Google Site set up 2018

This is my Google Site for Design and Visual Communication for 2018.
I have used new Google Sites to make it and the video focuses on the layout of where things are and how Visible Teaching and Learning and rewindable learning has been addressed.

• Overviews of whole courses
• Calendars with weekly tasks
• Deadlines
• Standard breakdowns
• Small tasks
• Drawn examples
• Screen casts

Link to Class Site

Visible Learning Accelerates Shift PD Session

We had our whole staff Manaiakalani Professional Development session this afternoon about Visible Learning Accelerating Shift. 

Lenva presented how this needs to look in the classroom and we had great group discussions about how it is happening in classrooms at the moment.

We each filled in a feedback sheet about what we are doing and how. Here is a copy of mine.

Link to document

Jump Start Planning

Here is a brief overview of how I have laid out the work for my students for the 4 weeks of JumpStart.
Link to the site here.

Visible Teaching and Learning - Calendars

After seeing the students for the first time at the end of last week, tomorrow is the first full teaching day for me. So that has meant me doing the "P" word tonight...... planning!!!

On my class Google Site, I have calendars embedded for all the year levels. These calendars include an overview of the year, where tasks slot in over the year in a broad sense. They also include individual appointments for each class, where specific lesson details, instructions and links can be added on a daily basis.
Here are links to the embedded calendars :-
Year 9, Year 10, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3


I have also embedded a calendar on my site that has all the class calendars on it so it is easy to refer to as an overview.

Using the description box when you make an appointment on Google Calendars means that you get a very useful, filled in drop down when you click on an appointment when the calendar is embedded.

Clickable links and coloured headings can is included by using this very simple and handy bit  of html in the description box ....

<font color="red">USEFUL SITES</font>

<a href=“url”>Title</a>

Here is an example of the html used in the drop down shown here :-

I have used coloured headings <font color="color">Title</font> for the task titles and  useful sites header.

I have used the <a href></a> to include useful links for the classes to access easily.

<font color="blue">Task 1</font>

You need to look at the choice of 3 architects. On the project page, there are examples of their work and some other information to browse through.

Make sure you have a good look at the work as you will spend a long time using this work as a reference for your own. When you have made your choice, fill in the form on the page so your teacher has a record of your choice.

<font color="blue">Task 2</font>

Collect images of your chosen architect's work.

Arrange these images onto a google slide show ( 1 image per page ). Make sure this slide show is public and share it into the Level 1 Google Plus Community and put it onto your DVC portfolio site.

<font color="red">USEFUL SITES</font>

<a href="https://sites.google.com/a/tamaki.ac.nz/dvc-online-courses/level-1/home/architects/">Choosing your Architect</a>

<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/108410330912817460238/">Level 1 Google Plus Community</a>

I am going to explain all of this planning and where to find it to the classes tomorrow. I also plan on copying and pasting the daily planning into the Google Plus Class Communities so that it is in multiple places for the students to access. (years 10-13 in this case).
This will be extremely useful for my senior classes especially. I have one class that is a mix of NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 and a the other class is a mix of NCEA Levels 1 and 2. Having the planning accessible, easy to find and in multiple places will hopefully enable the students to get straight on with things as soon as they get to the class, and not have to wait for me running round after 2 or 3 different classes in the same room.

Visible Learning - A Tour Round my Class Site

Breaking Down the Standards ...

This year, I have been focussing a lot of time in breaking down the NCEA Design and Visual Communication standards. This came as a result of a slightly more "challenging" moderation report.

I have split the breakdown into achieved, merit and excellence, listing what all the words and terms mean (the standards are not written in the most student friendly way to be honest!! ), what they will do in the project to cover this and then where the resources are on the site.
This has been, first of all, extremely helpful for me to ensure that I am offering project tasks that allow the students to access excellence. It is then helpful for the students to know what the standards mean and what they have to do in their project work to ensure they are covering everything.

