ETAD804DistanceEducationProgramPlan

DistanceEducationProgramPlan:PromoteCanada!
BrianSimmons
ETAD804
UniversityofSaskatchewan

ETAD804DistanceEducationProgramPlan

Distance Education Program Plan

Course Title: Promote Canada!
Introduction:

TheDistanceEducationcoursethatisoutlinedandproposedwithinthisdocumenthasbeen
developedthroughthelensofablendedmodelofinstructionwhichfusesbothfacetofaceand
distanceeducationprinciplestosupportthelearningofstudentsenrolledinthecourse.Drivenby
thedesignerscurrentpositionasaGrade5teacherataprogressivemiddleschool,thiscourse
isdesignedtomeettheneedsofadiversesetoflearnersthatareexperiencingfeelingsof
disengagementwiththecurriculum,asoutlinedinarecentsurveyconductedwithintheschool.
Thedesigner,andtheotherGrade5teachersemployedattheschool,areproposingtocreate
andimplementanewmodelofinstructionthatwillallowstudentstolearnabroadsetofskillsin
ordertochooseapersonalizedroutetowardsmeetingthesuccesscriteriaoutlinedlaterinthis
document.
WithcloseconnectionstotheconceptoftheFlippedClassroommodel,thiscoursewilloffer
studentschoiceinwhichordertheyengageinandcompletethevariousprovidedlearning
modules.
ThefollowingdocumentwilloutlinethedesignproposalforthecoursetitledPromoteCanada!,
whichwillbedesignedbasedoncurrentstudentenrollmentandimplementedduringthe201415
schoolyear.

Institutional Overview:
Calgary Board of Education
TheCalgaryBoardofEducation(CBE)isthelargestproviderofpubliceducationinCalgary,
Alberta.WiththemissionstatementofEducatingTomorrowsCitizensToday(Mission,
Vision,Values,2013),theCBEcurrentlyoperates225schoolsacrossallagelevels,including
16outreachanduniquesettings(CommunityReport,2013).Theseschoolsservetheover

ETAD804DistanceEducationProgramPlan

107,000studentsenrolledinthevariousprogramsofferedwithinthedistrict(Community
Report,2013).Inordertoprovidetheseservices,theCBEemploystheequivalentof9,800
fulltimeemployeesinallteachingandsupportstaffroles(CommunityReport,2013).
Inordertoensurecontinuedgrowthanddevelopment,theCBEhasdevelopedaThreeYear
EducationPlanthatorganizesalleffortsintooneoffourmainpillarsofgrowth:personalize
learning,buildourcapacity,stewardourresources,andengageourpublic(CommunityReport,
2013).ThisisfurthersupportedbythreeprimaryResultsgoalsthatfocusonacademic
success,citizenshipandpersonaldevelopment.Allschoolsarerequiredtoreportonandbe
heldaccountablefortheiractionsinmovingthesegoalsforwardwithinthespecificcontextof
theirprogram.

Inordertosupportateachingstaffofthissize,theCBEprovidesvariousServiceUnitsthat
providefunctionalsupporttoteachersandstudentsinordertoensuresuccessfullearning
experiences.OfparticularpotentialimpactonthiscoursearetheserviceunitsofLearningand
LearningInnovation.Thesetwounitsendeavourtoprovidesubjectmatterexperts(S.M.E.)for
thedifferentcurricularandtechnologicalareasoffocusoftheCBE.TheS.M.E.areavailableto
staffthroughbothdirectandindirectmethods,suchasoneononeandlargegroupprofessional
developmentopportunities.

Twelve Mile Coulee School

TwelveMileCouleeSchoolisanewmiddleschoollocatedintheNorthwestCommunityof
TuscanywhichopenedinSeptemberof2012.Providingatraditionalcurriculumforstudentsin

ETAD804DistanceEducationProgramPlan

Grades4toGrade9,therearecurrentlyover850studentsenrolledacrossallofferedgrade
levels.Tobeabletoregisteratthisschool,studentsmustlivewithinthecommunityofTuscany.
Inordertosupportthelearningofthestudentpopulation,TwelveMileCouleecurrentlyhasa
teachingstaffof36fulltimeemployees,twoofwhichareinspecializedpositionsthatfocuson
educationaltechnologyandresourcesupport.Teachersareorganizedintopairswitheachpair
consistingofaLanguageArts/SocialStudiesandaMath/Scienceteacher.Thesepairsarealso
responsibleforthedeliveryofothercurricularareasandplantogethertomeettheneedofthe
twohomeroomsforwhichtheyaredirectlyresponsible.

