Spread the News 21st Century Style (50 Points)
Learning in the 21st century in a digitally-enhanced environment presents authentic opportunities for problem-solving and making change through collaboration and communication at both local and global levels. The emphasis on education is changing from transmission of knowledge to co-construction of knowledge and solutions. The major learning assessment in this course provides an opportunity for learners to build on the knowledge and tools developed and utilized in the course to identify a problem of individual interest, research a possible solution and attempt to share that news as widely as possible with the support of digital technologies. Use the following outline to support your learning and to communicate your learning for assessment.
Over the last several weeks of the course, you were asked to complete a number of activities that will form the basic building blocks for this assignment.
In Week 7, you should have identified a problem that is of interest to you. You were also given some ideas about how to further research this problem.
In week 8, you were asked to think about this specific problem and potential solutions from a global perspective, and post a summary of your thoughts in the discussion space.
In week 9, you were asked to create an infographic that could be used as a creative way to succinctly share information you have gathered about your problem and suggested solutions.
In week 10, you were given an opportunity to receive feedback so that you could further refine and improve your sharing of information related to the problem and suggested solutions. You were also given an opportunity to learn about effective ways to use 21st century technology to spread information.
In week 11,you were asked to create a presentation that would communicate effectively about your identified problem and suggested solution, and begin efforts to disseminate your presentation to a wide audience.
In week 12, you were given an opportunity to receive feedback about your presentation so you could make further modifications if necessary.
Now, you are asked to write a reflection about the learning process described in the above paragraph, as the final component of the Spread the News Assignment.
When you submit the assignment, you need to pull all the elements together, so that you refer to, discuss and provide evidence of the problem, the research, your suggested solution, and your creative efforts to disseminate information about your problem and solution. This reflection will likely contain appendices and/or links to work you did in Weeks 7-12 as part of this project. Be sure that your final submission addresses or includes information about these components:
Problem Identification: Identify a problem that is personally relevant to you—something you are interested in, something you have a great deal of knowledge about, something that would help you or someone you know, etc. Spend time thinking about the problem and editing to state it succinctly in 140 characters. Tweet your problem with the hashtags #EM203Winter2016 and #EM203Problem by Week 7.
Research: Research your problem and possible solutions using digital and non-digital resources. Identify variables that contribute to the problem and variables that can be addressed in a possible solution. Be sure to document your research to summarize a foundation of research to support your solution. Be sure that you are using credible sources.
Suggested Solution: Use the research you have done regarding the problem to design possible solutions. Analyze possible solutions to present what you think will be the most effective solution. Consider the impact on people, animals, the environment; the financial impact; the moral, ethical and legal impact; the possibility of enacting the solution; etc.
Dissemination: Choose one or more approaches to disseminate your learning—the problem and possible solution. Measure the results of your attempt to “spread the news”, i.e., how widely was your message spread? Did you get any response? Did you enact the solution? How did your use your infographic and presentation to effectively communicate about the problem and your suggested solution?
Creativity of Approach: Demonstrate the creativity of your approach—why did you choose the methods that you did to communicate your message and how was it unique and/or effective?
Reflection on Process: Reflect on both the process and outcome of this learning assessment. Analyze both strengths and limitations of the approach you chose to “spread the news.”
A 500 – 1000 word written summary addressing the criteria in the following rubric should be submitted to the appropriate dropbox in MYLS by the date posted in the calendar (Friday July 29th at midnight).
Learning Assessment Rubric: Spread the News 21st Century Style (50 points)
Criteria
D
C
B
A
Problem Identification
A problem is not clearly described.
A problem is identified but not clearly described
A problem is identified and described
A meaningful problem is clearly identified and described
Research
Lack of research demonstrates little understanding of the problem or solutions
Limited research demonstrates some understanding of the problem and possible solutions
Comprehensive and effective research demonstrates understanding of the problem and possible solutions
Comprehensive and effective research demonstrates deep understanding of the problem and possible solutions
Suggested Solution
Solution is not plausible and not related to problem
Solution is not related to problem or not plausible
Solution is somewhat plausible and related to problem
Solution is plausible, creative and clearly related to problem
Results of Dissemination
Spread of news was neither expansive nor effective
Spread of news was somewhat expansive and effective
Spread of news was expansive and effective.
Spread of news was expansive and very effective. Materials created earlier in the course are used to best advantage.
Creativity of Approach
Approach to “spreading the news” is not at all creative does not take advantage of available technology. Materials created earlier in the course are not used.
Approach to “spreading the news” is somewhat creative and takes some advantage of available technology. Some material created earlier in the course are used.
Approach to “spreading the news” is creative and takes advantage of available technology. Materials created earlier in the course are used.
Approach to “spreading the news” is very creative and takes full advantage of available technology. Materials created earlier in the course are used to best advantage.
Reflection on Process and Outcome
Little reflection on the process and
outcome of the learning assessment. Neither strengths nor limitations of the approach are analyzed
Some reflection on the process and
outcomeof the learning assessment. Some strengths and limitations of the approach are analyzed
Strong reflection on the process and
outcome of the learning assessment. Both strengths and limitations of the approach are analyzed
Deep and meaningful reflection on the process and
outcome of the learning assessment. Both strengths and limitations of the approach are deeply analyzed.
