Etec 501- Session 10 e-Learning Syllabus (Final exam)

Inner-City Elementary

ENG2B Summer Course

Course Logistics

Course Title & Number: ENG2B- Creating Autobiographies "It's My Life Project"

Course Web page and Message Board: http://cgalipeauwoods.blogspot.com

Instructor: Mrs. Celeste Galipeau-Woods (Call me Mrs. Woods)

Email: cdgaliwoods@gmail.com

Office: Room 26

Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 12:00PM – 3:00PM or by appointment

Office Telephone: (760)702-2300

Instructor FAX: (310)631-2088

Class Time/Days/Location: Monday and Wednesday 9:00AM-11:00AM, Room 26

Course goes from June 21^st – August 18^th. The first 4 weeks of class are in-person (June 21^st – July 16th). Please see each "Class Session assignment expectations below.

            July 19^th-July 28^th         the 5^th and 6^th weeks we will meet in-person each Monday. Online each Wednesday

            Aug. 2nd- Aug. 4^th        the 7^th week will be completely online (this is when students will be creating their presentations)

            Aug. 9th – Aug. 11^h    the 8^th week will be in-person for student presentations

            August 16^th            the 9^th week Monday is in online (students will complete self-assessments and student grading

            August 18^th            the 9^th week Wednesday is in-person (students who had to revise can re-present)

                                        

Textbook & Course Materials: No textbook. All course materials will be made available online or passed out in class. All materials and resources used in this course were created for teachers to use as needed, from NCTE (The national center for teachers of English). Permission to access the link below has been granted and there have been some original additions to the activities, made by the teacher (the inclusion of an editing lesson and mnemonic learning tool was added by the teacher based on the unique needs of the students in this hypothetical course) to meet the unique needs of the students taking this course.

Link: http://www.readthinkwrite.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/life-multimodal-autobiography-project-1051.html.

 

Course Policies

Attendance: Just like in regular session, attendance is mandatory. During the online portion of the class students are expected to spend a minimum of four hours per week reading assigned materials, editing, revising, and creating project according to schedule. Moreover, during your online weekly four hours, students are expected to ask for help, provide feedback in the discussion thread, and practice using technology tutorials for PowerPoint, for downloading music and video (if applicable to your project), as well as completing any assignments expected.

If you miss a class, you must provide a valid excuse from your parent that is acceptable according to school policy and procedure. Only 2 absences are allowed if you want to receive a grade above a "C". Absences of 4 or more will result in a FAILING grade. This is a summer course which means that a lot of information must be introduced and mastered in a shortened period of time, so you are expected to come prepared and ready to learn and contribute.

Homework: Students will spend a minimum of 4 hours per week on top of time spent in face to face meeting. This course is also designed to prepare you for upper level courses, which means, that you will be modeling upper level students with workload and production of graded activities.

Therefore, there will be weekly assignments that will fit together, resulting in one final product, your autobiography. Since this is a nine week course, you will be doing homework during the first 6 weeks, allowing the remaining 3 weeks as time for revision, and presentation of your final PowerPoint.

All assignment due dates are provided in the "Course schedule". All late work will receive a 10% deduction EACH DAY it is Late. No Late work is allowed after week 7. So it is strongly suggested that you stay on track, turning in each assignment each week. You will be matched with a classmate to help you both stay focused, and on-track. Please make good use of your partner's feedback as there will be opportunities for you to earn extra credit by offering constructive feedback and support to your partner throughout the course.

Participation: This course is a Hybrid, which means that you will be learning and participating both in traditional face to face sessions (Monday and Wednesday) along with doing work, and submitting work via the internet. What this means is that you will be graded on your participation in class, as well as for how well you participate on line and for your ability to use technology to turn in work by the due dates. Even more important, 20% of your grade is based on participation so please take this part seriously, because throughout life, you will be more successful and happy, the better you can collaborate and cooperate with a variety of different personalities so now is as good a time as any to practice and model participation skills.

You are expected to follow the classroom rules, and to be courteous, and respectful to others in your group and in the whole class. You must raise your hand to participate, and when communicating online, you are expected to use courteous language; you are expected to provide constructive criticism rather than destructive criticism which we will discuss further during our face to face meetings during the first two weeks of the course.

Should you be unable to participate for health reasons or disability, please see the teacher to discuss all possible accommodation that will make it work for you.

Remember that you're agreeing to participate in this course, also means that you agree to engage in respectful, collaborative, cooperative, learning. Therefore should you have trouble with anyone in the course, it is expected that you will follow the classroom rules for handling conflict; meaning that you will follow the behavior contract agreed to during the first day of class. Basically this behavior contract will state that you agree to first try and work things out by stating the problem, listening to the other person's side, then working together to come to a mutual resolution. If that doesn't work, then come to the teacher and have me intercede to help each of you resolve the conflict peacefully and cooperatively. Remember that everyone has an opinion and feelings, and no one is better than the other, sometimes we just need to step back and put ourselves in the other person's shoes.

