Information and Communication Technology 10 Course Documentation<\/p>\n
Kenny Jamieson<\/p>\n
UBC ETEC 565a<\/p>\n
October 23, 2016<\/p>\n
Course Link<\/a><\/p>\n The Information and Communication Technology 10 course that I have developed is intended to be targeted towards high school students in grades 9 and 10 with an interest or passion for technology.\u00a0 This course would ideally be offered as an online course through School District 43 (referred to now as SD43) or as a mixed-mode course offered through one of the secondary schools in the district.\u00a0 Ideally students would come into this course with a basic understanding of computers and technology and they would be able to build on those existing skills while also gaining knowledge in experience in areas not as common in computing such as 3D Modeling or Programming.\u00a0 Students who are enrolled in this course would need to have either their own personal laptop or PC to work on or have regular access to a computer.\u00a0 If the course is offered online, students would be personally responsible for downloading and installing the software required for success in the course, which is either offered as an open-source program, free online program, or licensed through the school district.\u00a0 If the course is offered in a traditional classroom setting, all student computers would have the required programs and applications pre-installed.<\/p>\n For this particular course, I have chosen to combine two different platforms for content delivery and assignment collection and assessment.\u00a0 The two platforms are WordPress and Edmodo.\u00a0 WordPress was chosen for the open access of the platform and for the ease of viewing the course material online.\u00a0 Students do not need an account to view the course content, though if they would like to post and respond to comments, they will need to leave a name and email address.\u00a0 As the discussion posts on the WordPress site are password protected, students would have their privacy protected.\u00a0 WordPress was also chosen for this organization because students in SD43 are somewhat familiar with the WordPress structure as some schools in the district have adopted the creation of digital portfolios using the Edublog platform, which runs off of WordPress.\u00a0 With WordPress, it is easy for content to be displayed and navigated through.\u00a0 WordPress provides a simple menu and layout that should prevent students from struggling to find course material or outlines.\u00a0 In addition, students do have the ability to view all aspects of the course at one time and will be able to work ahead of the pace should they desire.\u00a0 Content is not time restricted, so students can easily go back and review instructions or lessons again if necessary.\u00a0 WordPress easily allows for media content such as videos to be embedded within the website, making it a great platform for compiling information and resources from other locations.\u00a0 The course is laid out in a logical fashion using the WordPress menu.\u00a0 Each module is clearly broken down into four main components.\u00a0 The Learning Plan pages describe what students will be focused on for the unit and what their core learning outcomes will be.\u00a0 The Resources pages will provide detailed instructions, videos and links to external sites that students will follow through in a linear fashion to learn the material necessary for completing the course assignments.\u00a0 The Assignments page will allow students to view their assignment outlines and it logically flows after the Resources page.\u00a0 The Discussion forums are always last and students can use those to pose questions or provide help to each other, which they would most likely do after going through the Resources and Assignments pages.\u00a0 Edmodo was chosen for submitting work and for further, more private discussions.\u00a0 Students will need an account for Edmodo which will have to be created using their SD43 student account.\u00a0 SD43 has a consent letter<\/a>, designed for using Edmodo, that instructs parents on the fact that it is a service provided outside of Canada. Edmodo allows students to easily submit work and receive feedback on their assignments.\u00a0 The Edmodo portion of the LMS will utilize clearly labeled folders for each respective assignment.\u00a0 Assignment due dates will also be clearly identified on the Edmodo site so that students can keep track of upcoming deadlines.\u00a0 Edmodo will also allow students to easily contact or message the instructor, though this can also be done through email.\u00a0 Students will also have the ability to self-assess through Edmodo quizzes.\u00a0 These quizzes will be available for students to complete as they progress through each respective unit.\u00a0 The instructor will also be able to receive feedback from students regarding their learning, through the use of polls on Edmodo.\u00a0 By utilizing both platforms together, students will be able to enjoy a full, comprehensive online course.<\/p>\n The instructor in this course would be acting in a predominantly facilitating role.