Internet and Strayer databases

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                    Assignment 1

Use the Internet and Strayer databases to research one (1) topic from the list of recommendations the superintendent provided or your own approved topic. Justify your topic selection by highlighting its relevance to your chosen district being able to successfully meet its K-12 assessment goals. Your research should also focus on locating current issues, applications, assessment strategies, and tools related to your selected topic. Once you complete your research, submit this portion of the white paper to your superintendent for review and feedback.

Write a five to seven (5-7) page paper in which you:

Propose your research topic in which you detail its relevance to meeting one (1) or more K-12 assessment goals in your chosen school district, focusing on a specific grade level, discipline, or target student population (gifted students, students with special needs, etc.). Examine at least three (3) key political, legal, and / or current issues related to your chosen topic. Describe at least three (3) specific needs of the students in the school district including students with special learning needs. Propose at least three (3) applications your topic has to K-12 assessment in your chosen school district. Provide at least four (4) sources that document detailed information about your proposed topic. The sources must be written within the last five (5) years. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Assess various measures for assessing learners’ progress, including formal, test-based measures, and informal and observational measures. Analyze traditional theories of assessment. Evaluate alternate forms of assessment for special populations. Use technology and information resources to research issues in educational assessment. Write clearly and concisely about educational assessment using proper grammar and mechanics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assignment 2

Now that your superintendent reviewed your first submission and provided feedback, you will make the suggested revisions. You will also complete this section of the white paper. You will justify your topic selection and its relevance to the school district’s goal of improving its assessment results.

Note: Refer to the Overall Scenario of Assignments 1-4 by clicking here.

Write a three to five (3-5) page paper in which you:

Revise Assignment 1 using the feedback that the superintendent provided. (The revision of the previous assignment is not included in the page count for this assignment). Describe the relevance of your assessment topic in terms of meeting the K-12 assessment goals in your chosen school district as it relates to the specific focus you identified in Assignment 1. Provide specific examples of assessment goals that the school district currently uses to support your rationale. Explore at least three (3) key reasons why you selected the topic in question. Highlight the fundamental aspects of the topic that make it fit into either traditional or alternative assessment research. Justify your response. Suggest three (3) strategies that educators could employ in order to utilize technology within the classroom and thus aid your chosen school district in meeting its K-12 assessment goals. Provide relevant examples of these strategies to support your response. Provide at least three (3) additional reliable, relevant, peer-reviewed references not previously used published within the last 5 years. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Analyze traditional theories of assessment. Apply new advances and current thought in the field of educational assessment. Evaluate alternate forms of assessment for special populations. Use technology and information resources to research issues in educational assessment. Write clearly and concisely about educational assessment using proper grammar and mechanics.

Overall Scenario of Assignments 1-4 Imagine that your locally elected board of the school district has commissioned an Assessment Task Force to improve the overall standardized test scores of the students within the school district. The superintendent (a role played by your professor), has asked you, the Director of Assessment, to develop an assessment project proposal. The superintendent asked you to include the following in this proposal:

A research topic related to K-12 assessment. Research of a local school district’s Website to learn about the established assessment goals. (Note: Do not identify individuals by name, share proprietary information, etc.) Proposed recommendations for changes to the District’s K-12 assessment goals. Presentation of the proposal for the task force. The superintendent will review the parts of your proposal as you develop each part and provide you feedback. The superintendent expects you to incorporate the feedback into subsequent parts of the proposal for presentation. In your initial meeting with the superintendent, he has provided the following list of sample research topics that could be the focus of your proposal:

Bias (cultural and gender) in aptitude and standardized tests Implications of cognitive science and brain research upon assessment Implications of and Changes to No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 with respect to testing Alternate assessment methods for special populations (e.g., gifted students, students with learning disabilities) Assessing students with disabilities using computer technologies or other innovations (select one or more types of disabilities) Implications of National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers, Coaches, and Students (NETS) to school districts with respect to program assessment. The Implications of the Common Core Standards with relation to your chosen local school district, state education system, or education system on a national level Balancing the use of formative or summative assessments in the classroom with required standardized assessments You may also choose an assignment topic other than those suggested.

Note: By Week 2, students should obtain professor approval on any assignment topics other than those suggested in the Overall Scenario for Assignments 1-4.

Note: You may create and /or make all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of these assignments including providing real research information.

