Educator s Guide to Using Technology in Career Exploration as a Moodle course

Educator s Guide to Using Technology in Career Exploration as a Moodle course Lynn Lieberman, Oakland Schools with contributions from Cathy Smith, Oakland Schools Welcome to the technology and career exploration course entitled Using Technology in Career Exploration (short name of UTCE). The purpose of the course is to prepare students to make great choices for their future and to build their technology skills. It accomplishes four requirements: Technologically literate students by 8 th Grade who apply the stages of the information literacy process EDPs developed through a career development process Participation in online learning experiences that incorporate relevant expectations from English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Mathematics Appropriate online behavior is introduced and practiced (Promoting Online Safety in Schools) As an educator, you know about effective teaching strategies. You now can incorporate online teaching into your repertoire of skills to complement what you do in the classroom. The online course provides opportunities for more interaction with and among students, for students to review material, and for students to progress at their own rate. You can even let students resubmit assignments they didn t understand originally. You will determine how you will blend the online course with what you already are doing in the classroom. Each section of the course is a topic that follows the structure of the material in the print/cd version. Refer to the print material in the binder to review the organizational structure of the course and the teacher lesson plans (aka instructional overviews) containing teaching tips and implementation suggestions for the modules. Some of these resources for the teacher are also listed at the end of the online course. Copyright 2006-2008 Oakland Schools. All rights reserved. Permission granted to Michigan school districts to provide free access to this course to Michigan students for nonprofit educational purposes. The course content and files are owned by Oakland Schools. All copies or portions thereof must attribute copyright to Oakland Schools. To ensure the integrity of the course intent and design, the course must be made available as a whole and may not be copied or altered in any way by the end user. Topics and items not currently being used may be hidden. Distribution is funded to Michigan educators through a Title II, Part D Educational Technology Grant awarded to Oakland Schools from the Michigan Department of Education. Disclaimer You may experience minor technical problems when the course is restored on another server. There will be broken links in the Module block and the link entitled Top. Fix them by changing the listed course ID# in each broken link to the number assigned to your course. Your course ID# is located in the URL for the course. (example: http://moodle.oakland.k12.mi.us/os/course/view.php?id=105) Please report problems and suggestions in the Moodle Virtual PLC for Educators: Using Technology in Career Exploration at http://moodle.oakland.k12.mi.us. Using Technology in Career Exploration 1 Revised January 2009

Table of Contents Overview of the Curriculum Benefits of Using the Online Version... 4 Purpose of the Materials... 4 Outcomes for Students... 5 Major Components of the Content... 5 Technologies Students Use... 5 Types of Instructional Strategies, Tasks and Activities Incorporated into the Online Course... 6 Types of Assessments Used in the Course... 7 Resources for Teachers... 7 Before You Start Is the Course Ready to Go - Student and Teacher Accounts?... 8 Login to Moodle and Select the Course... 8 Access and Change your Profile and Password... 8 Moodle Features Used in the Course How To Course Content... 9 Blocks... 9 Activity Modules Used in the Course... 10 Resources and Resource Types Used in the Course... 11 Combination of Activities Used... 11 Navigate the Course... 12 Make Content Available or Hidden... 13 Click on Links to Open Course Material, Resources, Files... 14 Link to and Save Files to Computer... 15 Display Folders and Files in a Course Directory... 15 Use Assignments in the Course... 16 Current Settings in Upload Single File... 17 Current Settings in Online Text Assignments... 18 Current Settings in Advanced Uploading of Files Assignments... 19 Use a Journal to Record Reflections... 20 Using Technology in Career Exploration 2 Revised January 2009

Use Discussion Forums Overview... 21 Post a Response to the Discussion Topic and Reply to Other Students... 22 Change How Replies Are Displayed... 23 Use a Choice Activity to Poll Students to Stimulate Thinking and Have Them Reach a Decision... 24 Participate in Group Work Three Groupings and Their Related Groups View Three Course Groupings and the Groups in Each of the Groupings... 26 Assign Students to the Different Groups in Each of the Groupings Used in the Course... 27 View the Students Assigned to the Groups in Each Course Grouping... 28 Participate in a Collaborative Writing Activity Using a Wiki... 29 Administration Features: Gradebook and Reports How Students are Graded... 31 Enter Student Scores in the Gradebook... 32 View Reports of Course Activity... 35 Take the Technology Quiz... 36 Plan How You Will Use the Course Your Action Plan... 37 Additional Notes... 38 Technical Requirements Appendices Moodle and Web Browser Settings... 39 Software... 40 Accessibility... 40 Advanced Uploading of Files Assignments... 41 Using Technology in Career Exploration 3 Revised January 2009

Overview of the Course Benefits of Using the Online Version in Moodle The Moodle Course Management System provides many features to support student learning. Course materials are available 24/7 for students to access. Students can discuss topics online, providing time to reticent students to consider their thoughts and inviting their participation. The online discussion may start in the classroom and be continued online, or the topic might be solely addressed online. Online discussions provide opportunities for deeper dialogue about curricular content and application of technology between students and for continued career choice discussions between students and their counselor and teachers. Online discussions also promote use of writing skills, spelling and grammar. Because this curriculum meets academic standards and the Michigan Educational Technology Standards across grade levels and content areas, the online course supports collaborative team teaching. Counselors, media specialists, and teachers in different content areas can work together to implement it in one grade or across several grades. Student progress can be tracked in Moodle through the online gradebook across time, classes, and grade levels. Student work can be archived in Career Cruising or in other portfolio tools. The number of embedded links to suggested instructional resources on the Web (videos, tutorials, and other informational material) may seem overwhelming. These have been provided for topics throughout the course so that you can select those that best meet the needs and abilities of your students. You can hide resources that you choose not to use at this time. Quick Links to often-used content are listed on the right side of the course s home page. While all of the curricular materials are in the Moodle course, we suggest you teach a blended course of face-toface instruction with work in Moodle to increase interactivity and access to content. The online course includes links to files and Web-based resources, discussion forums for continued communication, wikis for student writing collaborations, and the gradebook to store student scores on the assessment tasks. Purpose of the Materials Help students find their place in the global economy Prepare students to: be safe, responsible, and productive digital citizens apply technological tools and resources gather, analyze and synthesize information apply critical thinking skills communicate their findings Teach students a process for making life and career decisions: students consider their options and make informed decisions based on research, self-reflection, and data Provide educational experiences where students learn appropriate online behavior Assess students performance on the Michigan Educational Technology Standards for Students (METS) Using Technology in Career Exploration 4 Revised January 2009