Here is a Level 1 standard :-

Architect Poster

AS91069

Promote an organised body of design work to an audience using visual communication techniques

4 credits - Internal

Standard	What does it mean?	What will you do?	Resources
Achieved Promote an organised body of design work to an audience using visual communication techniques. selecting and presenting the features of an organised body of work to an audience.	Promote - present the work in some way Organised - different parts working together as a whole Body of work - more than one piece of design work by your chosen designer Visual communication techniques - effective presentation of ideas using a range of methods - sketching, use of colour and tone, analysis … both drawn by hand and on the computer	Research pictures and information about your chosen architect. Highlight which key pieces of information you will use in your poster design. Use thumbnail sketching techniques to start to design the layout of your poster. Develop your design work using a computer application - making sure you are using a few examples of the designers work, not just one. Analyse the effect you have created with your layout developments. Produce a final poster using Adobe Illustrator. Write a final evaluation analysing your final poster.	Collecting images Collecting information Highlighting the important information Layout exercise Drawing thumbnail sketches Design Development Final Design
Merit Clearly promote an organised body of design work to an audience using visual communication techniques. purposefully selecting and applying techniques to ensure layout, composition and visual impact are appropriate to the context of the brief and audience.	Clearly - easily seen and understood Purposefully - with thought, not by accident Select - choose from a number of options of techniques Layout - how things are arranged Composition - how the design is made from separate parts and how they work together. Visual Impact - how the design looks and the effect it has	Achieved plus :- Explain why you have chosen the images you have on your designs. Produce a write up that summarises the life and style of the architect’s work. Analyse your thumbnail sketches as to how you have arranged your layout. Use design language in analysis of work. Explain how design elements have been used to achieve the design developments. Final design is very clear to understand, to read, to see. It gives a clear explanation of the architect’s work to someone else.	Producing the write up Using key design terms to analyse a poster Analysing thumbnail sketches Writing design development analysis This level also depends on the quality of your work and on you showing your understanding of your Architect.
Excellence Effectively promote an organised body of design work to an audience using visual communication techniques. communicating a high quality presentation that is convincing, shows accuracy of layout, visual impact, and precise execution of techniques.	effectively - does the intended job very well convincing - the evidence is there that your architect’s work has been taken into account in the layout of your poster. accuracy - correctly laid out, with no errors. execution - the method you chose to produce your poster	Achieved and Merit plus :- Analyse the key points of the architect’s work and use these to explain their style. Use the style of the architect’s work to influence the design of the poster. Use design elements well in the layout of the design work.	Key points and analysis This level also depends on the quality of your work and on you showing your understanding of your Architect.

I have been rewriting my Level 2 DVC course from scratch and have decided to include 2 Generic Technology standards to work alongside the DVC standards. The work I have been doing this week on the first technology standard has been greatly helped by breaking the standard down in this way as it is my first time working with this standard.  It has made it very clear in my head what we have to do.

