Saturday, January 29, 2011

METS

My class of 8th grade students will break into small groups and perform research using physical texts, websites, and databases in order to solve a real-world problem of their choosing (i.e. environmental issues, human rights issues, etc.). Their suggested plan of action will be presented to an audience of their peers in the format of their choosing (web page, newsletter, information brochure). Students will collaborate with one another online through blackboard blogs and discussion boards along the way. Students will, of course, be expected to carefully evaluate their sources and cite them appropriately, and their finished product should be free of errors as they will be expected to check their work using technology tools (dictionary, thesaurus, grammar checker, calculator).

This project will satisfy the following METS for grades 6-8:


6-8.CI. Creativity and Innovation
6-8.CI.2. By the end of grade 8 each student will create an original project (i.e. presentation, web page, newsletter, information brochure) using  variety media (e.g., animations, graphs, charts, audio, graphics, video) to present content information to an audience.

6-8.CC. Communication and Collaboration
6-8.CC.1. By the end of grade 8 each student will use digital resources (e.g. discussion groups, podcasts, video conferences, Blackboard, Moodle) to collaborate with peers, experts, and other audiences

6-8.RI. Research and Information Literacy
6-8.RI.2. By the end of grade 8 each student will evaluate information from online information resources for accuracy and bias

6-8.CT. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
6-8.CT.1. By the end of grade 8 each student will use data bases or spreadsheets to make predictions, develop strategies, and evaluate decisions to assist with solving a problem

6-8.DC. Digital Citizenship
6-8.DC.1. By the end of grade 8 each student will provide accurate citations when referencing information sources

6-8.TC. Technology Operations and Concepts
6-8.TC.2. By the end of grade 8 each student will use a variety of technology tools (e.g. a dictionary, thesaurus, grammar-checker, calculator) to maximize the accuracy of technology-produced materials

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4 comments:

  1. VickieJanuary 29, 2011 at 1:33 PM

    I think middle school kids would love the opportunity to use online chat/video session to complete their homework. I just talked to my own children and at this point any social online sessions like these are blocked at their school currently. I'm not sure how it could be implemented but could you imagine how excited they would be if (for instance) they could do chat sessions for research on globalization to students in England? Or Australia? I would love to see that happen.

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  2. BrittaJanuary 29, 2011 at 4:03 PM

    Hey Marie,

    I really liked how you incorporated all of those standards into one project. I think that the METS do give us that flexibility and I am glad to see you utilizing them. The project is a great idea too. It gets the students online and allows them to flex their creative muscles. Awesome!

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  3. DSJanuary 29, 2011 at 4:59 PM

    Hi, Marie,

    I love the idea of applying the learning towards a real world problem. The collaboration online is a great tool to use as well, so that kids can actually work on their projects outside of school and not just in the classroom. The project, as well, is a great idea as it snaps you out of the typical essay mode and gives kids choices (not to mention chances to use technology).

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  4. CindyJanuary 31, 2011 at 3:10 PM

    Collaboration will be a key to education and the technology will allow us to begin to do this in a much more efficient way. No more will students have to "meet on a Saturday afternoon" to work on a project. They can "meet" on-line or work collaboratively at their own pace on a group project.

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