8 Image Descriptions
Image Description: Renewable Assignments
Outlines the five characteristics of renewable assignments, which can be applied individually to assignment design or combined in various ways. Assignments can be considered more or less renewable depending on how many of the following characteristics are incorporated. First, Incorporate Feedback. Examples would be students getting feedback from the teacher or classmates, and revising the work before final submission, or the teacher asking students for feedback on the assignment or on any challenges or barriers to completing the assignment. Second, Provide Options. Examples would be students’ opportunities to choose what kind of learning object they create, what tools they use, or how it is presented, demonstrated, or submitted, or teachers providing students with an alternative assignment option or the ability to opt out of specific components. Third, encourage ownership. Examples include students choosing or creating topics they feel strongly about, personalizing the issues in a meaningful way, or a teacher asking students to contribute to assignment design. Fourth, Have Value Beyond Knowledge, examples would be assignments where students not only demonstrate learning, but also gain skills in collaboration, problem solving, or use of tools and platforms. Fifth, Are Shared With Others, examples would be students contributing to development or revision of open educational resources (or OER) course materials that will be published, contributing to future knowledge and learning of upcoming students, or asking students to work in public spaces (for example Wikipedia or social media, and thereby donating their expertise to the community.
Image Description: Audience Engagement
A graph demonstrating how different assignment examples rate for student agency and creativity. Along the X axis is a range of assignment types, beginning with traditional assignments on the far left, which are only relevant until the assignment is turned in and graded. Next are authentic assignments which involve realistic problem solving and opportunities for feedback and revision. Next are constructive assignments, which are directly tied to learning outcomes and assessments. And on the far right are renewable assignments, right where students intentionally create something for use beyond the class. Along the Y axis are three levels of audience engagement, from one-on-one where the assignment is seen only by the instructor and perhaps members of the class, through publicly available in the middle, and finally openly licensed to allow for anyone to retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute the work (what is known as the 5 Rs). Along the diagonal trajectory of the graph are the example assignment types running from less to more student agency and creativity.
Examples of traditional assignments with a one-on-one or classroom audience are writing assignments with little to no scaffolding and multiple-choice quizzes. Examples of authentic assignments with a potential public audience are developing a marketing plan for a company and drafting a syllabus or lesson plan. Examples of constructive assignments with a potential public audience are creating a model or creative interpretation of a method, process, etc. and holding a debate or public performance. Examples of renewable assignments with a public audience and ability for anyone to exercise the 5 Rs are writing a book chapter, creating ancillary materials for an open textbook, or contributing to or editing Wikipedia articles.
Image Description: Primary Sources
The image is a guide titled “Teacher’s Guide: Analyzing Primary Sources,” designed to help educators guide students through analyzing primary sources. The layout is divided into three main columns titled “Observe,” “Reflect,” and “Question,” each providing different strategies for engaging students.
The “Observe” section encourages students to identify and note details, offering sample questions like “What do you notice first?” and “What do you notice now that you didn’t earlier?”
The “Reflect” section guides students in generating and testing hypotheses about the source with questions like “Why do you think somebody made this?” and “What can you learn from examining this?”
The “Question” section focuses on prompting students to ask probing questions leading to more observations, with prompts like “What do you wonder about?”
At the bottom, under the heading “Further Investigation,” there’s advice on helping students identify questions for further investigation. It suggests follow-up activity ideas categorized by skill level: Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced. A note at the bottom mentions the Library of Congress website as a resource.
Image Description: Approaches to Knowledge and Creation Sharing
The image is an infographic titled “Approaches to Knowledge Creation and Sharing.” It features a beige textured background with a torn paper effect at the top. The header text is bold and black, and below it is an introductory paragraph explaining the significance of archives in preserving human knowledge through botanical understanding. Four circular images, each connected by arrows, are included:
- The Badianus Manuscript (1552) – The section highlights collaboration in knowledge creation, featuring a manuscript with Aztec illustrations translated into Latin. An image of botanical illustrations is included.
- Illustrated Edition of An Atlas and Annotated List of Vascular Plants of Arkansas (1978-1988) – Focuses on adaptation, indicating how botanical illustrations link scientific knowledge to public understanding. Includes a close-up of an atlas page.
- Bonar Field Notebook (1993-1998) – Describes creation by individual researchers, featuring an image of a field notebook with handwritten observations.
- Wikidata for Botanists – Highlights modern sharing, including data on botanists and botanical collections, illustrated by a network map diagram.
At the bottom, there’s a recommended citation for a source and Creative Commons licensing information.
