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Andromeda Task

Collect images to be used on a website advertising a television show about the Andromeda Galaxy.

In the Andromeda task, a television network is promoting a television show about the Andromeda Galaxy. Students need to identify a suitable image of the Andromeda Galaxy for use on the website. Students need to secure permission to use a copyrighted image and give appropriate credit to the owner of the image for their contribution.

Content Area: Information and Communication Technology
Practices: Understanding Technological Principles, Developing Solutions and Achieving Goals, Communicating and Collaborating
Learn about content areas and practices
Task Time: 10 minutes
Assessment Year Used: 2014 and 2018
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Andromeda task results included in this report are from the 2018 TEL assessment.

Students were able to select appropriate information to communicate an idea in accordance with fair use guidelines but were less able to accurately cite the source of copyrighted material.

60%
of students correctly identified images that could be legally used on a website.
51%
of students identified the proper reference style to use for writing a citation.
29%
of students successfully wrote a citation that included all required copyright information.
Explore task details by selecting a step below
Step 1
Web Search Result
Determine which web search result is most informative.
Show

69% of students were able to identify the most relevant web search result.

What Students Did

Students were informed that they needed to provide some factual information that scientists have written about the Andromeda Galaxy. They were presented web search results from several different sources and were asked to select the one that most likely contained the information needed.

Skills Measured

  • Gathering appropriate information through efficient web browsing or searching.

Student Performance

69% Complete
Correct search result selected
31% Unsatisfactory
Any other selection

Related Experience from Student Survey

38% of Students
reported that they taught themselves most of what they know about using a computer or other digital technology for collecting or sharing information.
Step 2
Selecting Appropriate Image for Website
Choose suitable image for website and determine which ones can be used legally.
Show

70% of students were able to select appropriate images for use on the website. 60% of students correctly determined which images could be legally used on the website.

What Students Did

In this part of the task students were shown three different images to potentially use on a website advertising a TV show about the Andromeda Galaxy. They needed to select images showing what Andromeda looks like through a telescope from Earth. Students needed to determine if each image met the stated requirement and if the image could be legally used on the website.

Skills Measured

  • Using media to provide appropriate information to the audience, based on the communicative purpose.
  • Creating presentations, visualizations, and other products that support their communicative purpose, adhering to appropriate visual conventions, and acknowledging sources of data and ideas.

Student Performance

Determine if each image is appropriate for use on the website

70% Complete
Three correct selections
20% Partial
Two correct selections
10% Unsatisfactory
One or no correct selections

Determine if each image can be legally used on the website

60% Complete
Three correct selections
29% Partial
Two correct selections
11% Unsatisfactory
One or no correct selections

Related Experience from Student Survey

66% of Students
reported learning to use a computer or other digital technology to create a presentation in school at least once or twice a month.
Step 3
Choosing a Style Guide
Select appropriate reference guide for formatting a citation.
Show

42% of students correctly identified which resource could be used as a style guide for writing a citation.

What Students Did

After one of the copyrighted images of Andromeda was selected, students were provided an email from the copyright owner. The email instructed the students on how to properly credit the owner for use of the image on the website. Students were presented with several different types of resources and needed to select the one (Writer’s Manual of Style) that contains instructions for correctly citing the author’s work.

Skills Measured

  • Using style guides that show how to properly credit others when incorporating their ideas (e.g., text or images) into one's own work.

Student Performance

42% Complete
Correct resource selected
58% Unsatisfactory
Any other selection

Related Experience from Student Survey

57% of Students
reported learning to use a computer or other digital technology to create, edit, or organize digital media in school at least once or twice a month.
Step 4
Identifying Proper Citation Style
Identify correct reference style.
Show

51% of students identified the correct reference style to use for writing a citation.

What Students Did

In this part of the task, students were presented with sample credit lines from an online style guide. They needed to select the best example to use to properly format the citation based on the copyright information provided by the image’s owner.

Skills Measured

  • Using style guides that show how to properly credit others when incorporating their ideas (e.g., text or images) into one's own work.

Student Performance

51% Complete
Correct sample line selected
49% Unsatisfactory
Any other selection

Related Experience from Student Survey

43% of Students
reported using a computer or other digital technology to create, edit, or organize digital media not for school work at least once or twice a month.
Step 5
Giving Appropriate Credit
Include required information in citation.
Show

29% of students successfully wrote a citation that included all required copyright information.

What Students Did

In this section, students were shown a sample credit line of text. They needed to revise the credit line so that it included all the information requested by the image’s owner in a previous email.

Skills Measured

  • Using style guides that show how to properly credit others when incorporating their ideas (e.g., text or images) into one's own work.

Student Performance

29% Complete
Citation includes all required information
71% Unsatisfactory
Citation is missing required information

Related Experience from Student Survey

79% of Students
reported learning to credit others for their ideas in school at least sometimes.
A Closer Look: Students' Abilities to Communicate an Idea in Accordance with Fair Use Guidelines
Students were able to select appropriate information to communicate an idea in accordance with fair use guidelines but were less able to accurately cite the source of a copyrighted image.
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The graphic below provides a closer look at the percentage of students who successfully completed selected questions from the Andromeda task. Students were asked to apply their knowledge and skills in two of the TEL practices—Understanding Technological Principles and Communicating and Collaborating—in the Information and Communication Technology content area.

Chart offering examples of student perform on this task.
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You can experience this task just as students did to understand how they applied their TEL knowledge and skills to real-world problem-solving scenarios. Select the play button below to start the task. After completing the task you can see your results alongside those of students.

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