Business technology 3 Course Details… Grade: 8th A Course Review Business technology 3 Course Details… Grade: 8th Instructor: Jason Watts Semester: Spring, 2011 Reviewed April, 2011 by… Hope Via Barry Thibault David Robertson

Content Strengths Rigorous & Age Appropriate Engaging Well planned & Sequenced Clear goals and objectives Weaknesses Lack of a syllabus Recommendations Post a detailed syllabus Incorporate a student blog

Instructional Design Recommendations… This element was a course strength. STUDENT TALK - Discussion boards - “Rate” your peers TEACHER INTERACTION - Discussion Board - LMS email address - Hybrid class WEAKNESSES - No syllabus - Missing assignments - Missing tasks - Typos STRENGTH - Creatively designed - Good use of LMS - Excellent lesson objectives - Relevant assignments STRENGTHS The instructional design element is well documented course strength. Every mark in each of the 16 categories were either satisfactory (or more times than not) very satisfactory. The average score across this element was a nearly perfect 3.375. Outstanding use of the Learning Management System capabilities Watts uses tasks instead of modules to help middle schoolers focus Well written lesson objectives Fantastic job using instructor-made Jing videos tutorials on most lessons Useful and fun activities to teach subject matter Good use of Internet resources Outstanding creative thought put into this well-designed course Multitude of opportunities for student interaction on discussion boards Instructor builds in choice, rewards innovation, makes room for student opinion Integrates Web 2.0 tools Pretests and multiple chances to earn best grades Basic vocabulary words were appropriate and well designed Included learning styles assessment Wordle activity was intriguing Career Plan Worksheet integrated real-world assignments into the technology package Implemented "games" for learning (like keyboard games) Anticipated errors the students might encounter and showed them workarounds Pointed students to a number of outstanding web sites for current and future resourcing Used compare-contrast exercise for multimedia component WEAKNESSES Absence of syllabus was a glaring ommision (syllabus located on Watt's Business Technology web page) Tasks 5,7, and 8 were missing assignments Tasks 9-11 were either missing on not visible Emerging technologis like podcasts and vidcasts were strangely absent In some video tutorials Watts talked too fast to keep up Some videos were ended abruptly - a nice place to end with on an encouraging note No controls on Jing videos available for students to pause In some Jing videos, instructor performed work outside view of the student's screen Task 4: - Keybaroding_games_2.swf is misspelled INTERACTION BETWEEN STUDENTS AND TEACHER Teacher provided multiple ways to interact with him: School email address LMS discussion board Posted in the Science Fair Project area when he would be on campus for f2f meetings Watts emailed me a photo of he and his 6th grade class taken on 3/14/11 demonstrating that this course, at least for 6th graders, is a blended learning course with ample f2f interaction with their teacher INTERACTION AMONG STUDENTS Discussion boards were a prominent part of course Students were required to "rate" one another's posts using an innovative star rating system RECOMMENDATIONS Line by line document listing every typo or grammatical error or font issue that was discovered that can be shared with Jason Watts Have students compare Mapquest again Google maps and submit a comparison minute reflection and vote on their favorite as a class Change the name of the dropbox in this lesson from “Scavenger Hunt” to “Scavenger Hunt Dropbox.” Recommendations…

Student Assessment C.1 Student evaluation strategies are consistent with course goals and objectives, representative of the scope of the course and clearly stated. C.2 The course structure includes adequate and appropriate methods and procedures to assess students’ mastery of content. C.3 Ongoing and frequent assessments are conducted to verify each student’s readiness for the next lesson.

Student Assessment C.4 Assessment strategies and tools make the student continuously aware of his/her progress in class and mastery of the content beyond letter grades C.5 Assessment materials provide the teacher with the flexibility to assess students in a variety of ways. C.6 Grading rubrics and models of partially to fully completed assignments are provided to the teacher. C.7 Grading policy and practices are easy to understand.

Student Assessment Text C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 Read the list.

Technology Strengths PowerPoint has new layouts that give you more ways to present your words, images and media. Understand and Use Technology Systems Select and Use Applications Effectively and Productively Troubleshoot Systems and Applications while Transferring Current Knowledge to Learning of New Technologies Technology Operations and Concepts STUDENTS: Mr. Watts’ course Business Technology 3

Technology Standard D: The course architecture permits the online teacher to add content, activities and assessments to extend learning opportunities. D.3 The course is easy to navigate. D.4 The course makes maximum use of the capabilities of the online medium and makes resources available by alternative means; e.g., video, CDs and pod casts.

Technology Standard D: Hardware, Web browser and software requirements are specified. D.6 Prerequisite skills in the use of technology are identified. D.7 The course utilizes appropriate content-specific tools and software. D.10 The course meets universal design principles, Section 508 standards and W3C guidelines to ensure access for all students.

Creativity And Innovation Communication and Collaboration Technology Creativity And Innovation Communication and Collaboration Technology Options and Concepts Digital Citizenship NETS*T

21st Century Skills Strengths of 21st Century Skills Emphasized in Course Well planned, interesting, and useful. Encourages the use of technology and other 21st Century Skills. Weaknesses of 21st Century Skills Emphasized in Course None Types of and Frequency of 21st Century Skills Emphasized in Course Initiative and Self-Direction Productivity and Accountability Leadership and Responsibility  Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Creativity and Innovation Communication and Collaboration   Information Literacy ITC Recommendations Include media literacy activities that are missing. Including activities for employment skills to incorporate critical thinking, problem solving activities Incorporate activities to develop flexibility, adaptability, social/cross-cultural skills and leadership.

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