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Arizona Standards

Strand 1

 Strand 1: Creativity and innovation

Concepts Activity Name

Concept 1: Knowledge and Ideas

PO 1. Analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information to generate new ideas, processes, or products. 

Concept 2: Models and Simulations

PO 1. Predict and test the relationships amongst interdependent elements of a digital model, simulation or system.

PO 2. Propose or create a model, simulation, or system.

PO 3. Predict how one system operates by comparing it to multiple systems, digital models or simulations.

Concept 3: Trends and Possibilities

PO 1. Analyze patterns and trends and their logical links to form inferences, and forecast possibilities providing novel insights.

Concept 4: Original Works

PO 1. Create innovative products or projects using digital tools to express original ideas.

PO 2. Use digital collaborative tools to synthesize information, produce original works, and express ideas. 

  • Virtual Worlds

  • DIY Project

  • Arduino

  • Slam Poetry

  • Citizen Science

  • CSnap

Strand 2

 Strand 2: Communication and collaboration

Concepts Activity Name

Concept 1: Effective Communications and Digital Interactions

PO 1. Collaborate with peers, experts, or others in the global community employing a variety of digital tools to share findings and/or publish in a variety of ways.

Concept 2: Models and Simulations

PO 1. Predict and test the relationships amongst interdependent elements of a digital model, simulation or system.

PO 2. Propose or create a model, simulation, or system.

PO 3. Predict how one system operates by comparing it to multiple systems, digital models or simulations.

Concept 3: Trends and Possibilities

PO 1. Analyze patterns and trends and their logical links to form inferences, and forecast possibilities providing novel insights.

Concept 4: Original Works

PO 1. Create innovative products or projects using digital tools to express original ideas.

PO 2. Use digital collaborative tools to synthesize information, produce original works, and express ideas.

  • Build a Website

  • Blog

  • Podcast

  • DIY Projects

  • Critical Media

  • Slam Poetry

Strand 3

 Strand 3: Research and information literacy

Concepts Activity Name

Concept 1: Planning

PO 1. Identify and defend effective key words, phrases, and strategies for conducting information searches.

PO 2. Evaluate diverse information sources.

Concept 2: Processing

PO 1. Locate and synthesize information utilizing advanced search strategies including a variety of search engines, metadata search engines, deep web searches and databases.

PO 2. Defend the authority of primary and/or secondary sources used in research.

PO 3. Evaluate information identifying facts, opinions, bias, inaccurate and misleading information by analyzing multiple sources.

PO 4. Synthesize research information to create new understanding and innovative solutions.

PO 5. Apply ethical use of information and media by respecting the principles of copyrights, intellectual freedom and property rights, using information and media technology responsibly, and citing resources appropriately. 

  • DIY Projects

  • CSnap

  • Slam Poetry

  • How to be a Director

  • Alice Dance Party

Strand 4

 Strand 4: Critical thinking, problem solving and decision making

Concepts Activity Name

Concept 1: Investigation

PO 1. Write essential questions to investigate a complex (multi-step) issue using digital tools and resources.

Concept 2: Exploring Solutions

PO 1. Plan and manage an individual learning project that collects multiple data sets from diverse sources, creating planning adjustments and course corrections from the knowledge gained.

PO 2. Present defendable solutions and make decisions from multiple perspectives using collected resources and data.

  • DIY Projects

  • CSnap

  • Virtual Worlds

  • Citizen Science

Strand 5

 Strand 5: Digital citizenship

Concepts Activity Name

Concept 1: Safety and Ethics

PO 1. Determine when it is appropriate and safe to use various personal digital devices.

PO 2. Describe strategies to deal with cyber-bullying situations.

PO 3. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of digital tools as defined by school board policy and procedures.

PO 4. Demonstrate safe online communication practices regarding personal information.

PO 5. Analyze and compare how web advertising influences consumer choices.

PO 6. Advocate and exhibit legal and ethical behavior when using technology.

Concept 2: Leadership for Digital Citizenship

PO 1. Exhibit digital citizenship by consistently leading by example and advocating social and civic responsibility to others.

Concept 3: Impact of Technology

PO 1. Develop a possible technological solution for a contemporary issue.

