Unit 6 - Design Project

Due April 18, 25, May 2, 7 at midnight

TASK 3: Step 6 & Final Paper (Due May 2)

This is the last unit for this semester!! You're using all that you've learned so far this semester to complete a Design Project. I'm excited to see what you create and read your final reflection papers.

You've explored many different types of technology this semester. We've been using a textbook that's written for K-12 teachers to support their use of technology to facilitate learning - with an emphasis on the 4 Cs. But where is the "textbook" for higher education? What resource can your peers use to find tools that help them learn? Although I admit that we don't always look into such guide books to look for tech tools, sometimes it's helpful to know what's out there and how it may be useful to others.

For the final project, we will be creating a collaborative e-book, and you are each going to design a page about a technology tool (like those in our textbook) that facilitates learning, encourages collaboration and communication, or supports creativity and critical thinking. By the end of this project, we should have about 35 page book for each CRN section (one page from each student). We'll use "the design process" (see the image on the left) to facilitate this project.

[Before You Begin]

Make sure you have a "Design" page in your portfolio website. You will post all of your work for this project on your Design page.
Save the Design Process diagram, and insert the image on your "Design" page.
Then, below the "Design" page, create SUBPAGES for each of the 6 steps in the Design Process. (Here is a short tutorial video on how to create a subpage.)

(1) Define, (2) Collect, (3) Brainstorm, (4) Develop, (5) Feedback, (6) Improve

While the purpose of our design project is to create a useful resource book for college students, "DESIGN THINKING" is actually an important part of learning that helps students learn the process of creative problem-solving.

Before you dive into your own design process, take just 5 minutes to WATCH the video on the right. I promise you, it will help you better understand what you'll be doing for these final weeks and give you more things to write about for your final reflection paper. 😉

** OPTIONAL: If you'd like to see more examples of how design thinking empowers students, watch this video about a school in India founded on design thinking principles that encourages students to be active agents in their own learning.

TASK 1: Steps 1-3 (Due Apr 18)

Grade value: 8% of total grade

Step 1. Define the Problem (1pt.)

Goal: Have a clear idea of what the problem is.

Think about things that are difficult for college students: studying, keeping track of assignments, contacting instructors, presenting information, and many more. (It can but does not have to be related to the pandemic period.)
You can brainstorm by drawing on a paper, using mind mapping tools (see p.165 of our textbook), or even creating some bullet points in categories - however you like!
- - There isn't any required number of ideas, BUT just show me that you did put some time to really think about it.
Then, add a screenshot, photo, embed, etc. (whatever makes sense to you) of your brainstorming to your Define page.
Don't forget to PUBLISH your page! (If you used a google document, don't forget to check the share setting!)

Step 2. Collect Information (5pt.)

Goal: Gather data to start giving you inspiration.

In this step, you are going to create your own survey to collect information about the problem. Creating survey itself is quite simple, but creating good questions are not so simple as it seems. Bad questions could lead to responses that are not meaningful at all.

PART 1 - Read & Respond (2pt.)

Before we move on, read this article that well-summarizes the "5 common survey question mistakes that’ll ruin your data". Then, answer questions HERE to check your understanding.
Take a screenshot of the last page with your total score and full name included in the image (see the image on the right). Post the screenshot on your "Collect" page.

**You must get at least 9/10 correct. You can edit your responses and resubmit if you received a low score.

PART 2 - Create a Survey (3pt.)

Use Google Forms to create a survey for at least FIVE undergraduate students. (You will need to collect survey responses from at least five undergrad students - not including students in our class.) In this survey - you'll want to ask 4-6 questions to your survey participants to find out what makes academic life difficult for them and which technology tools they use to help with their own learning (if any). You're trying to find out if there are others that have the same difficulties as you or if there are other difficulties that you had not considered. Your survey should be anonymous.
Post the things listed below to your Collect page:
- - LINK to your Google form: 4-6 questions survey to at least 5 undergraduate students
  - RESPONSES of the Google form: Insert the responses as graphs (Google Form will create it). If you used open-ended questions, list the responses. (Here is how to view and manage form responses.)
  - SUMMARY of the survey results: 5-10 sentences to explain the survey results in your own words
Don't forget to PUBLISH your page!

**If you need help working with Google Forms, see this video for a tutorial. You don't have to watch the whole video - pick and choose the sections you need.

Step 3. Brainstorm and Analyze Ideas (2pt.)

Goal: Use the data and information you’ve collected to sketch ideas that might solve the design problem.

