1. INSTRUCTIONAL SITE PROJECT REPORT
BY: MAE GUERRA
Purpose
The purpose or instructional need is for students to learn about the circulatory
system and health related diseases. They need to know the anatomy of the
circulatory system, how it works and how other systems in their bodies depend
on each other for survival. Students need to know the cardiovascular system in
order to fully understand other systems within their bodies. They also need to
know how to take care of their bodies to prevent health related diseases. It is
important to address this instructional need because it is required that all
students gain proficiency in the Texas Model Content Standards for Science. In
this proposal I am seeking to address:
STANDARD 3
Life Science: Students know and understand the characteristics and structure of
living things, the processes of life, and how living things interact with each other
and their environment. (Focus: Biology)
My instructional web site will cover the following areas of the circulatory system:
the heart, blood, veins and arteries. The web site will contain lessons, online
quizzes, tutorials, and games. Students will receive individual lessons over each
area of the circulatory system and then complete assignments over each lesson
online.
Audience Analysis
Learner Objectives:
1. Given the instructional web site resources, students will be able to describe
the circulatory system and its functions.
2. Given an animated diagram of how the heart transports blood, students will
be able to describe the heart and how blood moves through the heart.
3. Given a group project and instructional material over the circulatory system,
students will be able to identify and describe the three types of blood vessels.
4. Given instructional material over blood, students will be able to define what
blood is and describe the function of the different parts of blood.
5. Given an online game over how oxygen is transported and utilized in the
body, students will be able to describe what happens to blood as it circulates.
6. Given a lab where students determine if the pulse rate is the same for boys
and girls, students will be able to recognize that when a science experiment is
repeated with the same conditions, the experiment generally works the same
way. From this lab, students will also be able to and compare knowledge
gained from direct experience to knowledge gained indirectly.
The learners will be able to do the following at the end of the lessons:

2.  Describe the circulatory system and its functions.
 Describe the heart and how blood moves through the heart.
 Name and describe the three kinds of blood vessels.
 Define what blood is and describe the different parts of blood.
 Describe what happens to blood as it circulates.
 Identify types of heart disease and their causes.
Results: Texas Content Standards
1. STANDARD 3 – Life Science
In grades K-4, what students know and are able to do includes
• describing human body systems (for example, digestive, respiratory,
circulatory, skeletal, muscular)
2. As students in grades 5-8 extend their knowledge, what they know and are able
to do includes
• describing the structures and functions of human body systems; and
• describing and giving examples of non-communicable diseases and
communicable diseases
(for example, heart disease and chicken pox).
2. STANDARD 6
Students understand that science involves a particular way of knowing and
understand common connections among scientific disciplines.
In grades K-4, what students know and are able to do includes
• recognizing that when a science experiment is repeated with the same
conditions, the experiment generally works the same way;
• comparing knowledge gained from direct experience to knowledge gained
indirectly (for example, collecting data about student heights in their class and
comparing the results to similar data collected in another class or school)
Indicators
1. Students will investigate the circulatory system through these links on my web
site:
http://library.thinkquest.org/5777/cir1.htm
http://www.imcpl.org/kids/guides/health/circulatorysystem.html
http://vilenski.org/science/humanbody/hb_html/circ_system.html
After investigating the web site, students will describe the circulatory system and
define its parts (veins and arteries) on a short quiz.
2. Students will participate in a group activity and create a presentation about the
circulatory system. They will use this link on my web site to guide them through
this project: http://sciencespot.net/Media/hlthhumbdyquest.pdf
3. Students will participate in a lab where they determine if the pulse rate is the
same for boys and girls. Found on page 11
http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/html/k-6/lc/pdf/lc4w.pdf

