Many schools are jumping on the 1:1 bandwagon, if they haven’t already. It seems like nobody wants to be the last institution to put a device in the hands of their students. And why would they? At this point, there is plenty of literature out there advocating the benefits of technology in the classroom. A great example can be found here. My own school implemented their own school wide 1:1 policy just last year (and only after a lengthy pilot program took place). After implementing such a program, many administrators and educators might think that the only left to do is pat each other on the back for a job well done. The students have everything that they need to learn now, right? They’ve been given every known tool and possible advantage… the ball is in their court now, right? Not necessarily...
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My name is Josh Ditzler, but everybody calls me Coach Ditz. I just finished my 10th year as a teacher at Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, IL. I am also a graduate of PCHS, from the class of '97. I currently teach United States History (Sophomores), American Government (Juniors), and AP European History (Juniors and Seniors). I am also entering my second year as the Social Science Department Chair. I am a varsity assistant football coach at Providence too, and have been since 2004. (Photo from my example, made at www.padlet.com)
I have spent a lot of time this summer searching ideas for nontraditional assessments. I wanted to implement a project that would use digital tools to promote creativity in the classroom. A lot of what we cover in history courses can be described as cause and effect. This visual cause and effect project was something that I created in an effort to express those relationships for the purposes of assessment, but can easily be used as a collaborative and/or brainstorming exercise as well. The hardest part about creating this project was coming up with a procedure and rubric that would create enough order for me to assess learning while also not stifling any creativity… after all, that is what the project was all about. (Photo from my example, made with www.tes.com)
A brief description: Unit: The Interwar Years and WWII Topic: Causes of WW2 Digital Tools: Tes Teach I will group the students by the which of the five causes they have shown the least understanding of. This is based on the facts that they used to back their opinions in the pre-assessment (all of the even numbered questions). If they score 100%, I will put them in the group that they think had the least impact on the occurrence of World War II. Each group will have a video to watch based on the results of their digital pre-activity assessment. Students will then analyze the causes of World War II using an activity (the same I linked in the photo above), which includes a digital post-assessment to see if their minds were changed |