As a last result, if need be, the teacher may re-assign students to different partners in order to have a peaceful resolution. No worries, we will make it work together, as the most important thing is to learn effectively and to learn in a way that is fun, relevant, and meaningful for all. If you get a friend out of it too, then the course is even more successful than anticipated!

NCTE/IRA National Standards for English Arts & California Standards Addressed

4.    Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5.    Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

6.    Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, and discuss print and non-print texts.

8.    Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

12.    Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

CST W2.0    Written application (genres and their characteristics) Students combine the rhetorical strategies of narration, exposition, persuasion, and descriptions to produce texts of at least 1,500 words each.

CST 1.0         Using the writing strategies of 6^th-7^th grade, outlined in writing standards 1.0.

CST 2.1        Write biographical or autobiographical narrative or short story.

CST 2.1a        Recite sequence of events and communicate the significance of the events to the evidence.

CST 2.1b        Locate scenes and incidents in specific places.

CST 2.1c    Describe with concrete sensory detail the sights, sounds, and smells, of a scene and the specific actions, movements, gestures, and feelings of the characters; use interior monologues to depict the character's feelings.

CST 2.1d        Pace the presentation of actions to accommodate changes in time and mood.

CST 2.1e        Make effective use of description, of appearance, images, shifting perspective, and sensory details.

Student Objectives for Course

Students will:

• Examine the lyrics to songs and describe how the music and words relate to their life stories.
  
• Organize their thoughts and express their stories by using PowerPoint presentations.
  
• Improve technical skills by familiarizing themselves with PowerPoint.
  
• Evaluate their own work.
  

 

Instructional Activities

Printouts: (available online as well as being handed out during face to face meetings)

• It's My Life Assignment
  
• Presentation and Image Planner
  
• It's My Life Project Rubric (copy in syllabus also)
  
• Sample Multimodal Autobiography (copy in syllabus also)
  
• It's My Life Self-Assessment (copy in syllabus also)
  

Websites (available on the link to readwritethink.org but in actual course would be made available on class website as I would get full permission)

• PowerPoint in the classroom
  
• Demo: Add music to a presentation
  
• PowerPoint Tutorial: Adding sound
  
• A Teachers Guide to Fair Use and Copyright
  
• Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for School Projects
  
• Copyright Infringement or Not? The Debate over Downloading Music
  
• The Year I Was Born: An Autobiographical Research Project
  
• Finding Your Focus: The Writing Process (In Session 6 blog I changed this assignment to encompass the SCOPE editing and proofreading mnemonic)
  

Course Session Assignment Details and Expectations:

On the First day of class students will create a "Weekly Activity Calendar", so that everyone is clear about the due dates because this is a fast paced (and fun) course so organization is key.)

Session One- June 21^st( Monday) & June 23^rd (Wednesday) & June 27^th (Sunday online homework due)

Monday:    (These are general details, any pertinent worksheets will be provided during class or can be accessed online on website or link provided in the course syllabus

• Complete Problem Solving activity (discussed in detail in Session 6) to get students acquainted and to help them gain insight into working collaboratively both in small and large groups in conjunction with online "virtual classroom" situations, such as how to share feedback and constructive criticism with fellow students and the teacher. Break into small groups and complete the worksheet for the activity that will be provided during class.
  
• Introduce the assignment by presenting the PowerPoint autobiography assignment and explain the required elements. Show students a model presentation to help them get a clear understanding of what they will be creating and learning, along with the visual of what it might look like.
  
• Distribute the It's My Life Assignment handout and It's My Life Project Rubric handout, to students, and discuss the following requirements:
  

  Monday (face to face class meeting):
  

1. Students will select eight important events in their lives. Using written summaries of these events, they will create PowerPoint Multimodal Autobiographies.
   
2. Students may use recordings from the radio or their personal music collections (IPods okay this ONE TIME ONLY!).
   
3. Students will follow the guidelines for fair use of copyrighted images and music (explain that this topic will be discussed in detail in the next session).
   
4. Students will present their slideshows in class Week Eight use this time to ask and respond to student questions and engage in cooperative discussion, addressing student issues with technology, or the assignment.
   
5. Assign students homework, so they complete the It's My Life Assignment by listing eight important events with a one paragraph summary for each event for use in session 2 (Wednesday)
   

   
    

   Wednesday (face to face class):
   

6. Have students begin the Prewriting stage of their projects by brainstorming at least 8 major events in their lives. Brainstorming will be done in small groups, so the class will break into their assigned groups and begin to create! Make sure students read the Brainstorming handout and list any events that hold personal importance, and teacher may interject to help out students who may be struggling with ideas. The handout offers these suggestions to think about:
   

• First day of school (e.g. pre-school, kindergarten, first grade, sixth grade, etc)
  
• A special family trip or vacation
  
• A family event or milestone (define and discuss)
  
• A personal achievement
  
• A personal loss (e.g., a pet, or grandparent, or cousin, sibling, aunt, uncle, parent, etc.)
  

