Artifacts

Artifact # 1 Lesson Plan Analysis

Maria-Angeles Silva Phillip Serpiello Joseph Mencarini

**Project Description**
For this first artifact we read the article as a group and analyzed it. The questions on the article were compared to the high critical thinking skills of Bloom's taxonomy. We critiqued them, giving our opinions and making comments on ways to improve the lesson. We decided to give an oral presentation about it, using the SMART Board as a teaching tool. It was thought that it was a good way to let our classmates know about this tool and see the different ways they could use it. Phillip and Joseph offered more alternatives to the activities in the lesson.

 Critique of Lesson Plan: “Critical Media Literacy- TV Programs” [|www.readwrite&think.org/lessons/lesson_view,asp?id=96]

In this lesson plan students are asked to read some articles to back up the idea with research. They also view a popular sitcom and analyze, reflect, and discuss how the media portrays different groups of teenagers and subcultures. Although the lesson does incorporate some aspects of Bloom’s Taxonomy, Multiple Intelligences, and use of technology, there are also some enhancements than can be made. Regarding Bloom’s Taxonomy, we discovered that this lesson plan does not require students to fully achieve critical thinking skills. For the most part, students do not surpass the basic levels of knowledge, analysis and application. Through the use of the “Media Awareness Scavenger Hunt” and the “Media Observation Worksheet” students answer questions that require them to identify, describe, explain how the TV programs portray race, sex, age, etc. Regarding Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences, this is mainly a verbal-linguistic and spatial intelligence lesson plan because students are required to answer questionnaires and watch TV programs and a video. They also analyze them and answer questions about them. One way that we think this can be enhanced is by asking the students to explain how the sitcom's soundtrack enhances the portrayal of the characters. This would add an activity tailored to musical intelligence. Students could also graph what stereotypes are most often displayed in these programs, adding a mathematical intelligence angle to it. Working in groups would help students with interpersonal skills get involved. The NETS standards that are represented in this lesson plan are mainly #1 (Creativity and Innovation) and #4 (Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making). The Creativity standard is visible in the homework assignment attached to the lesson: students are to develop their own TV program and then talk about it the next day in class. This exemplifies how they use existing knowledge to generate new ideas and create original works as a means of personal expression. The Critical Thinking standard, part d says to “identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.”This is evident in this lesson plan in the students being asked to analyze stereotyping in the media and how the students feel about it. Regarding the 21st. Century Skills, this lesson plan addresses them well. The lesson is designed to take place inside of the school's media lab. Students utilize creativity through brainstorming their own sitcom. They solve problems through attempting to figure out how these sitcoms can be adjusted, in order to eliminate stereotyping. This becomes possible through analyzing and communicating with each other the ways that this problem can be solved, which allows them to go beyond subject mastery and begin to delve into critical thinking.

**Reflection**
Doing this analysis I learned that it is very important to keep Bloom's taxonomy in mind when designing a lesson. It is easy to create lessons with what seem to be interesting activities. Still, we have to keep in mind that our students have to be challenged with 21st century critical thinking skills. We should be asking them questions that require much more than just repeating or memorizing information. I also learned that when assigning students to collaborative groups, we have to be careful of the mix of students we are creating.

=__Artifact # 2 - COMIC LIFE__=

**Project Description**
This Comic Life project is about Super Heroes going to visit a South American country. It was intended for the eighth graders, as part of their learning about cultures, traditions, verbs, and adjectives. Some Super Heroes are on their way to visit a Hispanic country in the southern hemisphere. Some of them respond negatively to the invitation but most are excited to go. Once they are at the country of their choice, they can visit it and fill out blank spaces in the Comic Life template. There are two natives to the country who let visitors know some information about the country they are visiting.



**Reflection**
It is my opinion that Comic Life can be used to teach almost any topic. I found it very useful for:
 * 1) Writing conversations between different people.
 * 2) Motivating students to be creative in their writing.
 * 3) Presenting new information in new ways.

I think Comic Life is pedagogically sound because it attracts students' attention with its different format, it lends itself to be used in a variety of ways to teach many different topics, it is a great tool for student centered activities where students have total control of what they want to include in their comic, as long as they stay on topic.



=__Artifact # 3 - Digital Storytelling - Otono__=

For this project I used Glogster. This is an activity for 3rd graders. It is great for a group fieldtrip to a park or simply for an outing to the school playground. They use digital cameras and flip video cameras to take pictures of what Otono (Autumn) is all about. I found out that flip video cameras are incredibly easy to use by adults and children alike. The students record their voices and type the phrases to go along with their pictures and videos. It is very easy to do, I can involve my students in the picture taking process. It is visually attractive and can be done in two class periods of 30 minutes each.

