W5 Project Proposal

The proposed project will be a learning module on the 2^nd Information Literacy Standard set by the Association of College and Research Libraries.  The 2^nd Standard is “Access the needed information effectively and efficiently.  Searching for information using databases is an essential skill for 21^st century college students.  Not all information is made available through free search engines such as Google.  Some information, including some periodicals, academic articles, e-Books, scientific data and company information can only be accessed through subscription databases.  Therefore, the content in this module will concern a deeper and engaged learning of database searching.

There will be formative and summative assessments to measure the progress of the students.  This module will take place over the course of a week.  The students will be expected to check in at least 3 times during the week.  I propose to make 2 videos.  After the 1^st two lessons there will be formative assessments.  After the 3^rd lesson, which will be mostly a review, there will be a summative assessment for the module of the week.  There will also be a wrap up student reflection after the summative assessment to evaluate the experience and quality of instruction.

The main feedback from the submission of my concept proposal included stating the learning platform and caution concerning the production of learning videos.  I plan on using Coursesites from Blackboard as my learning platform.  In my previous position, the educational institution preferred Moodle as a learning platform.  Last semester I decided to try something different and developed a course module on the 3^rd information literacy standard on Course Sites.  It was a challenge to design a course module in a different learning environment.  My proposition beyond this course is to consolidate all of these learning modules into 1 course containing all 5 Information Literacy Standards.  Therefore, I chose to remain using the Coursesites on Blackboard.  As provided in the timeline, I propose to give myself time to produce 2 videos.  I have the experience of producing videos from previous MALET courses.  I did the research and my experience has concurred with this ratio: 1 hour of video production for every actual minute of the video.  I plan on making 7 minute videos.  I would add a couple of hours for preparing the script and story board.  I would also add an hour to upload and format the video.  This would make each video about 10 hours to create.  I can hopefully complete the videos according to the timelines below: 1 video per weeks 7 and 8.

Below is a project cycle image of the project proposal:

The timeline has, by this time, begun with the initial assessment and planning stages already underway.  Below is a rough budget of time.  The timeline is broken down into the 15 week segments of this semester:

Initial assessment:  Weeks 1-4

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Planning: Weeks 5-10

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Implementation: Weeks 11-13

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Monitoring: Weeks 12-13

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Evaluation: Weeks 13-14

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Adaptation: Week 15

 The initial assessment was done Weeks 1-3. This initial assessment is similar to Standard 1 of Information literacy: Determine the needed information.  This included finding the topic and deciding which emerging technology tools will be needed.  This step includes brainstorming the scope and possible content of the topic.  The next steps in initial assessment would be writing both the Subject Concept Proposal and the Literature Review, which was completed by week 4.  I propose to use Coursesites by Blackboard, which I used in preparing a previous module for the MALET Program.

Planning will take the longest, Weeks 5 through 10.  This will include incorporating the feedback from instructor and colleagues submitted in the Subject Concept Proposal.  In this stage, the content will be explored and developed.  I plan on making 2 videos, 5-7 minutes in length.  I plan on preparing for the content of these videos Week 6.  I plan on spending Weeks 7 and 8 producing these videos.  I propose to complete both videos by Week 8.  The videos and content should be uploaded by week 9.  I should be self-assessing the module Week 10.

Implementation is when the course module goes live.  I plan on submitting my Coursesites learning module by Week 11.  At that point the instructor and colleagues will be entering the learning module and experiencing the multi-modal learning content.  Implementation and Monitoring are happening concurrently, which will be explained.

Monitoring will be my responsibility as the interactive course designer.  I will be engaging with the learners.  This includes answering questions concerning content and comments concerning content delivery.  This will include grading the assessments and actively monitoring the progress of the participants in the learning module.  This would include monitoring the submitted discussions, assessments and comments at least twice daily during this period, Weeks 12-13.

Evaluation will be occurring concurrently with the participants’ completion of the learning module.  This will be built into the course, thus running at the same time as implementation and monitoring.  This is when I receive feedback concerning the learners’ experience of the actualized learning module.

Adaptation is the stage when I will use the feedback of the participants of the learning module and my own observations during the monitoring stage to improve the course for the future.  I plan on revising the course Week 15, after full completion of the course.  As the original project cycle image displays, this loops around to begin in the planning stage for the next implementation.  Therefore, the course is flexible and improving.