Rationale: Part of the freshmen geography curriculum is to learn about the culture of Western Europe. For a personal understanding of cultural differences, I paired up my students with French PenPals to share aspects of their daily lives to better understand the similarities and differences between our cultures. In an assignment designed to encourage my students to highlight what they believed to be “typical American activities,” they were instructed to create a movie about some aspect of American culture. The lesson plan that describes this assignment was created for EDT 674 “Learning with Technology” since my students used video cameras, digital cameras, Microsoft MovieMaker, Microsoft PhotoStory, digital voice recorders, and other technological components to create their final projects. Also attached are a few example of videos created for this assignment or you can view them on my school website.
As an educator I challenge myself to create new and different lesson plans for my students, varying instruction styles and activities that incorporate knowledge of the subject matter with the ability level and competencies of my students. With this activity I also pulled in the expertise of a UW-Oshkosh intern we had at our disposal in my district named Lindsey. I think the students benefitted tremendously from this activity as they were challenged in the use of the technology while having two educators to assist with the frustrations that can come up while trying to create a beautiful finished product like these videos.
KSD 7.K.2 The teacher knows how to take contextual considerations (instructional materials; individual student interests, needs, and aptitudes; and community resources) into account when planning instruction that creates an effective bridge between curriculum goals and students’ experiences. Allowing the students to create videos based on their own conceptions of “American Culture” helped them to identify similarities and differences between their lives and that of the French PenPals. The UW intern, Lindsey, was a great community resource to incorporate into this project as well, with her bringing quite a bit of expertise on the file formats needed to use in MovieMaker and assistance in troubleshooting through technological difficulties.
7.S.1 As an individual and a member of a team, the teacher selects and creates learning experiences that are appropriate for curriculum goals, relevant to learners, and based upon principles of effective instruction (e.g. that activate students’ prior knowledge, anticipate preconceptions, encourage exploration and problem-solving, and build new skills on those previously acquired). I chose to place this project at the end of the second semester for my freshmen, knowing that they are all required to take a computer applications course their freshmen year. Through that course they are introduced to programs like MovieMaker and PhotoStory which I incorporated into this project. Some prior knowledge in the use of these programs allowed me to challenge the students to bring the project to their level of ability, building on the skills previously acquired.
7.D.2 The teacher believes that plans must always be open to adjustment and revision based on student needs and changing circumstances. This project allowed students to use their strengthens and skills, adjusting the parameters of the project to their ability levels. The use of MovieMaker was a bit too advanced for one group so they choose to take digital pictures, use a voice recorder, and compile their presentation in PhotoStory instead. It was an excellent way to achieve the final result but through a different process more appropriate for their group. I firmly believe in adjustment and revision of plan as necessary for students’ needs and circumstances.
Standard 7: Teachers are able to plan different kinds of lessons.
The teacher organizes and plans systematic instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, pupils, the community, and curriculum goals.
Evidence: EDT 674 Learning with Technology Lesson Plan for Intercultural Sharing of Daily Life on wiki, examples found on my website at HASD
Rationale: Part of the freshmen geography curriculum is to learn about the culture of Western Europe. For a personal understanding of cultural differences, I paired up my students with French PenPals to share aspects of their daily lives to better understand the similarities and differences between our cultures. In an assignment designed to encourage my students to highlight what they believed to be “typical American activities,” they were instructed to create a movie about some aspect of American culture. The lesson plan that describes this assignment was created for EDT 674 “Learning with Technology” since my students used video cameras, digital cameras, Microsoft MovieMaker, Microsoft PhotoStory, digital voice recorders, and other technological components to create their final projects. Also attached are a few example of videos created for this assignment or you can view them on my school website.
As an educator I challenge myself to create new and different lesson plans for my students, varying instruction styles and activities that incorporate knowledge of the subject matter with the ability level and competencies of my students. With this activity I also pulled in the expertise of a UW-Oshkosh intern we had at our disposal in my district named Lindsey. I think the students benefitted tremendously from this activity as they were challenged in the use of the technology while having two educators to assist with the frustrations that can come up while trying to create a beautiful finished product like these videos.
KSD
7.K.2 The teacher knows how to take contextual considerations (instructional materials; individual student interests, needs, and aptitudes; and community resources) into account when planning instruction that creates an effective bridge between curriculum goals and students’ experiences.
Allowing the students to create videos based on their own conceptions of “American Culture” helped them to identify similarities and differences between their lives and that of the French PenPals. The UW intern, Lindsey, was a great community resource to incorporate into this project as well, with her bringing quite a bit of expertise on the file formats needed to use in MovieMaker and assistance in troubleshooting through technological difficulties.
7.S.1 As an individual and a member of a team, the teacher selects and creates learning experiences that are appropriate for curriculum goals, relevant to learners, and based upon principles of effective instruction (e.g. that activate students’ prior knowledge, anticipate preconceptions, encourage exploration and problem-solving, and build new skills on those previously acquired).
I chose to place this project at the end of the second semester for my freshmen, knowing that they are all required to take a computer applications course their freshmen year. Through that course they are introduced to programs like MovieMaker and PhotoStory which I incorporated into this project. Some prior knowledge in the use of these programs allowed me to challenge the students to bring the project to their level of ability, building on the skills previously acquired.
7.D.2 The teacher believes that plans must always be open to adjustment and revision based on student needs and changing circumstances.
This project allowed students to use their strengthens and skills, adjusting the parameters of the project to their ability levels. The use of MovieMaker was a bit too advanced for one group so they choose to take digital pictures, use a voice recorder, and compile their presentation in PhotoStory instead. It was an excellent way to achieve the final result but through a different process more appropriate for their group. I firmly believe in adjustment and revision of plan as necessary for students’ needs and circumstances.