EDU 697 Capstone A Project Approach Entire Course
 
Week 1 – Discussion
 
Learning in a Technology-enhanced Environment
A peer reviewed journal or article is an article or journal that has been reviewed by experts in the field and deemed to be worth reading by other professionals. Typically this is an extensive process in which reviewers are carefully vetted for expertise and professional experience. In this assignment, you will have an opportunity to examine a peer reviewed article and apply what you have learned to a professional scenario or activity.
Please refer to the following tutorials for guidance on conducting scholarly research at the Ashford Library:
About Scholarly Journals and Online Databases
How to Conduct Research Using the Ashford Library
Step 1: Research
 
This activity will be appropriate for your ePortfolio and addresses Program learning Outcome 4. Locate one peer reviewed article from the Ashford University Library, which describes the effects, benefits, advantages, etc., of instructional technology on learner achievement. Look for an article that can be applied to your own profession or you may use another educational environment (K12, higher education, military, corporate, etc.). The article needs to come from a peer reviewed source (e.g., Proquest, ERIC databases) and be a full-text article.Tip: Suggested search keywords are “benefits advantages instructional technology.” Please specify the database where you located the article(s) as part of your APA citation.
Summarize the article in one paragraph, including an overview of the topic, key concepts, findings and recommendations. Include the APA formatted reference information.
In a second paragraph, using an example from your profession or another educational environment, what insights or ideas from your peer reviewed article can guide the use of technology to support learner achievement?
 
Step 2: Application
 
Create a collaborative wiki, blog or website tool (e.g. Wikispaces, PBWorks, WIX, etc.). You will continue to use this tool for the rest of the class as your ePortfolio platform.
Upload your content from Step 1 (a-c) above that summarizes the research article you found from the Library and the implications to a professional or educational environment that you identified.
In your initial post to this discussion question, make sure you include the link to your website, and test it prior to submitting.
 
Guided Response – Visit and review at least two of your classmates’ postings. Provide feedback on their assessment of use of collaborative technology in the educational environment they identified. Offer suggestions or comments that might improve their summaries for application of learning in a technology-enhanced environment.
Review this Required Resource: Five Principles of Effective Web Design (http://simplyadammann.com/blog/2013/2/5/5rsdlgz9b3fp5n4mm1ntxtnhuffqfu)
Provide insightful comments or questions regarding the content and format of your classmates’ websites. Look for items such as layout, use of images, ease of navigation, overall look and feel, typos, etc.
 
EDU 697 week 2
EDU 697 week 2 Discussion
 
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
Technology-Enhanced Strategies
“If it is pointless to consider tailoring instruction to each individual student, it is equally misguided to imagine that a  single one-size fits-all approach to teaching  can meet the needs of every student” (Felder & Brent, 2005, p. 57).
Reflect on the required resources for Week 2 and your personal and professional experiences in relation to the points conveyed in the resources. Discuss how instructional design principles and theory influence the use of technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the needs of all learners. Use additional resources in addition to those provided with Week 2 to support your evaluation.  Providing specific examples to illustrate your understanding of the question and incorporating opposing views to demonstrate critical thought is encouraged.
Hint: You might consider including a concept map with a tool such as Bubble.US to visually convey your understanding.
Guided Response: Reply to two or more peers. Replies to peers ought to ask a question about their evaluation and may offer an additional resource for consideration that supports an alternative viewpoint. In this and every discussion, for optimal engagement with your learning peers, you are encouraged to reengage in the discussion by replying to posts made in response to you by the instructor and peers.
 
