Resources at UD
- Center for Online LearningThe Center for Online Learning offers training, Canvas course review, and consultations for instructional design when integrating software for teaching and learning.
- University Libraries Services for FacultyThe Libraries provides consultation, instructional services, digital literacy expertise, and support in finding resources and materials to support digital assignments.
Digital Pedagogy Librarian
Key Considerations for Digital Assignments
This section provides information and tools for introducing digital assignments into a course. It is intended to support faculty in selecting an assignment that best fits their pedagogical and teaching style, students' learning needs, and curricular logistics including schedule and resources. Key considerations for guiding decisions include:
- Objectives & Outcomes: What are your course learning objectives and intended student outcomes?
- Schedule & Scaffolding: How much in-class time can be used for instruction and collaboration that new assignments may require, and how might an assignment be scaffolded to include milestones or incremental feedback?
- Assessment & Evaluation: How will you measure students' progress towards course and assignment objectives and evaluate the success of the assignment during and after implementation?
- Resources: What materials, assignments, and activities do you currently use? Which might you change or replace? What additional materials, tools, partners, and training might be required?
- Guidance on Non-Traditional Forms of AssessmentAn excellent, brief guide to designing, incorporating, and evaluating creative assignments. From The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University.
- Digital Assignment ConsiderationsFrom Johns Hopkins University; a document providing questions that can be helpful in the early stages of ideating or selecting a digital assigment.
- Digital Pedagogy Assignment Design WorkshopA 45-minute recorded workshop providing an in-depth introduction to planning, incorporating, and assessing digital projects in the classroom.
Objectives and Outcomes
Identifying program, course, and assignment objectives and learning outcomes is a grounding step in assignment planning. At minimum, digital assignments should maintain the learning objectives and goals of coursework they replace. Backward design is frequently recommended to instructors, and can set guidelines and boundaries to assist in selecting an appropriate and manageable digital assignment.
Learning to use a digital tool is almost never a learning outcome on its own - but the process and execution of work with digital platforms offers many opportunities for integrating new learning outcomes. Common digital learning outcomes include:
- Development of technological skills & competencies
- Planning and organizing projects
- Exemplifying practices of good digital citizenship
- Adapting scholarly and academic information for public audiences
- Appropriate use and reuse of multimedia objects
- Production of digital content
- Backward DesignA comprehensive guide to backward design from U. Illinois Chicago.
- Learning Objectives BuilderA tool from Arizona State University that assists with writing learning objectives using Bloom's Taxonomy.
- Digital Learning Activity CardsA simple template for defining the purpose of a digital intervention and connecting it to learning activities and learning outcomes.
- Digital Pedagogy: Learning OutcomesA chapter describing learning outcomes that may be added when incorporating digital assignments.
- Digital Learning OutcomesInformation and resources related to digital literacy, digital citizenship, and other learning outcomes that may be introduced through digital assignments.
Schedule & Scaffolding
Digital assignments come in many formats and levels of complexity. The use of "t-shirt sizing" is helpful for considering the scale and scope of digital assignments that are appropriate and feasible in a semester:
- SMALL: An easily accessible digital tool is used to substitute or augment a previously 'analog' component of the curriculum. Little or no change to course content, delivery, and schedule.
- MEDIUM: Assignments are revised to incorporate digital tools as a core component of student work and include the creation of a digital product as an alternative to a previous assignment. May include some training and skill development and updates to course schedule and curriculum.
- LARGE: Semester-long assignments, such as theses, research projects, and capstones, in which the creation of a digital product suited for public consumption is the core student output. Will likely include training, skill development, and curricular structuring.
Small and medium projects are often ideal for educators introducing digital assignments for the first time, and are offer opportunities for assessment and feedback that support the development of larger assignments in future iterations of the course.
- Assignments by T-Shirt SizeExamples of assignments at different levels of complexity, grouped by t-shirt size.
- Classroom ConsiderationsIncludes resources for considering course schedule and estimating impact of assignments on student workload.
- Effective Assignment Sequencing for Scaffolding LearningA resource providing scaffolding strategies for content- and writing-based courses. See page 11 for approaches relevant to digital assignments.
- Instructor's Guide to Media ActivitiesA guide from Penn State providing a breakdown of the phases of video and podcasting assignments, including time estimates and scheduling suggestions.
Assessment & Evaluation
Digital assignments are most successful when educators and students have a clear understanding of expectations and evaluation criteria. An assessment strategy is important for measuring students' conceptual understanding of course content, setting realistic standards for design and execution of assignments in new mediums, and measuring progress along the way.
- Assessing Non-Traditional AssignmentsOverview and guidance for developing assessments and evaluation strategies for digital and other types of assignments.
- Creating and Using Rubrics for AssessmentLinks to rubrics for many types of assignments, including online discussions, ePortfolios, web pages, multimedia projects, and various digital presentation mediums.
- Assigning and Assessing Multimodal ProjectsInformative article from Georgetown University, including links to additional insights.
Resources
Digital tools are frequently the first thing that comes to mind when introducing a digital assignment, but it is also important to consider the related materials and supportive components that you may need as you develop and implement a new modality. These can include:
Materials & Tools
- Software platforms & tools
- A/V equipment
- Devices and internet access
- Classroom space and equipment
- Texts, images, artwork, archival objects, etc
Time
- Planning and curricular development
- Training and skill development
- In-class work time
- Availability of partners
Partners
- Library faculty and staff
- IT
- Instructional designers
- Outside organizations
- Resources at UDUniversity resources for faculty, including library partners, tools and technology, and support for instructional and curriculum development.
- Rubric for E-Learning Tool EvaluationA detailed rubric for evaluating digital tools being considered for use in teaching and learning. Includes functional, technical, and pedagogical aspects.