Course Rationale and Context:

Duringthe20122013schoolyear,allstudentsatTwelveMileCouleeSchoolcompleteda
surveyentitledTellThemFromMe,developedbyTheLearningBarandsupportedbyAlberta
EducationandotherprovincialDepartmentsofEducation.ThissurveyprovidedTwelveMile
Couleewithrichanddetaileddataaboutthestudentsperceptionsoftheschoolandwas
focusedonthreeprimaryareas:SocialEmotional,PhysicalHealthandAcademicOutcomes.
Ofparticularinfluenceonthedesignofthiscourseweretheresultsaroundstudentengagement,
interestandmotivation.Intheseareas,asignificantpercentageofstudentsreportedfeeling
uninterestedandunmotivatedbythecontentandteachingwithintheschool(TellThemFrom
Me:TwelveMileCoulee,2013).Asastaff,itwasdecidedthatactionwouldbetakentoimprove
theseareasthroughintentionaldevelopmentofformativeassessmentandinstructionaldesign
practicesacrossallgrades.

ETAD804DistanceEducationProgramPlan

ImagefromTwelveMileCoulee:2012/2013ElementarySchoolSurvey,2013.

TheseresultswereespeciallyevidentinthedataspecificallyrelatingtostudentsinGrades4and
5,withresultsfallingbelowthenationalaverage(TwelveMileCoulee:2012/2013Elementary
SchoolSurvey,2013).
Asagradeteam,itwasdeterminedthatarenewedfocusonconnectingtheirlearningtoreal
worldexperiencesandsituationswouldbeonewayofincreasingmotivationandinterest.These
connectionswouldalsoallowthestudentstoturntotheirparents,manyofwhomworkin
professionsrelatingtotheoutcomesofthecourse,asexpertsthatcouldsupporttheirlearning.
BasedontheCareerandTechnologyFoundationsframework,apilotprogramdevelopedby
AlbertaEducation,thiscoursewillhavestudentscollaboratinginordertodevelopasolutionto
thespecifictaskofcreatingapromotionalcampaignforCanada(eitherforallofCanadaorfora
specificregion).Rootedintheprinciplesofthetheoryofconstructivism(Driscoll,2005)thistask
willhavethemengagingintheworkasaprofessionalwoulddosoandlearningnewskills
throughtheireffortsatdesigning,creating,appraisingandarticulatingtheirprocessandproduct.
ThiscontentistailoredspecificallytomeetmanyoutcomesfromtheAlbertaProgramofStudies
forGrade5SocialStudiesandEnglishLanguageArts.

ETAD804DistanceEducationProgramPlan

Imagefromhttp://www.cbectstrategy.ca/images/ctfoundationschart.jpg
Duringtheinitialideationofthecourse,itseemednaturaltoconnectCareerandTechnology
Foundations(CTF)tocorecurricularareasasCTFisdesignedforgrades59[and]structured
asalevelled,asopposedtoagraded,curriculumtosupportpersonalizedlearning(Alberta
Education,n.d.).Thiswasinterpretedasacurriculumthatneededtopresenteddifferentlythan
atraditionalOptionsmodelseeninmanyCBEschools.Itseemedlogicaltointegratewithcore
curriculuminordertobothprovidecontextfortheireffortsandreducethetimespentteaching
outcomesinisolationfromoneanother.

