The ISTE standards for teachers state that, "Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments." The student standards state that, "Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology." I feel that the project my students are working on currently encompass these skills.
The project my 5th graders are currently working on is researching a college that is participating in March Madness and creating a PowerPoint presentation that includes the information that they have gathered, which will eventually be presented to the class. Research is one of the standards listed, which is a huge piece of my students' projects. As teachers, we underestimate the amount of scaffolding and lessons that could be taught to show students how to research on the internet effectively, such as key word searches, looking for reliable sources, navigating pages that have multiple tabs, and paraphrasing the information they are looking up. All of these are pertinent skills they will need as they get older.
Even though this project is individualized for the students and not very collaborative, I can see how students are helping each other when they come across a problem or need help looking up a certain piece of information. They are even learning from each other when trying out the different applications on PowerPoint, such as designs, transitions, and uploading pictures.
This was our first time doing this project, which is why we wanted to keep it simple with a PowerPoint presentation. In the future, I can see myself giving students options for how they want to present their information...whether it be through a picture book on Story Jumper, or using interactive online resources such as Glogster or Prezi. Students would learn so much from trying out different ways to present their information with technology.
Rachelle, you selected a highly motivational research topic in March Madness colleges! You had students report their findings multimodally using PowerPoint. I love that you set a goal next time to empower students to select a tool for online reporting!
ReplyDeleteI love how you picked a hot topic like March Madness to motivate students. I am also impressed by how many links to technology fifth graders have when going to present their projects!
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be a great project. I can't wait to see some of their final products. What a wonderfully motivating project!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fabulous idea. I love how you motivate your students with a popular topic. I would love to see some of their finished projects!
ReplyDeleteWhat away to tie in something that is happening in the real world and make it come to life. I would love to see one of the finished projects. Just a quick note... my son who is a 3rd grader used Prezi to present his research this year, and he loved doing it!
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