Online Delivery Platform Rubric
by Cathy Jung ~ June 7th, 2009. Filed under: Module 2.
Delivery Platform Evaluation Rubric (K-12)
Group 5 (Rachel Bronk, Marjorie Del Mundo, Erin Gillespie, Cathy Jung, Sarah Wood)
Scenario #5
You are Social Studies (“Socials”) teachers at Vancouver’s Little Flower Academy. One of your colleagues (Mrs. McGillivray) has been using a web page to distribute materials. A number of parents are unimpressed with how she’s doing it: they’re concerned about privacy and don’t think the design of the pages is very professional. To be fair, Mrs. McGillivray has been arguing that the school needs to adopt a “proper” LMS for these sorts of things.
STEP 1 – Objectives
LMS will:
· have privacy protection.
· have a professional appearance.
· have video, audio and communication capabilities.
· be available to purchase for a “small group” (LFA) fee if purchasing is necessary.
· have support structures that are oriented for individuals not necessarily working with face to face IT support.
· ease of use with regards to posting and retrieving materials for both site creator and users.
STEP 2 – Rubric
|
|
Ideal (3) |
Acceptable (2) |
Unacceptable (1) |
|
Privacy/Access Options
|
– username and password protection. – access must be granted by teacher/admin.
|
– username and password protection but anonymous can request guest access. |
– open access. |
|
Aesthetics
|
– graphics and customizable templates are provided. |
– limited number of graphics and customizable templates are provided.
|
– cluttered, disorganized, lack of graphics, limited number of pages. – banner ads running. |
|
System Requirements / Compatibility with existing technology |
-Meets all system requirements (i.e., supports video, audio, asynchronous and synchronous discussion) |
– Meets most system requirements, can play audio and video.
|
-Does not function with minimum system requirements. |
|
Communication Capabilities |
– discussion forum, e-mail, assignment dropbox, audio chat, instant messaging |
– discussion forum, email |
– no communication options available. |
|
Cost |
– Free (open source).
|
– $5 or less per enrolled student. |
– More than $5 per enrolled student. |
|
Tech Support
|
-Availible 24-7 online for teacher/student. -Online support for those who are new to format, not professionals. -F2F on site through IT support staff. |
-Available online in one resource location. -Online tutorials and self-directed support is available. -No face-to-face IT support. |
– Online support aimed at IT professionals. – F2F support at a high cost (IT staffing). |
|
Ease of use & efficiency for the site creator
|
– Site is intuitive and provides a template as a starting off point. – Creator can customize the site as required. – Creator can easily upload and create material. |
– Site is structured and allows for some customization. – Creator is able to upload and create material. – video, image and other files upload relatively quickly. |
– Site is rigid and does not allow for customization. – Creator has difficulty adding content to the site. |
|
Ease of use (students/ parents)
|
– Site is intuitive and users can easily retrieve and post required information. |
– With some effort, users are able to retrieve and post information. |
– Where the heck is everything?
|
STEP 3 – One paragraph articulation of why you included what you included, citing relevant literature.
Little Flower Academy (LFA) is an independent, all-girls Catholic high school in Vancouver consisting of approximately 460 students (LFABC, 2009). In creating our rubric, we relied heavily upon the Bates and Poole (2003) article, A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology, which outlined the SECTIONS framework. Each of the categories we have included in the rubric has a direct link to SECTIONS framework and relates to the potential needs of LFA. In this rubric, we considered essential issues for implementation of the Learning Management System (LMS) such as costs, technology, interactivity, ease of use for teachers, learners and parents, “look and feel”, administration, and functionality. For LFA, a professional looking site is desired but in the case of a LMS, professional does not necessarily go hand in hand with high cost. To ensure the needs of parents and students are met, technological support is also a considerable factor in deciding on a LMS. While LFA does not have a strong educational technology tradition, other teachers may want to buy into the LMS (not just Mrs. McGillivray) and therefore the issues of cost and support may change. We feel that by using SECTIONS as our guiding framework, we have also managed to meet the standards for educational technology outlined in the International Society for Technology in Education’s National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (2008).
Reference List
Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Chapter 4: a Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success. (pp. 77-105). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.
Little Flower Academy. (n.d.). “About > School Profile”. Retrieved May 24, 2009 from http://www.lfabc.org/pageMain.php?navigate=abouSchoolProfile
The International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National educational technology standards and performance indicators for teachers. Retrieved May 24, 2009 from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm