Teacher Information Page

What is an iAdventure?	An iAdventure is an interactive site designed to have students research certain pieces of information by visiting other web sites in order to make informed decisions about various dilemmas presented.
Content Covered	This iAdventure is designed for a Computer Applications I or II high school course over the topic of Careers and Brochures. This has been designed to be an entire unit made into one large project.
Grade Level	9-12 Computer Applications I or II
Time	10-13, 50 minutes classes
Resources	Preferably one computer per student, but could work in pairs *Must be connected to the Internet. One question sheet per state (total of six per student), one travel log per student, pencil or pen, disks or CD's to save information on, publishing software (such as Microsoft Publisher).

Background Information The opening story line of this iAdventure introduces the students to Jason, a Marketing Department employee of Travel America Travel Agency. Jason has just learned of a brochure contest that Ms. Big Wig, the president of the company, has announced. Each Marketing Department employee must create three brochures (which the students will be "helping" him with), each of a different destination, for a romantic but low budget vacation that a couple could take within one two-week period.

In order to create authentic brochures, each employee must actually plan and go on this vacation, taking their spouse (or significant other) along. Jason has to draw two states from a hat to research and decide which one to go to for his and his wife's first destination. After he decides which one they will go to first, he draws two more states to research and decide upon and so on until all three destinations are chosen.

The students are to research each state using the links provided and decide which one Jason and Courtney will go to and which city they will visit while they are there. The students must also fill out a question sheet to help them find relevant information on each web site and a travel log to list where Jason and Courtney will stay, what transportation they will use, where they will visit, where they will eat, and all costs, while at each destination. The students must also gather pictures from each web site (for their chosen destination, not every location) to use on "Jason's" brochures at the end of this iAdventure.

After each student (or pair) has decided which state and city Jason and Courtney will go to, and they have filled out all information and found all the pictures they need, they will click on the link for the state they chose at the bottom of the page. This will lead them to another page that tells them which two states Jason has drawn for his second or third destination choices and provide them with the links necessary to research those states (each subsequent page has different states to choose from). Once the decision for the third destination has been made and that link is chosen, further research links are provided so that Jason and Courtney can find transportation for their trip back to Kansas City.

Once students have proceeded to the conclusion page, they will be given directions as to their final projects, which is the three brochures that Jason is to create for his brochure contest. Details, a rubric, and an example for these brochures are given.

*Side note: All research links open a new page. Once the students are finished researching that link, they only have to close that window and they will automatically be back on the page in the iAdventure they were working on.

Site Map

Teacher Information Page
(You are here)

Travel America

Opening Story.
Jason's Dilemma: Should he choose Arizona or
New Mexico as his first destination?

Jason has chosen Arizona. Now should he choose California or Nevada as his second destination?

Jason has chosen New Mexico. Now should he choose Colorado or Texas as his second destination?

Jason has chosen California. Now should he choose Oregon or Montana as his third destination?

Jason has chosen Nevada. Now should he choose Idaho or Utah as his third destination?

Jason has chosen Colorado. Now should he choose Wyoming or South Dakota as his third destination?

Jason has chosen Texas. Now should he choose Oklahoma or Kansas as his third destination?

Jason has chosen Oregon. Now he must find transportation home to KC.

Jason has chosen Montana. Now he must find transportation home to KC.

Jason has chosen Idaho. Now he must find transportation home to KC.

Jason has chosen Utah. Now he must find transportation home to KC.

Jason has chosen Wyoming. Now he must find transportation home to KC.

Jason has chosen South Dakota. Now he must find transportation home to KC.

Jason has chosen Oklahoma. Now he must find transportation home to KC.

Jason has chosen Kansas. Now he must find transportation home to KC.

Conclusion

Recommendations for teaching this unit: I would recommend that this unit be taught as follows:
Class 1- Introduction of iAdventure concept and iAdventure itself. Go over opening story page and fully explain details.
Class 2- Research first destination choices and make decision.
Class 3- For Computer Apps I, conduct introductory lesson on how to create brochures (this lesson is not included considering not everyone has the same publishing software). For Computer Apps II, conduct a review lesson on how to create brochures.
Class 4- Research second destination choices and make decision.
Class 5- Further lessons on creating brochures or catch up on research if some students did not finish any of the first two levels.
Class 6- Research third destination choices and make decision.
Class 7- Research wrap up and full explanation of brochure project (expectations, etc.)
Class 8-12 (if needed)- Creation of three brochures with final turn in on Class 13.
*Please keep in mind, these are only recommendations.
*Since this unit is set up with the premise of a "contest", do not forget to find some way to reward the student(s) with the best brochures (how this is judged is totally up to you) and the lowest budget (with quality kept in mind).