Specific Learners (Primary End Users):

TheprimaryendusersofthelearningmaterialsaretheGrade5studentsatTwelveMileCoulee
School.Thisrepresentsadiversesetoflearningneedsandstyles,includingstudentswith
SpecialEducationandESLdesignations.
Currently,thereareatotalof172studentsenrolledinGrade5attheschool.Withinthis
population,19ESLand31SpecialEducationdesignatedstudentsareintegratedintothe
homeroomclasses.Thispopulationofstudentsrepresentsavarietyofspecificneedswhich
rangefrom9studentswithLearningDisabilitiesto8studentswithseverephysical,medicalor
behaviouraldisorders.
Grade5studentsareorganizedinto6differenthomeroomsand3teachingteams,withan
averageclasssizeof29students.

ETAD804DistanceEducationProgramPlan

Studentswithspecificneedsthatmustbemetinordertoensuresuccesswillbesupportedby
theirteachers,theirpeers,andthroughtheuseofspecificinclusivetechnologiesthatwillbe
determinedinconsultationwithschoolstaffandoutlinedlaterinthisdocument.
Basedontheireducationalhistory,theprimaryendusersofthiscoursehavelittleprevious
experiencewithdistanceeducationenvironments.Whilesomewillhavebeenexposedto
Desire2Learn,atraditionalCourseManagementSystem(CMS),thistoolwasusedprimarilyfor
communicationwithparents.Thismeansthatmanyofthemorepowerfultoolswerenotused
withintheenvironmentandstudentswillbeunfamiliarwiththeirusewithinthecontextof
curriculum.
Ontheotherhand,theprimaryendusersarehighlyfamiliarwithotheronlinelearning
environmentsastheirteachershavepreviouslyprovidedopportunitiestointeractwithtoolssuch
aswikis,Edmodoandothersimilarenvironments.Theyhaveworkedcollaborativelyin
MinecraftEdu,GoogleAppsforEducation,andKidBlog.Theseexperienceshavegiventhe
learnersopportunitiestobuildtheskillsrequiredfortheonlinelearningenvironmentofthis
course.
Thesecondaryendusersofthecoursematerialswillbestudentsattendingotherschoolsor
programs,throughoutAlberta,thatmaychoosetoimplementthecourse.Thetargetgradewill
remainthesamebutitispossiblethatoldergradegroupswillchoosetoadaptorusethecourse
materialsfordifferentpurposes.Theneedsofthisbroadergroupcannot,andwillnot,be
assessedatthistimeduetothelackofknowledgeaboutwhichschoolsmaychooseto
implementthematerials.Itcanbeassumedthatneedsofthesepotentialstudentswillbesimilar
tothoseoftheprimaryendusers,althoughsomeschoolsmayhavemorediversepopulations
basedongeographicalandsocioeconomicregionswithinspecificcitiesandtheprovincein
general.

ETAD804DistanceEducationProgramPlan

Learning Objectives:

ThecoursewillintegrategeneraloutcomesfromtheGrade5AlbertaProgramofStudiesin
EnglishLanguageArtsandSocialStudieswiththedraftgeneraloutcomesfromCareerand
TechnologyFoundations.

General Learning Outcomes

SocialStudies:
WhilethefullProgramofStudiesforGrade5SocialStudiescanbefoundhere,thefollowingis
thegeneraloutcomethatwillbemetinthiscourse:
GeneralOutcome1PhysicalGeographyofCanada
Studentswilldemonstrateanunderstandingandappreciationofhowthephysicalgeographyand
naturalresourcesofCanadaaffectthequalityoflifeofallCanadians.
LanguageArts:
ThefullProgramofStudiesforGrade5EnglishLanguageArtscanbefoundhere.Thefollowing
isasummaryofthegeneraloutcomesthatwillbepartiallymetinthiscourse:
GeneralOutcome1
Studentswilllisten,speak,read,write,viewandrepresenttoexplorethoughts,ideas,feelings
andexperiences.
GeneralOutcome2
Studentswilllisten,speak,read,write,viewandrepresenttocomprehendandrespond
personallyandcriticallytooral,printandothermediatexts.