Outcomes for Students: Develop and apply technology and information literacy skills Participate in a variety of online learning experiences in the online course Make informed decisions Communicate with media, verbally and in writing Create realistic goals and Educational Development Plans (EDPs) Build a portfolio of evidence demonstrating performance of standards and expectations Major Components of the Content Technology concepts (globalization, responsible cyber-citizenship and Internet safety, use of Internet and Web tools, technology terms) Career development (self-awareness, career exploration, decision-making, planning, EDP document) Reality check (salary projections over time compared to a student-developed expense budget based on preferred lifestyle choices) Research/Information literacy (effective search strategies, evaluation of Web sites, communicate findings) Multimedia project (planning, developing and communicating to others what has been researched) Written reflections and choice justifications (why I chose what I chose and why I eliminated others) Technologies Students Use Microsoft Office or other similar products (word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation software) Inspiration or other mind-mapping software (graphic organizer) Online collaborative writing tools (wiki, collaborative writing tools such as Google docs, Zoho docs, etc.) Internet search tools (Web subject directories, search engines, subscription databases (MeL)) Web resources (Web-based tutorials, articles, videos, subscription databases, collaborative online tools, CareerForward,etc.) Career Cruising or similar software for career exploration and EDP development Software to create a final product (publishing software, digital video software, presentation software, etc.) Using Technology in Career Exploration 5 Revised January 2009

Types of Instructional Strategies, Tasks and Activities Incorporated Into the Online Course Role-playing people with different occupations in the Internet Safety WebQuest Research done online and with print materials Engaging in career exploration with a variety of materials Learning and reviewing technology knowledge and skills through technology tutorials (articles, videos) Survey of student interests, hobbies, preferences, activities, and dreams Essay writing to explain and justify decisions Self-reflection on who the student is and on what options are suitable for the student Engaging in dialogue on readings, videotapes, personal experiences Note-taking; compiling, synthesizing, and evaluating the information; and citing sources Gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, and producing information (information literacy skills) Using reference material found online Selecting and applying technology and media resources to complete tasks (technology skill-building) Collaborative projects and group work Discussion of videos and articles, group communication, opinions, practices Creating a final multimedia project Messaging with teacher to ask questions, clarify question (you will have to add this feature to your course) Reading, viewing, evaluating, and discussing Web-based instructional resources Using Technology in Career Exploration 6 Revised January 2009

Types of Assessments Used in the Course Performance-based tasks and scoring rubrics with multiple criteria o Teacher observations of student demonstrations o Assignments submitted online to the teacher o Checklists o Artifacts (written justification essays, products from tasks, project results) o Class presentations Documentation of work o Student s reflective narratives o Collection of artifacts o Digital or paper portfolios Quiz to assess the technological knowledge students already have (based on the RITS questions) Contribution to discussions in the Discussion Board Forums Resources for Teachers Are you new to Moodle? Learn about Moodle use by exploring Moodle Tutorials for Teachers at the MoodleDocs page http://docs.moodle.org/en/getting_started_for_teachers. In addition to the Requirements listed later in this guide, the Start Here section in the course contains information about what is required to run the online course (Computer Check) and ways to make the course accessible to students with special needs. Links to videos and step-by-step instructions for using different technologies are listed in the online course. Each section of the course is a topic that follows the structure of the material in the print/cd version. Lesson plans (Instructional Overviews) and other instructional materials are available to support your use of this curriculum. They provide teaching tips and suggestions of which materials you might want to print and distribute to students. It might be helpful to also consult the print version of the course. Using Technology in Career Exploration 7 Revised January 2009

Before You Start Your Moodle site administrator should have set up this course in Moodle. You may want to have multiple copies of the course one for each class of students that will be using the course. You need to be enrolled in each version of the course with teacher privileges. Students will need accounts on the Moodle site and will need to be enrolled in their section of the online class. Be sure that the technical requirements for the course are met. You must login to Moodle to use the course. Login to Moodle and Select the Using Technology in Career Exploration Course 1. Be sure computers and web browsers are set up correctly to use the course. While Moodle supports all major internet browsers such as IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc., not all browsers (e.g., Safari) support the use of the HTML editor. Students will use the HTML editor to input and edit work created online. 2. Open up the web browser. 3. Enter the address of your Moodle site in the browser's address bar. 4. Login to the site. Use either the Login block or click on the link "You are not logged in (Login)" at the very top right of the site s home page. Type in your Username and Password in the appropriate boxes, then press the Login button. Remember that usernames and passwords are case sensitive. If you have been given the password changeme, you may be prompted to change the password to one of your choice. You can change your password in your Profile. Teachers and Students Can Access and Change Their Profile and Password Either click on your name (top right or bottom of course s home page) or the word Profile in the Administration block. Click on the "Edit profile" tab and update your profile if desired. Teachers should verify their e-mail address and check that This email address is enabled is selected. Click "Update profile" when you are finished. On the Profile page click on the button "Change password." You may want to change your password to something you will easily remember. Click Save changes. Once your password is changed, click on the word "Continue" and return to the Profile page. Click on the short course name (UTCE) to return to the course home page. Using Technology in Career Exploration 8 Revised January 2009

