This document provides guidance and required resources for students in an online course to complete two discussion assignments in the first week. The first discussion asks students to analyze descriptions of at-risk groups from several websites in order to develop their own working definition. They are also asked to explain the value of understanding at-risk groups for their work. The second discussion requires students to examine the Poverty USA website and summarize the impact of poverty on children and families. Students are directed to evaluate the organization and features of online resources to help them design their own website, which they will create later in the course. The document lists required and recommended additional resources on related topics to support the students' work.

1. Discussion 1
What It Means to Be At-Risk and Why It Matters
It is likely that you have at least heard the term
at-risk
used in a variety of contexts, but you may not know exactly
what is meant by this commonly used term. When working in a
community or educational environment, one must be aware of
the scope of at-risk groups so as to implement or guide them
toward appropriate and effective supports or services. In this
discussion, you will analyze a variety of descriptions of at-risk
groups and behaviors associated with them for the purpose of
acquiring your own working definition. You will include this
definition in your website that is created throughout the course
and finalized during the Week Six Final Project and make
adjustments to your working definition during Week Six when
you reflect upon how your definition has expanded.
Prepare for this discussion by reading the Week One Instructor
Guidance and reviewing the following resources that provide
descriptions of at-risk groups and the behaviors associated with
them:
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: At-Risk
Individuals
A website defining at-risk individuals.
U.S Department of Health & Human Services: Factors That
Contribute to Child Abuse and Neglect
A website about child abuse and neglect.
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
An article describing violent behavior in children and
adolescents.
Teachnology
A website defining the concept of being at-risk.
National Center for School Engagement
A website offering descriptions for youth at risk.
Initial Post
: Considering the descriptions in the websites provided above,

2. create an initial post that addresses the following:
Discuss which of the websites most effectively described the
term
at-risk
as it relates to establishing and enhancing your understanding
of the phrase.
Write a working definition of the term
at-risk
in your own words. Review the Week One Instructor Guidance
for what constitutes a working definition.
Explain what the personal value is in having knowledge of
groups at risk in relation to your current or anticipated future
work with children and/or families.
Discussion 2
Evaluating the Impact of Poverty: A Review of "Quality" Online
Resources
Post Due by Day 3
. An important part of assisting at-risk children and families is
having knowledge of the resources and programs available as
sources of support. As such, a significant part of your course
work in EDU644 involves discovering, analyzing, and creating
resources! In your analysis of various descriptions of
at-risk
this week in Discussion 1, you discovered that those living in
poverty are at-risk, with significant factors impacting their
well-being and ability to thrive. In this discussion, you will
examine online resources with information and supports for
individuals and groups in poverty. Using what you discover,
start developing your ideas for the website you will begin to
create in Week Two. Therefore, during your investigation, it is
important that you take note of how the websites are organized
and the way content is presented. Considering what makes a
resource effective will help you design comparable organization
and content structures in your own website. To prepare for this
discussion, examine the

3. Poverty USA
website. Additionally, review the Week One Instructor
Guidance, making sure to review the intellectual elaboration
and the section dedicated to guidance for the assessments.
Initial Post
: Create an initial post addressing the following:
Summarize what you learned from the
Poverty USA
website and how this knowledge will be useful to you in your
current or future professional practice.
Summarize the statistical data from the
Poverty USA
website that explains the impact poverty has on children and
families and include at least one example of a program, policy,
or resource that provides support. Be sure to explain how the
example provides support and cite where the information is
located on the
Poverty USA
website.
Describe the organizational and content features of the
Poverty USA
website that were particularly helpful, innovative, interactive,
or that otherwise caught your attention and that you might
emulate when creating your own website in this course.
Using your preferred search engine, locate at least one
additional website focused on groups in poverty and cite the
website in your initial post. Include a two-to-three sentence
description of the type of information included in the website.
Describe the organizational and content features of the website
you located that were particularly helpful, innovative,
interactive, or that otherwise appealed to you and that you
might emulate when creating your own website in this course.
Required Resources
Article
·

4. American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry . (2011,
December).
Understanding violent behavior in children and adolescents
. Retrieved from
http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_F
amilies/Facts_for_Families_Pages/Understanding_Violent_Beha
vior_In_Children_and_Adolescents_55.aspx
·
This AACAP website provides an overview of violent behavior
in children and adolescents and links to other
Facts for Families Pages
that may be of use for this course. This website is a required
resource for the Week One discussion about what it means to be
at-risk.
·
Teachnology. (n.d.).
The effects of poverty on teaching and learning.
Retrieved from http://www.teach-
nology.com/tutorials/teaching/poverty/
·
This website provides an overview of the concept of
at-risk
and explores several challenges of poverty in learning
environments. This website is a required resource for the Week
One discussion about what it means to be at-risk.
·

5. ·
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2012).
At-risk individuals.
Retrieved from:
http://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/abc/Pages/at-
risk.aspx
·
This HHS website provides the HHS definition of at-risk
individuals and elaborates on how their definition is related to
the National Response Framework (NRF) definition of at-risk
individuals. The website also discusses the typical services an
individual at risk typically needs and provides examples for
how to identify an individual at risk. This website is a required
resource for the Week One discussion about what it means to be
at-risk and assignment about poverty.
Websites
·
National Center for School Engagement. (n.d.).
Serving at-risk youth.
Retrieved from http://schoolengagement.org/school-
engagement-services/at-risk-youth
·
The
National Center for School Engagement
was established based on over a decade of educational research
conducted by Colorado Foundation for Families and

