Navigating an IRIS STAR Legacy Module

Transcript: Navigating an IRIS STAR Legacy Module

In this video, we’ll be learning about the navigation features of the IRIS STAR Legacy Modules, which are based on the adult learning theory research of John Bransford and his colleagues.

Currently, we’re on the IRIS Resource Locator, or IRL, with items sorted by module so we can see the title, summary, and estimated completion time for each module. To access a module, click on the title to go to the module’s landing page, where you’ll see the STAR Legacy Cycle graphic with additional resources below, including a fillable note-taking form that you can access by clicking on the purple Module Outline box. Looking at the left-hand navigation bar, you’ll notice the five main module sections that correspond with the STAR Legacy Cycle graphic: Challenge, Initial Thoughts, Perspectives & Resources, Wrap Up, and Assessment.

We’ve incorporated some Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, features into the navigation system by giving you multiple ways to navigate through a module. You can explore modules by clicking on the icons within the STAR Legacy Cycle graphic, by clicking on the navigation links along the top or on the left-hand side, or by clicking on the Begin button at the bottom of the page—which I’ll use now.

The Challenge page includes a video that depicts a typical classroom or school-based scenario followed by a set of questions. This video features closed-captioning and full-screen options. You can also access the Challenge transcript with and without images. Notice that as you navigate through the module, you can track your progress by looking at the color-coded indicators within the top and left-hand side navigation bars, which you can see change as we move to the Initial Thoughts section.

The Initial Thoughts page reintroduces the questions posed at the end of the Challenge video, which learners can use to reflect on what they already know, or think they know, about the situation.

When you enter the Perspectives & Resources section—which provides the “meat” of the module—you’ll notice that the landing page contains the learning objectives for the module and the professional standards that the content addresses. Notice that the Initial Thoughts questions appear in the left navigation bar along with the Perspectives & Resources pages that address each question. As we scroll further down, you will now see a page-by-page navigation option, which I am going to use to proceed to page 1.

IRIS Modules contain useful instructional features, including background information, research highlights, easy-to-understand explanations, and expert and practitioner interviews. The information in the module is carefully scaffolded, so the pages are meant to be worked through chronologically. Because of this, we do not recommend skipping around.

Now, contradicting what I just said, I am going to use the page-by-page navigation option at the bottom to skip to another page to show you some other module components that people love, such as our videos of teachers implementing strategies with fidelity and our interactive activities.

After you have finished the Perspectives & Resources section, you can continue to the Wrap Up page. This page summarizes the information from the Perspectives & Resources section and asks learners to reflect on their answers from the Initial Thoughts page now that they’ve completed the module.

Lastly, we have the Assessment page where learners must demonstrate knowledge or skill acquisition. But learners can always return to the Perspectives & Resources section to solidify their understanding of module concepts.

If you click the Next button at the bottom of the Assessment page, you’ll have access to a few more helpful features. Here you have the option to provide feedback. Note that the feedback survey can also be accessed at any point throughout the module using the link below the left-hand navigation bar. We review this feedback weekly to make adjustments to the site and our modules as needed. Additionally, you can explore further professional development opportunities and earn a certificate if one’s available. And if you scroll further down the page, you can learn more about related information or dig deeper into the content by accessing resources on our Wraparound Content Maps.

You have the option to view all pages in full-screen mode by clicking on the Double Arrow icon in the top right corner, and if you scroll to the bottom of the page, you’ll notice that you can print each page by clicking on the Print icon. You can also save them as PDF documents by clicking here. Because we are constantly tweaking and updating content, we suggest going to the live site for the most current information, rather than referring to older print versions.

This ends our module navigation tour. Thank you for watching this video. We hope you find these resources helpful in your current and future work.