Now that we are on week 3 of the Andover Help Desk with our new students this semester, they are now preparing to enter Phase 2 of their progress. Phase 2 is where the students will be expected to have a design plan laid out, which will show us how they plan on getting what done and when, and several samples of their work from this point. Below is a list of eight suggestions on what they can be working on for their Phase 2 part of their project if it helps them:Drafts: Drafts are a vital part of any project. Anything that a student has worked on that led them to where they are now is the essence how their project has progressed. While it is not required, a student at the Help Desk could gain a lot of support by looking at some of the resources they developed during their progress on their project.
Info Graphics: These will allow our students to create simple and informative graphics explaining what their outline of their projects are, as well as outlining the various different steps of Phase 2 A convenient and free site to do this is "Easelly.com".
Script and Storyboard: Mainly useful for students working on video projects, creating a short and informative video that explains your progress up to this point is a very efficient way to both show your work and explain where you progress is up to this point.
Videos: Creating video tutorials that showcase your work up to this point is a great way of showcasing your work up to this point. Often times, viewers may not understand what the students project is about and how it works, and creating a tutorial or lecture video on what it is the student is working on is a great way to explain to his/her viewers what they plan to accomplish at the Help Desk.
Tutorials: While creating a video is one of the more efficient ways of showing off a tutorial, creating graphics, charts or other types of forms can also prove to be a useful approach on teaching others about your work. By using Google Forms, a student could create a list of things to know about their project as well as some simple tutorials steps that will help viewers understand more about what they are writing about.
Content Outline: Students who are creating a website or online app may find this useful. By creating a simple form that lists all of your content alongside a sketch of how your project will look with it can help the students understand how they plan on putting forward their content. You can create a form using the Google Docs.
Blogs: While we are always putting out blogs from the students progress every two weeks at the Help Desk, some students may find it useful to create blogs as their way of explaining their progress. Writing up a simple doc telling us where they are and what they plan on doing will help them in many ways.
Location Map: Location maps are similar to info graphics in that they allow for the students to create an image showcasing what their goals are for their project. However, a location map acts more akin to a hierarchy chart which illustrates where and when a students plans on going forward with each part of a project.
While none of these suggestions are required by any of our students for phase 2, it will still prove to be useful if they are looking for an efficient way to present their work and progress up to this point.
Here are a few links to a few valuable sites that can assist students in processing their information:
http://www.easel.ly/ (Easelly is a useful site for trying to create info graphics.)
docs.google.com/ (Create forms using Google Docs.)
http://www.fraps.com/ (A free to use program that allows you to record your PC and create a video)
