Instructional+Unit+in+a+Virtual+Classroom+Environment+(Blackboard)


 * Instructional Unit in a Virtual Classroom Environment (Blackboard): **


 * __ Description: __** Blackboard is becoming a very popular site that is used for online/virtual classes. Blackboard is a program that allows you to develop an entire unit all online. With blackboard you are able to set up your own navigation bar for your students to use, you are able to upload documents for your virtual unit, you are able to create areas for discussions to be held, you are able to hold virtual meetings online with your students. My job for this assignment was to create an instructional unit using blackboard. I created my instructional unit based on a unit that I currently teach, Insights into Data.


 * __ Process for Determining/Creating Instructional Unit: __** I decided to create my instructional unit on a unit that I currently teach, Insights into Data. I currently have my students complete a project where they have to collect the weather data for a particular city or location of their choice. They have to organize their data and then use their data to create several different types of graphs. I decided to modify this project and make it an online/interactive project that the students can complete all online or on the computer. I introduced the idea of creating their graphs online/on the computer by having the students complete a multiple intelligence survey. They then watch a screencast that walks them through the process for creating a graph using excel. After completing this activity along with the other activities that introduced the unit, the students then had to complete a pre-test that was all about measures of central tendencies and graphing. Now the students were ready to begin the actual project. The students were required to research a city of their choice, collect that cities weather data, organize it into a table using excel and then also include their measures of central tendencies for their data collection. The students were then required to create three different graphs to display their weather data. (Bar Graph, Line Graph, and Scatter Plot) The last portion of the project required students to pair up and create two graphs comparing their data with their partner’s data. (Double Bar Graph, Double Line Graph) Along with the data chart and all the graphs, the students were also to complete a discussion board each week where they discussed their projects and answered specific questions about their particular city. When I created this unit I wanted to make it as clear and easy for my students to follow as possible. I decided to create a learning unit for each week that will walk them through each and every step of the process. I also decided to do this so that my students did not have to look in so many different places or folders for assignments and links. I also decided to include some screencasts into my instructional unit to show my students how to complete certain tasks or how to navigate around particular websites that they would use to create their graphs. Below you will find a link to my syllabus that will break down each week of the instructional unit.


 * __ Reflection: __** I would have to say that of all the assignments that I had to complete throughout this course I found this to be the most fun and most rewarding. Blackboard is such as easy program for me to navigate through. The process for creating different assignments, learning units, and discussion boards were so easy and “step by step” for me that to create. I have to say that at the beginning when I was creating my syllabus I was getting a little frustrated because I felt it would have been a lot easier to create the syllabus after the course had been developed. Once I began really digging in to the development of my unit I realized that I was changing my mind about many things I had originally put into my syllabus. I really felt a huge sense of accomplishment from developing this unit. I feel that I really made my unit easy for my student to navigate through while still being mathematically and technically challenging still. I would love to be able to share this unit with fellow colleagues. Unfortunately that is not possible due to the fact that the unit was created in blackboard which is not a free or universal site for everyone. I was actually thinking about maybe taking this unit and transforming it into a webquest using zunal.com which we used in a previous class.


 * __ Link to Instructional Unit Syllabus: __**