1. Explain that this the stage of writing process, so students should write down all of their ideas. If they are working in groups or with the whole class, lay ground rules that encourage all students to
   share
   their ideas with the group and that
   discourage students from critiquing their peers' responses during this brainstorming
   stage. Explain that students will have the opportunity to evaluate their lists and select the events that they really want to include in their final autobiographies in the form of a PowerPoint.
   
2. Have students view the PowerPoint presentation Finding Your Focus: the Writing Process. Discuss the Stages of the Writing Process- including drafting, revising, and editing- explain that students will go through each of these stages as they work on their autobiographies. The final stage will be the actual publishing
   of their autobiographies in form of PowerPoint.
   
3. Pass out the SCOPE- Editing and Proofreading Activity handout and explain the mnemonic tool for learning successful editing technique.
   
4. Ask students to edit their list of eight important events. Students may also change or add events that were not included on the list they created during their brainstorming sessions. What is most important at this point is for everyone to narrow
   list down to eight most important life events.
   
5. Homework is to be completed online by Sunday June 27^th; students will get their first chance to submit something through the school blackboard system. Students are supposed to bring a copy of the completed list with them to Session 2.
   

        

Session Two- June 28th (Monday) & June 30^th (Wednesday) & July 4^th (No homework due this Sunday because it is a holiday)

Monday (face to face class meeting):

1. Initiate a class discussion by describing a significant event from your own life (i.e., birth of a sibling, parents' divorce, getting onto a sports team, learning a new sport or hobby, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, club membership, joined the school band, visited a foreign country, met a long lost family member, etc.). Pass out the handout called Sample Multimodal Autobiography so the students can see an example of what the assignment should look like, and what information it should contain.
   
2. Ask a few students to share an event or two from their own lists, and have them write them on the board.
   
3. Have students think about the events described and to connect songs to these events. Refer to the example above if anyone is still unclear. For example a student might associate the wedding March song with their family member's wedding.
   
4. Next to each event on the board, write the song titles
   they are associating with their event. For each event/song, ask students to respond to the following questions:
   

• What does the song make you feel?
  
• What images come to mind when you think of this event?
  
• What images come to mind when you think of this song?
  

1. Next the teacher will play a couple of songs that she associates with an event that she has described. It doesn't matter if the songs are current or not; students will understand the feelings behind the music.
   
2. Ask students to discuss how the song fits the event and to suggest other songs they might associate with the same event
   
3. Have students review the summaries they wrote in Session week One.
   
4. From this list, ask the students to select FIVE events/songs to include in their autobiographical presentations (that is correct! You ONLY have to create slides with music for 5 events/songs and the remaining 3 slides won't have music included in them)
   
5. Pass out the Presentation Music and Image Planner handout and have the students list each of the final five events you want to put to music.
   
6. For homework have the students finish their handouts on line, print out the completed handout and bring to class Wednesday.
   

Wednesday (face to face meeting)

1. Be sure to discuss lyrics with students to assure that song selections are classroom-appropriate as determined by the teacher and school policy.
   
2. Emphasize that students should avoid using music that involves profanity or derogatory remarks towards any race, gender, and/or religious
   affiliation.
   Encourage students to discuss any questionable lyrics with the teacher in advance. Point out you will either approve student's choice of songs & images or provide suggestions for revision on their Planning Sheet.
   
3. Before students begin to gather music for their presentations, have a discussion about issues of intellectual property rights and copyright infringement. Ask students questions such as the following:
   

• Have you ever downloaded music or other content from the internet? What other internet resources have you used?
  
• You will need to use music for your presentations. What are some ways you can get the songs you need? From what sources can you download music? Are all of these ways legal?
  
• Is it OK to use other people's music in something you are creating?
  

1. Discuss and review the legal use of copyrighted materials in the classroom. Provide each student with a copy of the handout Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for School Projects and advise everyone that this is also posted in the online class website. Through the discussion of this handout, students should understand that these materials are the intellectual property of the people who created them, and that there are legal limits to their use (in and out of school). These limitations apply to the use of photographs, drawings, music, videos, and text. Students should keep the following guidelines in mind as they work on their projects:
   

• Students can use 1-5 images from the same photographer or illustrator without permission
  
• Up to 10% of a song can be used in a presentation. That translates to about 30 seconds from one song*
  
• Students must include a bibliography of any work used in their presentation.
  

1. Before beginning Session three, the teacher will review student's planners to ensure that they understand the assignment and have selected appropriate images and songs.
   
2. The teacher will approve each plan, providing feedback, or will make suggestions for revision.
   
3. If you need to revise any portion of your planner, then you have homework and the revised planner must be completed over the weekend so that you have a completed Planner for Session three.
   

