Big History Website Guide 2013

8/13/2019 Big History Website Guide 2013

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BIG HISTORY PROJECT / WEB GUIDE 1

WEB GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS

Home page: bighistoryproject.com .......................................................................................................... 1

Syllabus Page ......................................................................................................................................... 2

Two ways to view the course .................................................................................................................. 4

Unit View ............................................................................................................................................. 4

Lesson View ........................................................................................................................................ 4

Unit Content View .................................................................................................................................... 4

Content modules ................................................................................................................................. 5

Lesson summaries .............................................................................................................................. 6

Content Types ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Lesson View ............................................................................................................................................ 8

Teacher Console ...................................................................................................................................10

Add Periods .......................................................................................................................................10

Analytics Dashboard .............................................................................................................................13

Assessments .........................................................................................................................................13

Unit Quiz ............................................................................................................................................13

Course Test .......................................................................................................................................13

Investigations ....................................................................................................................................14Profile ....................................................................................................................................................14

BHP Community ....................................................................................................................................14

Contribute to the community .............................................................................................................15

Getting Help ..........................................................................................................................................15

Welcome to the Big History Project. This guide will get you up and running with the course website.

Refer back to this document whenever you need a refresher. For full details on teaching the course,

refer to the Teaching Big History document. First, lets walk through the pages of the site.

Home page: bighistoryproject.com

The home page of the site is your first entry into the course. Here you can learn about the benefits of

the Big History Project (BHP), watch some informative videos, and get a sense of what it will be like to

teach the course. If you dont already have BHP credentials, simply fill out the Registration form. A

password will be emailed to you. If you do already have credentials for the course, log in by clicking

the SIGN IN button, and type in your email address and BHP password.


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Syllabus Page

After you log in tohttp://www.bighistoryproject.com with your teacher credentials, the Syllabus will be

your home page for the course. If you want to link directly to the syllabus, the URL is

http://course.bighistoryproject.com.The syllabus shows you all ten units in the course, arranged on a

timeline. The Thresholds of Increasing Complexity are called out at their respective points on that

timeline.

You can roll over each unit to see information about it, including a brief description, number of content

items, and number of lessons contained in the unit.

Clicking on any point in the timeline will take you the content view for that unit. You can also jump to

any unit in the course using the Units drop-down menu in the top navigation bar.

Click hereto sign in

Click here to registerfor the first time
http://www.bighistoryproject.com/http://course.bighistoryproject.com/http://course.bighistoryproject.com/http://www.bighistoryproject.com/


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Several links are available in the navigation bar on the Syllabus and every other page:

Console- Your management home for the course

Your Name- This drop-down menu includes links to:

Profile

Presentation Modethe version of the page that students see

Sign-out

Helpoptions for registered teachers:

Communitythe place to collaborate with other teachers on course ideas, and the central spot for

program information from the BHP team. You can also reach the Community page from the

Console.

Course Helpan email link that you can use to send BHP-related course questions to a group of

curriculum developers,

Tech Help- through which you can email our technical wizards.

Aboutinformation about the program

Terms of Use

FAQ- a quick troubleshooting guide that you may want to consult before emailing tech help.

Roll over units tosee details

Teacher consoleThe NAMEmenuJump to any unitfrom any page

GetHelp Search


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Searcha text-entry field where you and your students can search for a term. Results will show you

available glossary definitions and where in the course that topic appears.

Two ways to view the course

There are two different ways to view the content of the course.

Unit View

Each unit has its own page, and on each of those pages content items such as videos, articles,

investigations, and activities are grouped together by topic. We call this the la carte method to

move through a unit, and its optimized for teachers who prefer to create their own lessons or simply

want to jump directly to a specific piece of content.

Unit View is roughly the same for teachers and students, though teachers get a bit more contextualinformation for each piece of content.

Lesson View

Those groups of content items shown in the unit view each have an accompanying lesson plan, and

those lessons are the other way to interact with the course. The lessons are designed to give

teachers guidance for structuring a course period that makes use of the content items, activities, and

readings associated with that topic. There are between 5 and 8 lessons per unit.

