Thursday, July 10, 2014

My techno-constructivist project

After completing my project, Bringing Legends to Life Through Technology, and first ever Pecha Kucha, I feel like I a real technocrat.  I felt sheer exuberance upon completing my first ever Google doc, and even better about myself when the second one was easier to replicate.  I explored technologies that I didn't even know about just over a week ago.  I will be bringing my new-found technological savvy into my classroom in many aspects of my planning and execution of plans, and I am forever changed as to how I view the world through my students' eyes.

Even though I "feel" like a technocrat, I believe my project positions me well as a techno-constructivist.  I have explored many technological tools and am asking my students to complete their projects in mediums I myself have not used.  I've personally never made a Prezi, but after this course, I know I could.  My group made a stop-motion video, but I was not manning the camera.  I'm in the process of exploring and utilizing technology that is still new to me; I'm on my way, and so too will be my students.

My first Google doc is a graphic organizer that I will use in Spanish 3 after students have read the legend.  It asks them to summarize the beginning of the legend in three sentences, the plot of the legend in 5 sentences, and the end of the legend in three sentences.  They will use on-line dictionaries to produce a myriad of adjectives to describe aspects of the legend and justify their descriptions.  They will examine male and female protagonists and their societal roles.  Finally, they will add links to any relevant pictures, maps, or images to justify or reinforce their descriptions.

My second Google doc is a legend analysis piece that I added to explore the greater context to this and many other Aztec legends.  In it, students will explore Aztec gods, common Aztec legends, Aztec beliefs about humanity and nature, and examples of Aztec influence today in Mexico.  In the final column of the organizer, they will compare and contrast Aztec beliefs with those in American society, and below, they will add links to maps, images, and charts to substantiate their research.

My Mexican legend project requires my students to create a legend to explain a phenomenon, such as why the sky is blue, or why dogs have tails.  It requires them to use a variety of technological mediums to explore creative venues to present their projects to the class.

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