last week or so--working on the tech. project assignment

Here's where I'm at with things: about a week ago, I decided not to work technology by technology, but instead focus more on my "Group Technology Assignment" as a whole.  I plan to do this assignment in all my composition courses, with some variations.  I think I'm going to have the students do TWO "Group Technology" assignments and then revise the best one (with their group) for their term-end portfolio.  I'm not sure yet how I'm going to get all the group members to decide to revise the same project, but I will leave that for later.

Lately I have been reading Teaching Writing Using Blogs, Wikis, and other Digital Tools by Richard Beach et al. and Lesson Plans for Creating Media-Rich Classrooms by Christel and Sullivan.  Both books are helpful in terms of giving me ideas of what to do with my students.  They're really quite inspiring.  After looking over both, I have decided to create a separate "Explanations and Ideas" sheet for my students talking a bit more about what blogs, wikis, etc. ARE.  The original assignment sheet that I constructed doesn't really do this.  So what I've been doing is explaining the different possibilities that students can choose from a bit more.  I've been making an effort to (1) define the technology, (2) give students guidelines as to what to do with it, and (3) give examples on ways to use it.

Here's some of what I have so far:

TECHNOLOGY PROJECT: EXPLANATIONS AND IDEAS

·         BLOGGING PROJECT.  A blog is an online journal that enables students to engage in conversation with each other.  Students need to create a blog at a blogging site (such as www.blogger.com), make postings, and comment on each other’s work. Blogs may (and should) also include other means of visual appeal, such as links, colors, and even videos.  Examples of blogging projects could include the following:

o   Carry on a conversation in your group about a social/cultural/political topic.

o   Create a fictional blog in which your group members adopt different characters’ voices and construct an ongoing story. 

·         WIKI PROJECT.  The purpose of a wiki is to create a collaborative space where everyone may contribute and change the text.   As with blogs, you may comment on each other’s work, add links, colors, and even videos.  (For a short explanation of wikis and how they can be used, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY and view the YouTube video called “Wikis in Plain English.”)  Examples of wiki projects could include the following:

o   Create your own wiki (for a purpose and audience of your choice) using http://pbworks.com.  This website contains directions—and even videos—for how to create an effective wiki.

o   Create your own new wiki entry on Wikipedia (it must be on a person, place, or thing NOT previously mentioned in Wikipedia).

·         VIDEO PROJECT.  Video allows people “to dramatize people’s verbal perceptions” (Beach 152).  Create a video script, film a ten-minute video on a topic and purpose of your choice, and then post the video on YouTube.  (1021—12-13 mins., 1022—15 mins.)  These may include the following:

o   A music video.

o   A short film.

o   A public service announcement.

o   An interview and/or panel on a particular topic.

·         SOCIAL NETWORKING PROJECT. Use either Facebook or Twitter to…...

·         PRESENTATION PROJECT.  Create a brief presentation using either PowerPoint or Prezi (www.prezi.com), and include no more than twenty slides. (1021 and 1022—include voice-over).  Be sure to define a specific purpose and audience for your presentation, and include effective use of colors, links, and even videos.  Examples could include the following:

o   A presentation to parents explaining why current MPAA movie ratings need to be more harsh on animated films.

o   A presentation to fast-food consumers on the dangers of eating at McDonald’s.

o   A presentation to your student organization on how to use social networking to promote its mission.

·         TEXTING PROJECT.  According to a recent study of first-year composition students, students do texting more than any other type of writing.  This result points to “the importance of hand-held devices like mobile phones as a writing platform” in the 21^st century.  Discuss a particular popular cultural topic with your group using texting for at least one hour.  Then write a paper in which you consider this question: How does the texting medium itself affect how you communicate? 

·         E-MAIL PROJECT.  Discuss a particular popular cultural topic using e-mail.  Consider this: does the e-mail medium itself play a role in your message and how you convey it?

·         PODCASTING PROJECT. (1021 AND 1022 ONLY)

·         GAMING PROJECT. (1021 AND 1022 ONLY)  Create and define the parameters of a particular game for others to play online.

I will continue to work on this on Thursday.  I meet with Lynda on Thursday at 4 pm, too.