Session Three July 5^th (Monday) & July7th (Wednesday) & July 11^th (Sunday- if applicable, online homework is due Sunday before midnight)

Monday (face to face class)

1. Have students refer to their handout, Presentation Music and Image Planner as they draft their autobiographies by creating a storyboard:
   

• Tape sheets of plain paper together along the short edges
  
• Divide a large piece of blank paper into equal rectangles
  
• Use a blank index card for each PowerPoint slide (a total of eight slides, so eight index cards)
  

1. 
   Use the ReadWriteThink.org Staple less Book interactive activity (view on the link for further understanding) to plan each slide of your presentations. This tool provides an organized space for students to write out the text that will appear on the slide and information about the song that will be included in each of the five music/event slides, along with space for a simple illustration.
   
2. Before beginning their PowerPoint presentations, students should use the storyboards to lay out their text and images, and to write the titles of the songs and specific lyrics you will be using for each slide.
   
3. Online homework (due by Sunday) Have students add the text of the paragraphs they wrote in Session One to their storyboards starting Monday and going on until the end of session three (July 11^th).
   

Wednesday (face to face class)

1. Remind students of the writing process and explain that they will have the opportunity to revise their text and other elements when they reach the revising stage.
   
2. Continue working from Monday, by having students bring in CDs or music lyrics they want to use, and let them continue to work on their Planners.
   
3. Provide access to scanners so students can scan their images and photographs they want to use for their slides, along with allowing them to scan lyrics from music liner notes if available to them.
   
4. Before the end of class, make sure to have the teacher sign to approve your Presentation Music and Image Planner, or if not approved, make sure you clearly understand what must be revised, so that you can get approval, and then take this time to make the revisions. In other words, don't leave class without getting teacher approval for your plan.
   

Session Four July 12^th (Monday) & July 14^th (Wednesday) & July 18^th (Sunday- any online work must be done before midnight)

Monday (face to face class)

1. Once students have completed their drafts/storyboards, provide information as needed about using the PowerPoint software. If need be, provide a tutorial on how to use PowerPoint features that could be in question. Use this time for students to practice and get any last minute questions answered from you (the teacher) because they will be on their own in a couple of meetings.
   
2. Share the following resources:
   

• PowerPoint in the Classroom
  
• PowerPoint Tutorial-Adding sound
  
• Demo: Add music to presentation
  

1. Let the students begin working and practicing adding music to their slides
   

Wednesday (face to face class)

1. Use this time to remind students about guidelines for using Copyrighted music in their presentations
   
2. Quiz the students on the copyright guidelines for school projects:
   

• How many images from the same photographer or illustrator can you use without getting permission?
  
• What percentage of a song, can you use in your presentation?
  
• How many seconds is this?
  
• What must you include in your presentation, if using "protected" images or songs?
  

What is a bibliography? Give an example

1. Make sure the students are comfortable with everything, and let the students continue working on their storyboards and adding music and images to
   

   the slides.
   

2. The teacher will now assign email buddies so that from this point on, students have another peer to help them when and if they get stuck during the creative process. Make sure the students have each other's email addresses and telephone numbers.
   

Session Five July 19^th (Monday) & July 21^st (Wednesday) & July 25^th (by Sunday evening, you should have spent 2 hours** working on project. Your online visits are logged and tracked by school administration, so please spend enough time to do a good job)

Monday (face to face class)

1. By this point students should be working on their projects. They should be searching for images, photographs, music, and collecting stories through interviewing their families, themselves, and their friends.
   
2. Break into groups and have students come up with ideas and questions to ask in order to get good information about the events they want to share in their autobiographies.
   
3. Help the students along by giving them the following questions to consider:
   

• Who were your neighbors?
  
• Do you have any favorite teachers?
  
• Who was the smartest, richest, kindest, and most religious?
  
• Does anyone in your family have any unusual characteristics you want to include in your life story?
  
• What is your favorite holiday?
  
• Where were you born?
  
• Where is your family from?
  
• What is your favorite food, color, animal, band, movie, amusement park, activity, memory?
  

1. Spend this class time, letting the kids continue working on expanding the details of their important events and more about the meaning behind their song choices and the reasons why they chose it?
   
2. Have the email buddies meet in person one last time and agree to a way they will work online together. Keep in mind that your time spent on line when signed in to the course, will be timed, so it is VERY IMPORTANT that you work online ONLY WHILE LOGGED ON to the CLASS Website.
   

Wednesday (online class)

1. You are expected to spend two hours working on your project, so make sure to sign on to the class computer and work accordingly. There will be questions for you to respond to on the blackboard (online) so be sure to answer these questions as they appear.
   
2. Since time is of the essence, your online work is designed to make sure you are keeping on track and that you are able to fully express what you wish in your autobiographical account.
   
3. Make sure to check all correspondences between you and your email buddy, and please make sure to email the instructor with any and all questions.
   

Session Six July 26^th (Monday) & July 28^th (Wednesday) & August 1^st (by Sunday you should have spent two hours working on project**)

Monday (face to face class)

1. Today, add some more information about questions about family photos that they may be considering
   

• Where was the picture taken?
  
• Who took the picture?
  
• Why were you gathered? Are the others in the picture related? What are you doing?
  

