Creating+Innovative+Uses+of+Technology+An+Individual+Project+Lesson+1

Creating Innovative Uses of Technology An Individual Project Project or Unit Lesson Plan for Drivers Education By Gloria Cousins Rationale Lesson One 1. Brief Description of #1 Lesson Plan Students are to learn how to purchase and maintain their first vehicle. 2. Technology and Resources Involved Facility-High School 9th-12th grade students in Drivers Education Network-Windows, MAC or PC Equipment-Computer w/Internet, uploaded photo, scanner (optional), speakers,microphone Software-Fotobabble, Wiki Websites’ URL’s: Class Wiki-cousinsdtclass Talking Photo Website-Fotobabble 3. Skills, Knowledge, and pedagogy required of Teachers Knowledge of district standards, familiarity with available technology ( hardware and software ) in the school, ability to connect standards and lesson plan with available technology. 4. Prior skills and knowledge required of students: Students should be familiar with computer basics, know how to conduct research on the internet, ability to follow directions, and ability to copy and paste. Be able to speak and write on a high school level. 5. What students are asked to do exactly: Students are to obtain a photo of the car or truck they would like to purchase upon receiving their driver’s license. They are do research and support their choice by describing the features, and the cost of maintenance. The photo will be uploaded to fotobabble and embedded in the class wiki where they will also write about their car and explain why they feel this is the right decision. 6. Procedures of the Project ( Steps to teach the Technology ): a. Students are asked to write a paragraph about the vehicle they plan on owning and maintaining. b. Obtain a photo of the vehicle described in (a) from the internet, camera phone or digital camera ( can be scanned/downloaded into computer, saved into picture file on computer. c. Go to Fotobabble.com ( free service, create username and password ), then upload your photo. Record a brief description of your car by speaking into the microphone. When you are satisfied with your recording, click Save. Then obtain and copy the embed code. d. Go to the class wiki http://cousinsdtclass.wikispaces.com. Click on New Page, Edit with their first name and the word fotobabble as the name of the page. While in edit mode, they will go to widget ( other widget ) and paste the embed code into the slot provided. Underneath the widget, they can write 2-3 sentences of the description of the car that were not provided in their recording. e. Click on “My First Car Support of My Decision” and write a paragraph that includes your explanation of why you chose this particular car, and why you feel that your parents would approve. Include in the explanation, your budget in comparison to the maintenance costs of the vehicle as well as insurance and other costs. 7. Advantages of the Project: The students get an opportunity to show their class members what their goal is upon completion of the class and issuance of their license. It also gives them experience in doing research before making a big decision such as this, and in certain instances comparing costs on several vehicles before making a final decision. It gives me an opportunity to assess their skills in doing research, in following directions, and in their ability to express themselves through writing and speaking. 8. Disadvantages of the Project: Students are limited in the size of the photo that can be uploaded, and the audio that can be recorded. Students with lesser speaking and writing skills might feel uncomfortable displaying their work in front of other class members. The project is not designed to be used with students with special needs. If that were the case, I would have to modify some of the steps so they could be included in the assignment. 9. Types of effective instructional strategies included: a. Students are given a grading rubric in the beginning of the assignment which outlines the criteria for evaluation. b. Project is designed so that students are graded individually, but those with stronger speaking and writing skills are allowed to serve as an inspiration to the others that might need help. c. Project can be completed away from school so that pressure is lessened to submit assignments that might require extra work. d. Parents are allowed to assess the class wiki and view the talking photos and the writings of the students. 10. Possibilities that the innovation can be transferred to other teachers, subject content, and different school settings: This project can be duplicated by any teachers in 5th-12th grades, as well as post secondary students, for any subjects that teachers want to give students experience in writing and speaking. All that is needed is a subject that the students could research, write, and speak about something they enjoy doing, which would also involve higher order thinking.