ETAP 623 Fall 2014 Design Project Agenda

From KNILT


This is a guide. It is subject to change.

MOD 1: Register with the Wiki so that you can edit

  • Register a username using your true name: Click "Log in" on the upright corner and follow the instruction. You will receive an email from KNILT to confirm your email address and then receive another email containing your password after your request of username is manually approved by me. If you do not see this confirmation message within 24 hours, write me. (Sorry about this complex process; but this proved necessary to prevent spam attacks to our site.)

MOD 2: Learn to create, format, and link Wiki-pages

  • Learn to use this Wiki space: Go to Help:Contents, learn how to edit, format, create, and link wiki-pages. These are what we need to know to complete the Design Project.
  • Create a personal page which will end up serving as your portfolio or planning document: Go to the class' homepage (if you get lost click navigation button TO CREATE: Current Classes to find your class home page), add your name on the list of members, mark your name as a link to a new page (i.e. put it in "[[ ]]"), click "save" to save the page. Then your name will be shown in red in the page. Click your name to start to create your page. In your page, please try using headings, bulletin lists, pictures. After you save your page, you'll have a personal page linked with the homepage. You may use this page Jane Wilde portfolio as a template to create your portfolio page. Click Edit on the top of this page, select all the text, copy, go to your portfolio page, paste and then change the name to yours, save.

MOD 3: Learn to create, format, and link Wiki-pages continued, Generate topic ideas

  • Make sure that you have an outline of topic headings on your page.
  • Post to the discussion area a brief description of one or more possible mini-course topics and give feedback to others' topics.

See General Suggestions and Feedback on topic selection.

MOD 4: Learn to create, format, and link Wiki-pages and define your learning outcomes

  • Decide on a topic: Read Example topics, choose a topic for your mini-course. Please post a message in the Design Project discussion space in BLS to indicate what topic you plan to focus on, so that I can give feedback. As soon as you've decided your topic, you need to find and read key references on that topic as early as possible. FINDING AND READING REFERENCES IS NOT SCHEDULED ON THIS AGENDA. YOU NEED TO SCHEDULE IT FOR YOURSELF.
  • In light of the readings of this week, think about and describe in your portfolio page what types of learning outcomes you will address focusing on the topic you've decided on. Here's an example portfolio page linked to the student's personal page: Rebecca_G.'s_Portfolio_Page (THIS IS HER FINAL VERSION. YOU'RE EXPECTED TO START THIS PAGE IN THIS WEEK, NOT TO WRITE UP EVERY SECTION).


Questions? If you have any questions about this project and wiki use, please report in HELP in BlackBoard. You should check if your questions have already been raised and answered.

MOD 5: Needs Assessment

  • Conduct needs assessment (if possible for your context, optional) and learner analysis focusing on the topic you’ve chosen, report your work under the heading Needs Assessment/Learner Analysis on your portfolio page. For examples, please see: Anne Canale Stalnecker and Diane Hamilton. Anne's needs assessment was based on literature review and personal speculation. Diane did a survey among teachers for her needs assessment. These are both acceptable for this class.
    • Unify terms for naming the learners: Please use "participant" for teachers who will take our mini-courses (e.g., after completing this course, participants will be able to...), "students" for students of the teachers.

MOD 6: Performance objectives

  • Identify and write performance objectives for your overall wiki-course (not the units yet). The objectives need to describe what the learner will be able to perform/do as the result of taking this course, not what they will be doing (e.g. read, learn, discuss, watch) in this course. Put the objectives into your portfolio page under the heading "Performance Objectives."
  • The objectives of your course should focus on “big ideas” related to the selected topic (i.e., ideas that can transform teachers’ understanding of and approaches to learning).
  • Should be communicated using clear, performance-based terms (e.g., Gagne, p. 134).
  • I'm sure you'll need to modify these objectives as you proceed; but writing them down as clearly as you can will help you clarify where you are going.

MOD 7 and 8: Task analysis, Sequencing

  • Based on the target learning objectives you've identified last week, conduct a task analysis to identify prerequisites (enabling and supportive objectives) for each of the target objectives.
  • Sequence the learning objectives and their prerequisites (enabling and supportive objectives), organize corresponding content into small units. Represent the structure of your whole course using an instructional curriculum map, update your portfolio wiki-page to report the above work. Use headings such as Task Analysis and or Instructional Map. (I understand that many of you still need some time to read more and think more about your topics, so the map may be modified.)
  • Create a link to your mini course title on the class's homepage: Edit our class homepage by adding the title of your mini-course after your name on the member list. (You can still change the title later if you need.) Mark your mini course title as a link to a new page (i.e. put it in "[[ ]]"). Once saved the title will be shown in red. Clicking the red title will take you to a new blank page which you will use to build your course units(i.e., the entry page for your end-users, not the portfolio page, which is for your planning/designing in the backstage).

MOD 9 Development begins. Build your course intro page with unit/lesson objectives

  • Build your course intro page. This is a page that prospective students will review to see if they are interested. Sell your course with an engaging image, intro and/or description of the course. Include links to each (probably empty) unit page, your portfolio and the course home page.
  • Create objectives for each unit on the intro page, aligning them to your plan - particularly your instructional curriculum maps - making sure they are properly sequenced and connected.

See General_Suggestions_and_Feedback#Common_Issues

MOD 10 Development continues. Methods and content, review plans and draft unit/lesson one

  • Begin to develop the specifics of your Wiki-course. Consider content blocks/units and their connections, instructional methods such as media use, opportunities for project based learning and interactive learning wherever they are applicable. How might you support a learning community in an online asynchronous course? Feel free to post any of these ideas to your portfolio (not required, but might be helpful)


  • Draft one of your learning units/lessons
  • Review the Evaluation criteria. Is your first unit/lesson draft ready for the developmental tryout next coming week? You will partner with a classmate to tryout each others unit 1 instructional materials.

MOD 11 Developmental tryout

  • Developmental tryout: Working in small groups (see the class' Wiki homepage), each of you will tryout the prototype units developed by your group members and provide feedback. Please go to your peers' courses, pretend to be a target learner/user, read the course-level and unit-level learning objectives, and go through materials/activities provided in the prototype unit, and evaluate and provide feedback regarding the following issues:
  • Overall: Can this unit help me learn something meaningful and achieve the stated objectives?
  • Specific issues: see Evaluation criteria, the 80% part.
  • Please write down your comments in the discussion area of the wiki-page you're reviewing (click the "discussion" tab at the top of the page).
  • Improve your design based on the feedback you receive.
  • Work on Unit /lesson 2.

Last two weeks or so of course - (11/30 - 12/11) Redesign and Develop

  • Use the feedback you received to improve your course. Do you need to update your objectives on your portfolio? Do you need to improve your methods in your first unit? Add media, incorporate active/interactive activities/self assessment?
  • Build out the rest of you units/lessons with an eye on the Evaluation criteria.
  • Feel free to ask your colleagues and me for help.

Finish your whole Design Project, due Friday, December 11th

  • Finish your mini-course with attention to the Evaluation criteria. (You don't need to do anything to "submit" this project. When you are done, just leave your mini-course and portfolio page there for me to review.)
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