**Personal Experience**:
I chose Glogster for this project because I liked the format of having everything on one page that looks like a poster.I liked the fact that pictures as well as videos could be uploaded and they were automatically shrunk to fit the page. I really liked using Glogster because it was user friendly, in fact I think it was the easiest tool of all I used in this course. Whoever designed this tool did a really good job by providing all kinds of elements that can be used to enhance the look of the page. From artistic designs, to text, font, colors, everything was available for immediate use. Editing was simple. If I had to do anything differently it would be the number of videos I uploaded. Some of them were just too simple and would have been fine to just have them as pictures. I learned that technology can be easy to use and fun. I was so hooked to this tool that I could keep on working, editing, rearranging, losing track of time. I also discovered the Flip video camera. This is another amazing tool that I wish I could buy. I am going to try to convince my school to buy a couple of them. Children can use them to take their videos, adding ownership to this student centered activity.

__Learning Environment/Classroom Application:__
I would like to use Storytelling for: my student biographies, famous people's biographies, the Seasons, Halloween, Day of the Dead, December Traditions, etc. I just have so many ideas now, I think this is an actiity that can be used for many topics. This activity can be used as I just mentioned for many different topics. Regarding context I can actually use this activity as a mini lesson to teach grammar and structure of the Spanish language. I could also use it as a collaborative piece with other colleagues, and even take it to the next level by collaborating internationally with the Digital Story Telling. I just happened to start using Skype in the classroom to have a video conference with an elementary school in Mexico. Colegio Pilares in Pachuca, Mexico responded positively to my invitation to have our 4th graders meet each other, introducing themselves bilingually. They did so and loved it. The next step is to start teaching mini lessons, having the teachers working before the conference takes place. I would like to use the Storytelling activity and Glogster to share it in our classrooms previous to our conferences. We could videotape our students, or have them tape themselves doing different activities during the day.This way we would see the differences in school activities in two countries.I know this can also be done with Vlog, which I just did not have time to try. I would like to learn more about making movies. Since I have a PC I have to take the time to read all the directions and watch the tutorial for the Movie Maker. I do not always have that time. I also would like to have a Mac or to have Mac computers at school. Unfortunately at this time this is not going to happen. Having a Mac means having financial resources, and at this time money is quite limited. There are several challenges that I teachers face when using technology. First of all, computers have to be working well and this does not always happens. I am constantly having several computers down and of course I can not fix them. It is important to have a Resource person at the computer lab that can fix them so that they can be accessible to students at all times. When this does not happen, students have to share the computers and this starts limiting their work. I had problems with a digital camera that was saving the files in a way that I could not open them when needed. Again, I needed the help of the Technological department and it took a week to solve it. It has almost been two months that I finished a movie with my 7th graders and to this day I still can not upload it on the school's website. So I really think, having a full time Resource person to help teachers with technology is very necessary to keep the projects going.

ACTFL Standards Standard 1.2 Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics. Standard 1.3 Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners and readers on a variety of topics.

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__Artifact # 4 - Public Service Announcement__

 * Project Description**

We chose the topic H1N1 because at this time this is the #1 health issue in the United States and possibly in the world. Even though there have been many deaths because of the H1N1, it is relatively easy to avoid getting it. West Chester University decided to use PSA's (Public Service Announcements) around campus to capture the students' attention to this important message: follow simple guidelines and you will be safe.



Personal Experience:**
 * Reflection

It was fun working on this project. It was very easy to do the filming because we used a Flip video camera. It is very easy to use this camera because it has few buttons. Recording is a breeze and deleting an unwanted scene is even simpler. Its size makes it easy handle and store. Little hands find it easy to use and handle too. What I would do differently if I was working with young children is that I would supervise them a little closer, just to make sure they are understanding how the camera works. Since they are not cheap, I would definitely do the taping at school avoiding the risk of someone misplacing it or losing it. I learned with this project that using technology is not that difficult. A project is much more interesting when we can use technology and we can decide what to do. Technology brings out the creativity in each one of us. It is important to work in collaborative teams for this project because the whole project can be divided into several tasks that each student will be in charge of. When creating a movie for a PSA, actors are needed, camera handlers or directors are necessary, as well as choosing the right music, pictures, backgrounds, etc.

__Learning Environment/Classroom Application:__
As a classroom teacher I can do several kinds of digital video projects with my students. In fact I worked on one where my 7th graders created restaurant ads after finishing a lesson on food and health. They worked in groups of four and wrote their dialogues. I also asked them to create a jingle. They peer edited their writing and using a digital video camera, I taped them. I then, using Movie Maker, subtitled the movie in English so that their parents can follow the movie. The challenge I had was that the digital camera that I used, for some unknown reason, divided the files in audio files and video files. I just did not know what to do and I required the help of the Technology department at West Chester University. It was not easy to get this done and it took them a week to have it ready for me. The problem now is that there is no one in my school that can help me upload them movie to the school website. So I have learned that teachers need a full time person that is knowledgeable in computers and technology. We need someone to help us solve issues that are beyond our area of expertise. Another important aspect to consider is the time it might take us to teach our students how to use the different tools available, from cameras to online tools. Depending on the grade level, we might need several lessons to finally get the project going. Once the students start working on it, they will be motivated to create something so new that the results might be amazing.

