3.2 Managing Digital Tools and Resources
Candidates effectively manage digital tools and resources within the context of student learning experiences. (PSC 3.2/ISTE 3b)
Artifact: Technology Tools Lesson Plan (ITEC 7430), Screencast
Reflection:
As a culminating assignment in ITEC 7430, Internet Tools in the Classroom, students were required to develop a lesson plan that incorporated at least three technology tools studied through the course. The project that I designed was for my 10th Grade Literature and Composition course. Upon completion of a unit of study focusing on persuasion and logical fallacies as seen in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, students created a digital presidential campaign ad for one of four main characters. Campaigns were presented in class for student evaluation and feedback.
Developing this lesson allowed me to demonstrate mastery of Standard 3.2, which states, “Candidates effectively manage digital tools and resources within the context of student learning experiences.” In this project, students produced a presidential campaign ad for Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, or Antony using the presentation tool of their choice. Each campaign was required to include include the three modes of persuasion (ethos, pathos, logos) to convince the audience to vote for the candidate, as well as three types of logical fallacies (ad hominem, ad populum, and straw man) to attack the other candidates. Students were assessed on knowledge of the play and modes of persuasion via in-class quizzes and an online test via the online learning management system (LMS) in place at the time. Students were assessed on knowledge of logical fallacies via comments in a Voice Thread presentation. Before submitting their final draft, students had the opportunity to receive feedback from me by submitting a rough draft into an electronic drop box on the LMS. During presentations, students evaluated their classmates via a backchannel communication tool, Today’s Meet, on the effectiveness of persuasion and logical fallacies. I also assessed students’ final presentation and participation using a digital rubric on the LMS.
In order to maintain student learning as well as proper classroom management, it was important for me to be able to manage all of these tools and resources effectively, as well as be able to show students how to manage and use them to their own advantage. It was also vital that students see how these tools could be beneficial to them outside of the classroom environment. I believe the projects that my students submitted, as well as the feedback received from them at the end of the year, showed that my management of the tools allowed them to both support and enrich the learning experience. Student projects included an iMovie, VoiceThread presentations, narrated PowerPoints, and videos uploaded to YouTube. Feedback from students pointed out the importance of being able to teach the technology as well as the content, and that my ability to assist them made the project one of their favorites of the year.
If I were to redo this project again in the future, or to assist another teacher with implementation of this project, I would reformat the method of peer-to-peer evaluation during student presentations. I asked students to answer two questions per presentation via Today’s Meet. However, because Today’s Meet does not allow for any moderation, some students were unable to behave despite continued warnings to remain on topic and reminders of the consequences of misconduct. I believe that I would also ask students to provide more detailed feedback related to a rubric similar to that which I used when assessing student projects. A tool such as Socrative would be an easy way to collect and later analyze data related to such feedback.
As a culminating assignment in ITEC 7430, Internet Tools in the Classroom, students were required to develop a lesson plan that incorporated at least three technology tools studied through the course. The project that I designed was for my 10th Grade Literature and Composition course. Upon completion of a unit of study focusing on persuasion and logical fallacies as seen in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, students created a digital presidential campaign ad for one of four main characters. Campaigns were presented in class for student evaluation and feedback.
Developing this lesson allowed me to demonstrate mastery of Standard 3.2, which states, “Candidates effectively manage digital tools and resources within the context of student learning experiences.” In this project, students produced a presidential campaign ad for Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, or Antony using the presentation tool of their choice. Each campaign was required to include include the three modes of persuasion (ethos, pathos, logos) to convince the audience to vote for the candidate, as well as three types of logical fallacies (ad hominem, ad populum, and straw man) to attack the other candidates. Students were assessed on knowledge of the play and modes of persuasion via in-class quizzes and an online test via the online learning management system (LMS) in place at the time. Students were assessed on knowledge of logical fallacies via comments in a Voice Thread presentation. Before submitting their final draft, students had the opportunity to receive feedback from me by submitting a rough draft into an electronic drop box on the LMS. During presentations, students evaluated their classmates via a backchannel communication tool, Today’s Meet, on the effectiveness of persuasion and logical fallacies. I also assessed students’ final presentation and participation using a digital rubric on the LMS.
In order to maintain student learning as well as proper classroom management, it was important for me to be able to manage all of these tools and resources effectively, as well as be able to show students how to manage and use them to their own advantage. It was also vital that students see how these tools could be beneficial to them outside of the classroom environment. I believe the projects that my students submitted, as well as the feedback received from them at the end of the year, showed that my management of the tools allowed them to both support and enrich the learning experience. Student projects included an iMovie, VoiceThread presentations, narrated PowerPoints, and videos uploaded to YouTube. Feedback from students pointed out the importance of being able to teach the technology as well as the content, and that my ability to assist them made the project one of their favorites of the year.
If I were to redo this project again in the future, or to assist another teacher with implementation of this project, I would reformat the method of peer-to-peer evaluation during student presentations. I asked students to answer two questions per presentation via Today’s Meet. However, because Today’s Meet does not allow for any moderation, some students were unable to behave despite continued warnings to remain on topic and reminders of the consequences of misconduct. I believe that I would also ask students to provide more detailed feedback related to a rubric similar to that which I used when assessing student projects. A tool such as Socrative would be an easy way to collect and later analyze data related to such feedback.
