Its easy to forget that students know how to make a presentation. Students in our classrooms are so wonderful at using technology that its easy to forget they still need to be reminded on the basics. And its easy to do. Google Slides is a wonderful tool, but if students don't know how to use it well, it can be a large distraction to presentation day in our classrooms. My simple solution? Give kids the chance to try it out. Use a simple do now to have students develop one "good" slide, and one "not so good" slide. Then display a few examples to the class. Open up a conversation with students about what looks professional on the projector. Plus the kids get the goofy out before the real work starts!
Students starting middle school are afraid of just about everything. From lockers to 8th graders, the transition is full of intimidating new aspects of school. However, when students are comfortable to explore and use their own talents in class, those fears seem to quickly disappear. The Chromebooks are a vital piece of our first social studies project- The Middle School Fears Project. Students get the chance to argue what single aspect really is the scariest part of starting middle school. Technology allowed my students to get to know each other in a low stress environment, through the distribution of google forms for data collection. Google drawings and various web apps helped them to integrate math in their arguments, as they gathered their data in various charts and analyzed the information they collected. They were able to pull research from news outlets and self-help websites to help both support their argument, and also to show them that they are not alone in their fear. Chromebooks gave my students the chance to create wonderful presentations, but also to feel comfortable enough to open up and share their own fears with each other. Because students were able to choose their own digital medium to present their argument, they were more confident and creative. In the end their products demonstrated an understanding of basic argumentative writing, clear presentations styles, and most importantly and understanding of their own abilities and middle school selves. Additionally, Google Classroom and Google Docs allowed my students to assess their own learning. Each class period worked as a group to identify the skills being assessed in the presentation. As students work, they referred to their rubrics. Before submitting a final product, students were able to use Google classroom to not only submit their work, but also submit a project rubric, where they were invited to assess their own product. This not only provided me with insight into my students perception of their own work, it opened up a conversation with the students about the role of assessment in the classroom and put the power and responsibility in their hands. |
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August 2017
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