ETAD804DistanceEducationProgramPlan

GeneralOutcome3
Studentswilllisten,speak,read,write,viewandrepresenttomanageideasandinformation.
GeneralOutcome4
Studentswilllisten,speak,read,write,viewandrepresenttoenhancetheclarityandartistryof
communication.
CareerandTechnologyFoundations:
AstheProgramofStudiesforCareerandTechnologyFoundationsisstillindraftform,itisnot
possibletosupplyacopyforthisproposal.Thefollowingisasummaryofthegeneraloutcomes
thatwillbemetduringthiscourse:
GeneralOutcome1
Studentswilluseavarietyofstrategiestodesignapossiblesolutionthatwillenablethe
completionofaspecifiedtask.
GeneralOutcome2
Studentswilluseavarietyofstrategiestocreateaproduct,performanceorservicethatwill
enablethecompletionofaspecifiedtask.
GeneralOutcome3
Studentswilluseavarietyofstrategiestoappraisetheprocessandproduct,performanceor
serviceandselfthroughoutthecompletionofaspecifiedtask.
GeneralOutcome4
Studentswilluseavarietyofstrategiestoarticulatetheknowledge,skillsandattitudesusedand
gainedinthecompletionofaspecifiedtask.

Success Criteria:
AssuggestedbyPallof&Pratt,aninstructorneedstobeginwiththeendinmind(2007)andas
such,inordertoguidethedevelopmentofthecourse,thefollowingbroadsuccesscriteriahave

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beendeveloped:

IdentifyandcommunicatetheuniqueculturalandgeographicalfeaturesofCanada.

Effectivelyutilizevariousmarketingstrategiestodesignandcreateatourismadvertising
campaign.

Effectivelyutilizeprintand/orothermediatocommunicateideastoatargetaudience.

Appraiseandarticulatetheprocess,product,knowledgeandskillsusedthroughoutthe
developmentofthecampaign.

Thesebroadsuccesscriteriahavedriventhefurtherdevelopmentofthecoursebyshowingthe
needforthecoursetobebrokenintothreemainstages,eachwiththeirownassessment
processandorganizationalformat.

Course Organization:
Thecoursewillbedesignedasablendoflinearandlearnerdirecteddesignprinciples,requiring
thestudentstoaccessthecourseinthreestagesbutallowingthemtoaccesstheresources
(modules)withineachstagebasedontheircurrentinterestsandneeds(Simonson,2007).The
levelofflexibilityofcontentaccesswillincreaseaseachstageincompleted.Aseachstudent
willtakeadifferentpathtowardsreachingthefinalobjective,thecoursewillneedtoprovide
instructionindifferentskillsets,informationandotherelementsofthetaskstheywillneedto
completeinordertobesuccessful.Thiswillbeadiversegroupingofmodules,fromCanadian
geographytovideoproduction,andmustberesponsivetotheneedsofspecificlearnersasthey
requirenewskillsthroughoutthedevelopmentoftheirfinalproduct.
Thecoursewillbebrokenintothreemainstagesthatmustbecompletedinsequentialorder.
Withineachstagethecontentmoduleswillbeaccessedinwhateverorderthestudentmay
wish.Thisguided,yetflexible,completionpathallowsfortheteachingteamtoeasilymonitor
specificstudentprogresswithinthecoursewhilegivingthelearnerschoicewithinandcontrol
overthecontentinwhichtheywishtoengage.Eachstagehasalsobeendesignedtosupport
problemsolvinginstruction,asoutlinedbySmith&Ragan(2005),asstudentswillneedtobeled
intotheproblemandprovidedwithallsupportsrequiredtobesuccessful.

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Stage 1: Introduction
Allstudentswillbeginwithanintroductorymodulethatoutlinesthecourseprogression(Stages),
theuse/navigationoftheonlineenvironment,thefinaltask,andthecriteriaforsuccess.The
contentofthisstagewillbestructuredisaverylinearmanner,asallstudentsmustgainaclear
understandingoftheexpectationsandkeyelementsofthecoursebeforetheycanbeexpected
tosuccessfullyinteractwiththerestofthecontent.Thisstagewillbeheavilyguidedbythe
teachersresponsibletoimplementingthecontentasitsetsthestageforlaterexpectations
(Simonson,2007).
Asablendedlearningenvironment,studentswillalsohaveaccesstoateacherwithinthe
physicalenvironment,iftheyareunsureaboutanyofthepresentedcontent.Therewillalsobe
onsitetechnicalsupportavailableduringtheinitialstageasitcanbeassumedthatmany