Moodle Features Used in the Course 1. Course Content The course content is divided into 18 sections and uses the Topics format to organize resources and activities for students by topic. Introductory course information and course specifications are available in section 1. Students are also introduced to Netiquette and Copyright considerations. The course modules are arranged by topic in sections 2-15. Additional scoring rubrics used to observe student performance are in section 17. Resources for the instructor (tips, lessons plans, how to instructions, information about the course, application of information literacy, technology, career development in course) are listed in section 18. Section 16 holds additional resources that are linked to from other parts of the course. The top most section is the course header and contains the Announcements forum (News forum renamed). 2. Blocks are used in the course and placed on the right side of the screen. Blocks provide information or settings that the teacher can add to a course page. There are many different types of blocks used in this course. NOTE: When the course is restored on the server you are using, the links in HTML blocks may break and need to be fixed, especially those that are used for navigation on the course home page. HTML blocks: Used to add text and images to the course page or site; the HTML editor can be used to format text, add images, embed links in the text to files or other pages within the course or to external sites; switch to HTML view with < > to add/modify the HTML source code Modules: Contains links to the different Topic Sections in the course - jumps to course topics (Section Links renamed) links will break when the course is restored on the server you are using and will need to be fixed (change course ID# xxx to the course number on your server) Quick Links to Course Resources: Created in HTML with links to resources on the Web and in the course People: Links to the list of course Participants from which you can view participants' profiles Administration: Course administration is different for students and teachers. Students are able to only view Grades and change their Profile. Teachers will use the full set of course administration features to manage course settings, enroll students and teachers and place them into groups, view the course gradebook, and add additional files. Use Grades to input grades into the gradebook, Groups to put students into the three different groupings used in the course (each with its own set of groups of students), Reports to access reports of student progress (participation report), Files to upload supplementary materials, and Profile to change a person s own profile. My Courses: Lists a student's courses Using Technology in Career Exploration 9 Revised January 2009

3. Activity Modules: The course Activities block lists the types of activities and resources used in Using Technology in Career Exploration. Click on each of the types identified in the block to see the complete listing of what is available in the course. You can use this block to navigate between the different activities available in the course. The following explains the Activity Modules that are used in this Moodle course. Assignments: Rubrics are provided for teachers to assess student performance on the assigned tasks. Depending on the type of assignment, students can electronically upload and submit their completed work to the teacher or enter text online. Students are asked to: (1) upload a single file or upload multiple files (supported in Moodle 1.7 onwards) that are used to complete the assigned task (2) enter text online (3) complete activities offline Students work in Group mode to submit files in Module 1, Part 2 in the WebQuest activities and in Module 3, Telecommunications Extension. The teacher can review the work using the Scoring Rubric and record the score in the gradebook. The maximum score possible for the task is stored in the gradebook. Choices: This is used to poll students; they pick from a list of Choices to respond to a question Forums: Students participate in asynchronous online discussions about course content and videos viewed. Different types of forums are used: a single simple discussion about a subject, each person posts one discussion, and the standard forum for general use. In addition, two of the forums should be noted: 1. Announcements Teachers use this to post course announcements, due dates, and other relevant information to share with students. 2. What s On Your Mind? - Includes an ice breaker about what students like to do when they are not in school. This forum also provides an opportunity for each student to post a question, a comment, or thoughts on a particular topic for discussion with other students. Journals: Student reflections are recorded in the online journal. (You may want to create an Online Text assignment or an Upload a Single File assignment and use it instead of a journal since journals are no longer supported in Moodle 1.9) Quizzes: The quiz feature is used in two ways in Using Technology in Career Exploration: (1) as a pretest to assess students technology knowledge as they begin the course and (2) as a survey tool for students to identify potential work environment interests. Wikis: Students use a wiki to work with other members of their group to collaboratively author a product or presentation. Using Technology in Career Exploration 10 Revised January 2009

An Option: The Database activity module could be used instead of Excel (or a database program) to create/query the technology vocabulary database, database of vacation costs, database of college or training costs. Resources: A variety of resources and reference material are available to provide: Files containing templates and charts needed to complete tasks Information and links to external websites with articles, videos, and other information relevant to the task at hand; the tutorials can be used to build technological knowledge and skills, look up definitions of terms, learn skills in note-taking and synthesizing information Reference material on the Web and additional career-related resources Resource Types Used in the Course: Labels are used to provide descriptive, background information for the activity links and resource links in the course Web pages provide directions, additional information, and resource links; each Web page is accessed from a link in the course Links to course files that students use to complete assigned tasks (this includes such files as an Excel budget template, charts or activity sheets for students to complete, the directions for a specific task that students can print if a hardcopy is desired, lists of resources) Links to external websites with articles, videos, and other information relevant to task at hand as well as Links to reference material on the Web and additional career-related resources to use in addition to Career Cruising (consult this list if Career Cruising is not available) Links to display the complete contents of a directory in the course files so students can refer to the files when they need them (Career Cruising guides) You might want to add these blocks to your copy of the Using Technology in Career Exploration course: Calendar: displays course events Messages: This displays a list of new messages you have received, with a link to your Messages window. Combination of Activities Used: In several places students will use all of the following activities: A page explaining the task with links to resources such as files, Web sites, videos A forum (no ratings at all); everybody posts as usual to discuss what they read or viewed An assignment to go with the forum. A score is assigned to it and is determined by the total possible points that can be earned on the Scoring Rubric for the task. The instructor inputs the grade. In Module 1, Part 2 (WebQuest task) and Module 3, Extension (telecommunications and Career Pathways task), students will use three activities. A page explaining the task with links to resources A wiki; everybody works together in their group to complete the task using the Wiki to collaborate An assignment which students use to submit their completed work. A score is assigned to the work and is determined by the total possible points that can be earned on the Scoring Rubric for the task. The instructor inputs the grade. Using Technology in Career Exploration 11 Revised January 2009

