Author: admin

Final Reflection

In Authentic Learning in the Digital Age: Engaging Students Through Inquiry, Larissa Pahomov writes, “For student reflection to be meaningful, it must be metacognitive, applicable, and shared with others,” and defines metacognitive reflection as taking the process of reflection “to the next level because it is concerned not with assessment, but with self-improvement: Could this be better? How? What steps should you take?” (read full article here). In light of this assertion, I would like you to write a metacognitive reflection letter on the final project. This reflection should be addressed to me in letter format, with full paragraphs, and aim to identify how you could improve your work. Here are some guiding questions:

  1. Describe your contributions to the final project in detail. What writing/research/design/management responsibilities did you take on in order to complete this project? How did you complete your individual contributions to the group? What steps did you take? What tools did you use? Did you meet your deadlines (why or why not)?
  2. Did you feel like your contributions had a positive impact on the final project? Did you feel the other group members valued your contributions? Did the reactions of your group members (revisions, suggestions, critiques) help you develop your materials in a constructive way?
  3. How do you feel you worked as a team? How did you facilitate communication and collaboration between the group members? What tools did you use? Can you suggest improvements for this process? What did you learn that would help you in future group work situations?
  4. What did you learn through the process of creating and presenting this project? How did this project help you synthesize and apply the topics we covered throughout the semester? Do you have suggestions to improve this assignment?
  5. And finally, what readings, activities, assignments, and discussions did you find particularly helpful, informative, and engaging in this class this semester? What would you suggest be changed to improve this course next time it is offered?

You may expand or add to these guidelines in any way you wish. This is your opportunity to speak directly to me about what you learned in this course.

This will be submitted as a Google Doc or Word Doc (file name: finalreflection_yoursection_yourlastname for example finalreflection_151ON1_licastro) that you share with me upon completion at alicastro@stevenson.edu or amanda.licastro@gmail.com. For Google Docs, you must invite me as an editor (with privileges to edit, not just read or comment) to amanda.licastro@gmail.com. You will complete this after our final presentations on the day of our scheduled final exam.

Also, please include this statement at the bottom of the document and fill in your name and response:

I ____________ (do/ do not) give Dr. Amanda Licastro permission to use my final project as an example in scholarly presentations and publications.

Pitch

For your final project you will be creating an educational VR experience. The first step in this process is to pitch your idea to your potential investors (your classmates and Mosaic Learning). To accomplish this you must present:

  • A 350 word abstract in MLA format. Post this to the blog under tag “pitch.” Find examples here: http://www.umt.edu/ugresearch/umcur/sample_abstracts.php
  • A description of your intended audience and an explanation of how you will reach them.
  • A clear purpose and an explanation of why this is educational and how it can be assessed.
  • Citations and evidence of research.
  • A multimedia presentation with visual aides.

You will have 3 minutes to present, and I will time you. Think of this like a Shark Tank pitch. You want the presentation to be convincing, dynamic, and well researched. Be prepared to answer questions from the audience.

Final Project

For your final project you will use all of the readings and discussions we have had throughout this semester to inspire your own creation: a virtual reality experience that focuses on the education system. You may draw from your own personal experience, the readings we have done, and outside research to design a short VR application intended to educate your audience. Consider using the NYTimes VR, InMind, and HTC Vive applications as inspiration ans models for your work. You will design this simulation as an entry to the competition being held by Mosaic Learning:

http://www.mosaiclearning.com/

  • Each proposal should include the following elements:
    • Intro/Purpose – a thorough description of your application, your inspiration, and your intended audience. In this section describe how this application will be educational.
    • Learning Outcomes – what will your audience learn and how can this learning be assessed?
    • User Experience/ User Interface – how will your audience use this application? Explain what device (Google Cardboard, HTC Vive, Oculus Go) you intend this to be for and why, describe the interactive elements of the application, and demonstrate the visual appeal of this experience. This is where your storyboard and script should appear in your final proposal.  
    • Implementation Strategy – who will you market this toward and how will you reach them? Consider what your logo, motto, and or/tagline might be. How will this be implemented by teachers into classrooms? How will educators measure the impact of this experience?
    • Long-term Vision – how can this be expanded into a series of applications? Can there be more chapters? New editions? New features? Can you expand this to new (secondary) audiences? How can you reach new markets with this application?

     

To accomplish this task, the project will be broken down into steps.

  1. Individual pitches: each student will conceptualize and present their idea for a project in 3 minutes. The class will vote on the top 4  projects.
  2. Group contracts: in small groups of 3-4, students will outline their plan for this project and assign roles and responsibilities for each student to accomplish. A timeline and due dates will be established.
  3. Formal proposals: each group will compose a 5-7 page proposal for their project meeting the criteria of the competition. The proposal will include outside research, citations, and a bibliography.
  4. Storyboard: each group will create a demo of the simulation by making script and storyboard for their prototype.
    Storyboard (Hints and Tips)

  5. Final presentation: this is your mock presentation to the U.S. Department of Education. You will present all of your research and your prototype using: PowerPoint, Google Slides, Prezi, Emaze, Adobe Spark, Canva, handouts, poster, etc. You have 12 minutes plus 3 for questions.
    The final presentations are during our final exam period. Feel free to bring food/drinks to share! You will post your final proposals to our course blog using the category and tag “Final” the day before our final exam period.
    Have fun! Be creative! Be inspired!