Here is the Level 2 standard I have been working on this week :-

Level 2 Product Design Project

AS91354

Undertake brief development to address an issue

4 credits - Internal

Standard	What does it mean?	What will you do?	Resources
Achieved Undertake brief development to address an issue. identifying an issue as a result of exploring the context determining a need or opportunity and associated stakeholders reflecting ongoing consideration of the social and physical environment where the outcome will be developed and situated reflecting ongoing key stakeholders’ opinions describing the outcome to be developed and explaining why such an outcome should be developed explaining the physical and functional attributes required for an outcome producing a final brief comprised of a conceptual statement and specifications.	Undertake - to do something Brief - a description of what the product should do to solve a problem Address - to deal with the problem Issue - the problem Identify - recognise / highlight Explore - find out more Context -  place / situation Need / Opportunity - the problem that is to be solved Determine - decide Stakeholder - the person / people who will use your design Reflect - show / think carefully Consideration - careful thinking Attribute - a quality / feature Physical - things you can see and touch Functional - how it works Conceptual - based on ideas	Visit the cafe and analyse what all the different areas are that could have design work completed Write a questionnaire to take with you to the meeting with your client Initial meeting with your client to find out what their needs are and what area of the cafe they want design work for List the social and physical environment elements that the design will be made for List the clients’ opinions as to why the design needs to be made Write a description of what the product is that is going to be designed and why it is needed List all the the attributes needed for the outcome based on the client needs - physical (where and how it will be used) and functional (how it works) Write a design brief that includes a statement of what is to be designed and  list of specification points that need to be included	Context analysis task Group ideas for questions Writing the questionnaire Presenting the answers from the questionnaire Mood boards about the possible design eras Social and physical environment Product description and attributes Design brief Specification
Merit Undertake in-depth brief development to address an issue. prioritising social and physical environmental considerations related to where the outcome will be developed and situated reflecting ongoing feedback from key and wider stakeholders.	In-depth - lots of detail Prioritising - deciding which bits are the most important	Achieved plus :- List the social and physical environment elements that the design will be made for in order of importance. Give reasons why they are in this order. Use a questionnaire to get feedback from the customers of the cafe about the needs of the client and how it affects them	Prioritising social and physical environment elements and giving reasons for choices Stakeholders opinions and needs
Excellence Undertake comprehensive brief development to address an issue. describing the outcome to be developed and justifying why that particular outcome should be developed justifying the specifications in relation to the physical and functional attributes required for an outcome.	Comprehensive - includes everything that is necessary Justify - give good reasons Specifications - detailed description / list based on needs and situation	Achieved and Merit plus :- Write a description of what the product is that is going to be designed and give reasons with evidence, why it is needed While writing the specifications, link them to the physical and functional attributes that you have stated already.	Product description and attributes - focus on the reasons why Specification - focus on linking the physical and functional attributes

Visible Learning

I have had all of my planning online in the form of Google sites for a few years now. The students access the sites to get instructions, links, resources etc about the projects we are working on.
Link to class site here.
As a department, we have been working on making the Technology Achievement Objectives more accessible and understandable for the Y7-Y10 students.  We have worked on Level 1 to level 5 so we can show a clear pathway from our intermediates who come in for their Technology lessons through to our Year 9 and 10 students at the college.
This has been a really useful exercise for me as it made it really clear where the gaps are in my planning and make sure all the curriculum requirements are covered over a project.

As a school, we are moving towards "Visible Learning", where it is made really clear for the students why they are doing activities and what they are linked to.

Here is the sheet for the Year 10 product design project
Link here for the doc...

Achievement Objectives for Year 10 Mobile Phone Project - DVC

Level 5

• Brief Development : Levels 1-5
• Planning for Practice : Levels 1-5
• Outcome Development and Evaluation : Levels 1-5
• Technological Modelling : Levels 1-5