Assignments 1-4 Your project will be broken into the following parts, which the superintendent will review and provide feedback:

Assignment Title Due Date 1 Assessment Project – Part 1

Background of Topic; Current Issues Related to Topic; and Challenges faced by the District, Evaluation of Assessment Strategies and Tools related to Topic Part 1 Week 3 2 Assessment Project – Part 2 Relevance of the Topic and Strategies for the Use of Technology Week 6 with revision of Assignment 1 3 Assessment Project – Part 3

Recommendations for Changes to the District’s K-12 Assessment Goals Week 9 with revision of Assignment 2 4 Assessment Project Presentation Presentation of the White Paper for the Task Force Week 10

 

 

 

 

Assignment 3

Your white paper is almost complete, and the superintendent reviewed and provided feedback on both of your submissions. For the final section of your white paper, you will focus on identifying the technology implications. Finally, you will make your recommendations to the locally elected board of the school district for its members’ consideration.

Write a three to five (3-5) page paper in which you:

Revise Assignment 2 using the feedback that the superintendent provided. (The revision of the previous assignment is not included in the page count for this assignment). Ascertain three (3) new advances in computer and Web technologies which would benefit K-12 assessment that are related to your topic. Highlight one (1) of these new innovations that might be practical for the district to implement in the near future. Provide a rationale for your response. Propose the strategic manner in you would conduct a training needs analysis for teachers related to your topic. Provide at least two (2) additional reliable, relevant, peer-reviewed references not previously used and published within the last five (5) years. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Assess various measures for assessing learners’ progress, including formal, test-based measures, and informal and observational measures. Evaluate strategies for a variety of assessment instruments and the theories behind them. Utilize a methodology for linking assessment practices to learning objectives. Use technology and information resources to research issues in educational assessment. Write clearly and concisely about educational assessment using proper grammar and mechanics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assignment 4

 

Your white paper that you have developed on your selected K-12 assessment topic is now ready for you to present to the locally elected board of the school district. Create a presentation using Prezi or similar software in order to present your research to the task force. The information within your presentation will assist the Task Force in developing a district-wide professional development plan geared toward improving the overall test scores of the schools within the district.

Recorded Presentation Overall presentation style and structure

Present your findings in ten (10) slides using Prezi, PowerPoint, or a presentation software of your choice. (Note: Notify the professor on Week 7 concerning the software you choose to use for the presentation). Include a title slide and references section (These two [2] slides are not part of the ten (10) slide requirement). Develop a creative, appealing presentation using your chosen tool for a professional audience, using two to three (2-3) colors, two to three (2-3) fonts, and two to three (2-3) other visuals. Provide coherent, clear, organized, and substantive content that can be easily understood by the audience. Provide audio narration of the presentation slides as if you were delivering the speech (Note: If you do not have access to a microphone, then you should provide detailed speaker notes with your presentation.) Create a section of the presentation (first five [5] slides) in which you: Provide an overview of the white paper. The overview should include, at a minimum, background on your topic and its relevance to K-12 assessment and the demographics of the district. Discuss the significant recommendations that you have made within the white paper regarding changes to the district’s current assessment goals. Provide three (3) methods by which the Task Force might use the white paper in order to develop a district-wide professional development plan geared toward improving the overall test scores of the district. Create a section of the presentation (last five [5] slides) in which you: Provide your personal reflection in which you highlight what you have learned from developing the white paper as well as what you have learned during this course. Provide your personal reflection on the new technologies that you researched in Assignment 3 and the manner in which such technologies have changed your views on how to approach assessment in the classroom. Provide your personal reflection on the manner in which you would implement the recommendations made in Assignment 3 within your own school district or within your classroom practices. Provide specific examples of the changes that you have already made or would like to make.

