Posted on 24 April 2012. Tags: Google Docs, High School, movie, movie maker, research, Virginia Randolph
Submitted by: Garvey T. Dobbins
School: The Academy at Virginia Randolph
Summary
Summary: Whitney Houston’s untimely death has led the career investigation nursing students to questions what was the cause. The new media initially said that the cause was an overdose caused bythe misuse of Percocet. The students realize that Percocet is a prescription drug. They were interested in what are the side effects and how can it cause death. The students decide that they want to research this drug to learn more about it. The students develop the questions to drive their research and select the medium in which they want to present their project. They used Google Docs to share their research and collaborate with their classmates to write a script to present as a public serve announcement.
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TIPC Ratings
Students were responsible for decided what they were going to research and what questions they were going to answer to present information to their audience. Students used the Internet to research the information. Lively discussion sparked up as students asked more questions about the information they were researching. All the information was included in a Google Doc that was shared with the class so each students could have access to the researched information. Students also included citations that they wrote using Easy Bib.
Students used Google Document to share the information they were studying. This is small class of students so all students were responsible for researching and creating a script to use for their presentation. They decided that Google Doc would be an effective tool to write the script for the PSA. The group projected the script on a whiteboard to use as a prompt when videoing their presentation. Students also reviewed their first attempt of the video to make recommendations on what should be added to provide more information to the audience.
Students deciding what topic they wanted to research and learn about as related to health and well-being. They developed the questions to direct their research. They used the information the collected to write their Public Service Announcement.Each students was responsible for a part of the information.
Students decided that they wanted to create a video that would be used as a Public Service Announcement to present information on the effects of Percocet. When they reviewed the initial product, they decided that they needed to include at clip of Whitney Houston, pictures of the drugs, and an introduction to describe why they decided to research this topic.
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Posted in Comm/Collab - Dev, Creativity - Dev, Critical Thinking - Dev, CTE, High School, Info Fluency - App, Uncategorized
Posted on 20 April 2012. Tags: blog, critical thinking, Middle School, research, Spanish
Submitted by: Sarah-Henning Snellings
School: Brookland Middle School
Summary
Students will work on making plans for the future using the simple future tense vocabulary in Spanish. Working collaboratively in small groups, they will imagine they are competing to win prize money to spend on their Spring Break. Working only within their budget,, they will decide where they are going to go, what they are going to do for their dream break. They will research how much each activity or item they purchase is going to cost and put together a proposal written entirely in Spanish. They will then share their “entries” with the rest of the class and the world through the class’s blog site.
TIPC Ratings
TThis lesson scores approaching in the area of Research and Information fluency. The teacher designed a challenge that asked students to work within a budget to plan their spring break for a “mock” contest. Students researched possible activities using search engines and developed a written plan that was posted to the class blog.
This lesson scores in approaching for Communication and Collaboration. The lesson includes students working together in student selected pairs to create a post for the class blog. This post will be written complete in Spanish in the future tense which is a critical part of this lesson. Students will also complete a self reflection form using google docs.
This lesson scores in approaching for critical thinking and problem solving. The teacher has designed a authentic task in which students are competing in a radio contest to win money. In order to win this money students have to critically think about budget and compromising over decision on how to allocate their funds.
.This lesson scores in approaching for creativity and innovation. The teacher created a lesson where students must synthesize their research in a collaborative setting to develop the plan for their vacation. The students created that plan and posted it to the class blog. They then voted and commented on the most original idea.
Posted in Comm/Collab - App, Creativity - Dev, Critical Thinking - App, Grade Level, Info Fluency - App, Middle School, Spanish, TIP Chart, World Languages
Posted on 20 April 2012. Tags: critical thinking, English, information fluency, research, Website Evaluation
Submitted by: Morgan Hendrick (amshenrick)
School: Brookland Middle School
Summary
With the explosion of information available at student’s fingertips, it is easy for students to confuse accurate information with inaccurate information. Evaluating the accuracy of website information is an important 21st century skill that student’s need to acquire, as research will be something student’s will continue to do their entire lives. In this lesson students will learn how to evaluate websites for relevancy and accuracy and create their own tool to help them evaluate other websites in the future.
