admin – Composition and Writing With Sources

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 on the final project. This reflection should address the following questions, with an aim to identify how you could improve your work.

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)?
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?
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?
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?
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. For Google Docs, you must invite me as an editor (with privileges to edit, not just read or comment). 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.

Final Assignment

For your final project you will use all of the readings and discussions we have had throughout this semester to inspire your own creation: an educational virtual reality experience. You may draw from your own personal experience, the fiction we have read and watched, and outside research to design a short VR application which is intended to teach your audience about a specific subject. You will design this simulation as an entry to the competition being held by Mosaic Learning:

http://www.mosaiclearning.com/

Winner Selection Criteria

Learning Outcomes. The extent to which the simulation prototype (1) contains clearly defined academic, technical, and employability learning objectives; (2) spurs change or improvement in the user’s knowledge and skills; and (3) provides data to the user and instructor with respect to progress toward achievement of the learning outcomes.
Engagement – User Experience. The extent to which the simulation prototype demonstrates an engaging user experience on par with commercially available entertainment games. This experience should be both educational and evoke empathy.
Engagement – User Interface. The extent to which the simulation prototype exhibits a thoughtful user interface design on par with commercially available entertainment games.
Commitment. The extent to which the submission: (1) demonstrates the entrant’s evolution and improvement of the concept; and (2) illustrates the entrant’s ability and intention to improve upon and scale the simulation beyond the Challenge timeframe.
Implementation Strategy. The extent to which the submission describes a detailed plan for implementation that takes into account potential barriers such as cost and technological constraints, including integration with existing and future technology, and proposes potential solutions to overcome such barriers.

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

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. (10 points)
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. (15 points)
Formal proposals: each group will compose a 3-5 page proposal for their project meeting the criteria of the competition. The proposal will include outside research, citations, and a bibliography. (50 points)
Storyboard: each group will create a demo of the simulation by making script and storyboard. (25 points)
Final presentation: this is your presentation to Mosaic Learning. You will present all of your research and your prototype using presentation programs and your storyboard. You have 15 minutes plus 3 for questions. The final presentations are during the final exam period.100 points total

In class essay

In this class we have discussed the impact of technology on education and read the opinions of experts to ground our discussions.In Ready Player One, Ernst Cline offers a fictional account of a future in which Virtual Reality (VR) has influenced all aspects of society, including the school system. Using the content of this course, construct an argument about how VR has the potential to change the education system at all levels.

Give specific examples from personal experience, the novel, and the articles we have read. Use summary, paraphrase, and direct quotes to provide evidence cited in MLA format. You must have at least two quotes from the novel and one quote from an article we have read. Pay particular attention to the structure of your essay, using transitions to make sure each of your points builds on your thesis adding to an ongoing conversation.

Post under category “blog” and tag “RP1” before class ends.

Provocation Assignment

Throughout the semester you will notice “provocation” assignments built into our syllabus. They are often broken into groups and correspond to longer readings. Provocations are meant to provide context and support for your student-led discussions in class. In order to complete these assignments you must:

Read the assigned text very closely and annotate it thoroughly.
Choose one section of the text you found most interesting/problematic/controversial/stimulating and summarize it in 5-7 sentences.
If you use a direct quote in this summary you must have an MLA citation.
Construct a complex question for your classmates to answer about that section of the text that will spark a lively debate.

On the blog, you will post your provocations BEFORE class time as indicated on the syllabus. ONLY post when your group is listed on the syllabus. Use the category and tag provided by your professor for each post.

These posts will be graded on the following scale:

A = An engaging, thought-provoking post that shows attention to detail and comprehension of the text. Grammar and mechanics must be practically perfect (edit carefully!). Direct evidence from the text with a citation must be included.
B = An accurate summary and well-composed question that may contain a small, but not catastrophic, misreading or errors in grammar and mechanics.
C = A sloppy post that shows little effort and does not include the elements listed above.
D = A post that is a day late, or difficult to read, or phrased in a way that students would be unable to respond.
F = A post that is a week late, contains numerous errors, and does not contribute to the conversation. Or the post does not exist.

Please create these summaries and questions yourself: DO NOT STEAL OTHER PEOPLES WORK. If I find you have plagiarized these posts you will be reported. If you are struggling please come see me or email me with questions.

Midterm Assignment

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 Assignment

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 GIFs (I suggest or LiceCAP or GIPHY) or screen captured 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.

The draft is due in digital form in class on 9/25 . The final revised copy should be posted as category “blog” and tag “rhetorical analysis” by 9/27.

This project is worth 15% of your grade.

Peer Review for Narration

The purpose of this workshop is to improve your writing on both the global, and local levels. This means you are not only correcting grammar and mechanics, but content as well. Read your partner’s paper twice. On the first reading, DO NOT make any corrections. Just read the paper and take in the story in the same way you would as if you were reading a published piece. On the second reading, answer the following questions:

What is the point of this paper? Please highlight the main claims. Does the author provide evidence for each claim?
Does the introduction grab your attention? Do you have a clear sense of who this person is after reading the introduction? How can the author improve their introduction?
Are the supporting points clear, relevant, and well organized? Can you easily follow the story? Would it benefit the reader to re-organize this essay?
Underline good, relevant examples in the paper. Are there any instances where the author could provide more information? Less?
Now examine the word choice. Does the author use vivid language? Do they repeat the same adjectives? Does the language create a sense of immediacy and urgency? Can you make suggestions in terms of word choice?
Identify the transitions between paragraphs. Does the author signal what is coming and how it relates to the previous example?
What was your favorite part of the essay? Why? What did you like about this essay?
What suggestions for improvement can you offer to the writer? Identify the weaknesses and help consider corrections.
Does the conclusion explain how they will apply what they have learned in the future? Does the conclusion give you a sense of what this person wants to accomplish?
Finally, alert the reader to any spelling, grammar and mechanical errors they made.

Please discuss your comments with your partners and help them to improve their paper. Ask me if you have any questions.

Literacy Narrative

Using the examples you viewed on the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives (DALN) as inspiration, you will compose your own 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 should 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 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.

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.”