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technologyissueswillarisewhilestudentsarefirstattemptingtoaccessandnavigatethe
coursematerial.
Stage 2: Background Information
FollowingcompletionofStage1,studentswillmoveintoStage2ofthecourse.Inthisstage,
theyarerequiredtocompletethemodulesonadvertising/marketingandthephysicalregionsof
Canadainordertoensureallhaveobtainedthebackgroundknowledgerequiredtoachieve
successinStage3.
Thepresentedcontentwillbethestudentsfirstintroductiontothelearnerdirectedportionsof
thecourse.Therewillbetwomainmodulesofcontentandlearnerswillchoosetheorderin
whichtheyengagewithandcompletethelearningmaterials.
WhilemuchofthecontentinthisStagecouldbeeffectivelytaughtwithtraditionalfacetoface
methods,theonlineenvironmentwillbetheprimarysourceofinformationinordertoallowforthe
desiredflexibilityofaccess.Asstudentsengagewiththecontentandmoveforwardin
demonstratingtheirunderstandingthroughspecifictasksandshortassessments,theywillbe
abletoaccessateacher,asrequired,forsupportinsolvingproblemsrelatingtothetaskitself
andwillbeabletorefertothecoursematerialsforcontent.
Withinthemoduleonadvertising/marketing,studentswillexplorevariousvisualandprintmedia
thatprovideexamplesofthecommontechniquesusedinthedevelopmentofadvertisementsof
allformats.Eachtechniquewillhaveitsowncontentpage,eachwithabriefexplanationofthe
techniquefollowedbyseveralexamplesinvariedformats.Astheyprogressthroughthecontent,
studentswillbeassessedatseveralpoints.Theseassessmentswillbecontainedwithinthe
onlineenvironmentandwillbediscussedintheAssessmentsectionofthisdesigndocument.
Inordertoensureconsistency,thecontentfocusingonthephysicalregionsofCanadawillfollow
asimilarformattothatdiscussedabove.Theinformationpresentedabouteachregionwillbe
hostedonseparatecontentpages,eachwithashortassessment.Thecontentwillbepresented
throughvariousprintandvisualmediatohelpsupportlearnerswithdifferentneeds.Thecontent
itselfwillincludeinformationonbothgeographicalandculturalaspectsofthespecificregions

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beingpresented.
Inordertoensureconsistentprogressionthroughthecourse,studentswillbegivenaspecific
datebywhichtheymustcompletethetwomodulespresentedinStage2.
Stage 3: Promote Canada!
Theremainingmodules,allcontainedwithinStage3,willbeaccessedthroughajustintime
modelofinstruction.Theorderinwhichlearnersaccessthesemoduleswillbeuptothe
individualstudentastheydeterminewhichskillswillbeneededinordertofollowthroughwith
theirdesignsforcompletingthefinalcourseobjectives.
Withinthisstage,studentswillberequiredtousetheknowledgegainedinStage2toplanand
developanadvertisingcampaignforaspecificphysicalregion(orallregions)ofCanada.The
specificcriteriaforthiscampaignwillbedevelopedandpresentedbeforetheyareableto
accessthecontentmodulessothatthelearnermayplantheirroutetosuccessastheyviewthe
modulestowhichtheyhaveaccess.Thisprocesswillservetodecompose[the]probleminto
subgoals(Smith&Ragan,2005)andallowtheinstructortoverbalizethetaskandprovideany
preplanningsupportsthatmayberequired.
Thepresentedmoduleswillgenerallybetechnicalinnature,focusingonspecificskillsneededto
createdifferentaspectsoftheircampaign.Thiswillincludemodulesongraphicdesign,
filmmaking,animation,audiorecording,digitalmusiccreation,photography,basicwebdesign,
computerprogramming,textiles,cooking,bakingandothersuchskillsetsthathavebeen
determinedasnecessaryforsuccess.Asitissuchadiverseselectionofskills,thecourse
designersplantoutilizecontentalreadycreatedbydifferentcompaniesandteachers.Thiswill
minimizetheneedtoproducelearningmaterialsthatarealreadyinexistenceandwillreducethe
fundingrequiredtodevelopandimplementthecourse.
Duringtheireffortsincompletingthefinaltaskforthecourse,studentswillhaveopenaccessto
variousphysicalspacesthroughoutTwelveMileCoulee.Duringtheallottedtime,ateacherwill
bepresentineachofthesespacestoguidestudentsthroughproblemsandteachskillsthatcan
notbetaughtthroughdigitalresources(theuseofakitchenknifeisanexampleofonesuch