 

 

The growing presence of the Russian Mafia

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BUS 517 Project Management – Strayer

BUS 517 Week 5 Midterm Exam (Version 1)

• Question 1
Which of these is not part of the “technical dimension” of project management?
• Question 2
Which of the following activities is not considered a project?
• Question 3
From among the following activities, which is the best example of a project?
• Question 4
Which of the following constraints is not typically found in managing projects?
• Question 5
In which of the following stages is it determined what the project will entail, when it will be scheduled, whom it will benefit, and what the budget will be?
• Question 6
Integration of all project processes and practices to improve Project Management is due to
• Question 7
A professional organization for project management specialists is the
• Question 8
The waste on failed projects and cost overruns is estimated in the neighborhood of
• Question 9
Project selection criteria are typically classified as:

 

• Question 10
Which of the follow is not one of the commonly heard comments of project managers?
• Question 11
Which of the following questions does the organization’s mission statement answer?
• Question 12
A major project proposal form will likely include all of the following except:
• Question 13
Which of the following would not be classified as an organizational threat?
• Question 14
A project screening matrix typically contains all of the following except:
• Question 15
Which of the following terms is often used to denote a project that a powerful, high-ranking official is advocating?
• Question 16
Which of the following is not one of the characteristics of effective objectives?
• Question 17
All are negotiated issues except:
• Question 18
Kim is reviewing a proposed project. The scope of the project is narrow with a lot of in-depth expertise required and it will take a short period of time to complete. The best choice for organizing the project is ________ organization.
• Question 19
The Organizational Culture Diagnosis Worksheet classifies cultural characteristics into all of the following except:
• Question 20
Organizational culture is best explained as organizational
• Question 21
Which of the following combinations represents the extremes of project organization?
• Question 22
The Macintosh development team at Apple is a good example of what kind of project structure?
• Question 23
Projectitis is most likely to occur in the _______ organization structure.
• Question 24
The project manager has the responsibility to answer which of the following questions?
• Question 25
Which of the following cultural characteristics relates to the degree to which management focuses on outcomes rather than on techniques and processes used to achieve those results?

 

BUS 517 Week 5 Midterm Exam (Version 2)

 

• Question 1

Research shows the most frequently mentioned barrier to project success is

• Question 2

Scott has just been given a project that has a specific target date. After discussion with top management he finds that while the date is important the cost is more important and a slip in delivery would be acceptable if required to meet the cost targets. The target date is best classified as

• Question 3

“To construct a high-quality, custom home within five months at costs not to exceed $150,000″ is best classified as

• Question 4

Which of the following is not one of the items that would appear on a project scope checklist?

• Question 5

The first step of project scope definition is to

• Question 6

Which of the follow is least likely to be included in a Work Package?

• Question 7

The integration of project work packages within the organization’s management structure is known as

• Question 8

Creating an extranet website or an internal software database system would be most closely associated with the

• Question 9

Ed is looking over the actual results of projects and comparing them to what was estimated. He notices that projects that took six months or longer to complete were noticeably more off the estimates. Which of the following factors is he recognizing?

• Question 10

Learning curves are more likely to apply in situations where most of the costs are

• Question 11

People working on prototype development needing time to interact with the design engineers after the design is completed is an example of:

• Question 12

Jose is forecasting project time and cost for constructing a new building by multiplying the total square footage by a given dollar amount. Which of the following methods is he using?

• Question 13

A good starting point for developing time and cost estimates is

• Question 14

A manager getting further into a project and obtaining a better understanding of what needs to be done to accomplish a project is an example of:

• Question 15

Resource shortages, in the form of people, equipment, or materials, is a good example of

• Question 16

The approach that begins with a top-down estimate for the project and then refines estimates as the project is implemented is known as ______ method.

• Question 17

Which of the following is not one of the bottom-up approaches to estimating project time and cost?

• Question 18

The stages of culture shock include all of the following except:

• Question 19

When you begin to lose confidence in your abilities to communicate and work effectively in the different culture, you are in which of the following stages of culture shock?

• Question 20

Which of the following is not contained in the Assessment Matrix Project Site Selection?

• Question 21

As a response to the events of September 11, 2001, the moving of personnel, materials, and equipment across international borders has created border congestion with increased costs and time. This is an example of which of the following environmental factors?

• Question 22

American project managers have earned a reputation abroad for being very good at understanding technology but not good at understanding:

• Question 23

A major difference between working in Mexico and working in the United States is the perception of deadlines. This is referred to as:

• Question 24

Communications difficulties because of different languages are examples of which of the following environmental factors?

• Question 25

 

The growing presence of the Russian Mafia has discouraged many foreign firms from setting up operations in the former Soviet Union. This is an example of which of the following environmental factors?

