Planning Assignments
The format of the assignment must match the goals of the program.
Just because you can assign a digital project, doesn’t mean you should. The format (no tech, low tech, high tech) and the technology should match what the students will be expected to do in the workforce. Here are some examples:
asking marketing students to write a research paper about Twitter/Instagram/Clubhouse might not make sense or apply their knowledge. It makes more sense to ask them to create a Twitter/Instagram/Clubhouse account and create client content for that platform;
asking accounting students to create a video about Statements of Retained Earnings makes less sense than for them to create a print version;
asking HR students to create a video about “safe lifting in the workplace” makes more sense than asking them to create a Pinterest site for the same topic.
Technology is not the learning outcome.
The goal of the assignment shouldn’t be to learn a piece of software or hardware. The goal is for the technology to help you to achieve the learning outcome, to strengthen one or more of the core literacies, as outlined in the academic plan, and to strengthen Essential Employability Skills (EES).
Want to map your assessments to the course learning outcomes? Use the Assessment Blueprint from Teaching & Learning.
Need help developing learning outcomes or would like to learn more about core literacies and EES? Explore the resources from Teaching & Learning.
Identify what the learning outcomes are
Use only the technology you need to achieve the learning outcome.
Do not ask students to learn complicated technology when something simple would achieve the same results. For example, if you want your students to create a simple image, allow them to use a simple program like PowerPoint, don’t expect them to learn a complicated program like Photoshop. Try to provide them recommendations for specific tools when possible.
Choose the right tool.
Try to find a tool that addresses most of your desired outcomes, and adjust your expectations based on the tool.
Your tools should be:
Freely accessible
Accessible
Respect learners privacy
Has good support resources such as help pages and even Sandbox support
Be flexible, if a student needs to/wants to use another tool that can produce a similar outcome encourage it. Explore the Educational Technology Tool Finder page for tools to consider.
Have experience with the technology/digital format of the assignment before you assign it to your students.
Could you imagine assigning an essay to your students if you had never written one, didn’t know how to write one or weren’t able to judge what constitutes a “good” essay? Of course not, which is why if you assign a digital assignment to your students, you should be comfortable with whatever you are assigning.
This also includes going through the steps the students will need to complete the project in order to identify any possible hurdles and address them early.
Scaffold the assignment
Break the assignment down into manageable pieces, which also allows for additional feedback and checkpoints throughout the process. This can be by including an annotated bibliography, a script, storyboard, outline or draft to build to the final project.
Have clear expectations.
Provide a clear checklist/rubric for the assignment showing what you expect from both the content and the design.
Sample rubrics:
Have reasonable expectations.
Asking someone to build an entire computer program or create an hour long video is unreasonable, unless the entire semester is devoted to it. Examples of reasonable expectations could be: a 1-2 minute video, a small website, tweeting a live event.
Understand where your students are. Is this a tech heavy program where they may already have basic experience with creating videos? You can set higher expectations. Poll your students to get a feel for your classes proficiency.
Weight the assignment in relation to the work expected.
If you expect students to put in hours of work then weight the assignment in accordance. Assigning 5% to a video project that will take hours to complete is not fair. A 20-page essay would not regularly be assigned as a mid-semester assignment worth 10%, so you wouldn't want to give them a 45-minute video and make it worth 10%. You may however, want to assign a checkpoint assignment, such as a script or storyboard worth 5%-10% that builds to a final video.
Have clear guidelines/instructions.
Provide clear instructions for using the technology. Do not expect students to get by on their own. Some students will have no issues learning technology quickly but some students will really struggle. Provide them resources to help them along the way. See Packages for how to include some pre-assembled supports, tutorials and instructions from the Seneca Sandbox!
Devote class time to getting the project started (optional).
Depending on the project you may want to devote some class time to getting the students started using the technology. For example, have everyone sign up for Twitter accounts and then tweet, retweet, and reply for the first time; have students sign up for a WordPress account and then get started adding pages and selecting a theme; ask the Sandbox to schedule a workshop during your class time or assign a recorded webinar.
Provide a model/exemplar to your students.
Show your students exactly what you expect them to create. This will aid you in assigning appropriate marks for the assignment, demonstrate your willingness to expand your digital skills and/or step out of your comfort zone and provide an exemplar.
One way to do this is to create an assignment outline using the same media format. For example:
record a short podcast where you describe or discuss the assignment, the rationale for choosing this medium, etc.
create an infographic which illustrates the steps to completing the assignment (e.g. pick a topic, research, sketch, create, submit)
make a short animated video "trailer" which covers the career applications of the medium, assignment expectations, etc.
Digital citizenship is integral to the design (privacy, copyright, academic honesty, information literacy).
Students must be aware of the legal and ethical implications when creating digital content, especially if it’s going to be posted publicly online. Discuss these issues with your students and provide guidelines for adhering to things like copyright and the academic integrity policies at Seneca. You can also highlight the various resources like Seneca's Citing in Digital Assignments guide.
Develop a technical support strategy.
Try to prepare for possible issues that may occur and always have a plan B.
Your turnaround time for troubleshooting should be quick, at least within a couple of hours.
Chat with ITS and the Sandbox to see if the programs or software you’ve chosen is available to students.
What’s your Plan B?
Potential Challenges
Student with accommodations that prevents their participation as they have limited motor skills and cannot use video editing software.
The technology unexpectedly won’t work. Students are supposed to live tweet an event and the internet doesn’t work at the venue.
Students with little to no basic digital skills. Student does not know how to use even a computer mouse and is asked to film and edit a video. This assignment is far more challenging for him compared to other students.
Student refuses to use the assigned online tool or software for privacy or other reasons. Students are asked to create a WordPress site, a student refuses to use WordPress because their servers are hosted in the U.S. and she does not agree with the Patriot Act implications for her content.
Possible Solutions
Allow the student to hand in the assignment in an alternate format.
Students can compose offline and submit when they have an internet connection. Students can hand in a hard copy of the assignment, as long as it’s formatted in the same way as the original.
Provide after class assistance, recommend other tutoring assistance resources and tutorials
Allow the student to use a different tool/software. Allow the student to hand in the assignment in an alternate format, as long as it’s formatted in the same way as the original.
