Notes and Announcement

Citation of Videos and Websites

Posted on: Monday, June 14, 2021 10:42:01 AM EDT

When citing a website or Youtube video, etc. it is best not to simply add a hyperlink, such as facts about mountains- The reader will not know what they are clicking on, the length of the video, and the URL web address.

Take an extra minute to cite this properly, giving the title, the URL, and the length:

Facts about Mountain Ranges (4:20)

https://youtu.be/6B8G1IheGaQ

To cite a YouTube video in APA Style, you include the person or organization that uploaded it, their channel name (if different from their real name), the upload date, the video title (italicized), “Video” in square brackets, the name of the site, and a link to the video.

Note that the same format works for other video sites like Vimeo; just replace “YouTube” with the name of whatever site the video is from. TV shows are cited differently.

-"How to Cite a Youtube Video in APA Style"

https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/youtube/

Collaborative Assignments

As one of the major objectives of this course is to give experience in '21st Century skills'- communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity- assignments for this course will be primarily done with an online collaborator.

For this to work effectively, it is recommended that collaborators use Google Docs. To use this, it is recommended that all students have a Google account, to be able to share and collaborate with Google Docs.

Teacher Training on Google Docs

Google Docs Training | Teacher Center | Google for Education

Get started with Google Docs

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Each week, one student can be the primary author of the assignment, with the other student criticquing and improving the document before submission to Blackboard.

Typical critiques:

• Content Suggestions

• Style suggestions, such as adding whitespace and boldface to improve readability.

• Proper capitalization

Format:

• Documents should have a meaningful title, i.e., "Dietz/Smith EdPuzzle Week1". Do not submit documents titled "Untitled Document".

• Have both student names at the top of each submission

• Submit each assignment as a Word Document or OpenDoc. If, for example, the assignment is to create a short video, the link to the video should be contained in the document with a short description

• If a Google Doc link is provided, check the link in "Incognito" mode to be sure it is visible to others.

Note on Originality

The first step in ANY project should be a precedent study, which answers the question "How has this problem been solved by others in the past?"

It is absolutely fine to use materials created by others( this course itself is at least 95% materials by other people!), whether from textbooks, websites, Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, etc.

That said, it is not OK to simply hand-in another's unit in its entirety- there should be evidence that you have adapted and customized materials as needed for YOUR classroom.

The art of teaching is in selecting and re-arranging materials to fit the needs of your course and students, as well as in guiding students through the learning process. And creativity consists largely not in creating something from nothing, but rather in making connections between two things that had seemed unrelated.

Voice and Choice

Challenges should be broad enough to accommodate 'voice and choice' by students- while common background information and technical skills can be taught, project end products should be able to be unique.

Make sure to include technology/engineering, math, and digital literacy frameworks.

While a PBL unit can include students doing common exercises and activities, an activity, in which students all build the same thing and fill out the same worksheet, does not constitute a project.

For example, you can teach all students how to neatly fold, glue, and score paper or cardboard for a model-building project( such as the food truck). But each food truck design can be unique in physical features, artwork, and menu.

As Professor Sadler mentioned in the video, it is often a good idea to provide a design that works- barely, which students can then improve upon.

You should take photos and/or videos of this week's engineering designs, which can be used for next week's screencast videos.

Don't be afraid to include content from Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, etc.- a first step in any design project should be researching precedents- how has this problem been solved in the past?