Education by Design Project Proposal - 15%
Due Date: February 6
You will prepare a written proposal for your technology-supported educational design. This proposal will be marked and you will then use it to complete your project, (a more detailed description of program, course, module, or learning activity, which will include sample materials). The deliverable for the proposal assignment is a word-processing document of about 3,000 words. Anything over 3,500 words will not be marked.
In addition, each member of your Design Project team must also submit a Peer Evaluation report. Send this information to the instructor who is supervising your project team.
Forming your Project Team
The Design Project is a collaborative assignment, so you first need to create a project team of, at most, 4 students.
In the first week of Module 2, make a posting to the “Module 2: Design Project Team Sign-up” that provides a brief outline of your area of interest for your Design Project. You might want to consider some of the following questions as you draft the message you will post to the forum:
What we are creating
Design an online learning environment for Intermediate Science. Grade 4 Life Science Habitats and Communities (BC Curriculum, with cross-connections with Gr 3-6 Science, International School)
Dynamic elements -- vodcasts, wikis, smartboards, and content rich sites to assist teachers in delivering core content through technology.
· How much do you already know about the kind of learning that you would like to focus on for your project? (e.g., develop and nuture metacognitive strategies during reading)
· How much do you already know about the kinds of learners that you would like to focus on for your project? ( e.g., grade one ESL)
· What are the major theories that describe this kind of learner? (e.g., developmental, cognitive, and/or second language acquisition theories)
· How much do you already know about the kinds of learning environments typically used in relation to this kind of educational activity, and with this particular group of students? ( e.g., games, computer-based tutorial, online learning environment)
· What are the instructional constraints that will delimit your design activities? (e.g., time, economic, technological)
You may also find the information in the student bios useful to you, too, in forming your project teams. It is important for you to form into your project teams quickly so that you will have sufficient time to collaborate together on your first assignment, the Project Proposal.
Once you have formed into a project team, please post a message to this effect in the “Module 2: Design Project Team Sign-up” forum and provide the title of your project as well as the names of your team members. Your instructors will then set up a private work space for you so that you can begin to work on your first assignment. At this point, your instructors will also let you know who will be supervising your project team's work.
Collaborating
You are working in a team. The first thing to do in working towards the completion of the proposal is to figure out how you are going to structure a collaborative work-space. At a minimum, you will need to figure out how to communicate ideas about your project with the group, and how to share documents.
· multi-author blog space
· wiki
· collaborative document editing work space (like Google docs, http://docs.google.com/).
We will create a unique project area for you on the course website that is just for your group or set you up with a wiki space or Webspace for your collaborations. Be sure to let your instructor know if there is any specific action we might take that would assist your collaborative efforts.
Here are some questions that might help you discuss and author your proposal:
1. Key Frameworks (approx. 2 pages/approx. 600 words) -- Gord
What is the focus of your design project?
Design an online learning environment for Intermediate Science. Grade 4 Life Science Habitats and Communities (BC Curriculum, with cross-connections with Gr 3-6 Science, International School)
How are you situating your design activities in the academic literature?
Background research needed re: the current educational philosophy around science instruction – inquiry learning; kinaesthetic options, etc – integrated with technology education
What/Whose ideas about learning and learning environments are relevant?
Lit Search – who are the gurus right now.
What/Whose theoretical insights and perspectives frame your thinking about the particular group of learners your project targets?
· Grade 4’s – age 9 – 10
· Who is doing the research on this demographic?
· What are the particular aspects of learning at that age (ed psych)
· Technology level/ ability at this age
· Access to technology – what should be used? Why? How? Who says so?
How are you framing(?) the primary educational activities?
· Moodle – host our environment
How are you framing the use of educational media?
· SMART board and software -- developing interactive content & lessons
· Links in Moodle to video, audio, print resources, etc.
2. Intentions and Positions (approx. 3 pages/approx. 900 words) Andrew Taylor
What do you intend to accomplish by means of this design?
· Provide access top on-line content that matches science curriculum outcomes
· Interactive learning (student with technology), using SMART boards as primary mode of delivery
What does scholarship in Education have to say about placing value on this particular cluster of goals?
· Research on SMART board implementation
What might be a counter-argument to placing value on this particular set of outcomes?