Comparison Essay

Comparing different points of view: How should our education system adapt to the digital age?

Instructions: In this essay you will consider multiple opinions on the same topic. All of the articles we have read in this class discuss the impact of technology on our ability to process information. The main objective of this assignment is twofold:

1) You will practice active reading by analyzing the arguments presented by the authors we read – Carr, La Farge, Jabr, Davidson, and Goldhill – on how the Internet is changing our ability to read and research. You need to present at least four points from the articles through summary, paraphrase, and/or quotation (with citations) and explain the significance of each in your own words.

2)  You will present new knowledge about the subject being explored: a comparison essay should always do more than simply list similarities and differences, it should also incorporate your own opinion and experience. Therefore, based on the comparison you’ve conducted, you should make an argument about how our education system should adapt to the digital age.  Your argument should take precedence over the comparison, so don’t let a lengthy comparison section overwhelm your overall argument.

Audience: For this assignment, your audience is an educator or administrator who is well informed and interested in the relationship between technology and learning. You may choose to imagine your audience as sympathetic to your argument or staunchly against your argument. For example, you can imagine your high school English teacher or the president of Stevenson as your audience.

Requirements:

  • Length: 3-4 pages
  • Formatting: Your draft should be in Times New Roman, size 12, double-spaced, one-inch margins, MLA pagination and citation style, use spell-check.
  • Your final will be posted to the course blog with the category “midterm” and the tag “midterm.”
  • Organization: Your essay should contain an introduction with a thesis, body paragraphs with strong topic sentences and transitions, and a conclusion.
  • Provide a title.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Solve a problem whose context and definition have been given.
  • Read and interpret texts rhetorically.
  • Use sources, differentiating between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.
  • Write expository and argumentative texts in the academic style and to the basic standards of content, organization, and correctness.
  • Communicate orally and nonverbally during class participation, workshops, and/or presentations.
  • Negotiate personal values by recognizing the values within a text.

This is worth 20% of your grade and will be assessed based on this rubric.

Rhetorical Analysis

In class we practiced analyzing sources using rhetorical conventions. For this assignment, you will compose a rhetorical analysis of one of the articles we have read so far in class.

First, you need to choose one article to focus on. Then, you need to determine the author (biographical information), audience (who is this targeted toward), purpose (main claims and arguments), context (when what is written, where was it published, etc), and genre (what form of writing is this) using the handout provided in class. You should address each of these topics thoroughly with direct evidence from the text and your research. You must use MLA citations for any information you summarize, paraphrase, or quote (we will go over this in class). To do this you must write a 3-4 page analysis (double spaced, TNR 12).

You should also provide an analysis of the interface – in other words the platform the text is published in – and how that interface affects your experience of the text. When analyzing the interface consider color, font, images, videos, infographics, and user experience. You will do this through a visual aide that guides your audience through the article. You may use screen captured videos (I suggest JING, screencastomatic, or Quicktime), screen captured GIFs (I suggest  or LiceCAP or GIPHY), or screencaptured images with hand drawn annotations (you can use an app for this, see list here). The idea is to walk your audience through your analysis visually and alphabetically.

This is due on before class time on 9/27. It should be posted as category “blog” and tag “rhetorical analysis.”

This project is worth  15% of your grade

Basic instructions for posting to WordPress

  • Click “Log In” on right side
  • Username = Stevenson username (email)
  • Click on profile and change your password
  • Go to “Post” – “New”
  • Add media
    Don’t forget to use Advanced Google Image search for “free to use or share”
  • Add your categories and tags
  • Publish
Ask me if you have any questions!

Literacy Narrative

Using the examples we discussed in class as inspiration, you will compose your own DIGITAL literacy narrative. This should be a personal story of how you learned to read and write with a specific focus on the tools that helped you in this journey.

Your audience is your classmates, but you will have the option to upload these to the DALN, so consider a broader audience of students and teachers from around the world as well.

Your narrative should include specific dates, people, places, books, devices, and moments from your personal history. You should focus on 3-5 moments from your history that had the greatest impact on your literacy journey and describe these moments with vivid details and thorough explanations. Begin with an introduction explaining who you are now. Organize your supporting examples details chronologically with clear transitions to aid the reader. Your conclusion should explain how this process will influence your future.

You should aim for 2 pages, single spaced, in Times New Roman 12.

Along with the writing, your narrative MUST include media. This can include videos (featuring you speaking to the camera, interviews with people from your narrative, clips from movies/shows you mention in the narrative), a series of pictures, a timeline, a short animation, a combination of all of these elements, or anything else you can dream up! If you include videos, GIFs, or images from an outside source please provide the link and a citation.

Combine both the writing and the media into a blog post with a clever title. Use the category “blog” and the tag “narrative” when posting to the site (if you fail to do this I cannot grade your work!). You may also include any tags you feel describe your narrative (you can use the categories and labels from the DALN for inspiration).

This paper is worth 10% of your final grade. Here is the grading rubric.

You will present this narrative in class. You will have 3 minutes each. Please practice before you present. You should aim to be interesting, engaging, and professional.

The presentation is worth 10 points.

We will recite the academic integrity pledge in class before your presentation:

“I pledge on my honor that I have neither given nor received

unauthorized assistance on this assignment.”