Technology is ever changing. New productions are altering the availability of technology in the classroom, allowing students to utilize it as a learning tool. For instance, teachers are now hosting classes online, so there is no need to meet in a classroom. To contact said teachers, student can use emails, Skype, and even social network sites such as Facebook.
An activity incorporating three of the six standards of NETS (National Education Technology Standards) is something I would like to call Friends without Borders. Students would be required to have a pen pal, appointed by the teacher, in a cooperating school in another state. After being in contact with their partner pen pal, students would next be required to compose a research paper. The paper would need to include information about the state in which their pen pal resides. It would cover basic information such as state capitol, cost of living, and population size but also, on a more related note to the student’s pen pal, what life as a student is like in that state. Lastly, the student would be required to present a visual project to his/her class explaining their production of the project from beginning to end.
The first standard that this activity meets is 2(d) Communication and Collaboration: contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems. Each student would be collaborating with another student, forming a team of two, to gain knowledge of life as a student in another state and then to create a presentation of their findings. Secondly, I targeted standard was 3 (c) Research and Information Fluency: evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks. Students would use digital tools such as internet sources and databases to gather information to complete the research paper. The last standard targeted is 1 (b) Creativity and Innovation: create original works as a means of personal or group expression. This is where students create a digital presentation to present both their findings from the research and what they learned from their pen pal.
I like your concept of learning other things in the pen pal's state other than just the people themselves. That will surely connect them to more than just the people because it is also a fun way to learn about other states. A lot will go into your activity but it seems like everything builds or connects to each other so the students can grasp the concept.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of having a pen pal is really clever! I personally always wanted to have a pen pal and it would be a great way to incorporate a lot of the standards. It is also a good way to get the kids interested in learning about other states and the lifestyles outside of their own. The activity would also be a good way of getting your students to do research while communicating with someone outside of their reach.
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