This interactive activity and assessment tool attempts to demonstrate to students how to cite sources for a research paper using the new MLA 8 edition. The activity is geared towards freshman college or university students. A combination of a tutorial and assessment tool, the activity requires students to parse out portions of resources that would be used in forming a citation in MLA style. Students then have to guess what type of source they are looking at and also have the ability to passively observe how the information would be arranged into a correct citation. The activity is suitable for freshman who are required to use MLA citation style in their academic work.
Type of Material:
Drill and practice
Recommended Uses:
This activity could be used by an instructor in class, or assigned as a pre-class activity. The activity provides flexibility in that it can be assigned to individuals or teams. Instructors must note however, that the activity must be used in addition to in-person instruction as it is not a standalone activity.
Technical Requirements:
Browser (Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and IE)
Identify Major Learning Goals:
By completing this interactive activity students will develop the skills required to identify components of a small number (3) of resources. These components are required to complete a citation using the MLA citation style. As an assessment tool, students will also be asked to match the components required for a citation by dragging and dropping. Lastly, students will passively learn what a correct citation will look like for the 3 resources.
Target Student Population:
High school students, lower-division undergraduates
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Familiarity with different types of sources. Familiarity with the concept of citations.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
This activity is interactive, engaging, and has a user friendly interface. Students are forced to think critically and analyze a variety of sources and pull out the relevant information required to complete a citation using MLA style. Students also have the opportunity to observe what a correct citation for each of the resources looks like.
Concerns:
This activity cannot be used independently. When students attempt to identify what type of source they are looking at and answer incorrectly, no further explanation is given other than for students to wait for further instruction in a workshop.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
Dragging and dropping citation pieces is intuitive
The activity takes very little time
Each citation is for a different type of source (e.g. book chapter, journal article)
Concerns:
The activity cannot be used independently and fails to provide any information on why students need to cite the resources they use. The number of resources students examine (i.e. 3) is minimal, making this a very brief activity. Students only passively observe how to assemble a citation in MLA style.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
Dragging and dropping citation pieces is intuitive
The activity provides immediate feedback
Learners get multiple opportunities to answer correctly
Concerns:
Dragging and dropping is difficult for learners with mobility issues
The activity cannot be navigated on a screen reader
Creative Commons:
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