TIPC Ratings
Students will research techniques to help them evaluate the accuracy of information on websites. The teacher modeled strategies using an online tutorial. Students synthesised that information into a website rubric that could be used on any website. Students then took that tool to evaluate the information they would be using for their upcoming research project.
Students will communicate with each other about the characteristics of good websites and collaborate in small groups to develop a digital rubric to use in future research. The teacher provided an opportunity for students to work in small groups to create a rubric with which to evaluate websites. The students used MS word to create the document.
Students will work together to create a working rubric that can be used to evaluate websites. The teacher has provided an authentic task for students and included strategies and digital tools to solve this problem. Students justified their decision making process by using the rubric to evaluate other websites.
Students will create a digital rubric of their own using MS.Word. The teacher included connections between tools that have already been created and the need to create a personal tool. Students took that knowledge and created a digital tool that they could then use to evaluate websites on their own.
Student Artifact
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- LessonPlan
- Student Planning Page
- Student Sample 1
- Student Sample 2
- Student Sample 3
Posted in Comm/Collab - Dev, Creativity - Dev, Critical Thinking - App, English, Grade Level, Info Fluency - App, Middle School, Subject
Posted on 02 April 2012. Tags: Collaboration, communication, critical thinking, Middle School, Pocahontas, research
Submitted by: Claiborne Snyder
Collaborators:
School: Pocahontas Middle School
Summary
Students are given $500 and asked to shop for clothing for a French family of 4. They are to convert their dollars to euros, select complete outfits for a mother, father, 13 year old boy, and 12 year old girl from an online French clothing store and still fall within the budget given. Students will also teach themselves 15 new vocabulary words from the French website, and present all of their findings in a digital format. They create a fashion show explaining the clothing items they purchased for each family member, why they chose the item, and the total cost of their shopping trip. They will learn to communicate as a group and work together to produce a fashion show video of their findings. They will also work to sharpen their verbal skills by producing a voice-over description of the fashion show.
TIPC Ratings
Although students were given the website, the students were heavily involved in researching the clothing options to purchase for the family.
Students worked in self-selected groups to make decisions and “buy” the clothing for the family. The groups also collaborated to create a presentation to display their shopping list, along with French narration.
The students attempted to solve real world problems by shopping for a needy family overseas.
Students created a presentation to show the results of their shopping experience.
Posted in Comm/Collab - App, Creativity - Dev, Critical Thinking - Target, French, Info Fluency - App, Middle School, World Languages
Posted on 02 April 2012. Tags: BMS, Byrd, byrd middle school, Collaboration, communication, critical thinking, earth science, Google Docs, Middle School, reflection, research
Submitted by: Kelly Smith
School: Byrd
Summary
This creative end-product lesson involves a high-level of collaboration among group members to conceptualize a “story” of a rock travelling through geologic time while describing the processes that occur along the way. Students are heavily invested in higher level thinking of Blooms Taxonomy as they apply and synthesize our entire first semester of geology while creating a “story” that reflects the students’ knowledge, creativity, and personalities. In this multi-phased project, students will be actively engaged in real world tasks of meeting deadlines, collaborative group management, and creating a novel product that will be shared and used in a variety of ways. The project opens with an introduction, partner selection, and establishing collaborative-management. Phase two includes rock personalization/character creation (either virtually or with an actual rock), brainstorming, and reflection. The storyline involves brainstorming, outlining, researching, and product creation. The final step is presenting and sharing. Students can communicate, assign tasks, and combine research on a Google Doc form. The students’ products will be shared both electronically for the class to use as a review study tool for SOL’s and their masterpieces will also be presented to the class. In addition, to add further authenticity that expands beyond the walls of our classroom, students will also share their knowledge and creativity with our neighboring elementary schools. The fourth and fifth grade SOL’s are very similar to our own, so the teachers can use our products as a fun way to introduce or teach their own students.
TIPC Ratings
The students are actively engaged in researching specific rock transformations and major events of geologic time. Students are using advanced searches as well as classroom resources such as books and magazines. Students have the freedom to choose which resources they prefer or to mix and match the resources.
