Subject Area : Social Studies, Science , Technology and English
Details:
For most group projects, each person is assigned on set number of slides to create which they send to a designated member in the group who edits and puts the presentation together. So basically, there is very little to no teamwork actually involved in the making of the presentation and the same goes for the report which is done in the same manner as the presentation. However, with a tool like Google docs students can work much more collaboratively. With Google docs students can work and edit the presentation simultaneously as well as discuss ideas in the very useful chat function.
For the design and making of the presentation , every student believes the only way to make a presentation is through Microsoft PowerPoint. However, students are unaware of the great presentation making tools and software available to them. For example, students can use Jing's image capturing software to create excellent tutorials and voice overs of video's which could prove to be much more effective than powerpoint presentation. Students could also use prezi which allow them to make much more animated and visually appealing presentations.
For the research aspect of the assignment, students are often hard pressed to find credible resources and usually settle on not so reliable sources like Wikipedia. With the help of educational resources like learn360 students can find more than enough information to make an informed report. Learn360 is an online database of educational articles and videos which can be very useful for students that are looking for credible information. Diigo is also very useful because students can use this tool to bookmark different resources and place notes, and highlight other useful information so they can come back and easily see the information that is useful to them.
In conclusion, by introducing students to the technology available to them they can complete their assignments easily and also get more out of completing the assignment.
Pros:
- Students can work collaboratively on group projects.
- Students can create more creative and informed presentations
- Students will have more options to look for research and will be able to better utilize sources they do find
Cons:
- It will take time to teach teachers about all these tools so they can then introduce it to their students
Technolgy needed :
Basically all you need is internet connection as all these tools are available online
What needs to be done for this to idea to work:
Teachers need to learn the basics of these tools, so they can then tell their students about. Teachers also need to be enthusiastic about these tools so they can also get their students excited about it as well.
Your idea is good. Your idea can easily be incorporated in a class setting. All that needs to be done is to teach the teachers the technology, and in turn teach the students how to use this technology.
ReplyDeleteYour post was good, but you need to be a little more specific with the technology you think could be used. Concentrate on a couple of tools like Learn360, Prezi, Jing, etc. That way you will be able to develope a plan on how to incorporate these tools. By addressing specific tools, you will be able to tailor your idea toward using these tools in specific classes. That way it will be easily applicable in these classes.
To review, your idea is great, it is very realistic as it could be easily applied in a classroom setting. To complete your post, all you need to do is explain specific tools that could be used in classrooms. After this is done, you are finished, and your post will be perfect.
1) Is the idea realistic?
ReplyDeleteFor this idea all the necessary technology is found either at school or at home. Like Ms. Alsoponso's class we taught the students how to use a research tool that we found very interesting Diigo. It took roughly a period for them to learn and they even found out what else they could do with this program such as sharing highlighted points by being in the same groups. The time it would take to plan, implement and evaluate the idea will take around 2 weeks at most. I believe that this idea is worth while because by exposing these new and inovative ideas of researching and presenting this will make class project more enjoyable.
2)Does this idea enrich learning?
I believe that this idea is to make learning more meaningful by exposing other means of presentation and research that we are used to such as Microsoft Powerpoint. Prezi is a very great way of presenting your presentation due to its fluidity and non static appearance that Microsoft Powerpoint has. Students learn new and valuable skills such as a better way of doing research (by using Diigo), group work with googledoc etc. Students will most likely be more engaged in learning due to the options they can choose from. Group presentation will have more teamwork involved when using googledoc because of its realtime editing and that multiple people can edit at the same time.