Running head: E-LEARNING PROJECT REPORT: STUDENT DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP 1

E-Learning Project Final Report:

Student Digital Citizenship

Tammy Randall

Purdue University

EDCI 569

March 1, 2015

E-LEARNING PROJECT REPORT: STUDENT DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP 2

Link to Digital Citizenship Module

http://www.smartbuilder.com/smartbuilder-2/e-learning-software-

tools/Digital+Citizenship/loz000b4o000000000003g/share.html

Background

The School District provides iPads to all high school students. The students can and generally do

take the iPads home to use them. They are intended for school work, and they have software to

limit access to non-academic sites, but students can and do use them for personal use. Many

parents have little understanding of the technology or its potential uses, and assume that the

school system will take responsibility for the tools it provides to students. For this reason, the

school district would like to create an educational tool to teach students the acceptable use of

school-provided equipment, internet and social media, as well as the dangers of improper usage.

While the school district currently provides a documented Acceptable Use Policy (Danville

Community School Corporation, 2012) for electronic resources to students and parents, the

purpose of the intended e-learning module is to provide all corporation high school students with

a more detailed, interactive learning experience to reinforce the policy and to provide valuable

citizenship skills that can be used in school and beyond. The primary goal is to provide a clear

understanding of the districts’ expectations for good digital citizenship. The need for this project

was made clear to me in discussions with my mentor, our district’s Director of E-Learning, and

through observations of the number of infractions of school policy as well as the number of poor

choices made by both students and adults in their online activities.

The main deliverable for the proposed project is a digital citizenship e-learning module that will

cover the Acceptable Use Policy and online citizenship. The complete project development

schedule can be no more than six weeks. The target module must be accessible to students from

the Learning Management System (LMS) during the Teacher Supervised Study (TSS) class

E-LEARNING PROJECT REPORT: STUDENT DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP 3

period, and should take no longer than one and one-half hours. The current presentation can be

completed in approximately an hour.

Development

Before this project, I had very little development experience other than what this LDT program

has required of us to date. Previously, I had used PowerPoint or Prezi to present and include

information related to a project. I had also used EdPuzzle for a group project. In summary, I had

done nothing as in depth or complicated as this e-learning project.

The big decision points in the project were determining the project goals and objectives;

determining the methods used for assessing whether the objectives had been met; determining

what approaches to use in presenting the material to help students understand and retain the

presented lessons; and deciding what tools to use to implement the module with the timeframe

allotted for this project.

Objectives The implemented project was chosen based on a real need at the school system in

which I work. The objectives were based on the needs of the school district, based on the school

system’s Acceptable Use Policy. In addition to the policy-based objectives, additional objectives

were based on observed and assumed problems faced by our student body and by many people

their age when interacting with the online world.

Assessment Method Horton (2012, p. 217) suggests that the designer ask what they are trying to

accomplish, and to structure the assessment method in order to achieve this goal. The project

objectives required a method to certify the students’ understanding of the Acceptable Use Policy,

so I chose a pass-fail skill-based assessment. A multiple-choice format was chosen to make it

easy to score by computer, since very little teacher time could be dedicated to this project. I

E-LEARNING PROJECT REPORT: STUDENT DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP 4

wanted to provide “check for understanding” pages that would help reinforce the lessons and

give the students an opportunity to practice the presented skills in real-world scenarios. In both

cases, all questions were objective. A variety of question types were used, including true / false,

multiple-choice, matching, and scenarios. As Merrill (2002, p. 1) suggests, I wanted to avoid

simple “Tell and Ask” instruction, and to present real-world scenarios to engage the students and

to test their ability to apply the lessons learned.

Tools Given my lack of experience and the limited budget, I chose SmartBuilder because it

appeared to be well-documented, easy to learn, and offered a free version. This tool was also

recommended by the professor and other students, and there were a number of examples

available that used SmartBuilder. I found many of the features powerful and useful in generating

interactive pages, especially the availability of templates to automatically create different types

of pages, such as assessments and master pages. I also liked that the web page had a large library

of instructional videos, and these proved very helpful as I tried to learn the features of the tool.

One limitation that I found was that I could not find an easy way to do the student evaluation of

the module, and so I used SurveyMonkey to generate the evaluation and collect student

feedback.

For an updated site map, please refer to Appendix B.

Usability Testing and Feedback

As Krug (2000, p. 141) recommended, usability testing was performed on the completed module

using a formative evaluation. Krug recommends that the usability test be performed by

representative users, and that they be shown the module and asked to use it to perform a typical

task. The module was reviewed in its entirety by one adult male, and two male high school

students who will be part of the target audience. Their reviews were conducted one at a time with

E-LEARNING PROJECT REPORT: STUDENT DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP 5

no prior guidance. All users were able to complete the module and pass the assessment, and their

reviews of the module were generally positive.