Students have complete freedom to use any digital tool(s) that they would like and can try novel or familiar digital tools. Additionally, students will be able to contribute and communicate on a Google doc form. Students can clearly see other partners’ ideas and add to them or direct those ideas into a different direction. Students are then able to work on their own section while simultaneously commenting on another member’s ideas. Students will reflect three times in this project: first at the very beginning to become aware of group dynamics; secondly during peer review; and lastly at the end of the project for a final overall reflection. During the first reflection students are made aware of group dynamics of what worked and what didn’t work. During the second reflection, students are able to compare and contrast their story to another group’s during the story editing process. The final reflection will be done at the end where students may give me feedback on what worked or didn’t work for next year as well as what they gleaned from this exercise.
Students have complete freedom to incorporate tangible materials with digital or to use strictly digital tools. The groups may use whatever tool they would like for their presentation. The students will be creating a “story” that is very complex, and challenging. Students are not only having to incorporate time, but also having to simultaneously demonstrate geologic knowledge. Students are synthesizing an entire semester’s worth of information into a creative end-product. The students are heavily vested in an authentic task that serves each other as well as others in the same learning community. Many of these students have younger siblings have taken this challenge to heart to make it easy to understand, informative, and engaging.
Students are creating projects to facilitate their own understanding of geologic process and geologic time, to help each other, and to help others in the community. These “stories” are resources that will make SOL review engaging and enlightening at the end of the year when the students share their creations with each other. Additionally, the “stories” will also provide a valuable resource to younger students in the county to ignite interest in geology, and to expose them to higher level and creative concepts that extend beyond the SOL boundaries. Reflection is a key element in any field. With three reflection points, built into the lesson, the students should become more adept with each one at recognizing faults and successes. Student should learn from each of the opportunities and become stronger collaborative learners and students.
Posted in Comm/Collab - Target, Creativity - Target, Critical Thinking - Target, Earth Science, Grade Level, Info Fluency - Target, Middle School, Science, Subject
Posted on 21 January 2012. Tags: H12S, High School, movie maker, project, research, Varina High School
Submitted by: JaNee Jones & Sarah Billups
Collaborators:School Librarians
School: Varina High School
Summary
The objective of the “Can you hear me now?” unit is to provide students with the tools to effectively and powerfully express themselves. This creative and informational unit will develop student centered learning as the students discover and explore a variety of nonfiction texts and produce unique works within the nonfiction genre. Through the unit, students will continue practicing the fundamentals of English, reinforcing SOL and SAT test taking strategies, and collaborating for a common goal. From 6 word memoirs, impromptu debates and persuasive letters, this lesson does it all with the student as the creator after understanding the concepts. As a goal of nonfiction is to entertain while informing, there is nothing more powerful than providing students with tools to share their voice at such a pivotal age.
This specific part of the unit focuses on independent, collaborative, and creative research and critical thinking. Students are challenged with developing a “How to Video” to teach their peers a skill that is pertinent to their generation. It extends beyond the simplicity of “How to walk,” as students create age-appropriate, high-interest, and audience focused videos, which requires advanced research skills, creative questioning, communication, and complete interest in a topic.
TIPC Ratings
Ideal/Target – Students are provided with an authentic task to provide a well researched solution to through synthesis of resources and evaluation of information. Students are challenged with creating a research question, conducting research, evaluating the information, and synthesizing the information into a new product.
Approaching: Students are engaged in meaningful questioning, critical thinking and authentic assessment to a purposeful problem through the development of research questions, research, analysis, and production creation.
Approaching: Students are provided with an authentic problem that requires collaboration within and beyond the classroom without direct supervision from the teacher. Students are encourage to create group norms and communicate needs of the group for project success digitally and independently.
Ideal/Target Students are personally engaged in creativity and innovation that requires personal and group growth, risks, and the development of new ideas.