MO Show-Me Standards: Goal 1:
2. Conduct research to answer questions and evaluate information and ideas.
4. Use technological tools and other resources to locate, select, and organize information.
5. Comprehend and evaluate written, visual, and oral presentations and works.
6. Discover and evaluate patterns and relationships in information, ideas, and structures.
7. Evaluate the accuracy of information and the reliability of its sources.
8. Organize data, information and ideas into useful forms (including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation.
10. Apply acquired information, ideas, and skills to different contexts as students, workers, citizens, and consumers.

Goal 2:
1. Plan and make written, oral, and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences.
3. Exchange information, questions, and ideas while recognizing the perspectives of others.
5. Perform or produce works in the fine and practical arts.
7. Use technological tools to exchange information and ideas.

Goal 3:
1. Identify problems and define their scope and elements.
4. Evaluate the processes used in recognizing and solving problems.
5. Reason inductively from a set of specific facts and deductively from general premises.
6. Examine problems and proposed solutions from multiple perspectives.

Goal 4:
1. Explain reasoning and identify information used to support decisions.
4. Recognize and practice honesty and integrity in academic work and in the workplace.
6. Identify tasks that require a coordinated effort and work with others to complete those tasks. (If working in pairs)
8. Explore, prepare for and seek educational and job opportunities.

MO Business Education Competencies:
Computer Business Applications B. Execute Basic Computer Operations
1. Use system utilities.
2. Use program interface (e.g., menu items, toolbars, dialog boxes).
3. Manage files.
6. Transfer files.
7. Identify resources to obtain assistance (e.g., Help menu, software manual, Web site).
10. Demonstrate proper network user procedures and protocol (e.g., logging on, saving to network).
12. Identify file formats and extensions.

F. Apply Desktop Publishing Principles
2. Produce documents using text and graphics.
3. Create and edit page layouts.
4. Manipulate graphics.
5. Demonstrate input of data from various sources (e.g., Web, scanner, digital camera).
6. Apply design and layout principles to publications.
7. Set print specifications.

H. Explore the Internet
1. Demonstrate correct use of Internet terminology.
3. Demonstrate principal usages of the Internet (e.g., search, locating URLs).
5. Identify copyright principles (e.g., public domain, copy protection, licensing).
6. Evaluate Internet resources.

Resources needed for this unit: Preferably one computer per student, but could work in pairs *Must be connected to the Internet. One question sheet per state (total of six per student), one travel log per student (the purpose of which is for the lowest budget contest), pencil or pen, disks or CD's to save information on, publishing software (such as Microsoft Publisher).

Description of final product: The students will create three tri-fold (six panel) brochures (based on the options available on Microsoft Publisher 2003), one for each location they decided Jason and Courtney would visit.

Each brochure will ultimately showcase the city each student (or pair) chose for Jason and Courtney to visit in each state. However, some aspect of all the information asked for on the question sheets should be included in each brochure.

Below is a checklist of the minimum requirements for each brochure. There is also a rubric to guide the scoring of the brochures. There is 50 points possible for each brochure and they should be scored individually. Remember to also add points (I'm using 50) for participation and for filling out all questions sheets and the travel log correctly to the final score.

Checklist for Brochures: Click on this link for an example of a brochure.
Cover Panel:
-Some type of logo for Travel America.
-The name of the city and state being showcased.
-One "slogan" or saying for that city (if the city does not have one, create one).
-One picture from the city, an attraction located there, or an event that is held there.
-One web site address for that city if available.

Inside Panels:
-Most important information about the city such as: historical information, attractions available, restaurants, accommodations, etc.
-At least one web site and/or phone number for any of the above information per panel.
-One picture (pertaining to the information presented) per panel.
-One caption for each picture.
-At least three headings for the three inside panels (does not matter where they are placed, as long as there are three).

Back Panel:
-One heading telling about the information presented there.
-Recommendations on airlines, car rental companies, and/or accommodations for that area.
-Up to two web site addresses for these companies.