  • Critical Media

  • Virtual Bodies

  • Cyberbullying

  • Hate Speech

  • Overexposed

  • Does it Matter Who Has Your Data

  • Internet Privacy

  • Virtual Bodies

  • Online Interactions

Strand 6

 Strand 6: Technology operations and concepts

Concepts Activity Name

Concept 1: Understanding

PO 1. Describe how the components of a system are integrated using appropriate terminology.

PO 2. Define and apply knowledge of various technical process terms.

PO 3. Choose technology applications appropriate for the audience and task.

PO 4. Recognize and demonstrate ergonomically safe and sound use of equipment.

PO 5. Investigate and evaluate physical risks of using digital technology.

Concept 2: Applications

PO 1. Demonstrate speed and accuracy using appropriate data entry tools.

PO 2. Compose a multiple section document that applies the most appropriate media and advanced formatting.

PO 3. Use spreadsheets to calculate, graph, organize, and present data in a variety of real-world settings.

PO 4. Use database features to export, organize, compile, and output data.

PO 5. Compose media for the web with interactive capabilities.

PO 6. Create, evaluate and critique web structure and content.

PO 7. Use network protocols for moving files and secure web access.

Concept 3: Problem Solving

PO 1. Identify and use online help and other support to learn about features of hardware, software, and connectivity as well as to assess and resolve problems.

Concept 4: Transfer of Knowledge

PO 1. Transfer understanding of current technologies to new and novel learning situations.

  • CSnap

  • Virtual Worlds

  • Alice

  • Global Water Curriculum

  • Arduino

Career Technical Education Standards

Digital Communications

 Digital communications: 10.0200.13

Standard Activity Name Description
  • 10.0200.13 Digital Communications Fundamentals

  • 10.0200.10 Shared Communication Media Technologies Fundamentals

  1. Podcast (Q1-4)

  2. Alice Dance Party (Q2)

  3. DIY video project (Q3)

  1. Students will script and upload podcasts to reflect upon the lessons and activities throughout each quarter.

  2. Students will produce a program demonstrating a type of dance after researching its cultural context and significance.

  3. Students will make a DIY video using ideas and concepts developed in previous courses and present them to the class.

TV and Film

TV and film: 10.0200.10

Standard Activity Name Description
  • 10.0200.10 Shared Communication Media Technologies Fundamentals

  • 10.0200.16 Film and TV Fundamentals

  1. Virtual Bodies (Q1)

  2. Critical Media project (Q1)

  3. How to be a Director (Q2)

  1. Students will investigate how bodies can be represented digitally and what the impacts of those representations are.

  2. How diverse is representation across different types of media? Students will answer this question by researching a media category and measuring the diversity within. Students will critically analyze the media and the implications that come with lack of diversity in film and TV.

  3. Students will explore techniques and concepts behind producing and directing a media creation while building upon previous lessons in critical media, diversity and representation.

Network Technologies

 Network technologies: 15.1200.30

Standard Activity Name Description
15.1200.10 Shared Information Technologies Fundamentals
  1. Virtual Worlds (Q1)

  2. Citizen Science (Q3)

  3. Arduino (Q3)

  1. Students will research, design, and build a structure reflecting historical and social influences in Virtual Worlds.

  2. Citizen Science is a way for regular people to get involved in science, often by contributing data to larger projects, such as in environmental research. Students will be exposed to different areas of citizen science and how to get more involved in citizen science projects.

  3. Students will be introduced to Arduino and will use self-directed exploration to learn how to use them.

Common Core Standards

Speaking & Listening

Speaking and listening

Standard Activity Name Description
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
  1. Slam Poetry

  2. Algorithm Cards
  1. Students will be introduced to Slam Poetry and look at how Slam Poetry and other forms of spoken word address issues in society. Students will then create and perform their own Slam Poetry for the class expressing their point of view clearly and persuasively to the class.

  2. Students will work in groups to do a code-breaking exercise with playing cards to learn the basics of pattern recognition and algorithmic thinking as well as the importance of good communication and teamwork.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
  1. DIY Culture/Make a DIY Video

  2. Program the Teacher

  1. Students will learn about DIY culture through observing and evaluating DIY videos and planning, scripting, filming, editing, and presenting their own video to share with the class. 

