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Culminating Project for Grade 9 Humanities at SIS
Photo by YoTut on Flickr
During this last week of school, grade 9 Humanities students at my school presented the results of their research and the media they created for the Many Faces of Shenzhen culminating project, which was part of a unit on Urbanization. From what I saw of the process and products, it was an excellent project-based learning experience for the students, involving digital storytelling and an emphasis on a relatively new and quickly growing city in China populated with mostly migrant workers- Shenzhen.
The class and this project was facilitated by my colleague Victoria Robins. She defined the goal of the project to create a museum style exhibit, focusing on one migrant worker or long time Shenzhen resident. The person who the students interviewed should have lived in the city for at least 5 years, be willing to share their story, and be willing to share appropriate photos or other ‘primary sources’ to enrich the students’ exhibit. The final product had to be digital, but she let the students choose the digital medium. Students mostly created PowerPoints, Movies, Prezis, and/or Glogster posters. Prior to the creation process, Victoria had her students evaluate other digital exhibits out in the world to get a sense of what these types of products look like in actual exhibitions. Many of students also had to do Chinese-English translations in the process, so the project worked their language skills, as well.
Victoria is already a strong technology integrator and project-based learning facilitator, so she didn’t seek much assistance from me. As the high school technology integrator I only assisted Victoria by helping her deepen her understanding of how to find and cite Creative Commons licensed work so that she could properly guide the students in this part of the research and creation process. She is planning to publish some of the products the students created, so she wanted the students to ensure their products are legally viable in regards to the incorporated media (photos and music) beyond the original media they capture or create. She reported that most of the students grew their understanding of this process, and from what I saw in the exhibit, most of the students did ok with this aspect. Of course, they are still learning about Creative Commons as it was new for most of them, so a few students had still used copyrighted material.
Overall, the exhibition was great. The students presented many fascinating stories and insights about Shenzhen and some of the migrant workers living here. I know my colleagues and other community members who visited the exhibition were equally impressed with the students’ work.
Here are some of the student created videos for the project:
Below is a brief video I created about the exhibition of the final media related to the project:
Technology Skills for the 21st Century Learner- A Course at SIS
I developed a new course for my school’s 10th graders this year called Technology Skills for the 21st Century Learner. Being that technology is such an important part of our lives today and will certainly be in the future, as well, having a class that emphasizes effective use of technology in context of real world situations is an important part of the curriculum.
This course is different than your traditional computer class, however. In the past students may have learned step-by-step how to use certain applications, then were assessed on their knowledge and/or skills in using that application. With the fast pace of change with technology, this approach is outdated since a process learned in an application or even the application itself can change in a short period of time or even become irrelevant.
The “skills” involved in this class focus more on the approach and frame of mind in using technology in authentic contexts. The approaches/frames of mind are derived from the Information Literacy standards that look at how technology can be used to create, collaborate, communicate, think critically, and be responsible digital citizens. These are then set into real-world contexts. Yes, knowing the specific processes within a device or application are important in order to do something, but those specific processes can be learned “just in time” through the plethora of video tutorials available on the web, from more skilled friends, and, of course, the teacher. However, with all of these other sources of knowledge available, the teacher doesn’t have to be the application or device expert anymore- just a coach giving feedback and one-on-one assistance. Lastly, there may be more than one application that could be used in the context of the project, so to limit what application a student can use would not properly reflect what happens in the world outside of school.
In regards to assessment, students aren’t necessarily assessed on how well they execute a certain process within a specific device or application. Rather, they are assessed against the standards in how effectively they used the technology in the context the project provides. Some students may choose to develop their use of more advanced features of a technology because they are already an experienced user, while other beginner students may use more basic features. In either case, students can achieve Proficient or Exemplary levels based on how effectively the technology-based process and/or product accomplish the task.
SIS Student WordPress ePortfolio
For example, one of the class projects has the students using photo-editing software to build a header for their SIS ePortfolio. Students come into the class with varying levels of experience with photo-editing applications. The goal in this instance isn’t to get everyone using the application at the same technical level. The goal is: how can each student, as an individual, harness the application to design effectively and visually demonstrate who he or she is as a unique person and learner in context of their web-based portfolio of learning. Some students achieve this wonderfully using basic features of the application; others achieve it by using more advanced features of the application.
This portfolio header project and the development of the SIS portfolio is part of a larger theme called “Personal Branding” where students work to build their professional image on the web. Student learn to distinguish between the “Professional You” and the “Social You” and how we present both in the large online presence many of us maintain in today’s world. This is a critical understanding to have since our profiles and what we post in different online contexts are becoming scrutinized by possible university admission agents and prospective employers.
Included in this Personal Branding process is a video resume that students can use for university applications or internships for which they might apply in the future. They learn how to put together a video that effectively shows their unique qualities as a global citizen and what represents them as a learner. This will hopefully help them stand out above the sea of other applicants!
Students Facilitating Ethics & Internet Lesson
Students are also given the opportunity to help develop digital citizenship among the SIS Bayside community by delivering lessons to the middle and high school students. The theme of their lesson is “Ethics and the Internet.” Here they educate the students (and teachers!) about ethically using media like audio, video and images in their school work. They show how to find Creative Commons licensed photos along with how to create and license their own work that is published to the web.
In another project called “Presentation Transformation” students learn how to be more effective presenters by using the Presentation Zen approach. This has the students thinking about presentations with the mind of a designer and storyteller, using more image-based slides that are thoughtfully produced and including more “story” in the script rather than factual information only. The use of the visual support application actually becomes more simple rather than complex in this instance.
SIS Flat Classroom Participants
Other projects, like the Flat Classroom conference, will pop up as opportunities arise. The second semester students had the once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in this conference in Beijing where the students collaborated and created content with students from
Overall, Technology Skills for the 21st Century Learner is a fun and very useful class that the students seem to enjoy. As other opportunities arise and technology continues to evolve, so will the class.
