Part 1: Pre-Workshop Activities

Please note: Part 1: Pre-Workshop Activities will take 30 minutes to complete.

The purpose of the Pre-Workshop Activities is to:

Introduce you to the Learning Types used in storyboarding,
Map and reflect on the learning types you currently use in your course
Prepare you for the storyboarding activity in Trello, including learning about some features and getting your own account and empty board set up.

After Part 1, you will either attend a storyboarding workshop in Zoom, or continue with "Part 2: Independent Storyboarding".

Defining course learning types (3 minutes)

In this activity, you will learn about learning types. After completing the activity, you will have:

A visual representation of the learning types in your course
A reflection on the learning types represented in your course

Defining Course Learning Types (Video 2)

Review the Learning types and some example activities below.

Acquisition

Learning through acquisition is what learners are doing when they are listening to a lecture or podcast, reading from books or websites, and watching demos or videos.

Traditional activities

Reading books, journals, papers
Listening to lecture in class
Watching lab demonstrations or simulations

Online activities

Reading electronic documents or e-books (Course Readings Tool in OWL, Other OWL content, online journals)
Listening to podcasts or streaming videos in short, digestible chunks (Via OWL, YouTube, iTunes)
Watching lab demonstrations or simulations

Learning through collaboration encompasses discussion, practice, and production. Building on investigations and acquisition, it is about learners taking part in the process of knowledge building together.

Traditional

Small group project requiring face-to-face meeting
Commenting on others’ input in a class discussion
Watching lab demonstrations or simulations
Building a joint output

Online

Small group project work using OWL discussion forums, Microsoft 365, Google Drive, Zoom, VoiceThread
Analyzing the ideas and information in a range of digital resources
Building a joint output on a topic in Microsoft OneDrive or Wordpress
Using digital tools to collect and analyze data (open data)
Comparing digital texts (eReserve)
Searching and evaluating information and ideas found online or in library databases

Discussion

Learning through discussion requires the learner to articulate their ideas and questions, and to challenge and respond to the ideas and questions from the instructor and/or from their peers.

Traditional

Tutorial sessions
Seminars
Discussion in groups
Discussion in class

Online

Asynchronous: OWL Discussion forum, VoiceThread, Google Group
Synchronous: Zoom, Blackboard Collaborate

Investigation

Learning through investigation guides the learner to explore, comparing and critiquing the texts, documents and resources that reflect the concepts and ideas being taught.

Traditional

Using text-based study guides (textbooks, course packs)
Analyzing the ideas and information in a range of materials and resources
Using conventional methods to collect and analyze data
Comparing texts
Searching and evaluating information and ideas

Online

Using digital study guides (e-books, open textbooks, eReserves)
Analyzing the ideas and information in a range of digital resources
Using digital tools to collect and analyze data (open data)
Comparing digital texts (eReserve)
Searching and evaluating information and ideas found online or in library databases

Production

Learning through production motivates the learner to consolidate what they have learned by articulating their current conceptual understanding and how they used it in practice.

Traditional

Producing documents, e.g. statements, essays, reports
Producing designs
Presentations

Online

Producing electronic documents (OWL, Microsoft 365, Google Drive)
Creating designs (OWL, Microsoft 365, Google Drive, Wordpress)
Presentations (Google Slides, voice over PowerPoint, Zoom)

Practice

Learning through practice enables the learner to adapt their actions to a task or goal, and use the feedback they get from self-reflection, their peers, their instructor, or the activity itself to improve the result of their action in relation to the goal.

Traditional

Practice exercises
Labs
Field trips
Face-to-face role-play activities

Online

Self-assessment tests (OWL Quiz)
Virtual labs
Virtual field trips
Online role play activities or simulations

Map your course learning types (10 minutes)

After completing the activity, you will have:

A visual representation of the learning types in your course
A reflection on the learning types represented in your course
Look at your syllabus. Reflect on the learning types you see most often, jotting down notes in the margins about the learning types in your current course design if you wish.

Map your current course learning types using the spider web graph tool, and save a copy of it for Part 2 of the workshop.

Reflect
Look at the map of your current course learning types and reflect on the following questions.

Does this represent what I intended when I designed my course?
Are there any learning types that are over- or under-represented?
Are there any gaps I want to address?

Introduction to storyboarding (15 minutes)

In this section, you will

Watch an introduction to the storyboarding process, and
Watch an introduction to storyboarding in Trello
Sign up for Trello and make your own copy of our template storyboard

Introduction to Storyboarding (Video 3)

Getting started with Trello

We are using a tool called Trello for the storyboarding process. The tool is fairly intuitive, but creating a log-in and learning the basic functions of the tool ahead of time will make the storyboarding process go smoothly.

By the end of Getting started with Trello, you will be able to:

Make an account and log in,
Create a blank storyboard from our template,
Add a new learning activity card,
Move a learning activity card,
Specify an instructional activity, and
Add an assessment.

Make an account at trello.com

Go to trello.com and click "Sign Up" (or log-in if you already have an account). Our team uses our uwo.ca addresses for Trello.

Make a storyboard for your course

Open the “ABC Online Course Design at Western" template.
Click “Create board from template” at the top of the screen.
Change the title to your course name, and make sure “Keep Cards” and “Keep Template Cards” are selected.

Invite collaborators if applicable

If you have collaborators or co-instructors, clicking “Invite”. You can share the link or enter their email addresses directly.

trello

Now you're ready to explore how the Trello board works, but you can save storyboarding for Part 2.

Storyboarding in Trello (ABC Video 4)

We have simplified the look of the cards so your boards have a sleeker look, so don't worry about slight differences between your board and the video - they function the same.

Try some of the tasks introduced in the video. Complete the following:

Add learning type cards for the first two weeks by clicking the icon in the bottom right corner of the list
Try re-arranging a card
Type in instructional activities for each card

Don't worry if you're not sure about what you've created so far. Just give it a try and we'll clarify during Part 2.

If you’re attending one of our Zoom sessions, congratulations! You’ve completed your pre-work and are prepared for our workshop. You have in hand:

A syllabus with learning outcomes (hard copy is a bonus!)
A graph of learning types of your current course (spiderweb graph)
A mostly blank trello board, other than the cards you added in weeks 1 and 2.

For further context, you are more than welcome to watch the videos in Part 2 before attending a Zoom workshop, but it is not necessary.

pause and play