Student Artifact
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- LESSON PLAN
- STUDENT ARTIFACTS
Posted in Comm/Collab - App, Creativity - Target, Critical Thinking - App, English, High School, Info Fluency - Target
Posted on 21 January 2012. Tags: creativity, English, H12S, movie maker, prezi, project, research, Varina High School, Writing
Submitted by: Caroline Wheeler
School: Varina High School
Summary
Urban legends fascinate, disturb, and ultimately entertain all of us—students and teachers alike. The Urban Legends lesson bridges the study of legends, one of the major tenets of world literature, and modern folklore. For many students, the stuff of literature and the stuff of real life seem worlds apart. An extension from traditional legends and mythology units of study, this online research based lesson plan provides students with an opportunity to connect literature to everyday life and enables students to use technological skills and approaches to explore, understand, and evaluate the different types and purposes of modern, urban legends. Students will gain deeper insight into the similarities of literature of different cultures and eras and will develop more relevant understandings of the cultural and social functions of oral literature. The Urban Legends lesson is designed to foster and promote students’ approaching and ideal information fluency skills. In addition, this 21st Century lesson also promotes group communication and collaboration. Using understandings gained during from their research, students will create an innovative 21st Century product to showcase understandings and criticisms to less informed, more gullible peers.
The Urban Legends lesson, inspired creative thinking, by allowing them to discover that it is OK not to believe everything they hear and encourage creative risk taking. Students had to go outside of their comfort zones to create a 21st Century product to showcase their findings.
TIPC Ratings
Approaching – This lesson plan encouraged me and my students to rely on modern technology to promote Approaching Research Skills and Information Fluency. The Urban Legends lesson that I designed provided my learners with an opportunity to solve a specific authentic task: to verify the validity of one specific, student selected urban legend. During the introduction portion of the Urban Legends lesson, I modeled and explained appropriate research strategies–an approaching research and information fluency skill. By modeling appropriate research strategies, I gave my students avenues to help guide their research and evaluation of modern Urban Legends. Students then used 21st Century tools to assemble, organize, and powerfully display information found during the research process.
Approaching — This lesson requires students to not only complete the authentic task, but to also critically and meaningfully engage in the material. Students will gain deeper insight into the similarities of literature of different cultures and eras and will develop more relevant understandings of the cultural and social functions of oral literature. Students had to apply digital tools to apply concepts learned to the purposes of literature in the larger world.
Approaching – Students are provided with the communication tools through the School Space Discussion Board. Students are encouraged to communicate purposefully through responses, editing, and reflection without direct supervision within and beyond the classroom. Communication occurs as necessary while working towards developing their unique, personal statement. Reflection occurs as students communicate with each other through the discussion board and have the ability to view their peers with a new outlook.
Ideal/Target – By using this lesson students were able to develop, facilitate, and assess a learning environment where my students’ creativity and innovation were unlimited. While the lesson website served as model for student research, it allowed students to work beyond the assignment parameters. The presentation portion of the project especially supported student Ideal/Target Creativity and Innovation because they had to synthesize their new knowledge to create meaningful, original products of their own design. These students jumped head first into creating their presentations. Some members of the class, were less comfortable with the technology, but the class really came together as a community, helping each other and collaborating within and in-between learning groups. The results were not only creative, but inspiring as well. The finished products were showcased on School Space and HCPS Link for all students and parents to see.
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Contents:
- LESSON PLAN
- STUDENT ARTIFACTS
Posted in Comm/Collab - App, Creativity - Target, Critical Thinking - App, English, Finalist '11-'12, High School, Info Fluency - App, Winners
Posted on 21 January 2012. Tags: Ceramics, creativity, H12S, High School, prezi, project, research, Varina High School
Submitted by: Dana Dabney
School: Varina High School
Summary
This lesson is based on the topic of masks and how they have affected our lives in the past and the present day. In a group, students chose some sort of mask that they are interested in and research the topic further. They share their found information via a Prezi presentation that is then shared on our class blog. After learning about many different aspects of masks and mask making by reading other class’ blog posts, student then create their own original clay mask in the classroom.
TIPC Ratings
Approaching: At the beginning of this unit, students are instructed on how to determine the accuracy of sources. Once this is established, they are free to select the proper tools and sources to gain the necessary research information. They construct their own questions to guide their research.