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skill).Studentswillstillbeexpectedtomovetheirownlearningforwardandusetheteacher
moreasaguideasopposedtoatraditionalinstructor.
Itisatthispointinthecoursethatstudentswillalsobeprovidedwithexpertsindifferentcontent
areas,basedonavailabilityandwillingnesstovolunteertheirtime,throughtheonline
environment.Theseexpertswillenhancethesupportofferedbytheteachersinthephysical
environment.
Thesemoduleswillnotbeassessedindividuallybutaspartofthefinaltask.
Allotted Time:
Itisanticipatedthatstudentswillneedmuchoftheschoolyearinordertofullycompletethe
course.
Whilelearningmoduleswillbeaccessiblefromhome,studentswillbegiventwo55minute
periods,inafourdaytumblingschedule,inwhichtoengageinthecoursewithdirectteacher
support.Thetotalminutesspentwithinthecourseenvironmentwillnotbecalculatedortracked
duetotheageofthelearnersandthefactthatitisablendedlearningenvironmentwithinaK12
schoolwheretrackingofthisnatureisnotconsideredvital.
Supportwillnotbeavailableoutsideoftheseperiodsduetorestrictionsinschoolschedulingand
accesstonecessaryphysicalspacesandequipment.Withinthistime,studentswillhave
accesstoawidevarietyofprintandphysicalresourcesthatmayberequiredtocompletethe
task.Forexample,accesstotheschoolsArtRoom,MediaLab,Foods/FashionLaband
LearningCommonswillbeguaranteedduringthescheduledperiods.

Assessment:
TheassessmentplanforthiscourseisbrokenintostagesthatalignwiththethreeStagesof
contentaccess.

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Stage 1:
Studentunderstandingoftheintroductorycontentwillbeassessedthroughoneonone
conferencesconductbytheteacherpresentinthephysicalenvironment.Theteacherwillbe
checkingforunderstandingofthecourseoutlineandtheuseofonlineenvironment.

Stage 2:
ThetwocontentmodulescontainedwithinStage2willutilizeshort,focusedsummative
assessmentsthatcanbefoundattheendofeachspecifictopic.Theseassessmentswilltake
variousforms,bothobjectiveandsubjective(Simonson,2007),andwillbeconductedregularly
tohelpcircumventdishonesty(Simonson,2007)asstudentsprogressthroughthecontent.The
assessmentswillbedesignedtoprovideasmuchimmediatefeedback,intheformatof
selfmarkingquizzes,aspossible.Someformats,suchaswrittenresponsesorcritiques,will
requiretheteachertoevaluateresponsesastheyaresubmitted.
AsthecontentwithinStage2isdesignedtoactasareferenceforStage3,itisnotvitalthat
studentsshowamasteryofeveryspecifictopic.Theywillbeabletoreferbacktocontentas
theycontinuetheirprogressionintoandthroughthefinaltaskpresentedinStage3.

Stage 3:
Asablendedlearningenvironment,theassessmentofthefinallearningtaskwillbeconducted
bytheteacherresponsibleforguidinginstructionandindividualprogress,whichwilleitherthe
homeroomteacherortheteacherassignedtoaspecificphysicalspacewithintheschool.
Ongoingformativeassessmentwillbeusedthroughouttheprocessinordertoprovidetimely,
personalizedfeedback.
Thespecificcriteriaofthefinaltaskwillbeindividuallyassessedaspartofthefinalassessment
process,whichwillincludestudentselfassessment,peerfeedbackandteacherevaluationof
thefinalproductbasedoncoconstructedcriteria/rubricsthatwillbedevelopedthroughoutthe
courseimplementation.Thisisaprocessthatstudentswillbefamiliarwithasitisanintegral

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partofTwelveMileCouleeSchoolsassessmentplan.ThiscriteriawillbecreatedearlyinStage
3,whichallstudentswillbeginatthesametimeduetotheclearrequiredcompletiondatefor
Stage2.

