RES101: The Research Process

Oliver Batchelor

10/21/2018

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Table of ContentsOverview.................................................................................................................................2

Project Overview..............................................................................................................................2

Problem...........................................................................................................................................2

Solution...........................................................................................................................................3

Analysis...................................................................................................................................3

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................3

Target Audience...............................................................................................................................3

Objectives........................................................................................................................................3

Content Sources...............................................................................................................................4

Technical Platform............................................................................................................................4

High End Design Plan...............................................................................................................5

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................5

Objective 1.......................................................................................................................................5

Objective 2.......................................................................................................................................5

Objective 3.......................................................................................................................................6

Production Pathway................................................................................................................8

Flowchart..............................................................................................................................10

..............................................................................................................................................10

Storyboard............................................................................................................................11

Interface and Design Standards.............................................................................................14

Introduction...................................................................................................................................14

Interface.........................................................................................................................................14

Interface Elements.........................................................................................................................16

Buttons..........................................................................................................................................16

Color Palette..................................................................................................................................16

Graphic Standards..........................................................................................................................17

Section 508 Compliance..................................................................................................................17

References.............................................................................................................................18

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Overview

Project Overview

24/7 Learning Academy is a nonprofit organization that provides eLearning courses for K-12 and adult learners on academic and professional topics. The courses can be taken online as self-paced experiences or in-person with the aid of a facilitator. The organization is based in Orlando, Florida but the majority of employees and clients are located in other geographic areas including New York, Illinois, California, and more. Although the students who enroll in 24/7 Learning Academy courses vary in academic experience and skill level, all of the courses are based on project-based learning and are designed to meet Common Core, IB, and PBL Gold standards (24/7 Learn Inc., 2018). All courses include a substantial research project.

Problem

The advanced classes for high school and adult learners contain a required writing and research component in order to meet the necessary academic standards. However, the vast majority of learners are online students with limited exposure to conducting academic research. Instructors and facilitators have expressed concern over the quality of research conducted in submitted assignments. Specific performance issues include low quality sources of information and insufficient comprehension of locating academic materials. These issues indicate the presence of a skill gap (Dirksen, 2016, p. 6). Many students are unable to develop appropriate topics for academic research and rely exclusively on Internet searches to find information without the necessary critical thinking skills to evaluate them. In order to achieve academic success, high school and adult learners need to learn how to conduct academic research.

Solution

In order to ensure high school and adult students receive sufficient preparation for the research requirements in advanced classes at 24/7 Learning Academy, a course on the research process will be a required prerequisite for other courses. Since most students complete the courses without the aid of a facilitator, RES101 will need to be a self-paced eLearning experience in which students will develop research skills without consistent feedback or guidance from an instructor. Specifically, the seven research process steps are developing a research topic, finding background information, searching for books and eBooks, finding articles, finding online resources, evaluating sources, and using citations (Cornell University Library, 2016). Using these skills, students will be able to achieve academic and professional success.

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Analysis

Introduction

The analysis section of this document contains detailed information on the target audience, the learning objectives for the product, the sources of content used, and the technical requirements for learners.

Target Audience

The audience for RES101 includes high school and adult learners who are in pursuit of a GED, diploma, or are enrolling in individual classes to strengthen professional skills. Since most of these learners are remote and are not attending classes in person at the Orlando location, the course is designed for all students to complete as self-paced. The majority of students who enroll in advanced courses are aged 14-19 (24/7 Learn Inc., 2018) and have limited to no exposure to high school-level research assignments. Due to the inexperience of the students and the lack of in-person assistance, the content of the course must be user-friendly and include sufficient tutorials and other resources for help.

ObjectivesUpon completing “RES101: The Research Process”, learners will be able to:

Identify each of the seven steps that comprise the research process. Locate print and electronic academic materials for a research paper using library and

Internet searches. Evaluate the quality of sources of information for research.

Content Sources

The majority of content for this project comes from 24/7 Learning Academy courses and internal student data (staff and teacher interviews, enrollment statistics, course content). In order to construct an effective learning experience that meets the requirements of the organization and results in student success, the following books on Instructional Design will be used:

Dirksen, J. (2016). Design for how people learn (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: New Riders. Horton, W. (2011). E-learning by design. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

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Reynolds, G. (2011). Presentation Zen: Simple ideas on presentation design and delivery. Berkeley, CA: New Riders Press.

Technical Platform

The design of the course requires students to utilize the following resources for successful completion:

High-speed internet connection 1280 x 1800 screen resolution Google Account: Google Drive and Google Docs Adobe Acrobat Reader Audio and Video capabilities

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High End Design Plan

IntroductionThis section contains a high-level design plan for each of the course objectives.

Objective 1Identify each of the seven steps that comprise the research process.

Content Treatment

Steps of The Research Process:

Develop a topic Locate background information Find books, articles, and electronic

sources Find Web sources Evaluate materials Cite sources

Narration of text on screen (my voice)

The screen contains an image for all of the seven steps along with a 2-3 sentence description of each process. Each short description also includes a link for the learner to find more information on the process.

Under these steps will be a video tutorial on the research process. After reviewing each step, the learner will watch the video.

Objective 2Locate print and electronic academic materials for a research paper using library and Internet searches.

