essay for digital age
damla_tee
assessment_3_question.docxAssessment 3 (Teaching in the Digital age)
Assessment overview
This essay task provides you with an opportunity to construct an argument based on your understandings of the theoretical and practical aspects of the unit, and to articulate an informed perspective of teaching, schooling and the role of technology in the digital age.
Assessment details
You are to write a 1500-word persuasive essay, using third person, in which you develop an argument either for or against the following statement:
Technology allows children to learn anything, at any time, in any place, therefore schools (and teachers) are redundant in the digital age.
Essay requirements your persuasive essay must be written in third person and must persuade your reader that your argument is valid and reasonable. That means you need to develop a coherent argument across the body of the essay and ensure you have well-reasoned points to argue. Your essay will be more persuasive if you draw on authoritative information. Ensure you are clear about the differences between writing descriptively and writing persuasively. Your eLA will discuss this in the Assessment 3 Collaborate session. Your introduction must:
· introduce the topic
· contain a clearly stated thesis statement (a one-sentence response to the statement above)
· Introduce the essay itself.
As a general rule, an introduction should be no more than 10% of the total word count – in this case, no more than 150 words. You will need to be succinct. In the body of your essay you will develop a series of arguable claims (for instance, that teachers are required to guide students through the maze of information available to them) backed up by good reasons that support that claim. Given the low word count for this task, you will need to make your own decision about the number of claims you make. If you make a lot of claims, you might forego depth for breadth (see criterion 2 for why it is important to consider depth over breadth). Each claim should support your thesis, and the essay must focus on persuading the reader. In the conclusion you will need to sum up your arguments. Your conclusion should not introduce any new material and must not merely re-state the introduction. The conclusion should not be any more than 10% of the overall word count – so no more than 150 words. That leaves 1200 words for the body of your essay – use them wisely. Your essay must develop an argument that persuades your reader one way or the other, and that explores the implications for:
· the role of the teacher in the digital age
· the purpose of schooling in the digital age
· the use of technology in education in the digital age.
Your essay must contain a definition of the digital age, and you are expected to draw on relevant, contemporary, scholarly literature to support your argument. As you will be using evidence from the literature to support your arguments, you will need to ensure that you cite it according to APA referencing conventions.
Assessment criteria
1. Structure and development of response
2. Depth and relevance of arguments
3. Knowledge of the digital age, the role of the teacher, the purpose of schooling, and the use of technology.
4. Written expression
Define Digital age in your introduction
Intro 150 words
Argument 1 400 words
Argument 2 400 words
Argument 3 400 words
Conclusion 150 words
Resources I want to be included
http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=digital_learning
http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/documents/earlyyears/edgar_paper_20081223.pdf
http://christopherlister.ca/tiegrad-2/the-changing-role-of-the-teacher-in-the-digital-age/
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/literacy/assets/pdf/packages/tech_lit_learn.pdf
Altogether I need 10 references and it must be all scholarly and Apa style 6th edition
Marking guide
Pass [P 50-59%]
All aspects of the task have been completed, and the requirements of all criteria have been met at a satisfactory level. All work is your own original work unless where the works of others have been integrated and referenced according to APA conventions.
· The essay is well-structured: the introduction introduces both the topic and the essay itself and contains a clear thesis statement, which attempts to answer the question. The body of the essay allows for a loose development of ideas. The conclusion sums up the arguments while not introducing new information.
· Your overall response relates in a generic, or tangential way to the essay prompt. Your own stance is only partially evident in your arguments, suggesting you are not fully aware of your stance in this regard or have not thought deeply about the issue leading to a lack of clarity in your thinking. The arguments are relevant and discussed in some depth. The essay tends to be descriptive rather than persuasive.
· Characteristics of the digital age are defined in a rudimentary way. The essay tangentially addresses the topic and explores, in a minimal way, the implications of the digital age for teachers, teaching and the use of technology in education.
· The written expression is consistent with the requirements of a university course: spelling, punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure demonstrate competence in academic writing. The work is the author’s own unless where the ideas and words of others have been cited according to APA referencing conventions. The essay is written in first person.
Credit [C 60-69%]
To be awarded a Credit, you must fulfil all of the requirements of the P level, but with more sophistication.
· You have produced a well-reasoned response, which is logically and coherently structured. Each paragraph contains only one idea and that idea is fully developed. Clear progression and development of ideas is evident and each supports your thesis.
· Clear and relevant arguments are developed with the purpose of persuasion. The main difference across each of these standards is in the depth of your arguments, and the relevance of your arguments to the topic and to the stance you have taken. Your arguments show evidence of the depth of your thinking.
· Accurate terminology is used to demonstrate knowledge of the digital age, the role of the teacher, the purpose of schooling and the use of technology. Information is well-organised, demonstrating depth of knowledge, and explanations demonstrate comprehension of relevant ideas and key literature.
· Word choice is deliberate, and there are no superfluous words or phrases. Editing has been a key part of the preparation of the essay. This is obviously not a ‘first’ draft, but has been crafted to ensure a high quality essay is presented. Sentences are complete, and punctuation, including apostrophe use, is generally correct. Careful and thorough proofreading has resulted in a professionally presented essay.
Distinction [D 70-79%]
To be awarded a Distinction for this task students must meet all the requirements of the credit level, but with more insightful analysis, critical evaluation, capacity to engage an audience, and competence in written communication.
· You have produced a cohesive and persuasive response, using evidence to explicitly support the points you make.
· Your essay demonstrates your clear thinking in regards to your stance in relation to the role of teachers and schools in the digital age. It is evident that you have an insightful and mature awareness of your own stance. Your ideas are discussed in depth and all claims made are supported with relevant evidence.
· Rigorous knowledge of each area addressed in the essay is evident through the clarity of conceptual understanding, links to examples and to the literature.
· You have used an active voice, a broad and fluent vocabulary, and a range of cohesive devices (key words, pronouns, conjunctions, reinforcement, highlighting, similarity, and the like). You have also used a range of sentence types to add interest and energy to your writing. Tenses are consistent, and punctuation allows for your meaning to emerge without ambiguity.
High Distinction [HD 80-100%]
To be awarded an HD for this assignment students must meet all the requirements of the distinction standard, outlined above, and then they must go beyond that.
· Your essay demonstrates attributes of critical reading, critical thinking, and the insightful synthesis through the way the argument is structured across the essay. Each point connects to and builds on the last ensuring that the overall thesis is clearly elaborated.
· Your essay demonstrates your capacity to discriminate between what is relevant and what is not in relation to the essay prompt. Thoughtfulness and sophisticated insight into your own stance is evident in all aspects of the essay.
· Comprehensive and coherent knowledge of the key issues addressed in the essay is evident through analysis and synthesis of complex ideas. New perspectives or insights are presented that stimulate the reader to consider the issue in a different light. At this level your work demonstrates intellectual flexibility and openness to new ideas.
· Any errors that remain in the work do not detract from the overall quality of the essay, or of the meaning communicated. All external sources are referenced according to APA referencing conventions.
