Blended Learning Course

Elementary Japanese 1

During the Spring 2020 semester of the IDT master’s program, I was able to design a course within the Canvas Learning Management System, creating lessons that facilitated learning Japanese Language. I designed a syllabus that reflected previous course syllabuses, containing a course description, learning outcomes, grading policy, university resources, and a course schedule. For the finalized version of the Canvas course, I created a introduction video of myself to start a teacher to student connection. The main structure of the lesson content was a consistent layout of three (3) modules. Within each module contained introductions, lectures, learning activities, and assessments. Each lesson contained a different form of media to help teach the language lessons such as:

• Audio Recording
• Screencast
• Live Video

My overall goal for the course was to create a motivational, meaningful and effective online learning experience for Japanese language. I utilized instructional design models such as the Keller’s ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction) model to ensure that mastering the fundamentals of Japanese language is achievable, fun and motivating to all students.

Reflection

I feel like this artifact was great practice as an beginner instructional designer with no background in teaching. I was already familiar with Canvas since I built courses for UC’s College of Nursing. I anticipate that within the professional environment, I would often collaborate closely with subject matter experts and create projects similar to this one.

Overall, this project was the pinnacle of what I have learned previously during the IDT master’s program. I had to apply learning theories, instructional design models, and instructional methods to create an online course that teaches Japanese language, a topic that can be intimidating for beginners. During a previous course, Blended Learning and Design, I had no strategy on how to approach teaching such a rich topic fully online. I believe that learning about Keller’s ARCS model (1987) and Gagne’s Nine Events of Learning was a big help that allowed me to construct an online course that’s motivational, meaningful, and effective. After the completion of this course, I feel more confident and prepared to take on a professional role as an instructional designer.

Sources:

Keller, J. M. (1987). Development and use of the ARCS model of instructional design. Journal of Instructional Development, 10(3), 2-10. doi:10.1007/bf02905780

Kruse, K. (2009). Gagne’s nine events of instruction: An introduction. Retrieved the, 10.

Contact me if you would like more information about this project!