Navigate the Course There are several ways to move around in the course. The long name for the course is Using Technology in Career Exploration and the short name is UTCE. If you will have multiple sections of the course on your server, your Moodle Administrator might use a naming convention such as UTCE-EMS-Smith-1 (course name-school-teacher-hour#). You ll need this for both the long name and the short name of the course. 1. Links to each topic section are available in the block on the right called Modules. Click on the desired topic and you will jump in the course to that topic. 2. Use the Jump to: drop-down menu and choose the desired topic. 3. The Activities block lists and allows navigation between the different activities and resources available in your course. Click on an activity type to see the complete listing of that type in your course, then click on an entry to jump to it. 4. As you progress through the course and access its content, the path that you are taking is identified in the breadcrumb trail at the top of the displayed page. It indicates the area (forums, resources, assignments, etc.) that you are in. You can use this to navigate back to the course s home page, the main page of the course. Click on UTCE to get back to the home page. Note that this is especially useful when a resource is opened in a new window and the screen states: This resource should appear in a popup window. If it didn t, click here: titleoflink. Click on UTCE to return to the home page of the course. 5. You can also see a complete listing of any type of activity used in the course through the breadcrumb trail. If you click on Resources in the breadcrumb trail in the example above, all of the resources used in the course will be displayed. Click on any resource listed to jump to it. Using Technology in Career Exploration 12 Revised January 2009

Make Content Available or Hidden Icon Effect Icon Effect Click on this icon to Show Only Topic # Click on this icon to Show All Topics The top section of the course appears followed by the selected topic. The other topics are hidden. Click on this icon to Highlight This Topic as the Current Topic. Vertical bars appear on the left and right sides of the selected topic. Other topics still appear. The topic (or item) is currently displayed. Click on this icon to Hide This Topic (or Item) from Students. All of the topics are now displayed and accessible through Jump links. Click on this icon to Undo Highlight on This Topic. The topic (or item) is hidden from view. Click on this icon to Show This Topic (or Item) to Students. Using Technology in Career Exploration 13 Revised January 2009

Click on Links to Open Course Material, Resources, Files Course directions, student assignments, and Wikis have links to additional course pages, supporting files used in the assignment, Web sites embedded in the text (in blue), discussion forums, and other resources. Explain to students that they will need to follow the links to access course material, files, and web sites that they will use to complete the tasks. Files supplied include scoring rubrics (with possible point totals identified in the gradebook), checklists, reference material, directions, and files to complete (templates, charts, etc.). Left-click on a link to display the linked page or assignment file on the screen. Some will be displayed in the same browser window; others have been programmed to open in a new browser window. Many resources referenced in the course have been programmed to open in a new window. The Web browser may display the new window on top of the other so that both windows cannot be seen. TIP: You may need to resize the windows to see the content of both at the same time. For example, suppose a discussion forum has a link to a video. You will want to view the video in one window and display the discussion forum questions that will be discussed online in another. A new window opened on a PC will show a new tab named for the resource at the bottom of the screen. After viewing the resource, close the open window. NOTE: Your browser may have been set to open new pages in a new tab instead of a new window. For example, in Firefox open the Firefox Browser and select Preferences. Click on Tabs. It should read something like New pages should be opened in: a new tab. You can change this to read New pages should be opened in: a new window. After viewing the resource, close the tab (or window) in the browser. Caution! Be careful to close the tab (or window) page, not the course window. You can also right-click on a link to open the page or file in a new window (or in a new tab if set in the browser). Right-click (Macintosh users CTRL-Click) on the link and choose the appropriate command from the short-cut menu that appears. Depending on the Web browser you are using, this might be a command such as Open in New Window (Open in New Tab) or Open Link in New Window (Open Link in New Tab) or something similar. Close a new window (or new tab) to return to the main course page or previous page from which you linked. (many course resources open in new window) Use the browser s back arrow if the content opens in the same window to return to the previous page. (many assignments, discussion forums open in same window) The following message may appear when you link to a resource that is programmed to open in a new window: This resource should appear in a popup window. If it didn't, click here: Title of Link Click on UTCE (short course name) on the breadcrumb trail to return to the home page of the course. Using Technology in Career Exploration 14 Revised January 2009

Link to and Save Files to Computer If you find that some of the files load slowly or that you are having trouble opening a file attachment stored in Moodle, you might want to have students download the file to the computer first (if permitted in your district) and then open the file that they ve saved to the computer. Right-click (Macintosh users CTRL-Click) on the file link and save the file to your computer. Depending on the Web browser you are using, you will be prompted to choose the appropriate command from the short-cut menu that appears. This might be a command such as Save Target As or Save Link As or Download Linked File or something similar. After you download the file to your computer, you will be able to open and view the file. Display Folders and Files in a Course Directory Files are in folders in the Course. You can display the files in a course directory so that students can easily access the guides that they want to reference. For example, the Career Cruising link under Quick Links displays the directory of Career Cruising reference files. Click on the link to open a file and access its contents. Using Technology in Career Exploration 15 Revised January 2009

Use Assignments in the Course Settings have been set for the assignments in the course. You may want to change them to give your students deadlines, prevent late submissions, or allow students to resubmit an assignment in the Upload Single File or Online Text Assignments. You may want to change whether students can send notes to the teacher, delete a file, or change the number of files that can be uploaded in the Advanced Uploading of Files Assignments. 1. You need to be logged in to the course. 2. Turn editing on by clicking on the "Turn editing on" button on the course home page. The same button will also turn editing off. 3. Locate the assignment on the course home page for which the settings are to be changed. Click on the Edit/Update icon next to/below it. This lets you modify it through the activity s Settings page. Another way to update the assignment is by clicking on Assignments in the Activity Block. Locate and click on the assignment name in the list. Click on the Update this Assignment button at the top right of the page. 4. Refer to the settings that are listed in the pages that follow. These are the current settings for most assignments of the specific type. Make your updates and click Save and display at the bottom of the page to view the finished product or click Save and return to course to return to the course home page. 5. You can also click on the "Turn student view on" button to see the course page as a student would see it. Using Technology in Career Exploration 16 Revised January 2009

Current settings in Upload Single File The Available From Date option and Due Date option have been disabled. The Disable checkbox is marked. >> Available From Date prevents students from submitting the assignment before this date (you can also indicate a time) >> Due Date prevents students from submitting the assignment after this date (you can also indicate a time) To set either of these dates, Click on Assignments in the Activities block, then click on the name of the assignment Click on Update this Assignment Activate the date option you wish to set; uncheck the Disable checkbox by clicking on the box Set the date and time: Use the drop down menus to choose the day, month, year, and time in hours and minutes (hours is based on a 24 hour clock) Save the changes The Prevent Late Submissions option is set to No to allow students to submit the assignment after a Due Date (if one is set). Change this to Yes if you want to prevent them from submitting a late assignment. The Allow Resubmitting option is set to No to prevent students from submitting an assignment more than once. Change this if you will allow resubmissions of work. Using Technology in Career Exploration 17 Revised January 2009