  2. Students will learn the importance of precise language and direction when programming by directing their teacher to do a simple task. Students will use realize the value of accurate word choice.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.3: Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.
  1. Virtual Bodies

  2. Slam Poetry

  1. Students will learn the technologies involved with representing virtual bodies and what techniques are used to transform images into idealized bodies. Students will learn about social impacts of idealized images on people’s self-esteem and self-concept.

  2. Students will learn how Slam Poetry and spoken word share different points of view through rhetoric and tone.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
  1. Podcast

  2. DIY Video

  1. Students will produce a short podcast on a weekly basis that shares reflections on their activities in this course, in school in general, and in their lives - as deemed appropriate by the student. Podcasts will be uploaded to cloud storage and will be accessible via RSS feed from their websites.

  2. Students will design, write, and produce a DIY video based on an idea that they want to share and apply ideas and concepts to their video which they will share with the class.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.5: Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
  1. Virtual Bodies

  2. DIY

  3. Blog
  1. Students will learn about the technologies used to create virtual bodies and transform images of bodies into idealized bodies. Students will learn the social impacts of idealized images on people’s self-esteem and how different bodies are valued/portrayed by social norms.

  2. Students will create a DIY video and work to design, write, and produce an interactive and exciting video on something they would like to share with the class. They will also learn how to keep their audience interested in the video using strategic elements.

  3. Students will maintain a blog throughout the course where they will regularly reflect and share their ideas about what they are learning. Students will be challenged to create a captivating blog that is engaging to their readers.

Writing

Writing

Standard Activity Name Description
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
  1. Blog Posts

  2. Remix a Scene

  1. Students will use online blogs to journal and reflect on lessons and topics from class. They will learn blogging techniques and internet safety before they publish and share their posts with others.

  2. For a final project, students will be remixing a scene from a book movie, or television show in Alice 3. Students will rewrite, rescript, and redesign the media piece to transform it into a socially aware and culturally responsive piece.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
  1. Architecture Project

  2. Slam Poetry

  1. Students will learn about the history of architecture and about social influences on architectural design. Students will put their research into practice by designing and building structures that reflect their interests and values. Students will demonstrate advanced creative building skills in Virtual Worlds.

  2. Students will be introduced to Slam Poetry and look at how Slam Poetry and other forms of spoken word address issues in society through the eyes of their performer.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
  1. Alice Remix

  2.  4th Quarter Final Projects

  1. For a final project, students will be remixing a scene from a book movie, or television show in Alice 3. Students will research and rewrite, rescript, and redesign the media piece to transform it into a socially aware and culturally responsive piece.

  2. Students will demonstrate their proficiency with two different technologies of their choice and demonstrate an understanding of the social context of their projects. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the value of culturally responsive approaches to social problems. Students will demonstrate that that they can brainstorm, storyboard, plan, design, and implement two projects on topics of their choice. Students will apply their understandings of what they have learned during the course to demonstrate their problem-solving skills

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
  1. Critical Media Analysis

  2. Be A Director

  1. Students will learn how to research a category of media and the different ways to measure and discuss “diversity”.  Students will critically analyze media and evaluate it for how people are represented and discuss what the impacts of lack of diversity can be. Students will develop inductive and exploratory research skills. Students will discover that representation in media imagery and stories is not representative of the population as a whole. Students will learn how to collect data, process it into information, draw conclusions, and present them.

  2. Students will learn about misrepresentation in the media and ways films perpetuate this misrepresentation. Students will become exposed to issues in films such as gender disparity, color matching, and lack of minority representation. Students will use this information to direct their own scenes to “correct” these misrepresentations and bring awareness to diversifying the film industry.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
  1. Blog

  2. Podcast

  1. Students regularly reflect on lessons, concepts, and ideas by writing blog posts.

  2. Students will produce a short podcast on a weekly basis that shares reflections on their activities in this course, in school in general, and in their lives - as deemed appropriate by the student. Podcasts will be uploaded to cloud storage and will be accessible via RSS feed from their websites.

Next Generation Science Standards

Overview

HS-ETS1-1: Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.

HS-ETS1-2: Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.

HS-ETS1-3: Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.

HS-ETS1-4: Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.