Content Treatment

Using the Library

Libraries have catalogs and academic databases full of books, eBooks, articles, videos, and more. Searching the library is necessary for you to:

Develop a topic Find background information Find books and electronic sources Find periodicals

Narration of text on screen (my voice)

Video: How to search for library resources Outlines search strategies such as

keywords, subject headings, Boolean operators, and narrowing down your search.

Video: Popular vs scholarly vs peer-reviewed

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Search Strategies to help you succeed: Use Keywords Quotations Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT

articles Different types of sources in libraries

Searching the Web

You can (and should) also use an Internet search, but start with the library because:

More quality resources Help is available Builds research skills

Narration of text on screen (my voice)

Video: Search engine tips and tricks

Video: Google Scholar

Objective 3Evaluate the quality of sources of information for research.

Content Treatment

So much information is available to us at all times, but not all information is reliable. Internet searches return both good and bad resources.

When doing academic research via Internet searching…:

DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA –Looking at the links can be ok, but NEVER cite a Wikipedia page.

Carefully review the website. If you can’t tell, ask a librarian or your

instructor for input.

Narration of text on screen (my voice)

Graphic: the dangers of bad information

Video: Dangers of internet research

To evaluate web sources, use the C.R.A.A.P. Test:

Currency

Narration of text on screen (my voice)

Graphic of C.R.A.A.P. Test.

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Relevance Authority Accuracy Purpose

Video: Using the C.R.A.A.P. Test

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Production Pathway

Element Process Tools Notes

Design Documents Create / Edit MS Word Will possibly incorporate

graphics using SmartArt.

Graphics - Photos

Create

Select

Edit

Apple iPhone Camera

OER Commons, Pixabay

Adobe Photoshop, Canva

Each section will include a photo and/or illustration. Will adjust to fit design color schema and clean up as needed. All images selected (not taken by me) will come from public domain and CC resources. Will use Photoshop or Canva for edits depending on the complexity required (Canva tools aren’t extensive).

All images will be backed up on my cloud drive as well as on my external terabyte. The format will be png.

Graphics - Illustrations Create/Edit Canva

Will use Canva to create at least 1 infographic for search strategies or evaluating sources. I also have access to reusable sources (CRAAP Test). These will be in png format.

Audio Record/EditApple Garage Band, Logitech headset, MS Word

I will record narrations for each section using my Logitech headset and Apple Garage Band. My home has a sound muffling private area with little background noise. I will use MS Word for scripts. The output

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format will be mp3.

Video Record/Edit/Export iMovie, Logitech headset, MS Word

Several sections of the course will require screen recordings and my narration (searching libraries, web searches, evaluating sources) while adding captions. iMovie permits me to create, edit, and produce the video into mp4. I will use MS Word for scripts.

Courseware Development Create Courseware Adobe Captivate 9

Adobe Captivate for Mac will serve as my resources for compiling all the pages, images, audio, video, pages, and assessments. Lastly, I will prepare a zip file for uploading to Canvas.

Learning Managemen

t System (LMS)

Upload Courseware

Distribute Courseware

Canvas

WordPress

After assembling my course in Captivate, I will use Canvas as the hosting platform. Steps for upload are available and I will make edits if necessary (will test all content and interactions).

I will post a link to the course on my WordPress portfolio.

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Flowchart

Incomplete:

Retake Previous Module

Incomplete:

Retake previous module

Incomplete:

Retake previous module

Course End

Assignment

III & Quiz III

Module III Readings &

Videos on Evaluating Informatio

n

Assignment

II & Quiz II

Module II Readings &

Videos on Library

Research

Assignment

I & Quiz I

Module I Readings &

Videos on Research Process

Introduction to

"The Research Process" course

RES101: The

Research

Process

Completed

Completed

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Storyboard

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Interface and Design Standards

IntroductionThe contents of this section include the interface elements, buttons, color palette, graphic standards, and section 508 compliance.

Interface

Client Logo

Course Title

Screen Title

Navigation Bar

Prompt

Page Title

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Interface ElementsElement Style Notes

Client Logo n/a Approved client logoCourse Title n/a Canvas course title (non-

editable)Screen Title n/a Canvas screen title )non-

editable)Page Title Title_page Arial, Bold, 46pt, underlined,

center/top justifiedNavigation Bar n/a Right sidePrompt prompt Arial, Bold, Blue, 46pt,

underlined, center/bottom justified

ButtonsButton Function

Home Takes learner to homepageSyllabus Takes learner to syllabus with policies and

other necessary info.Modules Takes learner to modules (only accessible upon

completion of each one in sequence)

Color Palettehttp://paletton.com/#uid=53i0M0kr4++fUX6lx+X-9+Vtv00

Note: Palette was generated by paletton.com in accordance with 24/7 Learning Academy color schema.

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Graphic StandardsImages on all pages will be either the company approved logo or realistic images taken from free-to-use resource collections. Backgrounds will be all white or transparent in order to ensure readability/visibility.

Section 508 ComplianceIn order to ensure compliance with Section 508, the following standards will be used in Adobe Captivate:

Properties will support screen readers (JAWS, etc.) All slides, images, logos will contain captions and descriptions wherever possible. All audio and video components will include captions to ensure accessibility. Buttons will be 508 compliant.

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References24/7 Learn Inc. (2018). 24/7 learning academy. Retrieved from

https://247learningacademy.com/

Cornell University Library (2016). The seven steps of the research process. Olin & Uris Libraries.

Retrieved from https://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/content/seven-steps-research-

process

Dirksen, J. (2016). Design for how people learn (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: New Riders.