Product Expectations

Write a term paper
Complete the worksheet
Take the exam

Tired, traditional assignments bore both students and faculty. Spice up your online course with alternative products that engage learners in authentic learning experiences.

Products and Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a common problem in both traditional and online courses. Assigning projects that require real-world data and personal connections, eliminates the possibility of simply copying and pasting from papers found online. Also design unique assignments that require students to compare and contrast, critique and create, or design and demonstrate.

Ideas to reduce plagarism:.

Minimize objective tests that ask for factual information
Focus on analysis and application questions
Ask students to connect answers to their personal experiences
Rather than producing papers, ask students to critique

Products with Pizzazz

As students work with course content, how will they share their understandings? Explore some of the following products:

Audio Product. Audio clips, podcasts, and MP3 files could all be submitted as student products. They might include public service announcements, commercials, interviews, narrations, directions, instructions and other audio-rich content.

Explore examples of audio projects:

Harmony and Counterpoint - music
Re-told Fairy Tales from young people

Blogs. Use the blog environment as a tool for questioning, exploration, and investigation. Individually or in groups, students chronicle the inquiry process and share their experiences, reflections, and challenges. Classmates interact and share ideas, provide feedback, and critique ideas. Any type of written work can be the focal point for a blog such as poetry, short stories, or television scripts. However, blogs can also be used to share other creative works such as artwork, musical scores, and video productions.

Examples: The Secret Life of Bees contains chapter theme postings, visuals, and discussions based on this book.
Author Visit at Elementary - Elementary
Critics and Builders - High School
A Different Place - Elementary
High School Math - Applied Math 40S (07), Applied Math 40S, Pre-Cal 30S, Pre-Cal 40S, AP Cal AB
SLMS Bridging Theory and Practice

Graphic. A picture is worth 1000 words. Think about products that would ask students to create a visual as a final product such as a concept map, map, photograph, drawing, diagram, logo or other visual.

For instance, high school students read the award winning graphic novel titled The Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan. Student write their own graphic novel set in Baghdad using Comic Life software.

Explore the use of Comic Life for producing a biography.

Explore examples of visual products:

Achitecture - photos of models
Interactive and Non-Linear Narrative - create a graph or chart
Photography - photo projects
Writing and Humanistic Studies: Documentary Photography and Photo Journalism - photos

Prototypes. Ask students to create an object.

Explore examples of student projects:

PE for ME - prototypes of exercise equipment

Timeline. Create a timeline. Use Timelines from Wikipedia for ideas.

Video Product. Students can submit video projects such as demonstrations, re-enactments, and public service announcements.

Explore examples of video projects:

German Culture - short films
Introduction to the Visual Arts - note the Shaping Time PDF
Spanish for Bilingual Students

Wiki. Involve students in constructing a wiki. Learn more about wikis in learning at Wiki World.

For more ideas for project focus, go to Process: Collection of Scraps, Process: Organization of Scraps and Projects from escrapbooking.com

Reminders!
Design authentic assignments.

Apply It!
Explore options for student products.

Brainstorm products that would demonstrate student understanding.