K12BlendedandOnlineLearning

SyllabusOutlineforanOnlineUnitofInstruction
Template

SelfCheck

Course
Information

WelcometoMrs.Wardlaws6th8thgradeSTEAMCLASS!

InthisclasswewilllearnallaboutScience,Technology,Engineering,Arts,
andMath.Forthisunit,wewillfocusonFineArtswith:Documentit!Create
anddevelopyourowndocumentary.Studentenrichmentforgrades6th8th
atDarlingtonSchoolarewelcometoregisterforthiscourse.

Thisclasswillbeofferedonline,butwillhaveopenlabhoursforproject
enrichment.OpenlabhourswillbeTuesdayandThursdayfrom8:00
AM10:00AMatDarlingtonSchoolMakerSpace.

Normalofficehoursare9:00AMto3:00PM,withabreakforlunchbetween
11:30and12:30.

Therewillbenorequiredtextbook.However,itisrecommendedthatyou
knowtheseprogramsbeforeclassbegins(theyareallpreloadedonyour
MacBookAir):
GoogleDrive
GarageBand
iMovie

Didyouincludecoursetitle,
instructorinformation,gradelevel,
subjectarea,officehoursand
requiredtextbooksorresources?

Yes,courseandunittitle,
instructor,subjectandgrade,
officehoursandresourcesare
included.

Expected
Student
Audience

6th8thGradeDarlingtonSchoolstudentslookingforenrichment.Students
are6th8thgradestudentsfrom15differentstatesand25countries.53%
maleand47%female.Thereare78internationalstudents.

Istheexpectedstudentaudience
described?(Areyourstudentsin
theUSA?)

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K12BlendedandOnlineLearning
Thestudentaudiencethat
couldattendaredescribed.
Teacher
Communication

Studentsandparentsmaycontactmeanytimeat
bwardlaw@darlingtonschools.org.Youmayalsocallmeduringofficehours
at(706)2356051.

Didyouprovideatleasttwoforms
ofcommunicationareincludedin
thesyllabus?
Emailandphoneareboth
included.

Course
Description

Forthiscourse,studentswillbecreatingtheirveryowndocumentaries.
Theywillcoverthefollowingstandards:
1.2(ArtisticPerception)Analyzeandjustifyhowtheirartisticchoices
contributetotheexpressivequalityoftheirownworksofart.
5.3(Connections,relationships,applications)Demonstrateanunderstanding
oftheeffectsofvisualcommunicationmediaonallaspectsofsociety.
Studentsapplyartisticprocessesandskills,usingavarietyofmediato
communicatemeaningandintentinoriginalworksofart.
2.1Demonstrateanincreasedknowledgeoftechnicalskillsusingmore
complextwodimensionalartmediaandprocesses
2.3Createanoriginalworkofart,usingfilm,photography,computer
graphics,orvideo.
5.3Demonstrateanunderstandingoftheeffectsofvisualcommunication
media.
Themaingoalsandtopicstocoverincludeddemonstratingan
understandingforhowvisualcommunicationmediahasaffectedsociety,as
wellasdemonstratinganincreasedknowledgeoftechnicalskillstohelp
reachanartisticendproduct.
Studentswilllearnthewhyandhowtoneededtodevelop,produce,andedit
apublicserviceannouncementanddocumentary.

Doesthisclearlyidentifythe
broadgoalsortopicstobe
covered?Doesitoutlinethe
generaltopics,conceptsandskills
tobecovered?
Standards,goals,and
topics/skillsareincluded.

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Learning
Outcomes

Thestudentwilldemonstrateanunderstandingofhowmediahasaffected
society.
Thestudentwilldemonstrateanunderstandingoftheeffectsofvisual
communicationmedia.
Studentswillunderstandwhyastoryboardisneededtoproduceafilm,
demonstrateknowledgeofthestoryboardprocess,andanalyzeothers
storyboardforfeedback.
Studentswillapplyartisticprocessesandskillstocreateastoryboardfor
theirdocumentary,aswellasconductingandfilmingaPSA.
Studentswilllearnhowtoproperlygiveaninterview.
StudentswilllearnhowtoutilizeGoogleFormstosendoutquestionsfor
chartedresponses.
StudentswillmasterusingiMovieandGarageBandtocreatetheirown
documentary.