Lesson View gives teachers guidance that can help to facilitate lessons with their classes. The

student view provides instructions and context for each content item. Remember that teachers can

always see what the students see by choosing Presentation Mode in the HELP menu.

Now that you know the different ways of working with the content in the course, lets take a look at

each one in detail.

Unit Content View

The Unit view shows you all of the content in the unit, arranged in rows, where numbered rows are

Lessons. Each unit begins with some context-setting materials, such as Threshold Cards, Activities,

and overview videos.

A Unit Overview is accessible from the up/down arrow on the right side. You can collapse it to give

you more room on the screen.


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Content modules

When you click on any content item youll see a window pop up that contains information about thatitem, along with a set of actions you can take. Students and teachers see a description and options to

open (play) the item, download it, open an associated notebook, or download a transcript. Options

vary depending on the content type (video, article, image, etc.). Teachers will see an attached window

to the right that provides additional guidance for using the content item in the classroom.

Click to show/hide unitoverview

Each numberedrow is a lesson

Teaching guide, textreader, and slides forthe unit

Options forcontent

Teacherguidance

Lessonsummary

Clickthroughto lesson


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Lesson summaries

Youve seen how the Unit View arranges items in rows, and that each of those rows comprises alesson. We define a lesson as the context for and structure of content items. They include

suggestions of steps to take with your class in a class period, but they are not prescriptive: use what

works for you.

When you click through to Lesson, you are taken to a dedicated page that includes context for the

lesson, concepts covered, and lesson steps.

Content Types

Now is a good time to describe the types of content youll work with in the course. Each content type

is represented by its own thumbnail image.

Thumbnail Type Description

Activity Activitiesare woven into every unit and everylesson and offer a variety of different ways forstudents to learn, experience, practice, and testconcepts covered in the course.

Article A text-based document such as biographies,historical accounts, and

Community Link to the Community site, where teachers canshare lessons, and content with each other, anddownload course materials.

Concept Card Several concepts in the course get the glossaryplus treatment in Concept Cards. They ask andanswer: What is it? Why is it important? How do weknow about it?

Glossary Definitions of important terms in a course unit.


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Glossary Challenge Students can take the glossary challenge to testtheir understanding of vocabulary terms in a unit.

Infographic Infographicsare included in many units tographically represent key concepts. Zoom in toreveal detail.

Investigation Investigations are inquiry-based activities that helpstudents frame some of the big issues tackled in

each unit.

Investigation writing The online form that students can use to completethe writing portion of the Investigation.

PBL Activity Activities aligned to Problem Based Learning, amethod of instruction that has students take part inan extended inquiry around a complex question,problem, or challenge.

Student Survey A series of questions for students that helps usunderstand their perceptions of the course.

Teacher Survey Questions for teachers about perceptions of andexperience teaching the course.

Teaching guide Each unit includes a guide to provide teachers withideas and resources for teaching the content in theunit.


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Test key The answer key for unit tests, visible to teachersonly

Unit log Teachers complete a log in each unit to share whatwent well, which content items were helpful or not,and what they would do differently the next timearound.

Unit PPT slides Many teachers use PowerPoint to present BHPinformation. Each unit contains a PPT presentationthat you can use or modify for the classroom.

Unit quiz Teachers can assign an online quiz to students ineach unit to test for understanding.

Unit test Teachers direct students to take 4 concept

assessments in the course. They are a mix of

identifications, short answers, and released

items from national and state tests in World

History, Geography, Biology, Chemistry, andEarth Science.

Unit text reader In every unit, the text-based articles are gatheredinto one downloadable reader file for easy printingand offline reading.

Video Each unit has at least one main video talk by DavidChristian, supplemented by a variety of guest talksand/or animations. Teachers will also have accessto teaching big history videos

Lesson View

Lessons include the same content items that you saw in rows in the Unit View. They are repeated

here with additional context, such as how to present the item, and suggestions for leading discussions

about it with your class.


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Lesson Contextframes the lesson for you and your students.

Conceptsare the key terms that will be defined in the course. Click the down arrow next to each toreveal the definition.

Lesson stepspresent a suggested order for working through the material.