3. 4. Students will investigate the human heart and blood and identify its function
through these links on my web site:
http://library.thinkquest.org/5777/cir3.htm
http://www.heartpoint.com/theheart.html
After investigating the web sites, students will be able to draw and label parts of
the heart on a diagram and describe its function on a written test.
5. Students play a game called, Sail the Circulatory System
http://www.toxrap.org/36_kids_game1intro.html
When students finish playing the game they will take a written test and describe
how oxygen is transported and utilized in the body.
Design Decision Making
Major topics that need to be included in the instruction:
Parts of the Circulatory System
1. Blood
2. Heart
3. Veins and Arteries
Jobs of the Circulatory System
1. transports food and oxygen
2. transports wastes
3. protection
4. transports hormones
5. temperature regulation
Parts of the Heart
1. atrium
2. ventricle
3. septum
4. valve
Blood Vessels
1. artery
2. vein
3. capillary
4. aorta
Different parts of the Blood
1. White Blood Cells
2. Red Blood Cells
3. Platelets
4. Plasma
Heart Disease
1. artherosclerosis
2. coronary artery
3. heart attack

4. Navigation Mechanisms
The navigation needs to be user friendly for my 7th graders. I want my learners to
have the freedom to go back and forth between sessions but I also want to guide
my learners through the course along a specific path along the navigation system.
In order to reach both needs I will have elements of both sparse and rich
navigation.
Menu –On the menu I will be providing a constantly displayed menu to help
users navigate the site. The users will always see how the course is organized and
they can jump from one activity to another. I will be using a left margin constant
menu that displays all the topics and can be expanded to show sub topics. The
menu will provide complete freedom to move from topic to topic. I will have
another menu bar of buttons on top going left to right for general topics such as a
help box, grades, contact info, posting questions and an assignment drop box.
Hypertext links – The Glossary entries will have hyperlinks.
Location Indicators – I will have visual icons on the assignment pages where
students may click on the button to read about the activity and learn about the
current topic. The learners will need an easy to understand interface. English
Language Learners will need these visual icons to help guide them through
certain assignments.
Glossary – The Glossary entries will have hyperlinks to the sections of the
course that relate to the entries. In this way, it will be both an index and a
glossary. There will be a glossary link available all the time in the upper left.
Paging - The paging will not span more than one page. Lessons will be designed
for minimal paging.
2. Common Instructional Values
Learner-Centered - The design of this web page is user friendly. The web page
will have a friendly graphical interface. Visual icons will represent each activity
which will be useful for English Language Learners within the classroom.
Social – The web site will allow students to communicate with each other
through the chat feature.
Contextual - Each topic of the circulatory system will be discussed meeting the
Colorado State Standards in Science.
Active – Students will be actively engaged in each of the assignments using
current technology and by using interactive games.
Supportive – This will be a supportive course in which students may ask direct
questions at anytime in class or they send an e-mail regarding questions they
have. There will also be a chat feature that will allow students to discuss group
work projects they have to complete. The students are encouraged to work in
these group work projects so that it could help foster their understanding of the
material.

5. 3. CARP
Since this course is about The Circulatory System I chose a basic red color
scheme that correlates with the theme of blood. I would like the site to be
interesting and exciting for my students.
Contrast - I like the black menu on the left side with the contrasting white
letters. This makes the menu more visible for the users. The top buttons are also
black with white lettering. I feel like this separates the menu and buttons from
the rest of the page so it is stands out to the user.
Alignment -The left menu is vertically aligned and the top buttons are
horizontally aligned. I feel that this alignment is user friendly and easy to
understand.
Repetition - The same color scheme, menu and buttons are used throughout
this prototype.
Proximity - The general topics such as grades, email and chat are grouped
together on the top in the form of buttons. The course content is grouped
together along the left menu. All pages are consistent throughout providing a very
user friendly site.
4. Typography – The typography is a Georgia font. To create a little bit of
contrast I am using a sans serif typeface (Verdana) for titles, subtitles and menus
which was created specifically for computer screens. For contrast I am using
bold, underline and larger size for titles, subtitles and menus. The rest of the text
will be normal George font.
5. Visuals/Graphics – Within this web page, I am going to use little graphics.
There will be the first image on the home page and the others are going to be
spread evenly across the site to gain attention to specific parts of the content
taught. Currently, I am going to add an image to each unit in this course.
Instructional Graphics
1. Representational – The heart diagram will help students identify
and label parts of the heart.
2. Decorative - These graphics will be used to excite and get the
students attention.
3. Functional – (buttons) Buttons will help the student navigate
throughout the site.
Evaluation Plan
To determine whether:
 the objectives are clear and appropriate