EDU 697 week 2 Assignment
Ashford 3: – Week 2 – Assignment
Supporting the Needs of All Learners
Reflecting on your personal experience, learning in prior courses, and our Week Two Discussion, briefly discuss and support your understanding of the importance of designing to support the needs of all learners. Additionally, select then redesign a prior MATLT activity to demonstrate your attainment of Program Learning Outcome 3 to “design learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the needs of all learners”. The redesign should demonstrate use of instructional design principles and theory and explain your choice of principles and theories. Finally, include a discussion of the design and implementation challenges experienced during the redesign and how they were overcome.
Review the Rubric for this Assignment to understand the criteria on which you will be evaluated. Note that because the length of your redesigned activities will likely vary greatly, no specific length requirement exists for this assignment. However, as a general guideline, the discussion and support of how instructional design principles and theory influence designs to support the needs of all learners would reasonable be a page and the reflection on design and implementation challenges would reasonably be half a page.
Writing Tips! For all course assignments, write in a formal tone showing your best academic writing ability. Additionally, remember to include a succinct organizing introduction and succinct conclusion to the assignment paper. For example, for this assignment, you might start (after the title page) by restating the assignment instructions above into a series of statements for your introduction (tell the reader what you’ll present). Then, include your discussion of supporting the needs of all learners, your redesigned lesson, and the reflection discussion about your challenges. Finally, conclude with a succinct summary of the contents of your paper (tell the reader what you’ve said in summary/reword the introduction), ending with a References page. Additionally, remember to make use of APA headings to signify transitions among sections of your assignment.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
 
EDU 697 week 3
EDU 697 week 3 Discussion

 
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
Ethical Practices
Option One: Reflect on the required resources for Week Three and your personal and professional experiences in relation to the points conveyed in the resources. Review the hypothetical below and discuss the issues involved using the example questions as a guide.
 
Option Two: Develop a scenario that your classmates can consider to demonstrate how instructional design principles and theory influence the ethical practices of technology usage. For example, the scenario might relate to issues of copyright in educational media, accessibility of technology, or specific scenarios for design and instruction with technology. If you’re feeling especially creative and want to practice your eLearning design skills with emerging technologies, try writing your scenario to exemplify ethical usage of technology with Twine. Here is an example Twine story-scenario.
 
Hypothetical: Some of your learners are struggling with a concept in your class. You decide to use a “Google Hangout” study session and invite students who are struggling to attend for additional synchronous help. During the Hangout some of your students convey personal information about how and why they are struggling in class. Consider the ethical issues that might arise from the design of this synchronous study session. For example, could you record and reuse the Hangout for another class? Could you prevent students from recording and distributing the Hangout? How would you design the synchronous study session to exemplify and ensure ethical usage of the technology?
 
Guided Response: Reply to two or more classmates. Replies ought to respond to the hypothetical or developed scenarios by offering critical analysis of the ethics involved in the scenario, asking questions for elaboration, or providing additional resources to consider related to the topic of ethics and technology usage. In this and every discussion, for optimal engagement with your learning peers, you are encouraged to reengage in the discussion by replying to posts made in response to you by the instructor and peers
 
EDU 697 week 3 Assignment

 
Ethical Practices of Technology Usage
Select a prior MATLT Program course activity that demonstrates attainment of Program Learning Outcome 5 to “exemplify ethical practices of technology usage”. Redesign the activity using instructional design principles and theory. Using learning in prior courses and the Week Three Discussion, include an explanation of which principles and theory you chose and why. Additionally, include a discussion of any design and implementation challenges experienced during the redesign process and how they were overcome.
Review the Rubric for this Assignment to understand the criteria on which you will be evaluated. Note that because the length of your redesigned activities will likely vary greatly, no specific length requirement exists for this assignment. However, as a general guideline, the explanation of the principles and theories will be about half a page and the reflection on design and implementation challenges would reasonably be half a page.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
 
EDU 697 week 4
EDU 697 week 4 Discussion
 
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
Assessment and Evaluation
Reflect on the required resources for Week Four and your personal and professional experiences in relation to the points conveyed in the resources. Discuss how instructional design principles and theory influence the evaluation of technology resources to facilitate effective assessment and evaluation. Use additional resources in addition to those provided with Week Four to support your evaluation.  Providing specific examples to illustrate your understanding of the question and incorporating opposing views to demonstrate critical thought is encouraged.
 