Electronic Submission of Assignments Students should initially save their files to the location you designate. When they have finished their assignment, they can submit the file electronically in Moodle. They will click on the Browse button at the bottom of the assignment, locate the saved file to be submitted and click OK/Open, then click Upload this file. Current settings in Online Text Assignments The Available From Date option and Due Date option have been disabled. The Disable checkbox is marked. >> Available From Date prevents students from submitting the assignment before this date (you can also indicate a time) >> Due Date prevents students from submitting the assignment after this date (you can also indicate a time) To set either of these dates, Click on Assignments in the Activities block, then click on the name of the assignment Click on Update this Assignment Activate the date option you wish to set; uncheck the Disable checkbox by clicking on the box Set the date and time: Use the drop down menus to choose the day, month, year, and time in hours and minutes (hours is based on a 24 hour clock) Save the changes The Prevent Late Submissions option is set to No to allow students to submit the assignment after a Due Date (if one is set). Change this to Yes if you want to prevent them from submitting a late assignment. The Allow Resubmitting option is set to No to prevent students from submitting an assignment more than once. Change this if you will allow resubmissions of work. Using Technology in Career Exploration 18 Revised January 2009

Current settings in Advanced Uploading of Files Assignments As in the Upload Single File or Online Text assignments, Available from Date is disabled. Due Date is disabled. Prevent Late Submissions is set to No. Unique to the Advanced Uploading of Files assignments, The Allow Deleting option is set to Yes. When enabled, participants may delete uploaded files at any time before submitting for grading. The Maximum Number of Uploaded Files depends on the number of files used to complete the task. The Allow Notes option is set to Yes (in most cases). When enabled, students may enter notes into the text area when they submit their files. It is similar to entering text in an Online Text assignment. They click on the Edit button, enter their text, and click Save changes. Students could use it to communicate with the teacher and describe progress with the assignment, explain or point out something, or raise a question. Using Technology in Career Exploration 19 Revised January 2009

Use a Journal to Record Reflections Although the Journal is no longer supported in version 1.9, it has been used in the following topics. Topic 2 - Journal - Questions & Information Needs for Course Topic 6 - Jobs and Careers - Are They the Same? (module 2) Topic 7 - Jobs and Careers - Are They the Same? (module 3) Topic 10 - Journal Task - Reflections Based on Conclusions Drawn From Salary Data and Lifestyle Information Topic 12 - Journal - Reflections on Using a Variety of Resources and Search Tools To use the Journal, students click on Edit, enter their text, and click Save changes. NOTE: The Journal does not work with the gradebook unless you install a script to correct the problem that can be found online. Or Use an Assignment to Record Reflections These tasks are also available as assignments in the course. They can be completed in a word processor and submitted through an Upload Single File assignment or written online in the Online Text assignment if you prefer to use one of these formats. Using Technology in Career Exploration 20 Revised January 2009

Use Discussion Forums Overview Students participate in different types of discussion forums in the course. o A single simple discussion focused on a particular subject o Each person posts one discussion; in the forum What s On Your Mind? each student is invited to post a question, a comment, or thoughts on a particular topic for discussion with other students o Standard forum for general use; discussion topics (threads) are listed for many of the forums of this type o Question and Answer forum; students respond before they see the responses from others Teachers use the Announcements forum to provide general announcements, deadlines, and other course-related information to students. Students participate in an ice breaker about what they like to do when they are not in school in the What s On Your Mind? forum. This is used to focus them on how to participate in a discussion forum and on the topic of who they are and what their interests are. This can be used later to help them understand the process of exploring careers that match their interests. Here s some ideas on how you could facilitate online discussions. You might: o Find common threads amongst the various discussions and weave them together. o Prompt students with facilitating questions (such as what did you mean by ) to encourage participation and more thoughtful responses to topics and replies to other students. o Ask students to summarize discussion topics and responses. o Ask students to respond to each other around commonalities and differences. Students can view and respond to each other s postings. Using Technology in Career Exploration 21 Revised January 2009

NOTE: Existing forum settings in the course are set to: Force everyone to be subscribed? Subscriptions not allowed (email messages are not sent when a reply is posted) Aggregate type: No ratings (grading not available) However, discussion forums can be graded if you want to give a grade for participation. Aggregate type: Allow posts to be rated If you have Moodle version 1.9, you can use the ratings scales to grade student activities in a forum. There are 5 ways to aggregate ratings automatically to calculate a forum grade for the Gradebook. These include: Average, Max, Min, Count and Sum. Grading: Choose a target score to assign to the discussion. Refer to Moodle documentation for information. Viewing a forum - http://docs.moodle.org/en/mod/forum/view Forum ratings - http://docs.moodle.org/en/forum_ratings Post a Response to the Discussion Topic and Reply to Other Students Depending on the type of forum, students respond in two different ways to the topic or questions posed. In some cases students use Reply and in others they use Add a new discussion topic to respond. Directions are provided in the information that follows and also displayed in each forum online. The following is adapted from Viewing a Forum at http://docs.moodle.org/en/mod/forum/view. Most of the forums in the course have been set to Display replies in threaded forum. The following directions are built around that display option. A single simple discussion Students will see the text you have placed in the forum introduction box as the first post of the discussion. They should click on Reply and enter their response, then click "Post to forum." Students are asked to reply to what others have responded. They should click on the response to which they want to reply, enter the text, and click "Post to forum." Each person posts one discussion While similar to a single simple discussion, each student can post one new discussion topic and everyone can reply. The student will see the forum introduction and any discussions that have been started. They should click "Add a new discussion topic" to post the topic. They enter the title of their topic in the Subject line, put their response in the Message area, and click "Post to forum." Students can reply to someone else's topic post, to a reply to them, or to a reply to someone else. They should click on the topic post or a response to a post, read the message, then click Reply. They enter their text and click "Post to forum." Standard forum for general use In this forum type, students will see the forum introduction in a separate space at the top of the page above the Add a new discussion topic button. Using Technology in Career Exploration 22 Revised January 2009

