Multimedia Design Project Assessment (MDPA) Report Template

Megan Taylor
http://taylorcalculus.weebly.com/
Analysis
This project was made for juniors and seniors taking Calculus. Students have to
have a solid foundation of derivatives and an introduction to the topic of
optimization. Students also need to know how to write well and need a basic
understanding of economics. This project is meant to be done in small groups,
size of 2-3 people. This task would take about 1-2 hours to complete which
translates into approximately 2 class periods. Technology is needed to complete
part of this project but not in its entirety. Students could use their smart phones to
access this task, but it might be easier on a computer. Our school has mobile iPad
labs that could easily be transported for our class use.
The following ISTE NET-S Standards are incorporated in this WebQuest:
1a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
2a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing
a variety of digital environments and media
2d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
3a. Plan strategies to guide inquiry.
3b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use
information from a variety or sources and media
3d. Process data and report results.
4a. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for
investigation.

 4c. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed
decisions.

Design
Overview
When creating the Weebly site, I created seven pages that clearly walked students
through the WebQuest. The site design I chose was simple and modern and
include a photo of a chalkboard filled with higher level math. I used YouTube to
give example problems for the students, and I incorporated Voki to make the task
seem like a real life application.
Details
The students were able to choose the different products they wanted to work with.
Essentially, there were three types of math problems they could be working with:
volume of a box (easy), pyramid (medium), and cylinder (hard). Students could
choose products that best fitted their comfort level. Also, students were able to
work by themselves or in groups of two to three, depending on the comfort level
of the student and how they learned best. Directions were given verbally through
Voki and also written on the site. This part could really help with ELL students, as
well as students who have either visual or auditory disabilities. Finally, a
calculator was embedded in the site for students who needed help with any mental
math.

Development
The project development took longer that I expected, but this is mainly because I
had to start over and scratch my original idea. I realized that my original idea with
map-making with my Algebra students was not going to work successfully. I
could not develop a product that incorporated all of the math that I wanted to.
However, this mishap reminded me that I need to think a project and its product
out thoroughly before beginning to create it. I spent the majority of the week
leading up to the due date to finish this project because of the Algebra mishap. I
used Weebly to produce my WebQuest but also used YouTube videos, Voki, and
Word Documents within the site.

Implementation
Unfortunately, I have yet to implement this. However I plan to definitely do it
next year (we have already finished all Calculus content at this point in the school
year). After students have a solid foundation of derivatives and a basic
introduction to optimization, I will spend two days allowing students to complete
the task at hand. I will request the mobile iPad lab for students to use to access the
WebQuest. Students will be able to choose their own group members, and I will
closely monitor their internet access to make sure that they are on task and
working at the project at hand. Anything that they students can not finish during
the two day class time will be finished at home and turned in the following day. If
this goes well with my class, I plan to share the WebQuest with the other Calculus

teachers immediately following so that they can possible use with their students. I
will look to the other teachers that use it to give me feedback. Depending on the
level of students in the classroom (AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, Honors
Calculus), the teachers can demand students to work individually or in larger
groups. Also, if the addition of a graphing calculator was allowed, the project
could be done a bit easier rather than by hand.

Evaluation
Student Learning
Each group is expected to complete two items to turn in. The first
is all of their math work, done neatly and step-by-step shown for
the three products that they chose. This will be check for
accuracy to show they know how to solve the Calculus. The
second is a letter explaining how companies can redesign their
products to use the least amount of materials. This will read to
see if they have an understanding of the Calculus they actually
just completed. The letter will show to application of the math in
written form. On the site, I attached the rubric I will use to grade
the students on their work.
Product Design
I will seek the feedback of the two other Calculus teachers in my department to
get feedback on how the WebQuest is. Also, as my students are working on it, I

am sure I will notice directions that need to be more detailed or other little areas
to add to. I will take note of the changes I see fit and edit that day on Weebly.

Reflection
Project Development As soon as I began this project, I quickly
had to scrap my original idea after thinking the entire product
through. Originally, I had planned to create a map with my
Algebra students using vocab like parallel and perpendicular
lines and midpoint. However, I soon found an actual product
would be difficult to create with trying to incorporate making
equations out of different roads on the map. This helped me
learned to completely think out the entire project before
beginning to piece something together.
Instructional Design I used Weebly for two main reasons: I know
how to use it and so do my students already. It is very user
friendly and has many design options to fit my project. I went
with a clean, modern design that had a background picture of a
chalkboard full of calculus.
Personal Growth I definitely got much more familiar with how
Weebly works and look forward to being able to make better and
quicker tasks in the future because of this project. Personally, I
learned I need to think out projects before beginning them,

keeping in mind what the end product is going to be and how

they can use math to get finish this project.
For Others Im hopeful that many other calculus teachers would
find this task engaging and fun for their students to complete.
This is a great resource to share since it can be hard for teachers
to take the time to set up tasks such as this one.