Hint: You might consider including a concept map with a tool such as Bubble.US to visually convey your understanding.
 
Guided Response: Post replies to two or more classmates. Replies ought to ask a question about their evaluation and may offer an additional resource for consideration that supports an alternative viewpoint. Thinking critically throughout your initial post and replies is encouraged. In this and every discussion, for optimal engagement with your learning peers, you are encouraged to reengage in the discussion by replying to posts made in response to you by the instructor and peers.
 
EDU 697 week 4 Assignment
 
Assessment and Evaluation Using Technology
Select a prior MATLT activity that demonstrates attainment of Program Learning Outcome 6 to “technology resources to facilitate effective assessment and evaluation” and Program Learning Outcome 7 “Utilize technology to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings”. Redesign the activity using instructional design principles and theory. Using learning in prior courses and the Week Four Discussion, be sure to include an explanation of which principles and theory you chose and why. Additionally, include a discussion of any design and implementation challenges experienced during the redesign process and how they were overcome.
Review the Rubric for this Assignment to understand the criteria on which you will be evaluated. Note that because the length of your redesigned activities will likely vary greatly, no specific length requirement exists for this assignment. However, as a general guideline, the explanation of the principles and theories will be about half a page and the reflection on design and implementation challenges would reasonably be half a page.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
 
EDU 697 week 5
EDU 697 week 5 Discussion1

 
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
Technology and Leadership
Reflect on the required resources for Week Five, especially the articles from Edge (2012) and Wagner and Ice (2012) and your personal and professional experiences in relation to the points conveyed in the resources. Discuss how instructional design principles and theory influence the ability to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of learning and, especially, leadership. Use additional resources in addition to those provided with Week 5 to support your evaluation.  Providing specific examples or a scenario to illustrate your understanding of the question and incorporating opposing views to demonstrate critical thought is encouraged.
 
Hint: You might consider including a concept map with a tool such as Bubble.US to visually convey your understanding.
 
Guided Response: Post replies to two or more classmates. Replies ought to ask a question about their evaluation and may offer an additional resource for consideration that supports an alternative viewpoint. Thinking critically throughout your initial post and replies is encouraged. In this and every discussion, for optimal engagement with your learning peers, you are encouraged to reengage in the discussion by replying to posts made in response to you by the instructor and peers
 
 
EDU 697 week 5 Assignment

 
Supporting Learning and Leadership with Technology
Select a prior MATLT activity that demonstrates attainment of Program Learning Outcome 8 “demonstrate the ability to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of learning and leadership”. Redesign the activity using instructional design principles and theory.  Be sure to include an explanation of which principles and theory you chose and why. Additionally, include a discussion of any design and implementation challenges experienced during the redesign process.
Review the Rubric for this Assignment to understand the criteria on which you will be evaluated. Note that because the length of your redesigned activities will likely vary greatly, no specific length requirement exists for this assignment. However, as a general guideline, the explanation of the principles and theories will be about half a page and the reflection on design and implementation challenges would reasonably be half a page.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
 
EDU 697 week 6
 
EDU 697 week 6 Discussion question 1
 
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
Final Project Feedback
Post a link to or attach your Final Project draft for feedback from the instructor and classmates. In your post, describe briefly any design and development challenges you are facing or have overcome during the creation of the project. Additionally, help direct feedback from the instructor and classmates by asking for suggestions on specific elements of your Final Project that you deem would benefit from enhancement.
Guided Response: Reply to two or more classmtes offering specific and substantial feedback for enhancement of their Final Project. Consider the criteria of rubric for the Final Project when you give feedback. Please avoid feedback that is limited to only writing or style and focus primarily on the content of the project.
As with all discussions in our course, for optimal engagement with your learning peers, you are encouraged to reengage in the discussion by replying to posts made in response to you by the instructor and peers.
Hint: The Week Six Discussion requires your Final Project be complete on Thursday in order to post it in time to receive quality and useful feedback. Please try to provide feedback replies to classmates earlier than the final due date of the Week Six Discussion to allow everyone a chance to incorporate the feedback into their final submission for this assignment.
 
