EcoTypes COIL

[Pilot COIL module here!…send us a request for login if you’d like to try it.]

Overview | Features | Instructor role | Module summary

Overview

Coming August 2022 we expect to have an EcoTypes COIL up and running on this site. A COIL, or Collaborative Online International Learning resource, is an interactive e-learning enhancement to EcoTypes designed for college students, as well as those who purchase the upcoming EcoTypes book.

The EcoTypes COIL is expected to build on our increasing list of U.S. and cross-national collaborators, and offer online participants the opportunity to learn more deeply about the differing ways we approach environmental issues while exchanging across regional and cultural difference.

The COIL is envisioned initially to include three LearnDash modules, summarized below, with an additional module, Consider Case Studies, and an instructor training module to be developed in future assuming demand.

Features

Here are the envisioned features of each module:

• Each takes about 2-3 hours to complete.
• Each consists of approximately 6 self-guided lessons.
  • Each lesson includes text of about 1000 words per lesson. The participant advances through these lessons in sequence.
  • Each lesson concludes with a brief multiple-choice quiz of 5 questions. The participant must get 4 our of 5 correct to advance. The quiz, and quiz retakes, are automatically assessed and recorded.
• Following the lesson sequence is a review lesson.
  • The review lesson includes an assignment upload; assignment specifications are up to the instructor. Assignments can be manually scored or automatically accepted.
  • There is a link from the review lesson to an optional bbPress discussion forum, in which the participant can exchange thoughts with others.
• Following the review lesson is a final quiz, consisting of randomly selected questions from the lessons. Again, the participant must receive a minimum 80 percent correct, and will be prompted to retake until they pass.
• Once all above are completed, the participant receives a completion certificate! Here is a sample certificate, for the participant named (!) EcoTypes COIL01.

Instructor role

Interested instructors would do the following:

• Register their students as participants. We can upload an enrollment sheet, or participants can register themselves; we will discuss what works best.
• Assign participants to their course group. Instructors will bulk manage students, assessment, etc. as a group. They can also bulk assign courses (including custom courses) per group. For this and below functions, instructors will have special access to the back-end of the EcoTypes COIL, a simple WordPress dashboard interface.
• Introduce participants to module process/expectations. Instructors will handle all communications directly with students. We recommend all instructors complete each module themselves, so that they can help students as needed.
• Manage assessment of students, and of COIL module(s). Instructors have a variety of options to grade student COIL work; one easy option is to award fixed credit to all students who complete each module. The optional written assignment upload, and forum participation, allow for credit differentiation. We also appreciate instructor input on the student COIL experience, toward improvement of the COIL.

Progress on COIL development, and opportunities from cross-institutional COIL interaction, will be shared via the EcoTypes Google Group; please join to keep in touch, or submit a question form.

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Module summary