Implementation of learning by design in a synchronized online environment to teach educational robotics to inservice teachers.

Teaching educational robotics is of growing interest in K-12 settings. Yet, immense efforts are needed to move the field forward by framing the teaching of robotics with pedagogically sound theories as well as appropriate instructional design models and strategies. To meet this need, the authors designed and implemented an online educational robotics course for inservice teachers who had little or no prior experience in teaching robotics, by applying instructional design factors as well as teaching and facilitation strategies derived from the learning by design (LBD) framework.

Hands-on, Minds-on, Hearts-on, Social-on: A Collaborative Maker Project Integrating Arts in a Synchronous Online Environment for Teachers.

This article presents a collaborative maker project integrating the arts in a synchronous online environment. Based on the Thinkering, Making, Sharing, and Reflecting (TMSR) model, the four components of hands-on, minds-on, hearts-on, and social-on learning were integrated into an online collaborative maker project involving arts, music, and coding. The authors first describe the theoretical framework of the TMSR model and the design and implementation of the maker project, and then report on the experiences and reflections of the participating teachers, who were enrolled in an online graduate course.