Final Project

Final Project: I will finalize the scope of this assignment by our 6th session. Basically, you will create a web-enabled student project that would take 3 or more sessions to implement. The project should take advantage of at least 3 Web resources, some of which we will discuss and review in class. Some examples are:

• Blogger
• YouTube (TeacherTube – SchoolTube – Blip TV, etc.)
• Podcasts
• Bit Strips
• Picasa Web Gallery (or similar resource)
• VOKI
• Animoto
• Survey Monkey
• Scribd
• Our Media
• Google “Pages”
• Google “Docs”

The unit should feature a standards based problem, project, product – dissemination (publishing) scheme, feedback methods – and assessment scheme. You will provide me with a lesson (unit plan) as well. More details on the above will be included as we move along in the class.

Let’s look at your blog as a work space that will allow you to present material to students in an exciting way, have them respond to you and or one another (through the comments function, etc.), a way to ‘publish’ and or exhibit their work (and receive feedback on it), among other functions.

Your assignment is to create a multi session unit of instruction that you present using your blog. You may want to give students an example of what their finished work would be like.

The unit you create should embrace dimensions of Project-based Learning. It should allow for a degree of student autonomy, to contribute to the definition of his/her own investigation/learning experience. It should culminate in the creation of a product (or performance) that forms the basis of assessment of student achievement. Such projects often include aspects of collaboration.

In presenting the project use at least 3 types of Web-based technology, which may include:
The blog tool
Hyperlinks
Digital Media
Digital tools (survey instruments, etc.)
Search engines
Other

A simple project might require students to take a broad subject you suggest (or one that the class brain storms together) and drill down to a more specific area of study (i.e. sports> baseball > history of the game). This might be facilitated by more brainstorming (listing all possibilities and then having students select from a class generated list) or by having students use a search engine to discover sub-topics under the starting topic, list and present you with a few of these, and then accountably select one.

A second phase of this project would likely have students gathering information to use in their project (report). They might do online research, interview others, take a survey, etc.

The final portion would involve the production of a product in which they present what they’ve learned. This might be a slide show, digital document, recording, etc.

While such projects have been done without the use of technology traditionally, many educators believe that technology greatly facilitates and enhances them. As you plan your project, ponder how technology might do this and identify which resources and methods you’ll use. In your final piece you do not have to do everything with technology (personally), but you should describe in your lesson plan what you would do and use and how you would implement it. The presentation of the lesson should be done as a blog post and should embrace the technology examples as mentioned above.

Your technology use will likely conform to the following:
Presenting the project to students
Using technology with the students as they do the project and produce their product
Assessing the project
Giving feedback to the student, fostering constructive criticism between students, structuring Accountable Talk as part of the students finishing the project.
Publishing the students’ work
Sharing the students’ published work with peers and others
Reporting to parents