The Standard Forum for General Use is used in two ways: (1) Discussion topics have been posted in the course. Several distinct questions/comments related to the forum subject are listed as separate discussion topics under the forum introduction. Each topic post contains the title of the discussion topic, its author, the number of replies, and the date of the last post. For each discussion topic post, students click on the discussion topic listed in the discussion forum, click on Reply and type their response, then click Post to forum. Students can reply to what others have responded or to a reply to them. They should click on a student s response to the discussion topic, read their message, then click Reply. They then enter their reply and click "Post to forum." (2) Questions/comments are provided in the introduction and no discussion topics are listed by the teacher. Students reply by clicking on Add a new discussion topic to post their response. They enter the title of their response in the Subject line, put the response in the Message area, and click "Post to forum." Students can reply to what others have responded or to a reply to them. They should click on a student s response to which they wish to reply, then click Reply, enter their text, and click "Post to forum." Question and Answer forum In order to see responses from others, the student must post an answer first. After replying to the question, the student can also view and reply to responses from other students in the class. Warn students to take care when hitting Reply to be sure they are replying to the person to whom they meant to reply. Change How Replies Are Displayed Students may wish to change the view of the discussion topic and all the replies. Change how the responses are shown from the pull down menu at the top of the screen. Try them out, especially "Display replies in threaded form" or "Display replies in nested form." You ll see how people have responded to each other. When replies are shown in nested form, students will click on the Reply button under the response to which they want to reply. Using Technology in Career Exploration 23 Revised January 2009

Use a Choice Activity to Poll Students to Stimulate Their Thinking and Have Them Reach a Decision Students will be asked the question Which Choice Do You Think is the Most Important Netiquette Rule? and will be presented with multiple choices from which they will choose one response. You will need to edit the choice options and add text to reflect their discussion of Netiquette rules for your classroom. This activity is found in Topic 1-Start Here under Important Messages From Your Sponsors About Netiquette and Copyright. 1. After reviewing student s responses in the discussion forum as to what should be in the Netiquette rules for the class, work with students to summarize the main concepts that they have discussed. You will enter these items as options in this Choice survey. 2. Be sure editing is turned on. Click on Turn editing on. 3. Click on the link Which Choice Do You Think is the Most Important Netiquette Rule? to access the choice question. 4. Click on Update this Choice to edit the options. 5. Enter the text for each option from which students will choose. You don t have to fill in all of them; you can leave some blank. If you need more, you can also add additional options if you need them by clicking on Add 3 fields to form. 6. Change settings as needed. You can restrict answering to a specified time period. Results are currently published to students with Show results to a student after they answer. If preferred, you could change this setting to Show results to students only after the choice is closed. Using Technology in Career Exploration 24 Revised January 2009

7. Click on Save and display at the bottom of the page to view the finished product or click Save and return to course to return to the course home page. Click on Turn editing off. 8. You can also click on the "Turn student view on" button to see the course page as a student would see it. Students can use the results of the poll to create the class list of Netiquette rules. NOTE: Remind students of the following expectations presented earlier if they are not mentioned. Treating each other with respect and courtesy, just like you would in classroom discussions, will help a great deal. Using correct grammar and spelling in your replies and focusing on responding to the topic at hand provide practice in applying good communication skills. You may be graded on your participation. Responsible online behavior in postings and communication is key to your safety. Using Technology in Career Exploration 25 Revised January 2009

Participate in Group Work Three Groupings, Each With Its Own Set of Groups Group work and Wikis are incorporated into three tasks in the course. Students can use Wikis to plan and write collaboratively with the other members of the groups to which they are assigned. Online group work is built into: the telecommunications/career pathways task in module 3 and two tasks in the Be Web Wise and Safe Online WebQuest in module 1, part 2. Students are assigned to a group for each task. Each task has a set of groups assigned to it. Each set of groups is considered a grouping. These are summarized in the chart below. View the three course groupings and the groups that are assigned to each of the groupings. 1. Click on Groups in the Administration block, then click on the Groupings tab. You will see three groupings in the left column. These represent groupings used in the three different tasks: Career Pathways (with six groups) in the telecommunications task in module 3 Expert Groups (with five groups) used in the Be Web Wise and Safe Online WebQuest in module 1, part 2 Online Safety Committees (with seven possible groups) used in the Be Web Wise and Safe Online WebQuest in module 1, part 2 The middle column identifies the names of the groups used in each grouping. 2. Refer to the instructional overview (teacher lesson plan) for information on the groups used in the Be Web Wise and Safe Online WebQuest. NOTE: The Moodle Administrator will have to enable the use of groupings by checking the enablegroupings box in Administration > Miscellaneous > Experimental. This will put a groupings tab on the Groups page. Using Technology in Career Exploration 26 Revised January 2009

Assign students to the groups for each of the groupings defined in the course. 1. Click on the Groups tab. You will see a listing of the groups developed for the course. You will need to assign students to the groups. Students should already be enrolled in the class. 2. Click on a group name, then click Show members for group. 3. Click on Add/remove users. 4. Select the name of a student who is to be placed in the group and hit add. Repeat until assigned students are placed into the group. 5. Click Back to groups. 6. Repeat steps 2-5 for another group. 7. Continue until all groups are populated. Be sure to enroll yourself in each of the groups so you will be able to monitor student progress. You will receive notices about when students from each group add or update an assignment submission. Using Technology in Career Exploration 27 Revised January 2009

View the students assigned to the groups in each course grouping. 1. Click on the Overview tab. This shows the group members in each of the groups within each of the three groupings. The example below shows how to display the results of all three Groupings and all of the groups within each grouping. A portion of the result appears here. If you want to display all members of all three groupings and all of their groups, Select all groupings by selecting Filter groups by: Grouping All Select all groups within the grouping(s) by selecting Group All If you want to display the members of one group in one of the groupings, Pick the selected grouping xxxx by selecting the desired option for Filter groups by: Grouping xxxx Pick the selected group yyyy by selecting the desired option for Group yyyy 2. Return to the course by clicking on the course name UTCE... Using Technology in Career Exploration 28 Revised January 2009

