E-Learning
E-Learning Module: Upper Elementary World Geography
A pilot module of two lessons of a world geography course for grades 3-5, including interactive features.
- ADDIE design framework
- Storyboarding process
- Canvas LMS
- H5P and other EdTech elements
Situation
This geography course pilot module was created for an instructional design assignment as part of my Masters of Education coursework. Following the ADDIE framework for instructional design, I identified a need that could be addressed with e-learning materials, then designed, developed, and tested the pilot modules.
Analysis
I drew on my experience with elementary-aged students and my knowledge of available homeschooling resources to identify a gap that could be filled with an online course. I chose to build a geography course for students in grades 3-5, because I knew that foundational knowledge about world geography and map skills are often assumed in history and science classes for this age group, without always being directly taught.
I prepared a detailed needs analysis that considered learner characteristics, learning contexts, existing products, desired outcomes, and potential solutions. A gap analysis of history materials for this age group helped me identify a set of topics and learning outcomes that would create a cohesive and comprehensive geography course.
Design
I used a storyboarding process to design the course content in an Excel spreadsheet before beginning to develop. I drafted all of the text content and found the images, videos, and website resources in this step, as well as planning out the interactive activities. The storyboard was submitted for evaluation before moving on to develop the interactive elements and building the course in the LMS.
Download storyboard (.xlsx)Develop
This course was originally hosted on Canvas LMS (I have now moved it into a set of custom pages to be displayed on this website). The interactive activities were developed using H5P, Quizlet, Canva, and map generation tools and then embedded into the course.
You can take a look at the live course to see all the interactive elements. Below are screenshots of some of the activities.
H5P Interactive Elements
Click an image to go to the live course.
Implement & Evaluate
The course module was reviewed by a group of peers from the class, who received a feedback form with questions about specific aspects of the course. Based on their feedback, I made some changes to the course before submitting the final assignment.
The implementation and evaluation stage of course development is an essential step to ensure that the course is sufficient to help students meet the learning objectives. In other projects, I have created similar feedback procedures so that the experiences of test users and early adopters can help me make improvements before the final product is released.
This geography course was a fun project to work on and it helped me feel confident about using the ADDIE process to create a well-designed and tested learning experience.
See more projects from my portfolio