Arethesemeasurableand/or
observable?Dotheydescribe
whatstudentsmustknowandbe
abletodo?Dotheyinvolvesome
cognitivechallengeandactive
learning?

Yestheyareallverbsthatshow
activeandcognitivelearning.

TopicsbyWeek

WeekOne:Thestudentwillresearchandanalyzefivedifferentformsof
mediathathaveaffectedsociety.
WeekTwo:Studentswilldemonstrateanunderstandingoftheeffectsof
visualcommunicationmedia.
Thislessonhelpsstudentsunderstandthatdocumentariesareatypeof
storytellingthatexploresfactualstoriesandissuesusingfilmorvideo.Bythe
endofthelessonstudentsshouldknowthedifferencebetweenfact,fiction
andopinion,andbepreparedtowatchdocumentariesinclass.
WeekThree:Studentswillapplyartisticprocessesandskillstocreatea
storyboardfortheirdocumentary.
WeekFour:Studentswilluseavarietyofmediatoapplytheartisticprocess
andotherskillsinconductingandfilmingaPSA(publicservice
announcement)fortheirdocumentary.
WeekFive:Studentswillconductinterviewsandcreateanoriginalworkof
artbyfilmingthedocumentary.

Didyoulistthetopicstobe
coveredeachweek?
Yeseachweeksobjectiveis
listed

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WeekSix:Studentswillwrapuptheirdocumentaryandsharetheirfinal
product.Theywillapplyartisticprocessesandskillsusingavarietyofmedia
tocommunicatemeaninganddemonstrateanincreasedknowledgeof
technicalskills.
Expectationsof
Student
Participation

StudentcanparticipateinaGoogleHangoutwithteachereveryTuesdayat
6:30PM.Additionalhangoutscanbearrangedduringofficehours.
StudentwillparticipateingroupGoogleHangoutwithentireclassevery
Thursdayat6:30PM.
Blogsmustbeupdatedweekly(byFridayat6:00PM)andreflectadequate
learningtowardsgoalssetforth.
StoryboardwillbepostedonGoogleClassroomandfeedbackgiven
throughtheshareddocument.
DiscussionpostwillbeheldinGoogleClassroomandstudentsmustreplyto
atleasttwopeerseachweek.
Studentsmaypostastheydevelopondocumentaryboardforfeedbackfrom
teacherandpeers.

Didyououtlineclassparticipation
withdescriptionsofhowitis
measured(expectationsfor
discussionforums,numberand
frequencyoflogins,amountof
timeinonlineclass,groupproject
participation,synchronous
sessions,etc.)?

Classroomexpectationis
explained.

Student
Communication
Expectations

Studentswillparticipateinanintroductionpostwith3truthsandalie.The
otherstudentsmusttrytodeterminewhicharetrue(everyonemustreplyto
eachpost).WewillmeettogetherinaGoogleHangoutforagroupmeeting
thefirstThursdayofthecourse.(WewillmeettogethereveryThursdayat
6:30PM).Wewilldiscussthecourse,anyquestionsthatarisefromthe
calendar,syllabus,andtheintroductionpost.Studentswillrevealtheirtruths
andlie.
Studentswillberequiredtopostaweeklyblogontheschoolwebsiteto
discusswhattheyhavelearnedandtheirprocessworkingthroughthe
standards.
Studentsmustmaintainprofessionalcommunicationwhentalkingwithother
students.Allworkmustbeoriginal,andcopyrightlawfollowed.Ourfirst

Didyoudescribetheexpectations
forstudentbehaviorwhen
communicatingonline?

Expectationsarestatedandclear.

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lessonwilldiscussfairusepolicyandcopyrightlaws.
Absolutelynocriticismandbullyingwillbeallowed.Whenreplyingtopeers,
studentsmustspeakrespectfully.
LateWorkPolicy Allassignmentsmustbecompletedbytheduedate,unlesspreviously

discussedwithteacher.Failuretoturninworkontimewillresultin10points
offeachdaythatitislate.Morethan2lateassignmentswillresultinan
emailtothestudentsparent/guardian.

Didyouexplainthe
consequencesfornotsubmitting
assignmentsontime?
Yespolicyandconsequences
arelisted.