Participate in a Collaborative Writing Activity Using a Wiki Three Wikis have been set up for students to engage in collaborative group work. Collaboratively Compile Data and Write a Career Pathway Description Grouping: Career Pathways (with six groups) in the telecommunications task in module 3 Collaborate With Your Expert Group to Compile Data and Create an Informational Product Grouping: Expert Groups (with five groups) used in the Be Web Wise and Safe Online WebQuest in module 1, part 2 Plan and Create a Persuasive Argument With Your Online Safety Committee Members Grouping: Online Safety Committees (with seven possible groups) used in the Be Web Wise and Safe Online WebQuest in module 1, part 2 Directions for students to access the group to which they are assigned and enter information 1. Be sure students are assigned to their groups before beginning the Wiki work. 2. Click on Wikis in the Activity block and click on the wiki for the specific task. 3. Click on Choose at the top of the page and choose the name of the group to which you have been assigned. (The instructor should be enrolled in all groups.) 4. Text is entered in the Edit box. Click on the Edit tab so you will be able to enter, edit and format text in the edit box. Pictures can also be inserted using the insert image icon. 5. Click Save to return to View the text. Create a new page in the Wiki New pages are created by adding a wiki link on an existing page that creates and links to a new page. 1. Click on the Edit tab on an existing page in the wiki. 2. Type the title of the new page that you want to create in the edit box. Enclose the text for the title in square brackets as in this example: [Careers to Explore]. 3. Click Save and return to the View mode. 4. Notice that the title is displayed with a question mark link following it: Careers to Explore? 5. Click on the "?" and you will be transferred to the new page Careers to Explore which is open in the Edit mode. Note that the phrase Edit this page Careers to Explore is displayed above the Edit box. Using Technology in Career Exploration 29 Revised January 2009

6. Edit this new page. Add and format text, links to Web sites, graphics, table, etc. Click Save. 7. You have created a new linkable page in the wiki and are returned to the View mode. At the bottom of the text box you will see: Referring links: nameofpreviouspage This might be the home page of the wiki or another page that was created. This is the page from which you linked to the new page. If you click on the page link under Referring links:, you will be returned to the previous page. 8. The link Careers to Explore on the previous page will link you to the new page. NOTE: You must click on the links in the wiki to navigate in it. Do not use the Back Button. Using Technology in Career Exploration 30 Revised January 2009

How Students Are Graded In most assignments in the course students are graded on a point system based on their performance on the criteria provided on the scoring rubric for the specific task. The Grade on the Settings page of the assignment reflects the total number of points that can be earned on the task. Use the scoring rubric that is specific to the assessment task in the course. Note that some criteria items may have more than one descriptor row listed. Each row of descriptors listed for each criteria item is scored on a 4-point scale and the total possible points in the rubric is the maximum score for the task. To grade student performance on the task, score each row of descriptors in the rubric and total the scores. This total is entered into the gradebook. The following example is a subset of the rubric used in module 9. Note that in this section of the rubric there are three descriptor rows scored (one in the first criteria box and two in the second box) for a total of 12 points. 1. However, in several assignments the grade is based on the Satisfactory scale of Outstanding/Satisfactory/Not Satisfactory ratings (e.g., Safety Concerns Related to Internet Use). 2. In a few assignments No grade is to be given for the task in the gradebook. Performance on the METS: Under construction. Using Technology in Career Exploration 31 Revised January 2009

Enter Student Scores in the Gradebook Use the Gradebook to grade student work, provide feedback, and save the score in the Gradebook. The total possible score for each task has already been entered for each assignment. Refer to the Assignment section and the How Students Are Graded section of this guide. Input grades for a specific task 1. Click on Grades in the Administration block to view and enter grades into the gradebook for tasks submitted by students. Click on Choose an Action and select Grader report under the View section. 2. Click on Choose an Action and select Categories and Items under the Edit section. 3. Click on the title of the task from the list on the page Edit categories and items. Using Technology in Career Exploration 32 Revised January 2009

4. A window with the task name in its title appears and student names are listed on the left. 5. Under the Status column, click on the word Grade for the student whose score is to be entered. You can also click Update if you need to modify an already-entered grade. 6. Review the file submitted, and enter the student s grade and any comments you would like to provide as feedback to the student. Click on the file Impact of Technology.doc and review the student s work. Select the Grade to be given from the pull-down menu (the total possible points are indicated) Enter comments in the feedback text box if comments are to be provided 7. Click on Save changes to return to the Submission page for the task or Save and show next to enter the grade for another student. Using Technology in Career Exploration 33 Revised January 2009

View, Input, and Modify Grades Directly on the Grader Report Screen 1. Click Turn editing on. 2. Click on Grades in the Administration block to view and enter grades into the gradebook for tasks submitted by students. 3. Type the student s grade in the appropriate task box for the student and choose from Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory for some tasks. 4. Click on the Edit grade icon, type in feedback for the student on the Edit grade page, and click Save changes. 5. When finished with additions and changes, click the Update button at the bottom of the Grader Report. Using Technology in Career Exploration 34 Revised January 2009

View Reports of Course Activity Use Reports in the Administration block to access logs of activity in the course. You can pull information by group, student, date, task, action. Watch current activity: live logs from past hour, activity report, participation report, statistics. The report below is information by user. You can also access user data by clicking on Grades and clicking Choose an Action and then selecting User report under the View section. Using Technology in Career Exploration 35 Revised January 2009