Performance Task Analysis- Summative Assessment Preparation

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Performance Task Analysis- Summative Assessment Preparation

This week’s assignment requires you to make connections between our course learning outcomes, what you observe from a highly effective source known as Smarter Balanced, and how you can apply what you’ve learned to your own instructional practice. You will first spend some time analyzing the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium website to inform your response. The following must be done before constructing your assignment:

  • View Introduction to Smarter Balanced item and performance task development PowerPoint. Be sure to view the comments list.
  • Read the Frequently asked questions on the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium website
  • Take some time to peruse the various sample items and corresponding rubrics (when applicable) by selecting “View More Sample Items” at the top of the Consortium screen.
  • Guided exploration: Analyze the Grandma Ruth 6th grade writing performance task and its corresponding rubric.

To find the rubric in part “d”, view the “About this item” tab at the top. Note the “Claim” for the assignment (aligns with standard) and the “Target” (objectives and sub-objectives align with Depth of Knowledge [DOK]).
Directions: Use the provided template to complete your analysis of what you learned from Smarter Balanced. Ultimately, you will evaluate how what you observe relates to our course learning outcomes regarding Learning and Assessment for the 21st century. You must include:

  • Column 1:  All six Course Learning Outcomes (CLO) including numbers and descriptions.
  • Column 2: At least one specific example of what you observed from Smarter Balanced that aligns with the corresponding Course Learning Outcome (CLO).
  • Column 3: Describe how the course learning outcome and coordinating evidence from Smarter Balanced can support you in your own construction of assessments.

See the example below (may not reproduce content):

CLO

(All six course learning outcomes should be included in column 1)

 Evidence from Smarter Balanced

 (description and explanation including where found )

 Self-Reflection

 (Personal connection & how the CLO and evidence from Smarter Balanced may help you construct high qualityassessments)
1. Assess individual and group performance through use of established criteria for student mastery (including rubrics) in order to design instruction to meet learners’ needs in each area of development (cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical). Rubrics are constructed with established criteria following cognitive levels of Depth Knowledge

6th Grade Writing sample rubric

 It was interesting to see both cognitive and content components represented in the rubrics. This shows me how I can succinctly design my own rubrics to include a more rigorous, yet explicit criteria.
2    
3    
4    
5    
6

When considering the evidence from Smarter Balanced, think about what you’ve learned and practiced thus far concerning alignment between standards, objectives, instructional delivery, student doing and thinking, rigor, and formative and summative assessment.

The information in your table should demonstrate your critical reading and thinking as you analyzed the recommended links in this site. The evidence you share should be succinct, yet descriptive enough to show a connection was made between the course learning outcome and the evidence you discovered. You’ll want to complete the template by moving across from CLO1 in column 1 to the evidence from Smarter Balance that supports CLO1, and then to column 2 – how what you learned from column 1 and column 2 will support you in the creation of your own assessments. The sample you see in the table above provides a brief example only.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

 

Congressional Aide

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ETHC 445 Principles of Ethics – DeVry

 

ETHC 445 Week 7 DQ 1 Business Ethics & the Hovercraft Debacle

This week, we looked at two more ethical codes—one for the Project Management Institute, and one for Engineers.
(Find links to these professional codes in the Week 7 Assignment tab along with the Week 7 readings.)

You can see that both of them are much simpler than the Legal code we looked at last week, and even simpler than the Medical code of ethics. Appropriate professional behavior, practice, and discipline varies among professions and reflects the needs and values of the professional society in question.

Let’s then assume professional roles as we work on this fictional scenario:

It’s 2020, and General Foryota Company opens a plant in which to build a new mass-produced hover-craft. This hover-craft will work using E-85 Ethanol, will travel up to 200 mph, and will reduce pollution worldwide at a rate of 10 percent per year. It is likely that when all automobiles in the industrial world have been changed over to hovercrafts, emission of greenhouse gasses may be so reduced that global warming may end and air quality will become completely refreshed.

However, the downside is that during the transition time, GFC’s Hover-Vee (only available in red or black), will most likely put all transportation as we know it in major dissaray. Roadways will no longer be necessary, but new methods of controlling traffic will be required. Further, while the old version of cars are still being used, Hover-vee’s will cause accidents, parking issues, and most likely class envy and warfare. The sticker price on the first two models will be about four times that of the average SUV (to about $200,000.) Even so, GFC’s marketing futurists have let them know that they will be able to pre-sell their first three years of expected production, with a potential waiting list which will take between 15 and 20 years to fill.