Online Technologies:

ThecoursewillnotbehostedthroughaCMSasstudentswillbecompletingmuchofthetask
withinthephysicalenvironmentanddonotneedaccesstomanyoftheadvancedfeaturesa
CMSofferstothecoursedesigners.Itwill,however,requireawebbasedplatformthatisableto
hostthevariousmedianeededinordertoimplementthecourse.
AsstudentsatTwelveMileCouleewillallhaveaccesstoGoogleAppsforEducationbythetime
thiscourseisimplemented,ithasbeendecidedthatGoogleSiteswillbetheprimarytoolfor
contenthostingforallcoursematerials.Thistoolallowsforvariousmediatobeembeddedin
differentformats,isrelativelyuserfriendlyforbothdesignersandusers,andcanallowfor
restrictedaccess.TheplatformalsoofferseasyintegrationwithotherGoogleApps,suchas
FormsandDocs,whichcanbeutilizedbybothstudentsanddesignersaspartofthe
assessmentprocess.
Asidefromthecontenthosting,itwillalsobeimportanttoprovidestudentswithaccesstoa
userfriendlydiscussionboardsystem,usingtheGoogleGroupstool,thatallowsthemto
engageinconversationwithvariousexpertsthatmayvolunteertheirtimetoprovidestudents
withfeedbackontheirefforts.Thisdiscussionboardwillalsoallowstudentstocommunicate
withoneanotheroutsideofscheduledschoolhours.AswithGoogleSites,Groupswasselected
astheappropriatetoolduetosimpleandsecureaccessthroughGoogleAppsforEducation.
Byutilizingablendedinstructionalmodel,allstudentsareguaranteedconsistentaccesstothe
learningenvironmentandanyotherhardwareorsoftwarethatmayberequiredtocompletethe
task.Thismitigatestheriskthatstudentswillnotbeabletoaccesstheenvironmentdueto
technicalorhardware/networkaccessissues.Duringthe55minuteperiodsthatstudentswill
usetoengageinthiscourse,guaranteedaccesshasalreadybeensecuredtoenoughhardware
toensureequalaccess.Studentswillalsobeencouragedtoaccessthecoursecontentusing

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mobiledevices.ThisissupportedbytheCBEwirelessnetworkdesign,whichprovidesstudents
withwifiontheirpersonallyowneddevicesthroughtheLearnerAccessibleWirelessNetwork
(LAWN).Thisnetworkprovidesamplebandwidthandaccesscertificatestoensurethatall
studentswhowishtousetheirpersonallyowneddevicescandoso.Itisdesignedto
compliment,andnotcompetewith,thewirelessaccessprovidedtodevicesownedbytheCBE.
Anyspecializedlearningneedsofspecificstudents,particularlythosedesignatedwithspecial
educationcodes,willbemetusingvariousinclusivetechnologies.Inparticular,thesestudents
willbeprovidedwithaccesstoRead&WriteGoldandDragonDictate.Thosesoftwaretools
providebothtexttospeechandspeechtotextcapabilities.Thesetoolswillbeenhancedbythe
provisionofnoisecancellingmicrophonesandheadsets.
Tosupportalllearners,thedesignofthecoursewillbebasedonbasicvisualdesignprinciples.
Headingsandfontswillbeconsistentthroughoutthecoursewithsizesof18pointand12point,
respectively(Misanchuk,Schwier,&Boling,2006).Throughoutthecourse,thedesignerswill
useconsistenticonstosupportnavigationandeaseofuse(Misanchuketal.,2006).Furtherto
this,allimageswilldirectlyconnectwiththetopicandtextwillbesupportedbyvisualand
multimediaelementsinordertosupportunderstandingandreduceintimidation(Misanchuketal.,
2006).

