Summer Project: Upping the Pizzazz |
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Since my spring class has wrapped up, I’ve been putting a lot of thought into how I can improve my class for next year. My online class tends to have a participation drop off as the semester goes on, so I want to add some pizzazz to keep them coming back despite the heavy workload.
(I always have grand plans with time off that never comes to fruition. My hope is that writing this – and telling my boss – will force me to actually do it.)
My plan is to use more interactive media early in the course and focus on fewer texts that elicit student response.
Like video? I’m using YouTube prompts, movie clips and poetry slam video to add some flare to my weekly writing workshops. (You can find weekly YouTube writing prompts on the Teacher Tips page).
I also want to use animoto videos to help demonstrate online research techniques. Animoto basically helps you put images and text in a video format with a soundtrack. The exciting thing about it, other than being really easy to put together, is that you can embed the videos or access them online. This sidesteps the Powerpoint issues of software and compatibility. See Cheryl Oakes “Ed Tech Made Easy” column to find out how to get started with animoto.
My last tact is to give activities, informal assignments and extra credit opportunities fun names. When you’re an English nerd, semantics are absolutely everything.
Instead of an orientation at the beginning of the term, a colleague recommended a “scavenger hunt” to acquaint students with the blackboard site. It’s almost identical to a typical orientation quiz, but it sounds 20x more appealing.
I’d also love to integrate these scavenger hunts throughout the semester. Maybe a classroom discussion scavenger hunt to ensure that students engage in the discussion or an online library scavenger hunt to practice non-Wikipedia researching.
What new tricks would you like to try next year?
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