PART 1 - Choose a Problem

Based on what you've learned from Steps 1 & 2, choose ONE academic problem that can be solved (or at least alleviated) by a technology tool. Make sure to be as specific as possible. For example, if you'd like to work on "time management", decide which part of time management you'd like to focus on solving - is it for allocating time for assignments? Planning out a schedule for a productive day? Making schedules to prepare for exams? etc.
On your "Brainstorm" page, write a paragraph that states the academic problem you've selected and why you've chosen it.

PART 2 - Do the Research

First, review our textbook and think about what technology tools can be used to solve your chosen problem. The textbook introduces a variety of tools for different purposes. You can get a sense of what kind of tools have been used to solve similar problems.
Then, search online for other possible technology tools that could solve your problem. Look at how other people used certain tools to solve similar problems. (Tip: There is a 'similar tool' section in the textbook. )
Finally, on your "Brainstorm" page, summarize what you've found through the research. (Introduce 3-5 tools, including one NEW tool that is not in our textbook menu). You don't have to identify the final solution yet. You'll do that in the following steps.
Don't forget to PUBLISH your page!

TASK 2: Steps 4-5 (Due Apr 25)

Grade value: 10% of total grade

Step 4. Develop Solutions / Build a Model (7pt.)

Goal: Take your ideas and form a design solution.

Which higher education academic problem are you solving (e.g., staying on task, keeping track of deadlines, contacting instructors, organizing notes, effective studying, staying engaged in class)? Remember, you're going to design a page in our collaborative book that would be informative for college students.

Among the 3-5 tools you explored in Step 3, choose ONE tool that you think solves your problem most effectively or efficiently.
- - I know many tools out there can be used to solve multiple problems, but just focus on how the tool solves your specific problem.
On your "Develop" page, explain how the tool can be used to solve your academic problem (3-4 paragraphs). Include:
- - General introduction about the tool
  - Basic information: Website address, difficulty, platform, price, etc.
  - Brief guideline on how to use the tool to resolve the academic problem with screenshot(s).
Don't forget to PUBLISH your website! (Not viewable = not submitted)

4. Create a page in the shared Google Slide. (Did you know your textbook was created with slides, too?!)

- Check your CRN (Course Reference Number) for this course. You can find it on your eLC home page. It should either be 58162 or 58164. Click the link to the correct CRN number that you're enrolled in:
  - 1. - CRN 58162: LINK to the slides
      - CRN 58164: LINK to the slides
- Please make sure to DUPLICATE(!!) the template slide so you have your own copied slide - do NOT type directly on the template provided. (Here is a tutorial on how to do so.)

Step 5. Present Your Ideas to Others for Feedback (3pt.)

Goal: Present your ideas and gather insightful comments.

PART 1 - Provide Feedback

The very nature of posting your slide is to present it to others for feedback. (If you're the first one to post your slide/book page - you may have to wait a couple of days and come back to this step.)

View at least TWO classmates' slides and add suggestions for improvement using the "comments" feature of Google Slides. (Just click the icon that looks like a speech bubble with a + sign or go to Insert → Comment. See here if you need a tutorial.)

Make sure your comments display your FULL NAME - whether in your username or in your comment. (Otherwise, I cannot give you credit.)

What kind of feedback should you give? Think about what connections you have to the academic problem discussed in your classmate's slide. Do you have any suggestions or anecdotes to add? What tool did they choose to talk about as a solution to the academic problem? Would you like to know more about the tool? Did they link to a tutorial? Should they? What's something you included in your slide that you think would be a good fit for theirs? Is there another tool that does the same thing that could be added at the end of their slide as an alternative? Yes, it's helpful to let people know about typos and grammatical errors - but it's better to give helpful suggestions about the content.

**If someone already has at least 2 comments and there are other slides/book pages available - please spread the wealth.

PART 2 - Receive Feedback

Reply to the comments you received.

Express gratitude for the feedback and which parts you agree with the comment.
Feedbacks are just suggestions so you don’t have to express disagreement.

On your Feedback page, upload a screenshot of your slide page with the comments. (Make sure the size of the image is big enough!)

TASK 3: Step 6 & Final Paper (Due May 2)

Grade value: 9% of total grade

Step 6. Improve Your Design (2pt.)

Goal: Reflect on all of your feedback and decide if or to what extent it should be incorporated. Improve your design based on the feedback.

Review the comments for your slide and make any changes based on that feedback. DO NOT "resolve" the comments (- clicking the checkmark) as it will remove the comments and the commenters cannot get credit for them. You may or may not decide to make the suggested changes depending on your goal for your slide.
On a blank space or Google Doc, write which changes you've made according to the feedback. Your reflection should include:

Feedback: List all the comments you've received.
Decision: For each feedback, explain your decision of whether you've accepted it or not and why.
Changes: Explain which changes you've made to your slide.

