Technology Projects

 

 

Final

EDUC 275  

Marlie Knight

August 3, 2007

 

 

 

Section One: The Activity

 

 

 

Eighth Grade Language Arts SC Standards

 

 

                8-R1.6  

                Demonstrate the ability to make predictions about stories.

 

                8-R1.8  

                Demonstrate the ability to draw conclusions and make inferences

 

 

NETS-S Standard

 

 

 

Relative Advantage

 

 

       The relative advantage of using a digital video to demonstrate the ability to make predictions and draw conclusions about and from stories is that the students will use Windows Movies Maker to enhance their learning, increase their productivity, and promote their creativity while meeting the requirements of two SC Standards.

 

 

Your  Name:

 Marlie Knight

Grade level:

 Eighth Grade

Subject(s):

 Secondary Mild Special Ed Language Arts

Classroom Environment:

The project will be completed in two different locations.  The students will film their short films inside the main classroom among their groups where they will be adequately supervised and assisted by me.  They will have free use of the classroom (moving or using objects or materials in the classroom) for the filming of their video as long as they abide by set classroom rules.  The students will then proceed to the computer lab where computers sit in rows along the wall, and they will put together their movie using Windows Movie Maker with their group members as well as the assistance, direction, and supervision of me.

Individual or Group Activity:

I will divide the students into groups of 3-4 picked by me based on the student’s personality and work ethic.  Working in groups will be best for a digital video because the students will need someone to film and someone to perform in the video, and they can choose who will do what.  They will also be able to feed off of one another’s ideas in relationship to the curriculum standards as they creatively put together their digital video and help each other so they are not overwhelmed with the demands of the project. 

Activity:


Pre Technology Activities: Since this will be one of the latter short stories that the students will be reading in the school year, they will already be familiar with demonstrating the ability to make predictions about stories as well as drawing conclusions.  However, those standards will again be discussed and refreshed after the students have read their assigned short story.  This will be their first time making a digital video, and they will have the opportunity to use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.  I will show them a series of digital videos that students in previous classes have completed so they will see what they will be doing.  The groups will meet together and plan their different roles in the filming of their movie.  I will go on to explain how the technology works.    

Technology Activities: The students will have two (fifty minute) class periods to complete their film.  They will use their first class period to film the movie, and if they finish early, they will be able to begin their work on editing the movie and putting it completely together on the computer.  The second class period will be primarily used for editing, and a third class period will be provided for finishing touches and presentations of their projects and hard work.  I will have already discussed how the cameras work (and how to use and care for them properly) and how to use Windows Movie Maker by walking the class through a trial video in Windows Movie Maker on a projection screen, but I will walk around the classroom to answer questions and assist in any way possible during the filming of the movies, and I will do the same in the lab as they edit their movies.  I will also call in special education volunteers to work with each group so the students have someone right there at their side to help.   Disability accessibility software will also be made available for those students who need it.

Post Technology Activities: After the projects are completed, the groups will present their videos.  As a group, they will explain the predictions they had made about their short stories and the conclusions they drew from the story and how that is portrayed in their videos.  They will also explain how the use of the digital video helped them show and understand the predictions they made and conclusions they drew from the story.  There will be a time for questions at the end, and I will sum it all up with my evaluation and take on how I feel the technology used by the students demonstrated the topic of their assignment and what they learned from it.

 

 

 

Evaluation and Revision

 

 

       The students will be evaluated with a rubric created by me, and the emphasis will be on what the students learned using the digital video according to the SC Standards.  I will evaluate myself and the effectiveness of this project by the motivation of the students learning through technology.

 

 

SECTION TWO: WHY IS IT A GOOD ACTIVITY?

 

 

          This is a good activity, first and foremost, because it is designed for special education students, and it can be easily supervised.  These eighth grade language arts students with mild disabilities are given the opportunity to express themselves in a way with which they are more comfortable.  Permitting these students to have free reign over a classroom, as long as set classroom rules are abided by, allows the students to feel a sense of control, and they are able to focus on their abilities rather than their disabilities.  By working in groups, they can feed off of each other’s positive attributes and different ideas they bring to the group.  By introducing this source of technology, students automatically become more engaged and motivated because it beats the “same old same old” of the everyday classroom routine and lesson.  This activity also gives students a sense of accomplishment when they see their final product on which they have worked so hard, and they are proud to present it to their fellow classmates and me.

 

This activity offers a new way of teaching, learning, and meeting the SC Standards of demonstrating the ability to make predictions about stories and draw conclusions and make inferences.  Instead of the students reading a story and taking a test or writing a paper, they can work on a project together to demonstrate what they have learned as they would in a typical assessment.  They can use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.   Their movie gives them the freedom to portray a prediction they made and conclusion they drew from a story they read while being productive and creative in their own way.  In other words, they are learning in a whole new and different light.

 

This activity also exhibits the universal design for learning because disability accessibility software is provided and offered in the computer labs if need be.  There is a diverse group of students in every class, but in a special education classroom, disabilities range and vary, so I have to be prepared and provide for the needs of these students (Roblyer, 413).     It also offers a way to present information through a digital video, to express knowledge on camera, and to engage learning by reading, filming and making a digital video (O’Neil).

 

Another plus for this activity is that it can easily be assessed using a rubric.  By giving these students a rubric, they can discuss in their group how they will be graded and what is required of them from this project.  They will quickly see that they will be primarily evaluated on what they learned about predictions and conclusions in their short story reading assignment by the use of technology in the form of a digital video.  The student’s can perform self and group assessments.  A rubric will also reduce the time it takes for me to grade their assignment and presentation so I can explain to the students why they received the grade they did, what they can do to improve.  I will also discuss the importance of the assignment and what was learned through their use of technology (Goodrich).

 

Finally, this activity is an excellent way to integrate technology into the classroom.  Instead of me making a digital video to show to the class that demonstrates the ability to make predictions about stories and the ability to draw conclusions and make inferences, I am giving my students the opportunity to make the video and have hands-on experience with the technology themselves while meeting two SC Standards and the NETS-S Standard which states that students use technology to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.  The students using technology are actively engaged in their learning and able to create their own knowledge and accomplish their own goals (Thomas).

 

CITATIONS

 

Robyler M.D (2002). Integrating Technology into Teaching. Upper
     Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

O’Neil, L (2001, April). Universal Design for Learning: Making Education Accessible to All Learners. Retrieved from website: www.syllabus.com.

Goodrich, H (Vol. 1, No. 2 - Spring 1997 ). Just what is a rubric?  Retrieved August 1, 2007 from website:    http://www.middleweb.com/CSLB2rubric.html.

Thomas, L (2005). Connecting Curriculum and Teaching. Retrieved August 1, 2007 from website: http://cnets.iste.org/students/s_currinteg.html