The Chief Engineer of GFC commissions a study on potential liabilities for the Hover-vees. The preliminary result is that Hover-vees will likely kill or maim humans at an increased rate of double to triple over automobile travel because of collisions and crashes at high speeds — projected annual death rates of 100,000 to 200,000. However, global warming will end, and the environment will flourish.

The U. S. Government gets wind of the plans. Congress begins to discuss the rules on who can own and operate Hover-vees. GFC’s stock skyrockets. The Chief Engineer takes the results of the study to the Chief Legal Counsel, and together they agree to bury the study, going forward with the production plans. The Chief Project Manager, who has read the study and agreed to bury it, goes ahead and plans out the project for the company, with target dates and production deadlines.

Our class is a team of young lawyers, project managers, engineers, and congressional aides who are all part of the process of helping get this project off the ground. In fact, according to the first letter of your last name, you are the following team:

A-G: Attorney on the GFC team
H-N: Project Manager on the GFC team
0-S: Engineer on the GFC team
T-Z: Congressional Aide

Somebody sent a secret copy of the report to you at your home address. It has no information in it at all, except for the report showing the proof of the increase in accidents and deaths. The report shows, on its face, that the CLO, CE, CPM, and your Congressional Representative have seen copies of this report. On the front there are these words typed in red: They knew — they buried this. Please save the world!

Each of you feel a very loyal tie to your boss and your company/country. You all have mortgages, and families to feed. It is likely if you blow the whistle on this report, you will lose your job and your livelihood. You’re not even sure who wrote the study in your envelope or who actually sent it to you.

Now to the task at hand:
Utilizing your profession’s code of ethics, what would be your first step? Who would you talk to first? Would you go to the press? Would you go to your boss? Should you do anything at all?

 

What’s your first step? To whom do you speak first? What about the press? Your boss? What if you do nothing?

 

ETHC 445 Week 7 DQ 2 Assemble and Test Your Personal Ethics Statement

Please be sure to read the Week Seven Lecture in its entirety before posting to this discussion.

This week we will work on creating your own statement of personal ethics.
To get started, read summarizing review of our great and famous ethics and what they have taught us — found in our lecture this week.

Then, let’s work on creating one for you.

Your goal for the end of this thread is to have created a personal ethical philosophy and be able to tell your classmates from which philosophies you created it and why the contents are important and meaningful for you. List its precepts. (You will need to do this on the Final Exam.)

After you have assembled and posted your personal ethics statement, responded to what others may have said to you and thought about what you have posted to others, then take your statement and use it to work through the famous case of the Ring of Gyges.

One of the great examples of ethics and morals in all of literature comes from Plato who wrote about the Ring of Gyges in
The Republic, Book II, starting at paragraph 359a.
For those who wish to read the whole story, it is in the Doc Sharing tab and here is a link to the story — Ring of Gyges.

The story goes that Gyges was a shepherd in the service of the King. In a most unusual circumstance he came upon a dead man, removed the man’s ring, and discovered that it made him invisible. He conspired to take the periodic report of the shepherds to the King — once there he seduced the Queen and eventually took control of the Kingdom by conspiring with the Queen. Plato continues the story:

“Suppose now that there were two such magic rings, and the just put on one of them and the unjust the other; no man can be imagined to be of such an iron nature that he would stand fast in justice. No man would keep his hands off what was not his own when he could safely take what he liked out of the market, or go into houses and lie with any one at his pleasure, or kill or release from prison whom he would, and in all respects be like a God among men. Then the actions of the just would be as the actions of the unjust; they would both come at last to the same point. And this we may truly affirm to be a great proof that a man is just, not willingly or because he thinks that justice is any good to him individually, but of necessity, for wherever any one thinks that he can safely be unjust, there he is unjust. For all men believe in their hearts that injustice is far more profitable to the individual than justice, and he who argues as I have been supposing, will say that they are right.”

This story raises up the question of what sanctions prevent people from just taking any liberties they are inclined to take.
The whole subject of ethics, seen in large scale, is that of accepting and living under moral standards.

 

1. Using YOUR personal ethical statement that you have created, what would you do if you had that second ring?
2. What else within this course helps in responding to this fictitious situation or in explaining it?
3. Respond to your classmates’ posts. Are they holding true to their own personal ethical philosophies in their resolutions of this dilemma?