Project Improvements

In week 2, I created a Wiki for one of my classes. At that time, I did not know how I would utilize the wiki. I knew students would create a digital portfolio of their work but I had not designed any assignments. At this time, I am proud to say that I have learned how to successfully implement the class wiki to become a paperless class. 

I decided to create a lesson plan Copyrighting (go to lesson 2). Parts of my lesson plan were provided by Common Sense Media. In particular, I used Copyrights and Wrongs from Unit 1 on the Common Sense Media website and the video, Fair(y) Use talecreated by Eric Faden, recommended by Jacqui Murray. In my lesson plan, you will see vocabulary words and a link to the definitions. I want to ensure that all my students know or will have knowledge of the vocabulary. A brief class discussion began using the warm-up questions. Then, the video was showed to my students. Students found the video challenging to follow. After discussing the video, students then worked in pairs to complete an assignment called "Mad Men." (Assignment can be found in the Common Sense Media website above). In this assignment, students are challenged to determine the best picture for an advertising campaign. Students enjoyed this assignment and most realized that the best picture is the one in which you own. 

The next day I challenged them to find a better video that explains copyright laws. They had to post a video in their wiki page and explain why they choose it. In addition, they also had to post a response to
" Do you think it is important to give credit and get permission, if needed, when you use someone else's creative work? Why or why not? Cite evidence from the video and or class discussion."

You may select individual student pages to view the video they chose to explain copyright laws and a response to the question above. Overall, I was very pleased with the results. My students were engaged and smiling. They enjoyed the assignment. 

On another note, I introduced Twitter this week. I had them tweet about "What digital citizenship means to them."  I was delighted with their responses. The next day I observed that some students were going to our Twitter page. One student asked if he could tweet to the class something that was appropriate but not related to class. I was very happy that he asked. Anyways, Twitter seems to be a hit with my students and I will continue to use it. Thank you, Jacqui!