste Test
Week 2	The Grape Vine	1. Participation in the weekly discussion activity: - Alternative varieties 2. The Grapevine Knowledge Test
Week 3	The Vineyard	1. Participation in the weekly discussion activity: - Harvest decisions 2. The Vineyard Knowledge Test
Week 4	Wine Production	1. Participation in the weekly discussion activity: - Virtual winemaking 2. The Wine Production Knowledge Test
Week 5	Wine Making	1. Participation in the weekly discussion activities: - Best labels - Make better wine 2. The Winemaking Knowledge Test
Week 6	Grape and Wine Science	No assessment items in this week

Pedagogical benefits of this e-Learning course:

l   Each week contains training videos forum discussions and a knowledge test, along with interactive activities, which can evaluate the effectiveness of this course clearly.

l   The time length of each class is appropriate and the 5-10 minutes video with additional information resources and diagrams can keep the students focused.

l   Post-class tests can check their understanding of the key concepts and they can get the feedback instantly.

l   Many interactive activities can keep things fun and engage learners to go on.

My other reflections about this course:

I think this course is special but there are some tasks such as tasting some wine in real life, which may be difficult for students to achieve.
_______________________________________________