One recurring comment was that the lack of audio voiceover in some sections was surprising,

and that they expected all pages to have audio. Given more time, I would like to provide

voiceover for all pages. Another comment was that the target audience might prefer the use of

more direct language rather than euphemisms, such as the more descriptive term “sexually

explicit material” where the module currently uses “adult.” The target audience is also located in

a conservative, nearly rural area where the music used in the videos might not be the most

commonly appreciated. I would like to find more varied video presentations, and perhaps have a

“profile” selection in which students could choose preferences, such as musical styles and

language levels. Ultimately, I would like to have the presentation available to all grades K-12,

and so customization would be necessary. One user also found the presentation too simplistic

and “common-sense,” summarizing the policy as “don’t be stupid.” This comment also strongly

argues for customizable content based not just on age but on experience and usage habits.

Design Rating

Please see Appendix A for a complete rating of the project based on Merrill’s 5 Star Instructional

Design Rating (Merrill, 2001). A summary of the rating is presented below. As described in the

rating assessment, I feel that this module did a good job of meeting the design goals for this

project, and of presenting the required material in a way designed to engage the students and to

help them understand and retain the lessons presented.

RATING FOR PROBLEM STAGE: Gold

RATING FOR ACTIVATION STAGE: Silver

RATING FOR DEMONSTRATION STAGE: Gold

E-LEARNING PROJECT REPORT: STUDENT DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP 6

RATING FOR APPLICATION STAGE: Gold

RATING FOR INTEGRATION STAGE: Gold

Conclusions

I feel that I have gained a good foundation in this course to get me started as a professional

instructional designer. I plan to look for other opportunities to develop modules or mini lessons

for my school district. The more projects like this I can be a part of, the more experience I will

gain, and hopefully my development skills will transfer to more job opportunities. First, I need to

get faster at this type of development, and I believe that will come with more experience and

confidence in my designs, development, prototypes, site maps, and exposure to more programs

like SmartBuilder. I can see where having more detailed instructions in my prototype and site

map will help a developer understand the design I have envisioned. Having excellent

communication skills will always be a benefit to seeing a project succeed and be all that the

designer imagined.

I see the future of instructional design, and especially the development part of ID, moving

toward a model where each designer will be expected to do more of their own development to

bring their design to a fully usable e-learning module. The power and ease-of-use of the tools

should make this possible, but it will put more of a burden on the designer than in the past. As a

result, it will be more important for ID professionals to stay current on the latest tools and

technology.

E-LEARNING PROJECT REPORT: STUDENT DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP 7

References

Danville Community School Corporation (DCSC). (2012). Acceptable use policy for electronic

resources. Retrieved from

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1JXQy0fJ0aSqAWgzIJxpiiQ907LvfyiPS9AJ

m1GtmvEI.

Horton, W. (2012). E-learning by design (2nd ed). San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Krug, S. (2000). Don't make me think: A common sense approach to web usability .

Indianapolis, IN: New Riders Publishing.

Merrill, M.D. (2001). 5 Star instructional design rating. Retrieved from

https://mycourses.purdue.edu/.

Merrill, M.D. (2002). First principles of instruction. Educational Technology Research and

Development, 50 (3), 43-59.

E-LEARNING PROJECT REPORT: STUDENT DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP 8

Appendix A: Self-Evaluation using Merrill’s 5 Star Instructional Design Rating (Merrill,

2001)

Stage Criteria Explanation

PROBLEM

Is the courseware presented in

the context of real world

problems?

Does the courseware show

learners the task they will be

able to do or the problem they

will be able to solve as a result

of completing a module or

course?

The course includes an overview

of the learning objectives and

the activities that will be

included in the module. The

objectives are related to real-

world issues that face the

students daily, and the course

engages them to acquire the

tools to deal with these issues.

The courseware progresses

through the most important and

commonly encountered areas of

online safety and citizenship,

and where appropriate provides

links for further investigation,

with videos and interactive

practice questions along with a

final quiz.

Are students engaged at the

problem or task level not just the

operation or action levels?

Does the courseware involve a

progression of problems rather

than a single problem?

RATING FOR PROBLEM STAGE: Gold

ACTIVATION

Does the courseware attempt to

activate relevant prior

knowledge or experience?

Does the courseware direct

learners to recall, relate,

describe, or apply knowledge

from relevant past experience

that can be used as a foundation

for new knowledge?

The first part of the courseware

attempts to relate the issues of

online citizenship to common

experiences, such as toothpaste

squirting out of the tube or

indelible markers.

The courseware then provides

relevant experience through do

activities that simulate real-

world situations. Due to the

Does the courseware provide

relevant experience that can be

used as a foundation for the new

knowledge?

E-LEARNING PROJECT REPORT: STUDENT DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP 9

Stage Criteria Explanation

If learners already know some of

the content are they given an

opportunity to demonstrate their

previously acquired knowledge

or skill.

nature of social media and the

school’s acceptable use policy,

there is no reasonable way to

permit them to practice their

skills in real situations as part of

the module.

There is no opportunity given

for demonstration of previously

acquired knowledge due to the

requirement that all students

complete the module and pass

the assessment for AUP.

RATING FOR ACTIVATION STAGE: Silver

DEMONSTRATION

Are the demonstrations

(examples) consistent with the

content being taught?

Are the demonstrations

(examples) consistent with the

content being taught?

• Examples and non-examples

for concepts?

• Demonstrations for

procedures?

• Visualizations for processes?

• Modeling for behavior?