1. Give any struggling students these basic tips on asking questions to get answers you are looking for:
   

• Ask where the story or event took place
  
• Ask who was in the story
  
• Ask what happened in the story or event
  

1. Spend time with your email buddy and make sure you are helping each other do a great job! Get any last minute questions or issues resolved in class
   

Wednesday (online class)

1. Go to the class website and submit your questions along with what you are working on to complete your project.
   
2. There will be questions to answer in the discussion thread so check this and respond
   
3. Make sure you spend time revising, and reviewing any tutorials or other information provided so far, so that you are creating the best project you can.
   
4. Check with your email buddy and good luck! The instructor is always available so feel free to email or call with any questions.
   
5. Take a quiz on adding sound (this will be made available on the class course website and will only be available during Session week Six, so students will need to answer the quiz before midnight Sunday August 1^st.
   

 

Session Seven August 2^nd (Monday) & August 4^th (Wednesday) & August 8^th (By Sunday midnight you should have spent 4 hours working on project**)

Monday (online class)

1. By this time students should be in the revision stage of the writing process, so the SCOPE mnemonic will be posted on the discussion thread
   
2. Students will be asked to put their presentation to the SCOPE test
   
3. Make any changes and continue to create
   
4. Review the sequence of your slide show and also check if your presentation is thematic
   
5. Define the two words above. Then look at your presentation and decide which applies to your project.
   
6. Check the thread discussion for feedback if you left a request for any.
   

Wednesday (online Class)

1. Answer the following questions online:
   

• Are the slides arranged in an effective way? How are the events in my autobiography arranged? Sequentially? Thematically?
  
• Can I do a better job of describing each event? Will the reader/viewer understand what I am trying to communicate"
  
• Do the images I've selected adequately represent the events? (adequately means totally or completely)
  
• Does the song reflect my feelings about each event?
  

1. If you answer these and feel satisfied, then you are ready to present your PowerPoint next week. If not, now is the time to email the instructor or a peer to help you get things finished.
   

Session Eight August 9^th (Monday) & August 11^th (Wednesday) & August 15^th (Homework online due Sunday before midnight)

Monday (face to face class)

• Student presentations
  
• Have students take notes about what they liked hearing, or if there is a song that stands out, or an event that interests you; basically listen to your class peer presentations, so that you can discuss the projects together, and also be prepared to write something or answer some basic quiz questions Monday August 16^th.
  

1. The name of the person who's PowerPoint most interested me is?
   
2. The reason why I liked it? A particular song? An event I related to?
   
3. Why I like the song choice? What event stood out in particular?
   
4. What I would have done differently if anything?
   
5. Something I learned about this person that I didn't know before?
   

Wednesday (face to face class)

• Student presentations
  
• Have students complete the handout It's My Life Self-Assessment. This is the form students will use to respond in writing about their experience throughout the process of creating your autobiographies.
  

 

Session Nine August 16^th (Monday) & August 18^th (Wednesday)

Monday (online meeting)

• Complete the Quiz about peer presentations (see session 8 for quiz questions)
  
• Make any last minute revisions or changes that you were supposed to do.
  
• Complete the It's My Life Self-Assessment and submit before meeting Wednesday
  

Wednesday (Final in person meeting)

• Meet with entire class and either view PowerPoint presentations that have been revised or who didn't get a chance to present during Session eight.
  
• Have students share their self assessments with the class, use a projector if needed.
  
• Close the class by having everyone mention things they liked, they didn't like, things they learned that were most important to them.
  

  And what they would do different next time.
  

  
   

  
   

Assessment Information

Course Evaluation Plan:

Attendance and Participation:     20%

Assignments:                40%

PowerPoint or DVD            40%

Pre-requisite:    Since this is a summer course, all students in my class have already learned how to create a PowerPoint, so I don't anticipate too many difficulties with using this technology. However, just to be sure, I have provided tutorials on how to use PowerPoint, and how to download music, sound, etc.

Rubrics:    Another aspect of this course is to allow students to collaborate and cooperatively learn so we will be using Rubrics to grade each other during the course.

Project Requirements	1 Project includes all Required elements And shows a Complete understanding Of copyright issues.	2 Project includes Most required Elements and shows An understanding of Basic copyright issues.	3 Project lacks several Required elements And/or shows little Understanding of Copyright issues. Project l
Event Descriptions	Student effectively Describes all five Events included in The autobiography.	Student adequately Describes all five Events in the Autobiography or Only includes four Events.	Students only Include fewer than Four events or Events are Inadequately Described.
Music	Music Clips Effectively depict the Autobiography and add To the presentation	Most of the music is Effective in depicting Events, but one or Two clips detract From the Presentation or are Ineffective.	Student's selection Of music does not Add to the Presentation and is Ineffective in depicting the events.
Images	Images effectively Depict the events in The autobiography And add to the presentation	Most images are Effective in depicting Events, but one or Two clips detract From the Presentation or are Ineffective.	The image selection Does not add to the Presentation and is Ineffective in Depicting the events.
Grammar, Spelling, and Mechanics	The project is free of Grammar, spelling, And mechanics Errors,	There are few Grammar, spelling, Or mechanics errors; Errors do not detract From the meaning.	There are many Grammar, spelling, And/or mechanics Errors that detract From the meaning.