Downloadthe lesson

Key terms inthis lesson

Suggested stepsfor working withcontent items

Content itemsappear inline


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Just like the Unit content view, each content item displays a content module when you click on the

thumbnail. The module provides more information about that content item and displays options fordownloading the item and seeing related materials.

Teacher Console

The teacher console is your home for course management. Here youll set up class periods, reveal

and hide quizzes and tests for your students, complete teacher logs and surveys, read messages

from the BHP team, and access additional resources.

When you first visit the teacher console, only two modules will be active: BHP messages and

resources.

Add Periods

Your first task is to set up a class period. Click on Add Period on the console page. You can enter

names one at a time, upload a .csv file, or paste in a list of email addresses. Email will be sent to

each student with login information and passwords.

Get to the consolefrom the nav bar

Red number indicatesnew messages

Set up classperiods

Teachingresources


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Class period options:

Add studentby individual name/email, or with a list of email addresses

Print list of students

Delete periodremove a period and start over, or delete at the end of your school year.

Once you have a period set up, new options will be revealed on the Console. Well go through each

section one by one.

Add student names

one at a time

Or add a list of studentemail addresses


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Class lists: a list of all of the students youve added to each period, alo ng with their email addresses

and site passwords.

Unit logs: complete and submit teacher logs for each unit. Indicators show which logs youve

completed.

Unit quizzesshow or hide quizzes for each unit. The green checkmark indicates that the student

has access to that quiz from their view of the course site. When you click on that box to grey out the

option, the quiz is hidden from a students view. Well discuss quizzes and other assessments in more

detail below.


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Course testsTurn on or off each of the 3 concept assessments for students. Green checkmarks

mean that a student can access the test from their view of the course.

Teacher surveyscomplete surveys at the start of your school year, at the mid-point, and at the

end. The BHP team will send out reminders. Green checks display after you complete the survey.

Red symbols mean they are overdue.

Student feedbackturn on or off the 3 surveys that students will take over the year. Green checks

mean that the survey is available for them to complete in the student view of the course.

Analytics Dashboard

For each class period you can view information about how your students are interacting with the

course, including their use of content items, whether theyve taken the quizzes you assigned, and ifthey completed surveys. The Analytics Dashboard starts filling with data as your students interact with

the course site, so its only accessible after your periods are set up. Get to it from the Analytics button

on the Period panel.

Assessments

Youve seen that you can reveal or hide unit quizzes and course tests from the Console . Lets have a

look at each one.

Unit Quiz

At the end of each unit, students can take a quiz online to test their knowledge. Students receive a

score on the quiz immediately, and those results are tallied and displayed on the Analytics Dashboard

for each period. Students also have the option to download, print, and complete the quiz on paper.

Course Test

At the beginning, mid-point, and end of the course, students can take a more comprehensive conceptassessment online. These tests gauge student understanding and use of the core concepts. The

concept assessments are a mix of identifications, short answers, and released items from national

and state tests in World History, Geography, Biology, Chemistry, and Earth Science. Results are

again evaluated and tallied in your Analytics Dashboard. Students can see results from their own

tests and quizzes on their Profile page.


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The Community site is arranged in a few different ways so you can quickly find what you need.

Program foldersgeneral program support for teachers and administrators, including teacher

preparation resources, BHP marketing and press, assessments, and program management message

from the BHP team.

Unit foldersfind and share lessons for specific units of the course. Youll find the teaching guide for

each unit here as well.

Cluster folderseach US school in the managed program (and all of Australia) is part of a

geographic cluster. If youre looking for guidance that is particular to a region or state, or if youd like

to connect with educators nearby, start with your applicable cluster.

Contribute to the community

Collaboration can be a boon for teachers, particularly those new to Big History. If you have an idea for

a lesson or activity add it to the community site. Its also a great place to share examples of student

work, or presentations youve created. You can add items to the Community site by clicking on the

Add Something buttons in each of the unit and cluster folders.

Getting Help

We hope that youre excited todive in to Big History. If you need help along the way, there are

several resources available:

The full course guide: Teaching Big History Guidance from a BHP teacher: Teaching Big History videos

Resources section in the Teacher Console

If you still have more questions:

For technical assistance, [email protected]

For course help, [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

Documents

Big History Website Guide 2013