During the first week of the institute, we spent time playing in digital spaces—exploring and learning what kinds of texts we could compose with different digital literacy tools. The second week, we want to work on making classroom connections and thinking about how these tools can help us meet new Common Core State Standards. With those goals in mind, we’d like for you (and a partner, if you’d like) to remediate one of your teaching activities using a digital tool we’ve already explored or a new tool that you think has potential for promoting 21st Century Literacies. Lead us in this classroom activity as though we are your students, and we’ll play along, think with you, and work together to trace out some of these connections.
What Makes an Effective Interactive Exhibit?
While there is no formula, the most effective exhibits may include some or all of the following (in no particular order):
- Explain briefly (5 min or less) what your teaching activity looked like without digital technologies. Tell us what you hope to accomplish by remediating this activity. What can the digital tools make happen in this activity?
- Involve the participants in the activity. Rather than merely describe an approach, have the other participants do it. Teachers need to experience an idea in order to get a feel for how they might apply it in their own classrooms.
- Post your IE Description on your web space (Weebly, WordPress, Google Site, etc.).
Following are some strategies you should avoid:
- Reading your prepared “presentation.”
- Describing everything you do as a teacher of writing and focusing on nothing.
- Describing extraneous, albeit interesting, matters at great length; e.g., your school problems, your school or departmental program, grading or assessment policies and problems, seemingly insurmountable technology problems that aren’t associated with your IIE, etc.
- Explaining anything in prolonged detail. Teachers are smart people (or should be); if they can’t extrapolate from what you do, we’re all in trouble! J
Things to include in your IE Post:
- Title of the IE & the Author with an email contact (in case someone wants to follow-up)
- Description of your teaching activity and description of how you plan to remediate it.
- Timeline/ Agenda for the exhibit
- Any supplemental materials that might be required for your exhibit
- Optional: An archive of resources (links, guides, etc.) related to your teaching activity or technology (perhaps supporting the “strategy, concept, tool or practice” you’re exploring)