 

It's My Life Self-Assessment

Reflect on your autobiography project by answering the following questions:

1. What do you think is the strongest/most effective part of your presentation? Why?
   
2. After viewing your final presentation, what would you change? Why?
   
3. What part of the project did you find most difficult? Why?
   
4. What part of the project did you enjoy the most? Why?
   

KWL Chart (to help with reading comprehension and for designing questions for any interview you do

What do I know already?

What do I want to learn?

What did I learn?

 

SCOPE Method of Proofreading/Editing- (When proofreading and editing check each of the following for accuracy :)

S     Spelling

C    Capitalization

O    Order of Words

P    Punctuation

E    Express Complete Thoughts

 

Sample Multimodal Autobiography Activity (This is an example of what is expected in the Presentation using Music and Images). This is a reproduction of the actual model developed to use as a "sample". Recordings of songs less than 30 seconds long are considered to be available for use legally for educational purposes, so list the time length of your recordings.

The Beverly Hillbilly

    The summer before my senior year of high school, I had the opportunity to visit a friend in Los Angeles, California. The phrase "life in the fast lane," definitely applies to everyday life in L.A. (Insert the Eagles song "Life in the fast lane" (:15 seconds)). While I had visited many large cities before, none of my experiences could have prepared me for "big city life" (insert: 05 seconds of song "Big City Life" to say it instead of writing it). I was a Beverly Hillbilly for two weeks; I was only missing Granny and Elly May (insert: 15 seconds of "Dueling Banjos" song from the movie Deliverance).

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Additional Information

Please visit the following link to get access to important websites we will be using to learn more about copyright laws and rules we need to know in order to legally produce each of your autobiographies. Also, there are copies of all worksheets for this course.

Also be advised that this course lesson plan comes from the NCTE (National Center of Teachers of English) and permission to use this lesson plan and all materials is allowed. There are original adaptations to the lesson plan to make it unique for this course and the needs of the students.

 

http://readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/life-multimodal-autobiography-project-1051.html.

 

The students taking this course came from Mrs. Galipeau-Woods' English 2 class and have studied the components of the autobiography. They have each demonstrated their proficiency in using PowerPoint and Word. Each student was selected because they demonstrated a commitment and dedication to bettering their writing and communication skills in English, and to satisfy credit requirements to complete their respective grade level.

 

ETEC 501- Session 8: Effective Assessment for e-Learning

This week's assignment asked us to develop "2-3 assessment activities/measures for the course hypothetically developed in Session 5".  Of course these activities should incorporate points and concepts from the reading (chapter 10) and articles (Authentic Assessment Toolbox) (Continuous Assessment: Guaranteed Learning?).  Particular attention should be taken to page 285 of the text, which is a table "Selecting appropriate assessment measures".
Also, we are supposed to incorporate assessment strategies of learning that we have experienced/used as a teacher and/or student that we find to be an effective method.

First off, our text makes it clear that in order to be effective, assessment should "denote the measurement of progress toward a learning goal" (text, pg. 266), and assessment strategies "should match course objectives and the students', instructor's, and institution's personalities" (Continuous Assessment: Guaranteed Learning?, pg. 1). Furthermore, "assessment measures" should be used "to promote learning by providing feedback to the learner and/or the instructor, to identify misconceptions held by the learner, to enhance motivation, and to signal to the learner what concepts are especially important" (text, pg. 266-267).  Therefore, as I set out to complete this assignment, I took time to make sure first, that I clearly understand the specific learning goals of this hypothetical course, as well as what I wish to assess and measure to make sure the learning goals are being learned and more importantly, that these goals are also meaningful and relevant to their future, life long learning.  One final point to add also, is that I decided to incorporate two different assessment strategies of learning to this mix; one that I have used as a teacher and one that I have "experienced" as a learner, just to make it more interesting and beneficial to the process.

Therefore, I began by reminding myself of the reasoning behind the project I will be teaching, which is based on William Kist's theory that "students should be able to both read critically and write functionally, no matter what the medium; we have broadened the concept of literacy to include multi modal projects so that no student feels isolated, and every student will gain better knowledge and understanding from the sharing of ideas" (Kist, W. 2004).  Moreover, the NCTE standards on Multi modal Literacies states "the use of different modes of expression in student work should be integrated into the overall literacy goals of the curriculum and appropriate for time and resources invested" (NCTE statement, October, 2009).

Link to Multi modal Literacies can be explored further: http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements
 /multimodalliteracies.

Link to the lesson plan I adapted: http://readwritethink.org

Now that the theory to practice has been identified. The next stage is to define the specific student objectives for the three assessment activities/measures:
Student Objectives

1. Student will organize their thoughts and express their stories by using PowerPoint presentations
2. Students will improve their technical skills by familiarizing themselves with PowerPoint.
3. Students will examine the lyrics to songs and describe how the music and words relate to their life stories.
4. Students will evaluate their own work. 