The examples in each section are

drawn from the real world, and

present realistic scenarios that

students often encounter online.

Since the purpose of this module

is to influence behavior,

modeling is used to demonstrate

the correct approach to these

problems.

Learners are directed to relevant

information on multiple

associated web pages, as well as

3 videos about digital

citizenship.

In each case where media is

used, it is relevant to the content

and is used to enhance learning.

In addition to the explicit

examples, the students are using

their school-issued iPads to

interact with the module in an

acceptable educational

experience, and so are practicing

good digital citizenship as they

progress through the module.

Are at least some of the

following learner guidance

techniques employed?

• Learners are directed to

relevant information?

• Multiple representations are

used for the demonstrations?

• Multiple demonstrations are

explicitly compared?

Is media relevant to the content

and used to enhance learning?

RATING FOR DEMONSTRATION STAGE: Gold

E-LEARNING PROJECT REPORT: STUDENT DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP 10

Stage Criteria Explanation

APPLICATION

Are the application (practice)

and the posttest consistent with

the stated or implied objectives?

Are the application (practice)

and the posttest consistent with

the stated or implied objectives?

• Information-about practice

requires learners to recall or

recognize information.

• Parts-of practice requires the

learners to locate, name, and/or

describe each part.

• Kinds-of practice requires

learners to identify new

examples of each kind.

• How-to practice requires

learners to do the procedure.

• What-happens practice

requires learners to predict a

consequence of a process

given conditions, or to find

faulted conditions given an

unexpected consequence.

Both the “check for

understanding” pages and the

assessment are closely aligned to

the stated objectives. Where

appropriate, the scenarios

presented in the “check for

understanding” pages require

students to predict the

consequences of decisions. The

assessment and some “check for

understanding” exercises test

information acquisition, and so

require the learner to recall or

recognize information from the

module.

During the “check for

understanding” exercises,

students are required to solve

problems. When incorrect

answers are given, they are

given feedback for both correct

and incorrect responses.

While there is no context-

sensitive help provided, through

most of the module the student

may return to the instructional

pages for assistance. This option

is removed when the student

reaches the assessment for the

acceptable use policy. Coaching

and help will always be

available from the TSS

instructor even though the

module is self-paced.

Does the courseware require

learners to use new knowledge

or skill to solve a varied

sequence of problems and do

learners receive corrective

feedback on their performance?

In most application or practice

activities, are learners able to

access context sensitive help or

guidance when having difficulty

with the instructional materials?

Is this coaching gradually

diminished as the instruction

progresses?

RATING FOR APPLICATION STAGE: Gold

INTEGRATION

Does the courseware provide

techniques that encourage

learners to integrate (transfer)

the new knowledge or skill into

their everyday life?

Does the courseware provide an

opportunity for learners to

publicly demonstrate their new

knowledge or skill?

The student evaluation at the

end of the module actively

encourages positive changes in

behavior. Even though the

school environment prohibits

E-LEARNING PROJECT REPORT: STUDENT DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP 11

Stage Criteria Explanation

Does the courseware provide an

opportunity for learners to

reflect-on, discuss, and defend

their new knowledge or skill?

accessing public social media

sites, the students all have access

to a school provided email

account. They are expected to

use appropriate digital

citizenship skills daily in their

correspondence and activities.

The students are encouraged to

practice the new skills when

they are online away from

school, and to apply the skills to

their personal online experience.

The courseware does provide

reflect-on activities through the

“Check for Understanding” and

the Module Evaluation at the

end. The learners can reflect on

how they will handle online

activities differently after this.

They are asked to rate how

strongly they feel about applying

each of the learner objectives.

Does the courseware provide an

opportunity for learners to

create, invent, or explore new

and personal ways to use their

new knowledge or skill?

RATING FOR INTEGRATION STAGE: Gold

E-LEARNING PROJECT REPORT: STUDENT DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP 12

Appendix B: Updated Site Map For Digital Citizenship Module

Introduction

Included in DC Tool Box

What is Digital Citizenship all

about?

What You’ll Learn

Your Digital Citizenship

Tool Box

Video Intro

Oversharing Video

Link to Lyrics

Digital Footprint Video

Future Impact

Personal Image

Journal… Blog… Post…

Lasting Effects

Your Public Image

Think Before You Share or Post

Lasting Impressions

Content Control Filter

Safety Tips to Follow

Personal Integrity

Evaluating Internet Sources

Set Strong Passwords

Protect Yourself and Your

Information

Hard to Take It Back…

Permanent Damage

Take Time to Unplug...

Disconnect

Online Safety

Examples of Risky Behaviors

You should report anyone

who…

Sharing TMI (Too Much

Information)

What is Personal Information

Internet - Safe Practices

Inappropriate Content

Before Posting or Sharing…

Remember

Check Your Understanding

Acceptable Reuse

Plagiarism

Copyright Video

Copyright

Fair Use

Check Your Understanding

Acceptable Use Policy

For Electronic Resources

Acceptable Use

Prohibited Uses

Student Security

Technology Privacy

System Security

Personal Devices

Terms of Use

AUP Assessment

Course Evaluation (Survey Monkey)