Take the Technology Quiz Availability of Quiz Open the quiz is disabled. The Disable checkbox is marked. Close the quiz is disabled. The Disable checkbox is marked. Activate the time period you wish to set for the quiz. Uncheck the Disable checkbox by clicking on the box. Set the date and time to open and close the quiz. Use the drop down menus to choose the day, month, year, and time in hours and minutes (hours is based on a 24 hour clock) Save the changes Feedback to Students Feedback and the score are provided after each question is attempted. It might be better to only provide a response and the student s score after the quiz has been completed and the quiz is closed. Click on the following items to deselect them under the two categories: Immediately after the attempt and Later, while the quiz is still open Responses Answers Feedback General feedback Scores Overall feedback Keep them selected in the category After the quiz is closed Technical Problems When Taking a Quiz If a student has technical problems while taking a quiz and only one attempt to take the quiz is allowed, you may need to reset the quiz removing the attempt - so the student can try again. Click on the name of the quiz in the course. Click on the link Attempts: # to view the list of students who have attempted the quiz. Check the box in front of the student s name with the quiz that needs to be reset. Click on Delete selected attempts (or With selected: choose Delete) below the list of names. You will be prompted with Are you absolutely sure you want to completely delete these attempts? Click OK. The student will be able to retake the quiz. Using Technology in Career Exploration 36 Revised January 2009

Your Action Plan 1. Implementation Considerations How will you use the online version of the course in your classroom? While all of the curricular materials have been placed in the online version, we suggest you teach a blended course of face-to-face instruction and work in Moodle. The online version might be used for students to access resources, supplement class instruction, continue discussions online, and review concepts learned. You will need to decide what will be taught face-to-face and what students will do in Moodle. Ask yourself: What will be taught face-to-face and what will students do in Moodle? Can some work be done as homework through Moodle? Will students view the videos to develop technology skills or will you instruct them or both? Which, if any, discussions will occur in Moodle and which will be held in the classroom? Which modules and tasks will be covered? Are you covering the key career development topics and key technology topics so students meet the METS requirement? What time frame for each module. What will be done face-to-face and what online (in class, homework)? Consider the pace reading lesson content, discussion messages What are the deadlines for submission and completion? What strategy will you use for students who miss deadlines (can they submit after the due date, can they resubmit a lesson)? What knowledge and skills do students already have? What do they need to develop so they can apply them to the tasks in the course? How do they develop the skills? Do you want to hide future modules? Do you want to keep students together (hide future assignments and future modules) or show and allow students to work at their own pace? How do students become familiar with the course? 2. Be sure your computer is equipped for the course. Review the course requirements with your Technology Director and/or Moodle Administrator. In addition to the Requirements listed at the back of this guide, the Start Here section in the course contains information about what is required to run the online course (Computer Check and Accessibility Options) and ways to make the course accessible to students with special needs. 3. Resources for Teachers Consult the Instructional Overviews (lesson plans) for the modules and teacher resources in Topic 18 in the course. 4. Change Settings for Assignments in the course (if applicable) Change the settings if you want to give your students deadlines, prevent late submissions, or allow students to resubmit an assignment in the Upload Single File assignment, Online Text assignment, or Advanced Uploading of Files assignment. Change the settings if you don t want students to delete files they have uploaded, want to change the number of files that can be uploaded, or don t want students to submit a note in the Advanced Uploading of Files assignment. Using Technology in Career Exploration 37 Revised January 2009

Additional Notes The sub-section Career Pathways, Jobs, and Careers is introduced in Module 2 Who Am I? and repeated in Module 3 Self-Awareness Using Matchmaker in Career Cruising. It has been added to module 2 for those schools that are introducing modules 2 and 3 in different grades. Students access videos on the Web throughout the course. Some are in TeacherTube; however, YouTube is a faster option if it is available in your district. Scaffolding for the crossword puzzle task - Information for Students Who Need Support in Module 1, Part 3 - Use Technology Vocabulary in a Crossword Puzzle. This item is hidden from students. It contains the list of words used in the crossword puzzle. If students are struggling, you could make it available and they could pick their answers from the list. Printing and distributing task directions to students Consult the teacher s instructional material for suggestions of which materials you might want to print and distribute to students. For most tasks the directions listed on the screen are also available in a document that can be printed if a student would like one at home. Students should click on the link provided to open the file, then print the contents of the file. In a few cases the instructions on the screen, which should be used, may be slightly different than the print version. Evaluation Students should review the scoring rubric before they begin a task so they will know how they will be assessed. Links to open files and external Web sites Most resources containing additional information, links to files, and links to external Web sites open in a new window (or new tab in some browsers). This allows the home page and additional information to be displayed side-by-side. Students may need to resize the new window to see the text or video. Popups will need to be allowed in the browser. New windows for resources are set to 620 pixels x 450 pixels. If the content opens in a new tab instead of a new window, that is fine. However, if you want windows open side-by-side for viewing purposes, change the setting in the browser from opening in a new tab to opening in a new window. If content opens in a new window or new tab, click on the Close Window link if available in the new window; otherwise, use the close the window. X in a PC to exit the window or the key strokes on a Macintosh to If linked content opens in the same window as the previous, use the browser s Back Arrow to return to previous content. Students can always click on the short course name on the breadcrumb trail to return to the home page of the course. Using Technology in Career Exploration 38 Revised January 2009

Technical Requirements The course was initially developed in Moodle 1.8 and finished in Moodle 1.9 and not tested in earlier versions. The Assignment type upload multiple files is supported in Moodle 1.7 onwards. While no longer supported, the journal module is also a later addition. Internet access with broadband capability is strongly recommended Up-to-date Web browser (Mozilla Firefox works best with Moodle and can be downloaded at no charge) Not all browsers support the use of the HTML editor; the editor can be used to format text, insert images and links, create tables, etc. The browser needs to have: Plug-ins to play software applications in the browser (suggested for Adobe Reader to view Adobe PDF files, Adobe Flash Player, QuickTime, Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, Java) Web browser settings set to play Web content: o Enable plug-ins o Enable Java o Enable JavaScript o Do not block pop-up windows popup blocker is turned off, allowing popups so content can be displayed in new window o Accept cookies (from sites you navigate to) If the browser doesn't have the needed plug-in or doesn't know what application to use to open a file, it will: Automatically download and save the file to your hard disk or Display an Opening dialog box and prompt you to choose either: o Open with: uses default program in system settings or you choose the application to open the file outside of the browser. o Save to Disk: select a location to save the file Using Technology in Career Exploration 39 Revised January 2009