Achievement Objectives	Learning Activity	Evidence	Resources	SOLO
Brief Development Justify the nature of an intended outcome in relation to the need or opportunity. Describe specifications that reflect key stakeholder feedback and that will inform the development of an outcome and its evaluation.	use a writing frame to justify a conceptual statement that includes what, who, where, when, why, and how identify the need or opportunity based on stakeholder feedback, and, identify the resources, based on stakeholder feedback and/or other considerations, identify relevant specifications based on attributes, that allows evaluation of the outcome eg. lists, table, notes etc in relation to the need or opportunity and resources available, describe one or more of the key attributes using following options circle/colour/highlight the attributes which are key annotation on the drawing, written description mindmap (extended) verbal description (students record this onto netbooks)	Design brief written up on a Google Doc. Work in groups to decide what would be good questions to ask the client / customer. Put ideas onto a shared Google Drawing. This is then posted in the community for all to see and use ideas from. Google form used to collect questionnaire information from client base. Students put form onto the class community to receive input. It can also be emailed out to targeted clients if needed. This form can be individual or in pairs. Analyse the results of the questionnaire ( use the graphing function of the spreadsheet ? ) Pick out the key points / most popular attributes that need to be included in the design work. List these key points / specifications with the design brief.	Year 10 Google Plus community Link to design brief section on class site Link to Google Forms section on the How To site.	Questions / writing frame structured around SOLO progression, building depth from unistructural to relational. Group work can be based around 3 levels of SOLO. Multistructural when listing attributes etc. (Combine, describe, enumerate, list Perform serial skills)
Planning for Practice Analyse their own and others’ planning practices to inform the selection and use of planning tools. Use these to support and justify planning decisions (including those relating to the management of resources) that will see the development of an outcome through to completion.	use exemplars to show different options of planning tools for students to select and use use planning tools such as Google templates, Gantt chart apps, Flowchart apps, Google apps etc, to manage planning and to record key decisions at different stages specify timeframes that the tasks need to be completed (eg. due date, actual completion date), including stakeholder feedback (Google+, Google form, embed Google form into Google+ community) tick box or log for ongoing reflection of tasks completed (blog, Google+, checklists etc) use reflection to plan next steps, including results from stakeholder feedback	Make and post examples of project breakdown / timelines / planning sheets. Students to make their own. Use a spreadsheet for tracking of class work as they do it, and make it available for all students to see it all the time. Google calendar embedded on class site for reference to timescale for tasks. Student project planning - to include tasks / materials / equipment / timescale / changes / next steps	Analysis / project breakdown Templates provided to choose from Class tracking sheet Calendar	Multistructural when listing jobs to be completed / tools needed etc.. (Combine, describe, enumerate, list Perform serial skills)
Outcome Development and Evaluation Analyse their own and others’ outcomes to inform the development of ideas for feasible outcomes. Undertake ongoing functional modelling and evaluation that takes account of key stakeholder feedback and trialling in the physical and social environments. Use the information gained to select and develop the outcome that best addresses the specifications. Evaluate the final outcome’s fitness for purpose against the brief.	use research to generate brainstorms, sketches, drawings, models, images, diagrams, videos to describe possible outcomes acquire feedback on functional modelling (eg. Google+) that enables further development of design ideas to meet the specifications rank (pros and cons, checklists, slided scales) and view tests (eg. Youtube) of  possible materials/components from a given range (by the teacher) eg. Google+, and make appropriate selections produce and test the prototype that meets the brief evaluate the fitness for purpose of the outcome against the specifications (successful? or, not successful?)	Create a timeline of mobile phones through time to be able to see the changes that have happened - they can use google drawing / presentation / doc or any other means. Group discussion question in the community about how changes have occurred in phone design. They can all see each others answers on the community post. Analysis of a mobile phone of choice, using the SOLO question structure. This can be done on doc, presentation or drawing. Produce sketches / concepts and models based on results of questionnaire and research. These are then scanned and photographed. All design work, models and development work posted on the Google Plus class community for feedback from other members of the class. (scans, photos and screenshots) Use TinkerCad to develop a 3D model to print - take screenshots of development work as they go. 3D print a final phone design drawn on TinkerCad Photographs of final design to be posted in the community for feedback from the whole class based on a given feedback structure. These photographs can be posted with the original specification points so comparisons can be made by the class. Write an evaluation of the final phone design / model based on the feedback received from the rest of the class.	Example timeline Link to post in community Template presentation for SOLO structure Shapes Concepts Development Design Development work with analysis notes TinkerCad	Compare and contrast / timeline work is Relational. (Analyse, apply, argue, compare/contrast, criticise, explain causes, relate, justify) Presentation template structured to take the students through from unistructural to extended abstract in terms of their types of analysis questions. Using research work for own ideas is Extended Abstract. (Create, formulate, generate, hypothesise, reflect, theorise) Design Development Presentation This is structured to take students from sketches to models and back to sketches with analysis notes based on SOLO structure. Relational - when comparing shapes against each other and making judgements for design decisions. (Analyse, apply, argue, compare/contrast, criticise, explain causes, relate, justify)
Technological Modelling Understand how evidence, reasoning, and decision making in functional modelling contribute to the development of design concepts and how prototyping can be used to justify ongoing refinement of technological outcomes.	state/outline examples of functional and practical reasons for why various design decisions could or should be made; including maintenance requirements explain how evidence gained from functional modelling was used to justify design decisions explain how the evidence from prototyping was used to justify and evaluate fitness for purpose of the outcome	Class discuss / draw and make comfortable shapes - what makes a comfortable shape, why does it have to be a comfortable shape? The work from the comfortable shapes exercise is then used to start creating concept ideas. Ideas developed on TinkerCad to think about them in virtual 3D modelling - screen shots taken and analysis done. Work to be posted in the class community for all to comment on and make suggestions for improvements. Reasons must be given for the suggestions. Final design to be printed on the 3D printer for a final prototype.	Link to class site Link to class site - Concepts	Relational - when comparing shapes against each other and making judgements for design decisions. (Analyse, apply, argue, compare/contrast, criticise, explain causes, relate, justify) Relational when giving feedback and critiquing the work of others (Analyse, apply, argue, compare/contrast, criticise, explain causes, relate, justify)