6.  the navigation is helpful to participants
 the content is laid out appropriately
 participants identified the resources available
2. Resources and Constraints
 The formative evaluation will cost nothing except time.
 The revisers would like the project to be an effective teaching tool
 Resources that will be used are: students, parents, and teachers
3. Task Analysis
Participants will be able to do the following proficiently:
Objective #1: The Role of the Circulatory System – 1.Given the instructional
web site resources, students will be able to describe the circulatory system and its
functions. 2. Given an animated diagram of how the heart transports blood,
students will be able to describe the heart and how blood moves through the
heart. In this unit the participant will be able to:
 Describe the circulatory system and its functions
 Describe the heart and how blood moves through the heart
 Identify parts of the heart and explain its function
Objective #2: Veins, Arteries, and Capillaries - Given a group project and
instructional material over the circulatory system, students will be able to identify
and describe the three types of blood vessels. In this unit the participant will be
able to:
 Name and describe the three kinds of blood vessels
 Explain how blood vessels help transport blood throughout the
body
Objective #3: The Heart, Blood, and its Components – 1. Given instructional
material over blood, students will be able to define what blood is and describe the
function of the different parts of blood. 2. Given an online game over how oxygen
is transported and utilized in the body, students will be able to describe what
happens to blood as it circulates. In this unit the participant will be able to:
 Define what blood is and describe the different parts of blood
 Describe what happens to blood as it circulates
Objective #4: Wellness and Disease – 1. Given instructional material over heart
health, wellness, and disease, the participant will be able to define wellness and
the types of heart disease and their causes. 2. Given a lab where students
determine if the pulse rate is the same for boys and girls, students will be able to
recognize that when a science experiment is repeated with the same conditions,
the experiment generally works the same way. From this lab, students will also

7. be able to and compare knowledge gained from direct experience to knowledge
gained indirectly.
In this unit, the participant will be able to:
 Identify types of heart disease and their causes
 Define pulse rate and blood pressure
 Share the knowledge gained from a science experiment that
compared pulse rates between boys and girls
4. Learning Environment
 The learners will use classroom based methods of learning in which
cooperative group learning is encouraged.
 The learning environment for each participant will take place within the
classroom, the school computer lab, and at the participant’s home with
their own computers.
 The participants will be students who take this course as part of the
science curriculum. Participants will work from home using their home
computer or by gaining access to a library computer.
5. Media Characteristics
The majority of this course is held on-line with some traditional classroom
lecture. Media Characteristics includes: computer games, animated diagrams,
and content related resources.
6. Questions to be answered
 Is the Web site easy to access and navigate?
 Is the content effective in achieving desired objectives? Are the objectives
being covered adequately?
 Are the activities engaging for the students? Are there any more games,
simulations, and animations that could be added that will make the
instruction more engaging?
 Is the instruction self-paced?
 Are there any more graphics I could add that would make the instruction
more interesting?
7. Parts of instruction to be evaluated
 Is the site user-friendly?
 Can participants, parents, and teachers access this site easily?
 Are the objectives clearly defined?
 Is the overall appearance of the site conducive to learning?
9. Data gathering tools and methods

8. Stage 1 – The data gathering tools will be to receive constructive feedback
through a classroom discussion at the end of the first week. I will record all
the feedback including: constructive criticism, comments, advice, and
suggestions.
Stage 2 - I will construct an on-line survey on the web site. On the survey,
participants will be asked to rate the user-friendliness of the site.
Stage 3 - 7th grade teachers from my school will evaluate the site for
instructional effectiveness. The teachers will grade the site on the content
covered, standards addressed, and assessment tools. They will also be
asked if they have any suggestions for teaching the content covered. All
feedback will then be recorded and addressed.
Stage 4 – The gathering tool for this last stage is a formal evaluation of
the class and instructor. This evaluation consists of a hand-written
questionnaire that all parents, teachers, and students must complete. The
feedback received from this last evaluation will drive the changes needed
for a more effective instructional web site.
Future Plans
Reports of evaluation
I would like to create a single report that documents all observations, feedback,
and revisions that need to be made. I will use this report to drive the changes
needed to create an effective on-line teaching tool. The changes will also guide
the project’s further development in this web site. In conjunction with this
document I will create another report that explains the lessons learned from this
Formative Evaluation process.