media type="file" key="Mclanahan-Silva.mov" width="300" height="300"

**Project Description**
The topic I researched for this project was Podcasts. It was quite interesting to read about them, realize that I have already seen some and finally to think of ways I could create them or use them in my class. First I learned that these are recordings of lessons, descriptions, opinions, etc. that let users listen as often as needed. This is good because they can learn at their own pace. They are crucial for students whose learning styles lean towards listening activities. If visuals are added, they can be even better because more students can be reached with images. Teachers can create them, students too, or they can all collaborate on a project for the whole class. The tool I used to showcase the Podcasts to my classmates was my web page. I used wikispaces since I already have the account. I also created it because as a "Specials" teacher, I do not have my own page in my school website.

Reflection
I had a chance to see several of them. Then I did some research on the use of Podcasts for the teaching of languages. Discovering what some teachers have done in class with their students was very refreshing. I particularly liked what a teacher did with several students to help them learn about all of the Hispanic countries. She used interesting facts, repetitions, rhymes, and music. She created twenty one recordings, one for each Spanish speaking country. These recordings can be accessed by ther students at any time. This activity captured my interest and I would like to create one with my students.

So many topics can be taught, I can see myself creating Podcasts for culture and traditions in Latin America. Teaching songs must be easy with the podcast, then as a teacher I can type the lyrics, leave some blank spaces, and ask my students to fill in the blanks while listening to the songs. Another emerging technoloy that appeals to me is the use of SMART Boards, which I do at my school. I know I have to learn more about them so that I can use all of their elements and have an appealing lesson. Blogs are very useful in the classroom. I created one and I posted it on my web page. It has been so refreshing! My sixth graders started posting on it, writing riddles using adjectives to see if anyone in the class could guess who they were describing.We have continued using it. It was surprising to hear a new student asking me if she could do her homework on the blog, instead of the Spanish notebook. So now, when they have a writing activity for homework, they have the choice of using the blog or the notebook. This would have never happened if I had not tried this tool in class. So take a look at my web page at: http://clasemangeles.wikispaces.com

and check out my blog and read the riddles and descriptions that my sixth graders have posted at: www.tangeles.blogspot.com

=__Artifact # 6 - WebQuest "Perdidos en el Sur" (Lost in the South)__=

=
I designed this WebQuest for my 8th grade students. I thought of creating a project that would boost their confidence and make them realize that they do have the skills and the knowledge to navigate in a Hispanic country in case their family was not around. They had to use their previous knowledge of verb conjugation, right use of pronouns formal/informal, which is very important in Latin America. Basic question words that would allow them to ask almost any question. Vocabulary related to the Hispanic culture like food, traditions, and transportation.======

=
www.perdidosenelsur.wikispaces.com ======

**Reflection**
Personal Experience I really liked learning about this tool mainly because without knowing it had a name, I had been doing this kind of lesson. Looking for particular websites for my students, so that they would not waste time at the computer lab. My lesson plan would include the use of this websites for research. Of course, I was doing a very limited version of what the WebQuest really is. It is a great tool and I can see myself using it several times with all of my grades. It is definitely a project that requires a lot of preparation time. For this first project I would have started earlier so that I could have done all the things I wanted to. The challenge for me was to get Wikispaces to work correctly. I had many problems with it. For some reason, for the WebQuest project, the website was constantly freezing. So if I was in the middle of editing a page, it would freeze and I would have to restart, only to see that I had lost everything I had previously done. I kept going back and forth trying to have the same font for all the websites, and it would not let me. In fact, I am currently working on that and I am afraid the final version will have different fonts because of the constant freezing. It took me hours to get it running. I do not know if this happened because I had so many websites for Resources. The other two wikis I used were just fine. So this was my challenge, not a very pleasant one.

Classroom Application

I would like to use a WebQuest again for all of my grades. I can see me using it to teach about the Hispanic tradition of The Three Kings Day on January 5. I would provide them with links to websites from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Republica Dominicana and more. I think this is a great tool to teach about traditions around the world and about many other themes. Grammar can be such a boring subject, yet with the right tool, it can be something they are learning and practicing without even noticing because they are so concentrated on the different activities of the project. The challenge that any Web based tool has is the possibility at any time to have our students something that is inappropriate because it is so difficult to control every site. Any of these tools have the button to click and instantly we are in another place, looking at pictures that children should not see at school. It is difficult to supervise them at all times while teaching a lesson.

**Enhancing 21st Century Literacy Skills by Using Technology**
There are so many things teachers can use to enhance 21st century skills in their students. I can definitely say that technology is one of the most important tools we have at our hands. Blogs, podcasts, Webquests, power point presentations, using the SMARTBoard, computer labs, and many more. There is no excuse for teachers to stay behind in what is going on with technology. We have to work hard to learn what is going on with technology and stay current. Our classes can be so much better if we use technology on a daily basis. If we want to give our students the best education, then we have to learn about the latest and technology is the thing to do.