\u00a0 The instructors purpose is heavily front-end loaded in effectively designing the course so that students can independently work through the content.\u00a0 Once the course has started, the instructor will be in a position to pose discussion questions, respond to students, and provide feedback and ongoing technical support.\u00a0 The instructor will be able to communicate with students in a variety of ways.\u00a0 Students are able to email the instructor directly if they have a specific or private question or concern.\u00a0 In addition, there are discussion forums set up on both the WordPress platform and Edmodo.\u00a0 The WordPress platform is password protected (for the sake of this assignment the password is set to \u201cubc\u201d) and the Edmodo site will require students to have an account and login.\u00a0 This will help with privacy concerns around students posting their own thoughts or content on a public platform.\u00a0 The instructor will be able to engage the students in discussions on both platforms and will also be able to provide feedback to students regarding assignments through Edmodo.\u00a0 Feedback will also be provided to the instructor about the students\u2019 success in the course through the use of quizzes and polls on Edmodo.\u00a0 This will give the instructor additional insight into areas of strength or weakness for the students and the course content.<\/p>\n With the use of WordPress and Edmodo as the main LMS platforms for this course, there are some privacy concerns.\u00a0 One of the main concerns with WordPress is that it is an open-access tool, which means that anyone online could access the course.\u00a0 With respect to FOIPA privacy requirements, there should not be an issue with using WordPress for this portion of the LMS, as students will not have their own personal content or creations hosted on the WordPress site, it is strictly for providing information.\u00a0 In addition, as students will not need to create an account to access the WordPress content, there is no private information that is being collected.\u00a0 Though there is a discussion forum section on the WordPress site, students do have the option of using the more private forums provided through Edmodo.\u00a0 In addition, students will not be required to provide full identification when posting on WordPress and can provide a username that matches their school email account.\u00a0 The email addresses that the students will use to post on WordPress will be the accounts provided by the school district and do not contain the students full name. \u00a0Posts on WordPress will be moderated by the instructor and this will also help to eliminate spamming or other security concerns around the use of an open-access tool.\u00a0 The use of WordPress should not put any additional costs on the organization in terms of IT support, as WordPress has a fairly substantial support network online and all of the site design, content creation and upkeep will be conducted by the instructor.\u00a0 With respect to the programs required for students to complete the course, the programs were all carefully selected to only include ones that are online services, open-source, or already licensed by SD43.<\/p>\n Edmodo does have some FOIPA concerns that would need to be addressed as it is a service that stores user information on databases outside of Canada.\u00a0 As mentioned above, SD43 supports the use of Edmodo and provides a letter of consent that would be sent to all students prior to starting the course.\u00a0 Students would need to have parental consent before creating their account with Edmodo.\u00a0 Students would sign up for the account using their school district email address and would only need to provide their first name and last initial for their user information.\u00a0 As Edmodo is created and managed by the instructor, there should be minimal impact on the IT department and staff within SD43.<\/p>\n With respect to the information students share throughout the duration of the course, they would be instructed to provide no detailed personal information in their discussion posts or in the assignments that they submit for the course.\u00a0 Students will be using the cloud-based platform Microsoft Office365 for part of the course.\u00a0 Concerns around storage of information and FOIPA are minimized for this as the school district manages these accounts and SD43 system administrators control the applications.\u00a0 In addition, the data stored from this platform is stored within Canada, so consent is not required from parents to use this tool.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Information and Communication Technology 10 Course Documentation Kenny Jamieson UBC ETEC 565a October 23, 2016 Course Link Learners and the Organization \u2013 Why I picked WordPress and Edmodo The Information and Communication Technology 10 course that I have developed is … Continue reading Learners and the Organization \u2013 Why I picked WordPress and Edmodo<\/h2>\n
The Role of the Instructor<\/h2>\n
Ease of Accessibility and Security Concerns<\/h2>\n