Quarter 1

Quarter 1

Standard Sample Activity Description
HS-ETS1-1 Digital Citizenship curriculum (all quarters) Digital Citizenship curriculum (all quarters) introduces students to issues raised by pervasive internet and digital social communications such as privacy, responsibility, and respect for intellectual property.  This topic is explored interactively through the year-long web design, blog, and podcasting projects as students take on the role of digital content evaluators, curators, and creators who analyze digital communications platforms for criteria like effective communication, audience targeting, and design values
HS-ETS1-2
  1. Match the Build

  2. Web design, blog, and podcasting projects

  3. Virtual Worlds

  1. Match the Build is hands-on activity that introduces students to core computational thinking concepts - pattern recognition, decomposition, algorithmic thinking, and abstraction - and emphasizes the importance of effectively communicating as a team to design a built material solution.

  2. Web design, blog, and podcasting projects present opportunities for students to practice decomposition of a larger goal - communicating with a target audience - into steps within a project.

  3. Virtual Worlds building projects require understanding of step-by-step building functions to create complex objects; as groups students must design, plan, contract outside help, and build objects in the virtual space to accomplish the goals of their projects

HS-ETS1-3 Critical media analysis Critical media analysis activities teach students how to critically evaluate social issues like diversity and representation in media, targeting of audiences through websites and other social media, and issues of privacy in digital citizenship. Blog and podcast projects give students opportunities to make these choices for themselves and reflect on their criteria.
HS-ETS1-4
  1. Culturally Situated Design Tools activities (CSDT/CSNAP)

  2. Virtual Worlds

  1. Culturally Situated Design Tools activities (CSDT/CSNAP) are Scratch-based computer programs that simulate or recreate visual and auditory designs and artifacts like quilt patterns, hair braids, and music to teach about the cultural and historical context of said artifacts. Students are able to use these tools to model existing traditional patterns and create new ones to fit relevant criteria chosen by students.

  2. Building projects in Virtual Worlds offer an immersive 3D simulation environment for students to construct objects that fulfill criteria of social justice projects and offer a way to showcase them publicly.

Quarter 2

Quarter 2

Standard Sample Activity Description
HS-ETS1-1 N/A N/A
HS-ETS1-2 Alice Alice programming projects all involve decomposition of a larger problem into smaller tasks, functions, and subroutines.  For example, Alice project: Movie/TV scene remix and Alice project: Journey are complex projects that require storyboarding, writing, setting design, programming, and finishing steps to be completed. These projects will engage with media representation problems and the intersection of identity and life trajectory, respectively.
HS-ETS1-3
  1. Digital Citizenship

  2. Alice and Virtual Worlds

  1. The Digital Citizenship curriculum will engage students in questions about how to respect copyright and use intellectual property under proper fair use and attribution practices as well as to explore the ethical issues of digital alteration of images and one’s own online representation for future professional and college plans.

  2. During the end-of-quarter showcase of Alice projects in Virtual Worlds, students will discover, share, and evaluate each others’ projects based on a variety of criteria.

HS-ETS1-4 Alice The Alice Programming environment offers a computer simulation protocol for modeling media representations, physics simulations, and other types of solutions to identified problems.

Quarter 3

Quarter 3

Standard Sample Activity Description
HS-ETS1-1 Citizen Science, DIY Culture, Water Curriculum Units on Citizen Science, DIY Culture, and a NASA-funded Water Curriculum will provide students specific case studies to practice analytical skills of problems.
HS-ETS1-2 Arduino Arduino projects will involve students designing, building, and programming devices to address a citizen-science issue.
HS-ETS1-3 Arduino, Water Curriculum, Citizen Science Students will reflect on the design of their Arduino projects for effectiveness, evaluate existing and proposed solutions to water crises in the Water Curriculum, and learn to evaluate outcomes of citizen science projects for effectiveness and fulfillment of target criteria.
HS-ETS1-4 Virtual Worlds, Citizen Science, Arduino The end-of-quarter showcase in Virtual Worlds will offer students a platform for their citizen science projects using Arduino and design supplemental environmental objects to enhance presentation and simulation.

Quarter 4

Quarter 4

In this quarter, students will do 2 culminating projects (half term each) on topics of their choice that connects to a significant current issue in society. They will research the topic, identify relevant criteria and constraints, brainstorm solution approaches, select appropriate educational technologies, and develop solutions using computational thinking, project management, and other skills/knowledge learned during the year. Thus, the entire NGSS-articulated engineering design standards will be fulfilled during the process of creating these projects.