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Demonstration
of Responsibility #4:
Understands
how to capitalize on the capacities and abilities of each
learner (e.g., product or project which accommodates the
special social, intellectual, cultural, environmental,
and institutional aspects of the learners and their learning
situation)
Artifact
4: Multimedia Final Projects
THE
PROBLEM
Students
come to school with a wide variety of skill and experiences.
One great challenge for the teacher is to make learning
relevant, purposeful, and accessible to a diverse group
of students.
BACKGROUND
To
help accommodate this situation of diverse needs, I designed
the final multimedia project with flexibility to address:
- students with special needs,
- students with special cultural interests, and
- the integration of academic content into a technology
course.
Students
are guided through a complex process creating an advanced
professional education multimedia project. Each student
partners with an academic teacher focusing on an academic
subject. Students have the flexibility within the content
area to narrow the subject to an area of their interest.
Several past projects include: Curanderos/as
(Rural Mexican doctors), Utopian Societies focusing
of Mormonism, The Linux Operating System, and the 60’s.
(See Figure 1.) My focus is that students learn the application
of different components of technology. The content that
drives the design is up to them. I allow extra time,
help, and whatever each student needs to promote their
learning.
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(Figure
1: Sample screens from past multimedia projects. See
additional sample screens.)
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RATIONALE
By
creating a flexible learning format that lets students
guide their own learning, students feel satisfaction,
stimulation, and fun rather than boredom. Students create
very hands-on projects that are multi-modal. This format
supports all learning style preferences at some level.
RESULTS
The
final project concept where students partner with an academic
teacher on an academic subject has been very successful.
- Students become engaged learners,
- students reach new levels of breadth and depth
of knowledge through experiential context of multimedia,
and
- students are inspired with great success to enter
competitions that combines technology with historical
and social issue content.
REFLECTIONS
At
first, students would like to have more flexibility when
choosing project titles. I try and focus students to
a deeper topic, integrating core academic subjects. Students
would like to create a biography on Puff Daddy or Nike
Shoes. Instead, students might be encouraged to create
a project on the chemical compounds of the rubber in Nike
Shoes or the social impact rap has on certain communities.
Students soon find satisfaction learning about a certain
subject in detail if it relates to something they enjoy.
Flexibility
is also a key factor in supporting students with special
needs. Good communication between the student, parents,
and special education teachers help me know how to help
each student. I am happy to extend due dates, set up
project partners, and modify plans if needed. With these
components in place, any student can succeed.
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