Online learning is a growing method of education. ALTUM Health has an excellent online learning platform which is being used for creating online courses. Embodia, the online platform, has many capabilities and is relatively easy to use (Continuing Education Reinvented. ,n.d.). Using an online tool such as Embodia makes the learning process much easier for both educators and learners. I was asked to create a course to be used as a model for future online courses at ALTUM Health.
The problem with the online courses that ALTUM already has, is that they mostly consist of lessons containing only plain text and a long video. The video is actually a narrated slide show. This is not the best way of engaging the audience and is not using all the benefits and capabilities of the online learning model.
I was not familiar with all the features and details of Embodia. My supervisor introduced me to one of the founders of this platform and we met online to discuss the platform and how to use it. After that meeting and learning more about this platform, I attended an online course named “Train the trainer” (Train the Trainer. ,n.d.). After learning about the fundamentals of this platform, I decided to create a course in which each lesson uses one of the features of Embodia (e.g. text, hyperlinks, videos, picture, quizzes, and surveys).
In order to use presentations in this online platform, one has to upload a presentation file (powerpoint or PDF) and the user can download it after clicking a link. Alternatively, in order to prevent users from leaving the platform, I decided to put slides in one of the lessons as images. The user can navigate these slides and review them without having to exit the platform.
For videos, I decided to put an animation about online learning. I used Animaker, an online animation making machine (Animaker, n.d.), and uploaded the end result to the course.
Although it took time for me to collect all the course content, the process of putting them into Embodia was easy and interesting. One problem was creating quizzes. The quizzes were supposed to be easy to answer and they should be made in a form in which the audiences don’t feel that they are being judged.
It was a great experience working with a tool with new features and characteristics. With this experience, I feel more confident working with other online learning management systems which would be an asset when I start looking for my future career.
According to my learning contract, designing an evaluation model was one of my objectives in this practicum. There are several models which we can be followed. A common model is Kirkpatrick’s which evaluates four levels (reaction, learning, behavior, and results). In order to use this model, we need well-designed surveys (Frye, A. W., & Hemmer, P. A., 2012). I started making some surveys but to evaluate the long-term results, we need to evaluate the outcomes after a period of time and doing this, was not something I can finish during this practicum. I will continue being in contact with ALTUM Health and will make an outline for this evaluation. The same is true about strategy planning. Although it is a part of my learning contract, I do not have all the material and time to go through all the stages of this task. So I will prepare the outline for that and will try to complete it probably as a volunteer job after completing my practicum.
References:
Animaker, Make Animated Videos on Cloud for free. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.animaker.com/
Continuing Education Reinvented. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.embodiaacademy.com/
Frye, A. W., & Hemmer, P. A. (2012). Program evaluation models and related theories: AMEE Guide No. 67. Medical Teacher, 34(5). doi:10.3109/0142159x.2012.668637
Train the Trainer. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.embodiaacademy.com/courses/108-train-the-trainer-embodia-academy
Navid's Practicum 