Bottom Panel (or very back panel):
-One heading ("Other places to visit" is recommended).
-Listing of other cities and attractions available to visit in that state.
-Up to two web site addresses for these cities and/or attractions.
-Near the bottom, a smaller version of your Travel America logo, its address and phone numbers (it does not matter what address and numbers you use as long as the information is there).

Brochure Scoring Rubric: Each brochure evaluated individually.

Overall Appearance
	Beginning	Developing	Accomplished	Score
Overall Visual Appeal	0 points Little thought to layout, flow is non consistent, fonts and/or colors are uninteresting, point sizes are same throughout.	3 points Some thought to layout, flow is somewhat consistent, fonts and/or colors are somewhat interesting, point sizes are somewhat varied.	6 points Layout is well thought out, flow is consistent, fonts and/or colors are extremely interesting, points sizes vary greatly and are appropriate for text being presented.
Images	0 points Images are not appropriate to the content, are not clear and do not enhance the appeal of the location.	2 points Images are somewhat appropriate to the content, are somewhat clear, and mildly enhance the appeal of the location.	4 points Images are extremely appropriate for the content, are crisp and clear, and fully enhance the appeal of the location.
Format	0 points Does not appeal to the correct audience, does not reflect any time or thought into the project, ideas are not organized.	2 points Somewhat appealing to the correct audience, some time and thought into project is reflected, ideas are somewhat organized.	4 points Appeals to the correct audience, much time and thought into project reflected, ideas well organized and clear.
Professionalism	0 points Has an extremely amateur appearance, images are not placed appropriately, "cartoonish" in nature.	2 points Appearance is starting to look professional, some images are placed appropriately, less "cartoonish" in nature.	4 points Professional appearance (one that a travel agency might use), images are placed appropriately, not cartoonish in nature.
Content
Cover Panel	0 points Does not contain any of the five criteria listed, text is not appropriate to situation, overall appearance is poor.	2 points Contains some of the five criteria listed, text somewhat appropriate to situation, overall appearance is middle-of-the-road.	4 points Contains all of the five criteria listed, text is appropriate to situation, overall appearance is excellent.
Inside Panels	0 points Does not contain any of the five criteria listed, text is not appropriate to situation, overall appearance is poor.	2 points Contains some of the five criteria listed, text somewhat appropriate to situation, overall appearance is middle-of-the-road.	4 points Contains all of the five criteria listed, text is appropriate to situation, overall appearance is excellent.
Back Panel	0 points Does not contain any of the three criteria listed, text is not appropriate to situation, overall appearance is poor.	2 points Contains some of the three criteria listed, text somewhat appropriate to situation, overall appearance is middle-of-the-road.	4 points Contains all of the three criteria listed, text is appropriate to situation, overall appearance is excellent.
Bottom Panel	0 points Does not contain any of the three criteria listed, text is not appropriate to situation, overall appearance is poor.	2 points Contains some of the three criteria listed, text somewhat appropriate to situation, overall appearance is middle-of-the-road.	4 points Contains all of the three criteria listed, text is appropriate to situation, overall appearance is excellent.
Style
Meaning and Ideas	0 points Important ideas are not explained clearly.	2 points Important ideas are somewhat clear.	4 points Important ideas are clear.
Voice and Audience	0 points The writing is not directed to a specific audience and does not use appropriate language for that audience.	2 points The writing is somewhat directed to a specific audience and uses some appropriate language for that audience.	4 points The writing is directed to a specific audience and uses appropriate language for that audience.
Clarity-word choice and sentence structure	0 points The writing does not reflect attention to word choice; words are not used appropriately; sentences do not vary in length, structure, and beginnings are all similar.	2 points The writing somewhat reflects attention to word choice; some words are used appropriately; some sentences vary in length, structure, and most beginnings are not similar.	4 points The writing reflects attention to word choice; words are used appropriately; sentences vary in length, structure, and beginnings.
Conventions	0 points Spelling, punctuation, and grammar are not correct; writing is not well organized.	2 points Some spelling, punctuation, and grammar are correct; some writing is well organized.	4 points Spelling, punctuation, and grammar are correct; writing is well organized.
Total Score				/50

Here is an example brochure. The first page is the cover, back, and bottom panels. The second page is the three inside panels.

The iAdventure concept was developed in the Warrensburg, MO school district, as part of the "Learning with iAdventures" program. This program was adapted for CMSU's MAT program. For more information on iAdventures, visit the Warrensburg School District's iAdventure Home Page.