Course Management:
Allaspectsofthecoursewillbemanagedbytheteachersthatareresponsiblefor
implementation.Manymanagementconcernsofadistanceeducationcoursewillnothavea
significantimpact.Forexample,registrationandschedulingwillbebasedonschoolspecific
informationandaccesstoresourcesandnotonoutsideinformation.
Asthemanagementofthelearningenvironmentwillfalltotheteachersresponsiblefor
implementation,easeofuseisaprimaryconcernforthetoolsselectedfortheonlinelearning
environment.Whiletheoriginalcoursedesignerswillalsohandletheimplementionforthe
primaryendusers,itwillbeimportantthatotherpotentialadoptersofthecoursematerialsare
abletoquicklyandeasyutilizetheselectedtoolsassupportwillnotbeavailablefromthe
designers.Assuch,materialswillbeorganizedandpackagedinsuchawaythattheycanbe

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quicklytransferredtodifferentusergroups.

Course Evaluation:
Thedesignersofthiscoursefeelthattheyareinauniquepositionwhenitcomestocourse
evaluation.Beingablendedlearningopportunity,theinstructorswillbeabletoconsistently
evaluatethecourseandspecificlearningmaterials,usingKirkpatricksapproach(Simonson,
2007),throughobservationsandconversationswithlearners.
ThisongoingassessmentandevaluationwillbeparticularlyevidentinthefirsttwoLevelsofthe
approach:ReactionsandLearning.Itwillbevitalforthesuccessfulimplementationofthecourse
thatinstructorsgatherinformaldatasothatthelaterstagesofthecoursematerialscanbe
adaptedbasedonresponsesfromthelearners.Thisadaptationcanbecompletedbetween
Stages,unlessamajoroverhauloflearningmaterialsisrequired.
TheevaluationofLevel3:TransferandLevel4:Resultswillbeevaluatedusingalongterm
approach.Asthecoursewillnotbecompleteduntiltheendoftheschoolyear,instructorswill
gatherdatafromstudentsandtheproceedingteachersinregardstotheskillsthatthestudents
continuetoapplytotheirlearninginGrade6.Thiswillbeconductedintheformofshortsurveys
conductedatdifferentpointsinthefollowingschoolyearasitisdifficulttoknowwhentransfer
actuallyoccurs(Simonson,2007).

Funding:
TheCalgaryBoardofEducationandTwelveMileCouleeSchoolwillbetheprimaryfunding
sourcesforthedevelopmentofthiscourse.Thisfundingwillcomeintheformoftimegivento
teacherstodevelopthecourseattheirindividualsalaryrates.Therewillalsobesome
technologysupportprovidedbytheschoolsassignedI.T.supporttechnicianbutthiswillbe
highlylimiteddueotherdemandsonthisindividualstime.
Duetothenatureofthecoursefunding,allselectedtoolsandresourceswillhavetobelocally
developedoravailableatnocosttothecoursedeveloper.This,ofcourse,posesariskfor
coursecontinuityoverthelongtermandwillplayafactorinthefinalselectionand

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implementationofanyonlinetechnologies.

Ethical Concerns:
Atthistime,theprimaryethicalconcernistheprotectionofthestudentspersonalinformationin
anonlinelearningenvironment.Itwillbearequirementthatthelearningenvironmentmeetsthe
CalgaryBoardofEducationsWeb2.0Guidelinesandisapprovedbythepersonnelgoverning
theseguidelines.
Asthedesignerswillbeaccessingandusingprecreatedmaterialsthroughoutthecourse,all
effortswillbemadetoensurethatthesematerialsarebeingaccessedfairlyandwithclear,
writtenconsentfromtheoriginalauthorsofthematerials.Somelearningmaterials,however,will
notrequiresuchpermissionastheyarefreelyaccessedbyuserswithregisteredaccounts.
TheseresourceswillalsohavetobeassessedusingtheCBEWeb2.0Guidelinestoensure
thatstudentinformationissecureandprotected.

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References
AlbertaEducation.(2011).CareerandTechnologyFoundations:DraftProgramofStudies.
Retrievedfrom
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