2.1 Content Standards & Student Technology Standards
Candidates model and facilitate the design and implementation of technology-enhanced learning experiences aligned with student content standards and student technology standards. (PSC 2.1/ISTE 2a)
Artifact: Internet Lesson Plan
Reflection:
The Internet Lesson plan was created in ITEC 7430 Internet Tools in the Classroom and implemented during Fall 2013 in my Advanced Placement Literature and Composition class. Students were asked to read Fences, a play by August Wilson, and A Lesson Before Dying, a novel by Earnest J. Gaines. Both texts reflect on the struggles of the African-American main character in the pre-civil rights era; however, each text has a different setting and time period so the experiences of each character differ. Students were given the task of composing an analytical comparison-contrast essay using references from each text; this writing process was scaffolded using Internet tools. To begin, students worked collaboratively to collect ideas and quotations in a Padlet in which all students in an assigned group added information throughout the course of reading. Students then crafted, revised, and edited thesis statements using peer editing strategies and blogging. Finally, students drafted a written composition in Google Docs and used the editing and commenting features to provide meaningful commentary to their peers.
The Internet lesson plan is explicitly aligned with student content standards. Specifically, the CCGPS standards for 11th-12th grade English (Reading/Literature, Writing, and Language) are referenced in the lesson plan. Throughout the assignment students are asked to cite strong textual evidence to support their claims about each text (Standard RL1), and they must analyze how two works treat similar themes or topics (Standard RL9). The final written composition helps students demonstrate control of Standard W2 writing informative/explanatory texts, Standard W4 producing writing appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience, Standard W5 developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, editing, revising, rewriting, or trying a new approach, Standard W6 using technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, and Standard W9 drawing evidence from literary or informational text to support analysis, reflection, and research. Finally, students also must demonstrate understanding of several language standards, including command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing (L1), command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing (L2), and varying syntax for effect (L3a).
Similarly, the Internet lesson plan is also aligned with the ISTE student technology standards, also referred to as NETS-S (National Educational Technology Standards for Students). Specifically, the lesson plan addresses technology standards related to communication and collaboration, research and information fluency, and critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making.
The Internet Lesson plan contains standards, objectives, essential questions, tools for assessment (including checklists and rubrics) and an instructional plan, as well as suggestions for management of Internet tools, indications of differentiation, and areas for reflection. It is clear through the artifact, that the plan was not only designed but also implemented successfully with a group of students. The teacher served as the facilitator of learning, providing students with opportunities to grapple with the text and think collaboratively about specific aspects. The Internet Lesson plan is an excellent model of integrating technology into lesson plans for the purpose of enhancing the learning experience. Through this lesson, the Internet tools fostered communication and collaboration, encouraged critical thinking, and aided in research fluency.
In reflecting on this artifact, I would make some changes when implementing again in future classes. While the Padlet tool was useful for quickly gathering thoughts and allowing group members to share these thoughts, it would have been helpful for students to create two Padlets—one to use for collaboratively brainstorming and another for drafting and organizing the paper. Although the brainstorming Padlets provided students with the information needed to write the essays, they became too full of information, and a new, clean Padlet would have helped students to focus more clearly on the essential elements of an essay.
The Internet Lesson Plan had a direct impact on student learning since the Internet tools helped to scaffold the writing process into manageable pieces. Although the students in the AP Literature course are more advanced in proficiency than their peers, many struggle with written composition, especially when considering two full-length texts. The scores on the final compositions were markedly higher than on previous compositions, thus serving to prove the impact of Internet tools on the writing lesson.
The Internet Lesson plan was created in ITEC 7430 Internet Tools in the Classroom and implemented during Fall 2013 in my Advanced Placement Literature and Composition class. Students were asked to read Fences, a play by August Wilson, and A Lesson Before Dying, a novel by Earnest J. Gaines. Both texts reflect on the struggles of the African-American main character in the pre-civil rights era; however, each text has a different setting and time period so the experiences of each character differ. Students were given the task of composing an analytical comparison-contrast essay using references from each text; this writing process was scaffolded using Internet tools. To begin, students worked collaboratively to collect ideas and quotations in a Padlet in which all students in an assigned group added information throughout the course of reading. Students then crafted, revised, and edited thesis statements using peer editing strategies and blogging. Finally, students drafted a written composition in Google Docs and used the editing and commenting features to provide meaningful commentary to their peers.
The Internet lesson plan is explicitly aligned with student content standards. Specifically, the CCGPS standards for 11th-12th grade English (Reading/Literature, Writing, and Language) are referenced in the lesson plan. Throughout the assignment students are asked to cite strong textual evidence to support their claims about each text (Standard RL1), and they must analyze how two works treat similar themes or topics (Standard RL9). The final written composition helps students demonstrate control of Standard W2 writing informative/explanatory texts, Standard W4 producing writing appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience, Standard W5 developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, editing, revising, rewriting, or trying a new approach, Standard W6 using technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, and Standard W9 drawing evidence from literary or informational text to support analysis, reflection, and research. Finally, students also must demonstrate understanding of several language standards, including command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing (L1), command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing (L2), and varying syntax for effect (L3a).
Similarly, the Internet lesson plan is also aligned with the ISTE student technology standards, also referred to as NETS-S (National Educational Technology Standards for Students). Specifically, the lesson plan addresses technology standards related to communication and collaboration, research and information fluency, and critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making.
The Internet Lesson plan contains standards, objectives, essential questions, tools for assessment (including checklists and rubrics) and an instructional plan, as well as suggestions for management of Internet tools, indications of differentiation, and areas for reflection. It is clear through the artifact, that the plan was not only designed but also implemented successfully with a group of students. The teacher served as the facilitator of learning, providing students with opportunities to grapple with the text and think collaboratively about specific aspects. The Internet Lesson plan is an excellent model of integrating technology into lesson plans for the purpose of enhancing the learning experience. Through this lesson, the Internet tools fostered communication and collaboration, encouraged critical thinking, and aided in research fluency.
In reflecting on this artifact, I would make some changes when implementing again in future classes. While the Padlet tool was useful for quickly gathering thoughts and allowing group members to share these thoughts, it would have been helpful for students to create two Padlets—one to use for collaboratively brainstorming and another for drafting and organizing the paper. Although the brainstorming Padlets provided students with the information needed to write the essays, they became too full of information, and a new, clean Padlet would have helped students to focus more clearly on the essential elements of an essay.
The Internet Lesson Plan had a direct impact on student learning since the Internet tools helped to scaffold the writing process into manageable pieces. Although the students in the AP Literature course are more advanced in proficiency than their peers, many struggle with written composition, especially when considering two full-length texts. The scores on the final compositions were markedly higher than on previous compositions, thus serving to prove the impact of Internet tools on the writing lesson.