Students need options. There will always be times when paper and pencil is the right way to go, but there won't be a time when paper and pencil are always the right way to go. Options equal ownership and a chance for students to show off their hidden talents and love.
With the ever-changing world of technology, students are able to show their personality in more ways than just a unique power point slide background. Give them the chance to really show off what they can do!
One way to marry old school and new school is to mix their tastes and loves with the paper and pencil. When teaching Macbeth, part of the culminating project was to create a soundtrack and a video game case for the movie. Students weren't required to bring in a CD of pirated songs--they merely had to generate the list and create a cover depicting the major themes in the music. (A rubric is a great way to ensure success--more on that later!) Some students did go to the trouble of creating a music CD and they were able to share their labors with their classmates.
Students also created a video game idea that supported the major themes in the play. They drew on their own experiences with video games and worked to recreate the action in the play in this virtual world. The boys especially loved this option. And I bet they can all tell you at least a vague summary of the play and the themes explored therein.
Blogs are also a great way to help students with assessment. They can post essays, memoirs, and other pieces to generate feedback from their peers. As I said in an earlier post, don't count on students finding the drive to do this on their own--there needs to be some sort of accountability built in.
I'm currently exploring two new ideas--wikis and book trailers. Before November, all I knew about wikis was wrapped around wikipedia and the fact that it was not the best source for research out there. But then again, when you work with students who think Google is a source, then maybe Wikipedia is a step up. However, I've recently learned that students and teachers can use wikis for their own needs. A wiki is simply a space that allows for reading and writing by its members. Teachers can set up a class wiki and then students can post to it. I suggested this idea to our human growth and development teacher. Her students research drugs every year and do different activities to present their information. Her classes are very mixed across the levels and her options allow students to work within their comfort zones. However, why not push them into creating a wiki full of their information? Now its published for all to see! I've started working with a wiki for SCRI. Its packed with information and I, as the administrator, can decide who can change information on the page. You can check out our wiki at scri.wikispaces.com.
Another idea I'm working on is having students create book trailers using iMovie or Movie Maker. I picked up this idea from a speaker at NCTE this year and am interested in testing it out in some of our classes. Students have always been intrigued by video. When I was a student, we videoed scenes from plays we were studying and created commercials for both economics and Spanish. Video was cool. This year, our chorus teacher had students create their own rap videos. After studying the roots of rap and R&B in music appreciation, she gave them recordings of beats and had them create their own. Of course it was the most fun they'd had all semester--they were intertwining things that they loved! Now, students can take programs such as Movie Maker and iMovie and create their own trailers/movies using clips, pictures, and title slides. I'm still working on this one and trying to figure it out--but what more fun as a book report option than to get in the lab and create a book trailer. And I'm sure after about 10 minutes, most students would be able to teach me the program themselves.
Its important to give students ownership over their learning and assessments. I never wanted to read 150 essays and I'm sure that they don't want to write one every other week. By supplying them with options, the classroom becomes a more authentic place to learn, more real-worldly.
No comments:
Post a Comment