Introduction:
My students, grades 7-8, will be collaborating on a digital storybook project using the artwork they created for their Trendy and Zany business brochures about a Popular, Successful and Trendy business. These brochures tell the story of its success, pictures or images are used from the business website and clip art/Gif files. For the brochure, FREE interactive websites such as; Picnik, Wordle, or Dabbleboard are used to design or redesign/recompose images and photos, create posters, and to help display images and photos in their brochure and then in the digital storytelling project.
Key Terms: collaborating, researching, analyzing, creating, engaging, comparing, presenting
Task: Students will research trendy companies on the internet that offer a service or product that is similar (ex: Toms Shoes) vs. (ex: Vans Shoes).
http://www.toms.com/our-movement http://www.vans.com/
Students will compare them using a Venn Diagram and an Excel Spreadsheet and then create a brochure using Microsoft Office Word or Publisher. When they are done, then the students will collaborate and tell the business success story using Digital Storytelling Software like Prezi or HyperStudio. Their digital storytelling project will tell the process they used to choose the business through and then tell its story with zany or recomposed images/graphic.
This project will relate to the following standards for Computer Applications in Business 2:
Resources:
TED Seminar Video-8 Secrets to Success -Richard St. John (4 minutes) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6bbMQXQ180
Successful Businesses http://www.ehow.com/successful-business/
Tips for Digital Storytelling: creating, timing, transitions, images, audio and video http://www.techlearning.com/printablearticle/8030
How to prepare before creating a Digital Storytelling Project http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/jan02/banaszewski.htm
Digital Storytelling Software: Create astonishing presentations live and on the web http://prezi.com/ HyperStudio: a powerful, educational tool for both educators and students. It allows one to easily create multimedia projects that can be used for presentations http://www.uen.org/utahlink/tours/tourFames.cgi?tour_id=14179
How to create an Excel Chart in Microsoft 2007 http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/demo-create-charts-in-excel-2007-HA010200499.aspx
Upload photos from websites or from a file and edit them to create a new look. Then the edited version automatically downloads back to your computer or flash drive http://www.picnik.com/
Dabbleboard gives you drawing and graphic tools to create on a white board and you can upload images/pictures from files and then download them back to the picture file on the computer http://www.dabbleboard.com/
Create word clouds http://www.wordle.net/
A short video on creating a tri-fold brochure using Microsoft Publisher 2007 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxgcql3dvZ4&feature=player_embedded
Short demonstration on using Microsoft Word to make a tri-fold Brochure http://www.microsoft.com/Education/themebrochure.aspx
Compare similarities and differences. Print this out or draw your own. http://www.sdcoe.net/score/actbank/tvenn.htm
First of all, I really love the project you have created. I like that it has the students using different skills and thinking outside of the box some. Have you ever used this project in your classroom or did you create it for this class?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I enjoyed reading through the process of the project. It was easy to understand and is something that other teachers could implement in their own classroom. I have never used some of the sites you listed (ex: Picnik) but now I will be checking them out. I have used Wordle and love it! Furthermore, I like that you have tons of resources listed. You even include a little description. This is great for teachers and students alike. I am now thinking of how I could use this lesson in my classroom.
Thanks for sharing some really great ideas and resources!
-Catherine
Thank you for sharing your project idea! I really like the idea of using Publisher and word to start their project and then use Prezi to share and reflect by telling a story. I like that you are incorporating more than one type of program for your students to use in your lesson. I really enjoy Microsoft Publisher, and I would encourage your more tech savvy students to use this program to create their brochure versus using Microsoft Office.
ReplyDeleteThe resources you provided are wonderful. They are very easy to access and can provide your students help if you aren't immediately available. These resources/ websites would be a great addition to your Wikki.
I wish that my fourth grade students would be able to complete a lesson like this, but I will certainly take your ideas and perhaps try and adapt them to fit the fourth grade curriculum.
Thanks for your ideas!
Lauren
Wow, what a great project you have created for your seventh and eighth graders. You seemed to incorporate word processing, publishing, excel and presentation skills and have tied all of them into one culminating project. When you provide so many resources the students are encouraged to seek out answers on their own first, which I think helps them learn better.
ReplyDeleteI had not heard of Wordle and went into the site to play around a bit. Actually, I went into several of the sites you mentioned. By integrating a variety of programs your students are exposed to so much and then can decide what they like better than others. For one thing, they are being exposed to a variety of methods. That's a big plus for them.
I love this project because it is a connection to the "real" world for your students. Now, you not only are preparing them technologically, but you are giving them "real" world experiences. In my days in the classroom I've always noticed that when students can make personal connections to sujects and ideas it seems to stick with them. So like your examples of trendy companies would definitley make that connection for them.
ReplyDeleteI will be using some of the links that you provided. I had no idea of some of these pages. I like wordle, as well, because you can choose what you want and take it where you want it to go. Including a weblink for a "how to" on digital storytelling plays such an important role on student understanding of what you are expecting. Your integration of graphic organizers is another technique that I love because it helps students sort through information and begin to organize into categories that are meaningful.