Post the writing on the "Improve" page under the Design page. Don't forget to PUBLISH it!

Final Making Connections Entry (5pt.)

Please make a new Google Doc for this task and make absolutely sure that you modify the share setting of the document BEFORE you insert it onto your website. If you don't share it, I cannot see it, therefore cannot give you any points for it. Insert it onto your "Design" page, below the diagram you posted at the beginning of this unit.

Overarching theme/question: What is your current understanding of the role educational technology can play in helping students to organize their learning, support students’ creativity, and provide opportunities for inquiry and critical thinking? (References to specific tools and readings are a good idea.)

How to write your answer: Spend some time writing about your thoughts on the following questions. Create a simple outline for your paper - some bullet points about what you will talk about for each paragraph. Your finished document should be about 800-1200 words. Here are some ideas to think about:

Think about the articles you read in Unit 1 (Meaningful Learning with Technology, Universal Design for Learning, the ISTE Standards for Students) – where do you see themes/ideas from that article connecting with what you’ve learned this semester? There’s no shame in looking back at your article to help with this. Quotes are a fantastic way to add a few sentences!
Based on what you’ve learned, what should teachers/students consider when selecting an educational technology tool/solution?
What would be an interesting way to use one of the educational technology tools or strategies with a group of learners that would reflect what you’ve learned this semester?
Think about the ISTE Standards we’ve talked about. How can one or more of the tools/strategies you’ve learned about this semester support one or more of these standards?
What’s an idea from our class that you can see using after this semester?

**You can write this paper in a couple of different ways:

Option One: A standard paper that contains a paragraph or two for each of the questions listed in the “how to write your answer” section
Option Two: An introductory letter to future students taking EDIT 2000e so they can have an overview of the course and what to expect.
Option Three: A letter to a P12 teacher (choose a more specific grade range) to give an overview of how educational technology might support student learning.
Option Four: If you have a different idea for how to present this information – check with me for project approval by Wednesday (4/28).

FlipGrid Reflection (2pt.)

The last FlipGrid video!! For this week's FlipGrid video, tell us your biggest takeaway from the semester. What have you learned that you will continue to use once our course has ended?

Join code: 1eb678ee

Take a few minutes to view your classmates' responses using the same link. Feel free to 'like' or comment on them!

TASK 4: Wrap-Ups (Due May 14)

Check Your Grades!

Now that you've submitted all of your assignments, it's a good idea to check in eLC that all of your grades have been recorded properly. I do my very best to make sure eLC matches the records in my own grade book, but sometimes I make mistakes. I know that you also do your very best to make sure all of your tasks are submitted correctly - with shared Google Docs/Slides and published webpages - but sometimes mistakes are made. It's so much better to get it all cleared up before the end of the semester.

You can resubmit any of your previous submissions - you just have to let me know that you've made corrections (or that I missed something) for which assignment. Use THIS FORM to notify me of your resubmitted works. **Submit ONE for EACH task.** Please do NOT send me emails for this purpose (unless you have any questions).

Note: For resubmitted works, you will most likely be able to earn back partial points (for fairness issue) unless you have specific explanations or the error was on my end.

My goal is for everyone to be successful in this class, and for the grades posted in eLC to properly display the work you've submitted - so you are helping me, not bothering me, if you let me know of an error or resubmit anything.

Resubmission Form**SUBMIT ONE FORM FOR EACH TASK** Let me know which tasks you've resubmitted so I can check.

End-of-Semester Evaluations

There will be TWO types of evaluation forms that you will be asked to fill out:

One, is this class survey to reflect on this semester's course and get your input on how to improve this course in the future. (Your response will not affect your grade in any way! Feel free to be completely honest. :))
Two, is the one that will be conducted by the College of Education's Office of Academic Programs. Here are the instructions on how to complete it:
- - To complete the evaluations, students should sign into the Franklin Course Evaluation system with their UGA MyID username and password. The evaluations will be available on Monday, May 3.
    - Franklin Course Evaluation System
    - Or copy and paste the link into your internet browser: https://webapps.franklin.uga.edu/evaluation/
- Although you sign in with your UGA MyID and student number - I do not see the evaluations until well after final grades are posted in Athena and your evaluations remain completely anonymous to me.

I always welcome feedback as it provides an opportunity for me to learn from you and to make improvements to our course for future students. Thank you for taking the time to complete it!

That's it!! Congratulations! You have finished all the requirements for EDIT 2000e! This semester has flown by - it's unbelievable! Please make sure to email me if you have questions or concerns at any point. Please remember that all tasks are due no later than Friday, May 7th at midnight. Final grades will be posted in eLC by Friday, May 14th.

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