Standard 2

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the standards,

a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity

This year I began using a new tool called EdPuzzle. On it you can search for video content, and then the app will allow you to insert comments and questions. I currently use it to assess students understanding. Last semester I used it to augment our reading of the play Tartuffe by Moliere. After reading the play students would watch clips of those scenes from YouTube. With EdPuzzle I was able to insure that students not only watched the video, but comprehended what was happening. As I move into more digital storytelling with my students, I would like to have them create there own videos with comments, and perhaps do the same interpreting music videos from their favorite artists. Also, in the last few years we have stopped recording our poetry on a laptop and started going to a recording studio. We started do this after a former student came by to visit and mentioned that he was part owner. I have also included a link to the game I created for assessment of the epic hero unit. I created it during my Designing Online Learning class and extremely excited to use it in my class.

Artifacts

Epic Hero Game Assessment

b. Develop technology - enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own learning, and assessing their own progress

Through Google Classroom, I have been able to increase completion rates for most of my assignments. Students can access the stream at any time and it keeps a record of all assignments for the semester, so any missed assignments can be easily made up. Since it was new this year to my district, I am still working on building the culture in which students check for assignments and comments without constant prodding, but I noticed a marked improvement in just one year. For my part, I need to improve the quality of written instruction on the site, so more motivated students can proceed without much hand holding. An interesting project I do with the students with the play Oedipus Rex is that I have them create a sensationalist talk show. For extra credit, I have them produce commercials to go in between segments. Since it was posted on Google Classroom students could get started early on the extra credit. They also so that other students had completed the assignment so they were motivated to catch up.

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c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources

This is a constant struggle. Each year I survey my students, and by far the number one reason they come to school is to "get out." I like to create project based learning activities with a variety of tools to complete the presentations and reflections, but the students who want to "get out" just want a clear cut pathway to earning credits. The collaborative website project the students did this semester was ranked the least favorite assignment on the end of the year survey. I will continue to push students because if I don't hold them to a high standard then they will only be suited for clear cut procedural jobs when they "get out." Occasionally there are some successful projects. One such project was the poster students made about the code of the samurai, Bushido. This was made in conjunction with watching the film The Seven Samurai. I have also introduced students to Prezi. Below you will find an example of student work about Alfred Hitchcock that was part of our interdisciplinary unit about non-conformity.

Artifacts

Bushido Project and Scoring Guide

Conformity Project

d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

I use a variety of assessments, but all of them are online. This year I have been using a site called EdPuzzle which allows me to post videos from YouTube and insert questions and comments. I used it extensively while teacher Tartuffe by Moliere. There was a high school production that used the same translation we were reading so I was able to have the students watch it after we read it in class. I would ask questions about comprehension and the directorial choices made for this production. I use Google Forms to make self-grading quizzes. Both platforms collect data to let me know the most frequently missed question, and I can see which students missed it so that I can design lessons to reteach if necessary.

Most of my summative assessments are project based like the one below. Students were asked to choose an allegorical science fiction film and use the poster to point out the relationship between the surface and deep meaning. This is the example that I did for Invasion of the Body Snatchers which we watched as a class. The second example is student work. It was converted from PowerPoint, so it has some technical issues.

Artifacts

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