Module 6: Capstone projects
The capstones are the largest assessments of this course: realistic jobs for an invented organization that need the skills of several courses at once. Lesson 6.1 shows how to plan and run one; lessons 6.2 to 6.6 are ready briefs with rubrics; lesson 6.7 keeps results consistent across scorers and runs.
Note
Capstones are the trainer's own assessments, not an official certification. They run on training installations,
with mail written to files and test accounts at example.invalid.
At a glance
| Course | Assessments and practical exercises |
| Duration | Lessons 6.1 and 6.7: 1 hour 25 minutes; each capstone one to two days with its presentations |
| Lessons | 7 |
| Level | Intermediate to advanced |
Lessons
| Lesson | Duration | What learners do |
|---|---|---|
| 6.1 Planning capstone projects | 45 min | Adapt a capstone brief with checkpoints and team rules |
| 6.2 Capstone, an editorial site | 1 day | Teams build a news section with layouts, translations and an approval |
| 6.3 Capstone, running a site | 2 days | Set up, back up, restore, deploy and handle two injected incidents |
| 6.4 Capstone, an extension and a theme | 2 days | A theme and a protected feature, ready for a first release |
| 6.5 Capstone, a migration project | 2 days | Inventory to go or no-go, with rehearsals, counts and tested redirects |
| 6.6 Capstone, a multisite launch with a newsletter | 1.5 days | A second site with its host name, search and a newsletter cycle to files |
| 6.7 Reviewing and moderating results | 40 min | Moderate borderline results, handle an appeal, improve the test |
Preparing this module
- To do: The capstone chosen for the group's courses (Lesson 6.1), its scenario rewritten with an invented organization.
- To do: One training installation per learner or team, prepared as the capstone's trainer's notes say; mail transports
file, no crontab, accounts atexample.invalid. - To do: For lesson 6.3: two reversible incidents written down with how to undo them.
- To do: For lesson 6.5: the sample site or export, made for class.
- To do: A second scorer, or a plan for moderation (Lesson 6.7).
- To do: Rooms or online rooms for the presentations, with a projector or screen sharing.
Timing plan
For a group that takes one capstone, for example 6.2:
| Time | Part |
|---|---|
| Day before, 0:00 to 0:45 | Lesson 6.1: the trainer adapts the brief (preparation, not with learners) |
| Day 1, 0:00 to 0:15 | Briefing |
| Day 1, 0:15 to 5:15 | Work, with checkpoints after 2 and 4 hours |
| Day 1, 5:15 to 6:00 | Presentations (10 minutes per team, for four teams plus changeover) |
| Day 1, 6:00 to 6:30 | Scoring |
| After the day, 0:00 to 0:40 | Lesson 6.7: moderation of borderline results |
| Total | 6 hours 30 minutes with the learners, plus 1 hour 25 minutes of trainer work |
Related pages
- Module 1: Designing assessments
- Assessments and practical exercises: course overview
- Trainers: start here
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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