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 website home page. One way to access a module is to use the IRIS Resource Locator, or IRL. To get there, click on the Resources tab at the top and select IRIS Resource Locator. Using the IRL, you can search for modules in different ways. For example, you can search by topic or you can filter the resource type to show only modules. For each module entry, you will 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. These include a fillable note-taking form that you can download by clicking on the purple Module Outline box and supporting resources to help you dig deeper into the content, which you can access by clicking on the blue Wraparound Resources box. Additionally, for select modules such as this one, we offer certificates of completion. If available, you’ll notice a Professional Development Certificate link on the module’s landing page. To earn a certificate, click this link and follow the steps for completing the given module through our free professional development route instead of the open access website that we are currently viewing.

Looking at the left 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 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. Our Challenge videos feature closed-captioning and full-screen options. You can also access the Challenge transcript using the View Transcript link. Notice that as you navigate through the module, you can track your progress by looking at the color-coded indicators within the left navigation bar, 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 core content 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. Now, I’m going to click on the Next button at the bottom of the page to proceed to Page 1.

IRIS Modules contain useful instructional features, such as information that is chunked into bite-size pieces and conveyed through tables and bullets, research highlights, and expert and practitioner interviews. Because the module content is carefully scaffolded, the pages are meant to be worked through chronologically. Therefore, we do not recommend skipping around.

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

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 scroll to the bottom of the Assessment page, you’ll notice that if the module is part of a series, its corresponding module is linked at the bottom of this page. You will also see a congratulatory message that you have completed the module. Next to this you have the option to provide feedback. We review this feedback weekly to make adjustments to the site and our modules as needed. Note that the feedback survey can be accessed at any point throughout the module using this link at the bottom of the left navigation bar.

Before you go, I want to point out a few more helpful features. 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 visiting the website 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.