6. Children. NCSE has generated many resources about school
attendance, attachment, and achievement. NCSE provides
training and technical assistance, research and evaluation to
school districts, law enforcement agencies, courts, as well as
state and federal agencies – to name a few. This website is a
required resource for the Week One discussion about what it
means to be at-risk.
·
Poverty USA
(http://www.povertyusa.org)
·
The Poverty USA website describes an initiative of the Catholic
Campaign for Human Development offering a vast array of
information regarding issues related to poverty in the United
States as well as ways to make a difference, how to get
involved, the provision of resources, stories of hope and videos
that show the impact of poverty. This website is a required
resource for the Week One discussion about Evaluating the
Impact of Poverty.
·
·
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (n.d.).
Factors that contribute to child abuse and neglect
. Retrieved from
https://www.childwelfare.gov/can/factors/contribute.cfm
·
This HHS website provides links to articles about several

7. factors that contribute to child abuse and neglect. The website
also emphasizes the importance of awareness of these factors
for individuals working with groups at risk. This website is a
required resource for the Week One discussion about what it
means to be at-risk.and assignment about poverty.
Recommended Resources
Multimedia
·
Ashford University (n.d.)
Quick ‘n’ dirty: Ashford university library
[Video file]. Retrieved from
https://bridgepoint.equella.ecollege.com/curriculum/file/e857a1
f5-ed8b-4901-9b88-
8b9e4d7652c7/1/Quick%20%27n%27%20Dirty%20Ashford%20
University%20Library%20%282%29.zip/Quick%20%27n%27%2
0Dirty%20Ashford%20University%20Library/quick.html
·
This website is provided by Ashford University as a resource
for learning to search the Library for scholarly journals using
the online databases. This resource will be valuable to students
throughout the course for locating scholarly resources to use
with other discussions, assignments, and the Week Six final
project.
·
Ashford University (n.d.).
Searching for articles using
[email protected]

8. [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://bridgepoint.equella.ecollege.com/curriculum/file/0122cf
67-2fe2-40fc-8d61-9aea0bf62068/1/MATLT-
FindIt%20Advanced%20Search.zip/MATLT-
FindIt%20Advanced%20Search.htm
·
This website is provided by Ashford University as a resource
for learning to conduct research using the Library. This
resource will be valuable to students throughout the course for
conducting research for the other discussions, assignments, and
the Week Six final project.
·
Johnson, L. [lisajohnsonphd]. (2013, November 11).
Tips for active reading
[Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoCrKa-
rm1w&feature=youtu.be
·
This approximately ten minute video explains the concept of
active reading and presents practical strategies for active
reading. This video tutorial will be useful for students in
EDU644 as they read the Rubin (2012) required text and other
required readings for each week.
·
Johnson, L. [lisajohnsonphd]. (2014, September 2).
What is academic writing?
[Video file]. Retrieved from

9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn8Ja92b3ZI
·
This approximately fourteen minute video explains the
fundamental components of academic writing. This tutorial will
provide helpful reminders to students in EDU644 about
academic writing to support their writing in all assignments and
discussions throughout the course.
Websites
·
Google.(n.d.).
Use a webcam to record video.
(n.d.).Retrieved from
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57409?hl=en
·
Creating a webcam video is free with a Google YouTube
account, webcam, and microphone. This website explains how
to create a webcam video using YouTube. This website will be
most useful for the Week One Post Your Introduction
discussion. Please be sure to review the
YouTube Privacy Policy
to understand your rights and responsibilities related to privacy
when using the YouTube technology and associated services.
·
Jing
(http://www.techsmith.com/download/jing)
·

10. A free download, this screen capture and screencasting tool
provided by Techsmith is one option to record narration for a
PowerPoint presentation for up to five-minute. You also receive
a link for your creation on the screencast.com distribution site
associated with Jing. This multimedia tool will be most useful
for the Post Your Introduction discussion during Week One.
Please review the
Techsmith Privacy Policy
to understand your rights and responsibilities related to privacy
when using Techsmith’s Jing technology and its associated
screencast distribution service.
·
Office. (n.d.).
Tips for creating and delivering an effective presentation
. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint-
help/tips-for-creating-and-delivering-an-effective-presentation-
HA010207864.aspx
·
Use this website as an expert resource for tips to create and
deliver an effective presentation, such as the autobiographical
presentation you have the option of creating in the Week One
Post Your Introduction discussion. Please be sure to review the
Microsoft Office Privacy Statement
to understand your rights and responsibilities related to privacy
when using any of the technology and associated services with
Microsoft Office, such as PowerPoint.
·
I have developed a website for you to review as you begin to

11. plan the creation of your own website resource for the Final
Project. I have included tips and notes throughout the various
pages of the site. I recommend you review this now, and
throughout the course as you have questions related to the
Content Instructions found in the Week 6 Final Project area.
http://saraspencer3.wix.com/at-risk-advocates