A. It's My Life Activity (Session 1) (Activity #1)


1. Present the PowerPoint autobiography assignment to students and explain the required elements. You can present a sample presentation to ensure clarity of expectations for the student.
2. Distribute the It's My Life Assignment and the It's My Life Project Rubric, as well as the It's My Life Assignment Self-Assessment to students and review the details (I have recreated the handout below so you can read what is expected)

• Students will select five important events in their lives.  Using written summaries of these events, they will create a PowerPoint multimodal autobiographies.
• Students may use recordings from the radio or their personal music collections (IPODS)
• Students will follow guidelines for fair use of copyrighted images and music.  (This topic will be discussed further during the session 2)
• Students will present their slide show online or in class.  Slide shows are limited to 5-10 minutes.

3. Have students begin the prewriting stage of their projects by brainstorming at least 15 major events in their lives.  Students can brainstorm with the whole class, small groups, online forum, or individually according to their learning contracts.  
Following are suggestions of what to brainstorm about:

• First day of school (e.g. preschool, kindergarten, day care, middle school)
• A special family vacation
• A family event that is of importance
• A personal achievement (e.g first place in a competition, award from organization, job)
• A personal loss (e.g. pet, or family member)

4. Explain that in this stage of the writing process, students should write down all of their ideas.  Lay down the ground rules that encourage all students to share their ideas with their group or online and discourage any student criticisms at this stage in the process.  Remind students that they will get a chance to peer edit and give their criticism during the activity that shows them how to Peer Edit later.

5.  After brainstorming has elicited 15 major events from each student, have them narrow down their events to the top 8-10.  Have them write a paragraph for each of these events.  This can be done at home or asynchronously submitted to the digital blackboard and saved for the next activity. 


6. Pass out the Self-Assessment handout re-created below and have each student complete this at home or online.
 
It's My Life Self Assessment: 

Reflect on your autobiography project by answering the following questions:

1. What do you think is the strongest/most effective part of your presentation? Why?
2. After viewing your final presentation, what would you change? Why?
3. What part of the project did you find most difficult? Why?
4. What part of the project did you enjoy the most? Why?

Make sure to explain that this self-assessment will be used to assess the final project and that it is important to refer to this as they create their presentations so that they are most likely to comply with all of the expectations.  


There is a rubric developed also that the class will use and this will be handed out as well as being posted to the online course website and the students will have access to review this as they need to further help them create a powerful and meaningful presentation that fulfills all of the desired learning goals.  



B. Finding Your Focus: The Writing Process and Peer Editing (Session 2 Activity)


1. Have students view a PowerPoint Presentation on the writing process.  Discuss the stages of the writing process: including Drafting, Revising, and Editing- Explain that students will go through each of these stages as they work on their autobiographies.  The final stage will be actually publishing their autobiographies in the form of a PowerPoint presentation.


2.  Have the students get out their Summaries of 8-10 Events they did for homework.


3. Discuss how students can get into trouble if they aren't sufficiently skilled in proofreading their presentations before submitting them for final review.  For this reason they will learn a tried and true strategy.


4.  This strategy is a mnemonic strategy called SCOPE, that will assist them in proofreading:

• S- Spelling.  Is the spelling correct?
• C- Capitalization.  Are the first words of each sentence, proper names, and proper nouns capatilized?
• O- Order of words. Is the syntax correct? (Does the sentence sound grammatically correct?)
• P- Punctuation.  Are there appropriate marks for punctuation where necessary?
• E- Express complete thoughts. Does the sentence contain a noun and a verb, or is it only a phrase?

This strategy is used because it is an acronym that can easily be remembered by students to help them develop their editing skills.


5. If this editing is being done online, then have the students work with a pre-assigned partner or have them practice on at least one other student in the class.  If this activity is completed during a face to face meeting, break the class into small groups so the students can really spend quality time working on this assignment, and if they didn't complete their summaries before this meeting, they can work in their groups to complete their summaries by asking for ideas from one another then using SCOPE to edit and proofread their ideas.


6.  To further explain how to peer edit, further explain the five editing points:

1. End punctuation
2. Beginning Capitalization
3. Complete sentences
4. Indented paragraphs
5. Spelling check

Assessment:7.  Create a checklist that the students can use throughout the rest of the class.  This could look like a chart with five lines one for each of the above criteria, with a yes or no check box next to each point, that the student can check off.  There could be a third box for "edits made" so that students could fill in the correction as well as the proper replacement.

8.  Pass out a worksheet with a pre-written page of information that has mistakes fitting the 5 editing guidelines listed above, and have each student mark it up with corrections,  followed by them filling in their editing checklist for further practice as well as quick assessment to make sure they are understanding this activity.


9.  Before ending for this day, remind the students that their next activity will involve them choosing a song that means something to them so they should be considering what they will be selecting before the next session.