· What’s wrong with texts, pencils, the old way of doing???
How do the stated goals of your project fit, or not, with larger sets of goals (e.g., globalization, a School District position paper, and so on…)?
· Fit with Educational Technology philosophy (21st Century Learning)
· Traditional school “glass ceilings”
· School policies standing in the way of change
· $ available to buy the appropriate technology
What is the predominant technology that you will use? Why this technology?
· SMART board/ SMART Notebook software
· Moodle? or Google Sites? for access & roll-out
3. Key Concepts and Contexts (approx. 2 pages/approx. 600 words) – Andrew M
What is the knowledge (both conceptual “know that”, and procedural “know how”, that is the focus of your design project?
Knowledge (Science content & skills)
· Making predictions supported by reasons and relevant to content
· Use data from investigations to recognize patterns and relationships and reach conclusions
· Scientific Inquiry: ideas and evidence in science
· Investigative skills: planning, obtaining and presenting evidence, considering evidence and evaluating
· Structure and behaviours of local animals and plants (and microorganisms) in different habitats
· Analyse simple food chains (feeding relationships)
· Demo awareness of aboriginal concept of respect for the environment
· Determine how personal choices and actions have environmental consequences
· Adaptation of animals and plants to their environment
Knowledge (Technology content & skills)
· Interactive with SMART Board
· Collaborate with peers to …
What academic scholarship is relevant to thinking about this particular knowledge focus?
What is the context for your design project?
· Elementary classroom teaching/learning
What academic scholarship is relevant to thinking about this particular context?
· Lit review
Who are the learners who will be the target of the learning experience you are planning?
· Description of the two schools that will pilot this learning environment
What are the relevant academic literatures that address the kinds of learners your design targets?
What are the most important perspectives on the group of learners your design targets?
· Tech savvy -- Proficient with a range of technology tools
· Engaged by technology
What are the points of contention in the academic literature regarding this group of learners, and kinds of educational design?
What is your position regarding these discussions of point of view regarding this group of learners?
How will this affect the design?
4. InterActivities
What kinds of dynamic objects will you create for carrying out your designs in a specific context. The possibilities are endless, and include:
SMART Lesson Plans using notebook software
· Links to videos, simulations, games
Moodle
· Organize content
· Platform to access and retrieve content
· Assessment and evaluation tools
· Student presentation of work
What are the main steps you need to take to produce the materials that will support Interactivity?
·
How will the /objects/learning materials be produced?
It will also be important for your group to think about how you will submit your dynamic objects for evaluation. Will you need a website, a course shell in a learning management system (like WebCT or Moodle), a wiki space, etc.? It will be important for your group to work out with your instructor – ahead of time – what your specific needs are for your project so that you instructor can assist your group. In past offerings of ETEC510, students have drawn upon their own resources at their local institutions as well as those at UBC in order to complete their project work.
(Page length isn’t the right metric for this section, where the deliverable could take the form of one or more website pages, modules for an online course, images, Flash animations, unit plans, podcasts, and so on…)
This assignment will be marked out of 100 points and will contribute 15% of your final grade. When your group has agreed to the final version of your proposal, send the assignment as an e-mail attachment to your instructor.
Evaluation Criteria
The following criteria will be used to assess the Education by Design Project Proposal:
Design FocusEducationally Significant / Not clearly educational
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Well elaborated / Unclear
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Specific Focus / Too general
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Use of Scholarship
Good use of research literature / Little integration of research literature
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Appropriate literature / Omission of important research
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Research-based design framework / More connections needed
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Research-based description of learners / More connections needed
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Design Plans for InterActivities
Appropriate for Objectives / Inappropriate for Objectives
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Achievable Scope / Too ambitious/not achievable
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Appropriate plans for use of technology / Inappropriate
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Clear design plan / Unclear design plan
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Good fit between objectives and plans for objects / Poor fit
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Quality of Writing
Knowledge-transforming (analytical) / Knowledge-telling (descriptive)
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Argument deals with multiple points of view / MySide bias
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Clear and concise / Rambling and disorganized
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
Free of grammatical errors / Multiple grammatical errors
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed
APA style correctly used / APA style used incorrectly
Excellent------Avg------More Work Needed