Assignment #2: Embedding Technology

Question: How can we effectively, practically and authentically embed technology within our curricular areas?

As I've been ruminating about how to answer this question, my English 11 classes have wrapped up our first unit of the year and are getting started on our second unit on American Literary Movements. Of course, I LOVE teaching this unit because it fascinates me to see how our literary identity changed as our country moved from a bunch of British colonies into a world superpower. Notice that it fascinates ME, not necessarily my students. So, I've been contemplating a change to this unit that will engage the students while focusing on the essential questions:

• How does the writing in a time period influence the people and events in that time period?
• How do the people and events in a time period influence the writers (and writing) in that time period?

I know that I want them to have a say in what they are learning. I know that I want them engaged in what they are learning. I know that I want them to dive deep into what they are learning. Rather than skimming across the surface of 350 years of American literature, I want students to find their niche, grab hold, and dive, Dive, DIVE into it. To borrow from Henry David Thoreau, I want them to "live deep and suck out all the marrow" of their learning. 

With a little research and some talking aloud with myself, my PLC (both online and IRL), my family, and my dog (she's a great listener!), I restructured the unit but still needed to figure out the summative assessment. How will students show what they have learned? In my research, I found that many of these types of projects ended in posters, tri-folds, or oral presentations. I knew that I wanted our final assessment to involve technology but I also knew that I needed to talk this over with some like-minded teachers. I mean, the dog is great at listening but she doesn't understand the first thing about technology! Luckily, I have two amazing colleagues (Jen, Tech-rrific TOSA, and Bob, Tech Guru) who dropped their work (which I'm sure was more important) to help me talk through this project and, in the end, I decided to let the students choose HOW they will show what they've learned. And, they will be teaching their classmates about their new-found knowledge rather than me. 

In the video, If Students Designed Their Own School, one student in the Independent Project program at Monument Mountain Regional High School, Sandy, explains that students want to learn something and giving them the space to learn whatever they want motivates students. Additionally, Mike Powell, guidance counselor of the Independent Project, shares that students become dependent on one another for support, feedback, praise, and accountability. 

So, how will I practically, effectively, and authentically embed technology in the American Literary Movement Project in my English 11 classes?

1.  I set the parameters for this project provided by a list of ten American Lit Movements from 1650 to today from which students will choose. Students will use technology to research and choose the movement that THEY want to learn.
2. I set the expectation of the knowledge gained, including name and dates of the movement, defining characteristics of the literature that caused the scholars to name it, identification three major authors and their work, and five major historical events that may have affected the writing. Students will use technology to research their chosen movement, identify and read major works from that movement, and identify historical events to analyze the effect of the events on the writers/writings of the time.
3. I provide the rubric for the project. Students will use technology to teach each other about their chosen movement and assess the learning in a Google Form. Students will collect the data from the Google Form (using Google Sheets) to reflect on their teaching.

Do my students need to know about Transcendentalism to be employable?  No

Do they need to communicate their knowledge clearly so that they can teach another person? Yes 

Can they teach using technology to reach a diverse group of learners? Absolutely

Can they use technology to determine if their communication was effective? Yes

As technology continues to evolve, we as teachers must learn to focus less on our content (even though this makes us sad!) and more on the tools, skills, and strategies our students will need to show their capabilities as learners to their employers.