GradingPolicy

90100=A
8089=B
7179=C
70=D
69andbelow=F

DiscussionPostwithpeerfeedback:25%
Quizzes/Assignments:25%
BlogPosts:25%
FinalProduct:25%

Isagradingpolicydefinedwith
pointdistributionorweighting
scheme?Isthegradingscaleis
included?

Yespoints/weightslisted,aswell
asgradingscale.

Assessments

Assessmentsinclude:Blogpost,discussionpostwithfeedback,quizzes,
GoogleDocassignments,andthefinaldocumentary.

Assessmentsincludeapplying,analyzing,evaluating,andcreatingtocover
cognitiveandactivelearning.

Areaavarietyofassessment
typesincluded?Isatleastone
assessmentrequiringeither
applying,analyzing,evaluating,or
creating?
Yesallofthesearerequiredand
noted.

Academic
Honesty

Aspreviouslystated,allworkmustbeoriginal,andcopyrightlawfollowed.
Ourfirstlessonwilldiscussfairusepolicyandcopyrightlaws.

Doconductandacademic
honestyrequirementsclearly
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Cheatingandplagiarismwillbemonitoredandanyworkthatisnotyourown
willresultinazeroandpossibleexpulsionfromthecourse.
Parentsandadministrationwillbenotifiedwithanyquestionableplagiarism
and/orcheating.Disciplinemaytakeplacefromadministration,aswell.

explainthepolicyoncheatingand
plagiarism.Areconsequencesfor
inappropriatebehaviorincluded?
Yesconsequencesarelisted.

AcceptableUse
Policy

AcceptableusepolicyforDarlingtoncanbefoundhere:DarlingtonAUP.

IstheAcceptableUsePolicy
(AUP)describedorlinked?Are
consequencesfornoncompliance
described?Yesallareincluded
inthelink.

StudentRightto
Privacy

Noprivateinformationaboutthestudentwillbesharedwithoutsideparties.
Studentshavesignedawaivertohavepicturesincludedanddocuments
includedonthewebsite.Ifyouwishtooptoutofthis,pleaseseethe
admissionorITofficefortheform.

Didyouincludetheconditionsfor
sharingornotsharingstudent
information?
YesIhavelistedwaystooptout
ofstudentwebsiterights,aswell.

Technology
Requirements

StudentswilleachhaveaMacBookProwiththesoftwareinstalledby
DarlingtonSchool.
Studentswillneedavideocamera,whichcanbetheirphoneorcheckedout
attheschool.
Inadditionto:
InternetConnection
SchoolGoogleAccount
Ifatechnicalproblemoccursduringtheschoolday,pleasecontactmyselfor
oneofthemembersoftheITdepartment.Forafterhourtechnicalproblems,
pleaserefertothestudenthandbook,oremailmeandletmeknow.

Dothetechnologyrequirements
outlinetechnicalspecificationsfor
studentcomputers?Didyou
describetheprocedurestofollow
whentechnicalproblemsoccur?

Copyright
Statement

TheownerofthiscourseisBethWardlawandDarlingtonSchool.Noone
shouldusethecontentsofthiscourseforpersonalusewithoutpermissions.

Didyouprovideacopyright
statementanddisclaimerthat
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identifiestheownerofthe
course?Yestheowneris
identified.

Studentswith
Disabilities

IwillworkwiththeLearningCenteratDarlingtontoseewhatstudentsneed
additionalhelpandwhatstrategiesworkforhim.
StudentswithlimitedEnglishproficiencyorareadinglevelbelow6thgrade
willbesupportedusingamodifieddiscussionforumrubricandtheoptionof
participatinginaVoiceThread.
AnoutlineofnotesforthemodulewillbeprovidedaccordingtoIEP
suggestions.
AdditionalteacherphonecallsandGoogleHangoutswillbeusedtooffer
additionalassistanceandongoingsupporttolearners.

Didyouindicateyourwillingness
toprovidereasonable
accommodationstoastudentwith
adisability?
Yes,aswellasusingDr.Vegas
suggestions.

*This document pairs with Designing a Syllabus for an Online Unit of Instruction (Peer Evaluation Checklist) by Lokey-Vega
(2014).

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