EDU 697 week 6 Reflection
 

Reflection
According to the Tuckman and Jensen Model for group processes, the final stage in a group’s activity involves adjourning. In an online course, the last week of activity is a time for reflection and ending the formal group interaction. The same strategy can be applied to the end of a program of study. Therefore, we would like to model adjourning by offering you this space to reflect, debrief, and bring closure to our time together in this course and the MATLT program.
To participate in the Reflection discussion, post a media-rich farewell that reflects on your learning experiences in this course and then the MATLT program as a whole. Next, reflect on any design and development challenges you experienced during the creation of your final project for this course and make at least one constructive suggestion for how the final project experience could be improved. Conclude with a reflection on your journey from enrollment to this moment in the MATLT program. You are encouraged to highlight friends, family, instructors or fellow learners and even your Ashford University staff contacts, such as an advisor or librarian, who has contributed to your success!
Attach or link your creation to your response.  The reflection might be a brief video, such as with YouTube or VoiceThread, a narrated PowerPoint using Snap!, or a Glogster, or any other media-rich presentation addressing the questions. Remember to cite any graphics, audio, video, and ideas you incorporate into your creation that are not yours.
Guided Response: Reply to two or more classmates. In this as with every discussion throughout our course, for optimal engagement with your learning peers, you are encouraged to reengage in the discussion by replying to posts made in response to you by the instructor and peers.
The Reflection evaluation will occur along the following grade continuum. An error constitutes issues with addressing all parts of the question, required number of replies, timeliness, citation, or mechanics.
5 points – Posts contain no errors.
4 points – Posts contain an error.
3 points – posts contain multiple errors.
0 points – Learner does not participate or one or more posts lack academic integrity.
 
EDU 697 week 6 Final paper
 
Final Project
Read this document thoroughly and refer to it often while you’re developing your Final Project.
You will submit one document for your Final Project, which will be written in Microsoft Word. This document will include the 6 items noted below.
Appropriate front and back matter (Title Page, References, etc.)
The narrative (“discussion”) that meets Requirements 2 and 3 below
A link to your web-based ePortfolio
Appropriate headings per APA to indicate transitions among sections
A succinct, well-organized introduction
A succinct, well-organized conclusion
Write in a formal tone showing your best academic writing ability.
Note that References for your Final Project document need only pertain to the text in the document and not all citations in the ePortfolio.
The purpose of the Final Project is to use instructional design principles and theory to construct an electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) that aggregates redesigned prior coursework. At a minimum, your ePortfolio will demonstrate attainment of the 8 MATLT Program Learning Outcomes. The overarching goal of the ePortfolio is that you showcase your learning from the MATLT program in a consolidated, web-based format that can easily be shared with anyone: colleagues, potential or current employers, friends, family members, etc.
There are numerous ways you might approach the creation of your ePortfolio. The ePortfolio might be as basic as a series of graphical hyperlinks to activities that demonstrate each PLO. You might choose to utilize a cohesive narrative via Glogster or a video narrative of activities using Voicethread. It can be as advanced as a blog, such as Blogger, with a narrative and reflection on each activity included on individual posts. You might also use an actual website such as Google Sites that tells the story of your educational journey and value of your MATLT degree personally and in the labor market.
The ePortfolio is your chance to shine and show what you know and are able to do in the practice of teaching and learning with technology!
You will submit a link to your Final Project in the Week 6 Discussion for preliminary feedback by peers and the instructor before the final due date. The earlier you submit in the discussion, the more opportunity for input.
Your Final Project will be graded on how well it creates an effective digital web presence. The following items will be evaluated:
At least one artifact that represents mastery of each PLO
Use of APA for style and formatting
Inclusion of all 6 items per paragraph 2 above
Level of academic writing ability
Requirements:
Create a web-based ePortfolio that includes redesigned activities from prior MATLT coursework to demonstrate your competency with the 8 Program Learning Outcomes.
Be as creative as you desire to meet or exceed the basic requirements.
Create an educationally sound project using instructional design principles and theory while exemplifying ethical uses of technology.
Incorporate such features as universal design, media copyright/citation, etc.
Address each Program Learning Outcome in your ePortfolio; if a single activity demonstrates multiple outcomes, make sure you indicate that in your narrative.
The narrative portion needs to indicate in a cohesive, logical manner how each assignment demonstrates attainment of the outcomes.
The 8 Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) stated in the Ashford University catalog for academic years 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012 are as follows:
PLO 1    Demonstrate knowledge and skills related to learning using technology.
PLO 2    Demonstrate knowledge and skills in current and emerging instructional technologies.
PLO 3    Design learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the needs of all learners.
PLO 4    Apply research to support learning in a technology-enhanced environment.
PLO 5    Exemplify ethical practices of technology usage.
PLO 6    Evaluate technology resources to facilitate effective assessment and evaluation.
PLO 7    Utilize technology to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings.
PLO 8    Demonstrate the ability to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of learning and leadership.
 