C. Presentation Music and Image Planner Activity (Activity #3)


In this activity, (students)you will briefly describe five important events in your life.  Then for each one, write an image and a song to include in your presentation.  When you've finished, hand in the sheet for feedback and approval.  (Below is a recreation of the form used in this activity).


Event #1:________________________________________________________________

Image:__________________________________________________________________

Song:___________________________________________________________________



Event #2: ________________________________________________________________

Image:___________________________________________________________________


Song:____________________________________________________________________



Event #3:_________________________________________________________________


Image:___________________________________________________________________


Song:____________________________________________________________________



Event #4:__________________________________________________________________


Image:_____________________________________________________________________


Song:______________________________________________________________________



Event#5:___________________________________________________________________


Image:_____________________________________________________________________


Song:_______________________________________________________________________


Assessment:


Approved:________

Please revise:________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________


1.  During this activity, the students are left to their own imaginations and they are also supposed to narrow down their important events down to FIVE MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS.  This follows along effective message design and learning in that theories state that five words, five sentences, and five ideas are the most effectively learned and retained to memory.  Usually students are happy to learn that they only need to create five slides and five songs per event.


2. Initiate the discussion by describing a significant life event from your own life (i.e birth of a child, a sibling, parent's divorce, graduating from college, getting married, becoming a teacher, etc).


3.  Pass out a sheet with a Sample Autobiography paragraph for students to review.

4. Have students think about the events they are considering along with their song that reminds them of it.  If this is a hard concept to grasp, give the example of a love song associated with a family member's wedding.

5. Break students into pre-assigned groups of 4 or 5, if online, or in face to face, and amongst these groups, write down the titles of the songs students associate with their events.  Then have them respond to the following questions:

• How does the song make you feel?
• What images come to mind when you think of the event?
• What images come to mind when you think of the song?

6.  Pass out the Presentation Music and Image Planner Worksheets and have each student fill in their responses to the above questions according to the appropriate event, image and song that corresponds.

7. Be sure to discuss lyrics with students to assure that song selections are classroom appropriate as determined by teacher and school policy.


8.  Emphasize that students should avoid songs that contain profanity or derogatory remarks towards race, gender, and/or religious beliefs.  Encourage students to discuss problem lyrics with you before class.  If they need to revise their song choices be sure to be sensitive and not condemning or critical negatively.  Artistic license can be introduced and discussed in class as a group to deal with controversial choices.


9. Before students begin to gather music for their presentations, have a discussion about "artistic license" and "copyright infringement" by asking the following questions:

• Have you ever downloaded music or other content from the internet? What other internet resources have you used?
• You will need to use music for your presentations.  What are some ways you can get the songs you'll need? From what sources can you down load music? Are all of these legal ways?
• Is it okay to use other peoples music in something you have created?

10. At this point, pass out the handout about "Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for School Projects"  (available as a download from www.readwritethink.org)..


11. If time allows, you can open the class dialog if face to face session, and share some samples of music along with the event and image that corresponds to the song.  This might help out students who may be struggling with this activity.  If their are struggling students, ask other students who have a clear understanding to share their selections with those who aren't quite understanding.


12.  Mention the relevant Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for this part of the presentation:

• Students can use 1-5 images from the same photographer or illustrator without permission.
• Up to 10% of a song can be used in a presentation.  That translates to 30 seconds from one song.
• Students must include a bibliography of any work used in their presentations.

13.  Explain that a further discussion of how to do a bibliography will be discussed online and in future activities.

14.  Before dismissing the class, review the students planners and sign off if they understand the assignment and have selected appropriate images and songs.  Approve each plan, providing feedback, or make suggestions for how to revise accordingly.

Effective Assessment Strategy of Learning :


For this course, my students are engaging in multiple assessment measures as well as utilizing multi-media, which caters to Gardner's Multiple Intelligences.  However, in order to help them stay focused and on task, I suggest using a "Report Planning Sheet" that uses KWL method of


"What I know/ What I Want to Find out/ Why I Want to Find out/ How I Will find out/ What I Learned".


Basically, I chose this idea of each student creating their autobiographies to ensure they would find relevance to what I am teaching, because what is more interesting to a youngster then themselves?
But just like anything else, they may not know everything they can about themselves, which is why this multimodal project is designed to give them each opportunities to learn from their family and friends more about who they are and what it is that makes them each so individual and interesting and important to the world.


I find that the KWL chart is a good way for someone to incorporate their prior knowledge, and add to this knowledge through the journey of discovering more about the What and Why they are who they are, through their relationships, their family story, their music, and their hopes and dreams.


In summary, the activities I have shared with you all allow for assessment measures that "provide immediate feedback, encourage reflection, enhance motivation, encourage collaboration, facilitate self-assessment, and demonstrate skill mastery (psycho-motor)" (text, pg. 285). All while ensuring the students gain proficiency and mastery of each specific learning goal mentioned at the beginning of this blog.  Thanks for reading and I encourage feedback.
















 

ETEC 501 Session 7 Handout on Concept