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Multimedia Design Project Assessment (MDPA) Report

URL: http://investigatefossils.weebly.com/
Thao Tran
ITEC 7445
Summer 2015
Dr. Goetzel

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The WebQuest is created for 3rd grade students. There are 19 students in the
classroom with various ability levels, including ESL and SPED. The reading level varies
from 1st grade through 5th grade. Students in the class have 1-to-1 Chromebooks and are
familiar with project-based learning. Students will work on the WebQuest in mixedability pairs. Students will spend 7 to 8 days, approximately 45 minutes a day
completing the WebQuest. Adaptive technology is built-in the Chromebooks, such as
text-to-speech and zooming to enlarge words.
The teacher should review the WebQuest beforehand before directing students.
The teacher should also be fairly comfortable in using the Chromebooks or any
computers in order to implement the lesson effectively.
The state and NETS-S standards that are in this lesson are:
S3E2. Students will investigate fossils as evidence of organisms that lived long ago.
a. Investigate fossils by observing authentic fossils or models of fossils or view
information resources about fossils as evidence of organisms that lived long ago.
b. Describe how a fossil is formed.
ELAGSE3W7. Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
ELAGSE3W8. Recall information from experience or gather information from print and
digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
1. Creativity and innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative
products and processes using technology. a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new
ideas, products, or processes
2. Communication and collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively,
including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of
others.
a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of
digital environments and media
b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety
of media and formats
c. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of
other cultures
d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems
3. Research and information fluency Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and
use information.
a. Plan strategies to guide inquiry
b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a
variety of sources and media
c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness
to specific tasks

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5. Digital citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and
practice legal and ethical behavior.
a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
The essential question is: What information can we learn from fossils about the past,
present, and future? Students should be able to explain their findings through the
resources from the WebQuest. They will work with partners to explore, research, and
write a grant proposal.
I chose online resources that were appropriate for the age-level and made sure
they were authentic. I explored and made sure it was suitable and aligned with the
standards prior to incorporating in my WebQuest. I differentiated the content by pairing
students with others who made need the reading support since my class consists of
various reading levels. I also included audio throughout the WebQuest to not only
engage students, but also help them follow directions. I will also be the facilitator and
guide in the classroom as students go through the WebQuest. Some students have never
experienced it before. If students needed additional assistive technology, the
Chromebooks as well as tablets offer text-to-speech throughout all of the WebQuest. The
screen size as well as the font could also be adjusted for students that need vision
assistive technology.
I believe I incorporated all of the A.D.D.I.E. Universal Design Principals in my
project. In the Analysis phase, I analyzed the learners, learning environment, and
pedagogy consideration. I made sure I had appropriate materials and research more about
fossils before writing the WebQuest. In the Design phase, I developed an objective of
what students need to know at the end of completion. The design of the WebQuest took
students step by step before leading them to a final project.
In the Development phase, I integrated fun pictures and changed some of the
outline around to made sure it was easily accessible. It took me almost a week to
research and tweak last minute details to complete the project. I used Weebly to complete
the project. In Weebly, I was able to embed audio, video, and special codes (Voki).
In the Implementation phase, I created a Teacher Page that included standards and
some tips on effectively adapting it to their classroom. I did not implement this in a real
classroom because this was done in the summer. I will share this with my third grade
colleagues when they begin studying the fossil unit next year. Teachers will have the
option of shortening the tasks or doing it in a whole group setting with their students,
depending on their ability levels. Since my school has available 1-to-1 technologies,
these resources can be found directly in the classroom. I will also provide the link via
Google Classroom for students to do outside of school. But, appropriate class time is
given because it is a partner project.
Finally in the Evaluation phase, I included student rubrics that went along with
the final project, as well as a survey for visitors about the WebQuest. The student rubric
consists of key elements that go along with the third grade science and language arts

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standards. Students will be able to produce a paper explaining what they have learned
after exploring the WebQuest. Throughout the project, the teacher will conduct walkthroughs and have a checklist for participation. The Conclusion page of the WebQuest
has a survey that all students will be required to fill out on whether they believe the
WebQuest was beneficial to their learning. Unfortunately this project was done in the
summer time, but results of student and teacher surveys will be reported and I will alter it
to meet the needs of my learners.
This is my first time creating a WebQuest. I had to learn how to navigate Weebly
and incorporate all of the skills I had learned in previous modules. I first had to plan out
a lesson, and then the web building skill came afterwards. Building my portfolio for the
Ed.S. program helped me tremendously while I was creating this WebQuest. I used the
same web-hosting site that I created my portfolio (Weebly) to create my WebQuest. If I
were to do things differently, I would have not waited until the last final weeks to do my
WebQuest, but I would not have had the knowledge of creating and embedding audio and
video to complete it. This was a summer course, so pacing was much faster than usual.
I believe this WebQuest is very engaging and relevant to student learning. The
resources and media that I provided are appealing to all learners. I am excited to create
more WebQuests in the future. As I was creating the WebQuest, I thought about what my
students would like as far as the aesthetics, easy-to-navigate, and understandability of it.
I placed myself in their shoes and thought about ways to make it content-rich, yet fun.
After completing the WebQuest, I learned that I am better at technical technology
than expected. In the beginning, I was nervous because I had very little experience with
website building. The Weebly site made it very easy to understand and build. It took me
longer than expected to complete the WebQuest. I know that the next WebQuest I build
will not take as long now that I have gained experience and know my way around the
Weebly web-building site. I would suggest to other teachers to be patient and make sure
they have developed a sound plan prior to planning as they build. I hope to help my
colleagues in creating their own WebQuest or any kind of webpage in the future.