In the world of curriculum design, I am constantly looking for new ways to teach students "survival" skills for the middle school classroom and beyond. About a year ago, I was first introduced to Inspiration and used it for a couple of different functions. First, I used it to plan for my own projects - a new approach to me as I have always been much more of an outline and bulleted list person. During my student teaching I had my students use Inspiration, as well. The biggest benefit I saw in doing this was getting them out of the classroom and in front of a tool they were much more familiar with - the computer. Some students worked harder on the maps then they did their projects, but it was nice to see they were equipped with a new tool to use in the future.
One of the biggest challenges in using blogs in the classroom is teaching students the skills to use the actual technology/programs. But the value in taking the time to do this is evident in providing them with a tool that they will be able to use in college prep programs.
My current challenge right now is writing a two year curriculum for the four core subjects for all of my seventh and eighth graders. During the summer it is easier to incorporate the different digital literacies because we see the students everyday and know they have access to computers when with us. However, we only see them every other Saturday during the school year. This year I have designed a curriculum which culminates in each small group presenting/publishing a final project. My worry is that during the down-time every couple of weeks, all momentum will be lost. My aspiration is to use tools such as blogs, wikis, and programs such as Inspiration to keep the groups in touch when not at LearningWorks. With all of the new skills we have to teach our students it is going to be very important to remember to use simple, visual, digital tools that are available.
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1 comment:
Jaimee,
Using digital technology to keep class momentum going between meetings seems like a great idea.
Have you thought about using Google Docs (or something similar, depending on your district's policies) for your class projects? I haven't used Google Docs yet, to be honest. But from what I understand, students could use it to do both individual and collaborative writing and revising. They can also choose who is allowed to log in and work on the page--so the early writing and editing stages of the project could remain "unpublished," but you would still have access to evaluate their progress. And students could work on writing from home, and visual elements and compilation in class, or vice versa...
In any case, I'd be interested to hear how your projects go. Keeping students' attention over a two week "hiatus" is definitely a unique dilemma.
Best,
kasi
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