Collaborative Student Website Using Google

I've decided to try out Google's free feature to create a collaborative website for my 10th grade English II pre-AP students. The theme for our non-fiction unit will be "Investigating Happiness". Each of the activities suggested by the state curriculum have been slightly modified to the theme and the products they'll produce will be posted by the students on the site's pages. They'll conduct and post research, write persuasive essays, use persuasive techniques to create PSA videos and ads, create Voice Threads or podcasts for personal narratives, and connect the theme to the novel they're reading, The Hobbit. We start tomorrow with them each creating a gmail account. Student input will play a large role in this unit project, as they will be expected to provide comments on each other's products and on the website itself. I can't wait to get them started!!

Student Presentations via iPads

Novel research presentations and discussions day. Students used Educreations, iBrainstorm and Notes and shared via Apple TV. Seems the best choice was Notes with images saved to the camera roll - easiest to use. Kibits is a new collaboration app that looks like a group project game changer. Will experiment with it after Thanksgiving.

Research & Getting Students Interested in Novel Analysis

This week we will use our 15 iPads quite a bit.  Students will be finishing up their anticipatory novel research projects early in the week. Small groups selected topics I chose that are related to important aspects of the novels they are about to analyze. 

My English I classes will begin independently reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  The topics upon which they are to find information as to how they relate to the novel include:  dystopia, fascism, hero/heroine archetype, the monomyth, Battle Royale, and violence in reality television.  Most students have already read the book or have seen the movie, so I am hoping to be able to lead them to a more thematic analysis of the themes.

The English II pre-AP class will be reading The Hobbit.  The topics they were able to select include:  J.R. Tolkien, philology, Scandinavian mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, hero/heroine archetype, the monomyth, and Middle Earth.  I am hoping all the hype surrounding the first movie will help reinforce their engagement.

After teaching students the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary sources, we looked at the reliability of their most commonly used online research sources, especially Wikipedia.  I showed them how Wikipedia entries use footnotes and resources and explained to them that they may use it as a "springboard", leading them to more reliable sources of information.  The AML Gale Database app was loaded onto all the iPads and students were able to access these reliable databases.

Once students complete their investigation, they will share what they have learned in order to build interest and lay the groundwork for analysis.

First Blog

The purpose of my blog is to share my experiences of using technology in relevant and authentic ways.  I hope to provide valuable information to anyone who wants to figure out how to best use technology in their classrooms.