Approaching: Students formed their own groups and decided on their own roles without help from the teacher. Using “Prezi” allowed students to work collaboratively on the assignment even while not in class together. At the end of the project, they “reflected on their roles as communicators and collaborators and set goals for future growth” by answering a survey based on the project. The use of the blog allows other people, “regardless of time zone or physical distances” to see the work that students did in class.
Approaching: The research project was “open-ended”. Students were only asked to tell me more about a particular subject relating to masks. They could take it in many different directions.
Approaching: This project allowed students to make connections between the historical concept of a mask, to how we use them in our modern day. They were then allowed to use their imagination to make their own version of three-dimensional mask in clay.
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Contents:
- LESSON PLAN
- STUDENT ARTIFACTS
Posted in Art, Comm/Collab - App, Creativity - App, Critical Thinking - App, High School, Info Fluency - App
Posted on 21 January 2012. Tags: English, H12S, information fluency, lesson, research, secondary, Varina High School
Submitted by: Ashley Taylor
School: Varina High School
Summary
Students will engage in a 90 minute lesson to introduce them to the internet world of nonfiction. During this lesson, students will realize that all information on the World Wide Web is not true and will have to look at various websites and determine whether or not the information provided is fraudulent. This is important when using the internet for research projects, papers, and seeking general information.
TIPC Ratings
Approaching – This lesson is designed for 9th grade students as an introduction in determining accuracy of internet sources. Once students learned the skills of Research and Information Fluency they were able to use digital tools search for internet sources to complete their projects and evaluate their own sources for validity.
Developing: This lesson falls in the Developing column in the Communication and Collaboration category in the TIPC chart. While the teacher does serve as the main facilitator, the students have time to share ideas with each other and collaborate in determining validity of the internet sites.
Approaching: Students must use alternate search engines on the internet to validate information from the suspected websites. Additionally, the teacher uses quality questioning to facilitate the discussion and spur critical thinking among students in determining what is an authentic site and what is not a valid website.
This lesson could be extended past an introduction so that students search the web and come up with their own list of false advertisements and websites containing false information. The students could then create a presentation to provide to the class or even a false website of their own to fool the experts.
Classroom Video
Featured on HCPS TV “Today’s Classroom”
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Contents:
- LESSON PLAN
- STUDENT ARTIFACTS
Posted in Comm/Collab - Dev, Creativity - App, Critical Thinking - App, English, High School, Info Fluency - App
Posted on 20 January 2012. Tags: Collaboration, critical thinking, E12S, iPads, magnets, research, Sandston, Science
Submitted by: Amy Moore, Kindergarten
Collaborators: Whitney deBordenave, Elementary ITRT
School: Sandston
Summary
After initial classroom introduction on magnets and their properties, students were asked to research how staff used magnets in their everyday life at school using the iPads to record their interviews. In small groups, students went to various staff members to see where magnets were used and items they would or would not attract to in the immediate environment. Using the information they discovered, students then researched magnets in their classroom and communicated and documented it using StoryKit.
TIPC Ratings
The lesson is Approaching in Research and Information Fluency as student used the iPads to investigate within the classroom and around the school. They went around the school and gathered new information to learn how magnets are used in the school and objects they attract to or do not.
The lesson is Target/Ideal for Communication and Collaboration. The students worked well in partners and groups to address the various parts of the lesson. Students reflections show application of new knowledge.
The lesson is Approaching in Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. As students applied what they learned to new situations in the various student centered activities that they completed in the lesson. Students used digital tools, such as the iPad, to document and explain their reasoning with StoryKit.
The lesson was Approaching in Creativity and Innovation as students had a lot of choice for what items they wanted to use in their work. They use various technological mediums – keynote, story kit, iPad video, Pixie, and the Promethean Board at different stages of the lesson. Students went beyond teacher expectation by taking a picture of people and placing it within a picture of the puppet center.
Student Artifact
Click on picture for video. Click on picture to advance to next clip.
Posted in Comm/Collab - Target, Creativity - App, Critical Thinking - App, Elementary School, Grade Level, Info Fluency - App, Science, Subject