When I tried to apply this to my NCEA standards for my seniors, I did not find it as easy.
The achievement objectives go up to Level 8 of the curriculum, but it is not explicit anywhere how these link to the actual standards that we work on.

Our Year 10 groups have been collapsed and these students have started NCEA Level 1 earl this year. This is a new thing for us and our DP asked us to make sure the students understood the LANGUAGE of NCEA. This gave me an idea of how to approach visible learning with them.

I have altered the sheet so we worked together on the meanings of the first standard :-
Achieved, Merit, Excellence
This was done really easily on Google Drawings.

Here is the sheet that we are going to use..

Link to where it is on the class site

What I need to add yet, is the SOLO taxonomy structure that is built into the planning of the project so it is obvious to the students where it fits in.

Architect Poster

AS91069

Promote an organised body of design work to an audience using visual communication techniques

4 credits - Internal

Standard	What does it mean?	What will you do?	Resources
Achieved Promote an organised body of design work to an audience using visual communication techniques. selecting and presenting the features of an organised body of work to an audience.	Promote - present the work in some way Organised - different parts working together as a whole Body of work - more than one piece of design work by your chosen designer Visual communication techniques - effective presentation of ideas using a range of methods - sketching, use of colour and tone, analysis … both drawn by hand and on the computer	Research pictures and information about your chosen architect. Highlight which key pieces of information you will use in your poster design. Use thumbnail sketching techniques to start to design the layout of your poster. Develop your design work using a computer application - making sure you are using a few examples of the designers work, not just one. Analyse the effect you have created with your layout developments. Produce a final poster using Adobe Illustrator. Write a final evaluation analysing your final poster.	Collecting images Collecting information Highlighting the important information Layout exercise Drawing thumbnail sketches Design Development Final Design
Merit Clearly promote an organised body of design work to an audience using visual communication techniques. purposefully selecting and applying techniques to ensure layout, composition and visual impact are appropriate to the context of the brief and audience.	Clearly - easily seen and understood Purposefully - with thought, not by accident Select - choose from a number of options of techniques Layout - how things are arranged Composition - how the design is made from separate parts and how they work together. Visual Impact - how the design looks and the effect it has	Achieved plus :- Explain why you have chosen the images you have on your designs. Produce a write up that summarises the life and style of the architect’s work. Analyse your thumbnail sketches as to how you have arranged your layout. Use design language in analysis of work. Explain how design elements have been used to achieve the design developments. Final design is very clear to understand, to read, to see. It gives a clear explanation of the architect’s work to someone else.	Producing the write up Using key design terms to analyse a poster Analysing thumbnail sketches Writing design development analysis This level also depends on the quality of your work and on you showing your understanding of your Architect.
Excellence Effectively promote an organised body of design work to an audience using visual communication techniques. communicating a high quality presentation that is convincing, shows accuracy of layout, visual impact, and precise execution of techniques.	effectively - does the intended job very well convincing - the evidence is there that your architect’s work has been taken into account in the layout of your poster. accuracy - correctly laid out, with no errors. execution - the method you chose to produce your poster	Achieved and Merit plus :- Analyse the key points of the architect’s work and use these to explain their style. Use the style of the architect’s work to influence the design of the poster. Use design elements well in the layout of the design work.	Key points and analysis This level also depends on the quality of your work and on you showing your understanding of your Architect.