Rank and discuss the importance of each Program Learning Outcome to your individual work setting. 
From first to last, rank each PLO regarding its importance to you as an educator or potential educator.
Discuss how you use (or don’t use) each PLO in your work setting.
Explain why you ranked this PLO in this particular order, and its value to you in your learning environment or your position.
For example, if you are a training manager, you might choose PLO 8 as the most important PLO: As a decision-maker, you rely on technology to meet your organization’s objectives. Likewise, you may also choose PLO6 as the second most important outcome, because your job responsibilities focus on evaluation and assessment.
NOTE: If you are unemployed or otherwise do not work in a teaching capacity, you can either (a) use a previous work center, or (b) imagine the perfect work center (e.g., your dream job) and use that fictional work center to rank and discuss each PLO.
Discuss the design and development challenges you experienced while creating this ePortfolio and how you overcame those challenges.
 
If you feel that you did not face any challenges during your design/redesign:
Please state there were no challenges and clearly support this statement a discussion of the details.
or
Reflect and think deeply about your design / redesign process and offer a detailed narrative of how the process excelled.
 
Discuss the challenges encountered while meeting requirements for your ePortfolio. Examples of challenges include:
Choosing a specific technology to showcase your learning
Difficulty ranking the PLOs
Finding creative ways to display your newly learned skill sets
Tying together concepts and theories into one cohesive digital collection
Getting started
Explain how you resolved or worked around those challenges. The below examples map to the examples listed directly above, and include:
You became proficient in Jing, so you used that technology
You linked PLO’s to your job responsibilities
Internet searches uncovered new ways to utilize your talents
Peer collaboration produced ways to effectively consolidate multiple concepts and theories in one package
ePortfolio examples sparked cognitive thought
Create a separate heading per APA for this section
Instructions:
Submit a word document containing a link to your Final Project through the Week 6 Final Project Assignment Submission Button on or before the due date.Reminder: You will submit a link to your Final Project in the Week 6 Discussion for preliminary feedback by peers and the instructor before the final due date. The earlier you submit in the discussion, the more opportunity for feedback!
Post questions about the Final Project in the Ask Your Instructor discussion and check there frequently for answers to peers’ questions that may assist you.
Consider and integrate feedback received from classmates and the instructor given during this course and especially during the Week 6 Discussion before final ePortfolio submission.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric to understand what is expected for a “Distinguished” performance for each of the expected criteria of the Final Project.