We spent the morning creating a commerical for the iPad using Reel Director on the iPod Touch. In terms of literacy, this type of project is wonderful because it requires the use of a wide variety of skills. First we had to brainstorm ideas, plan the commercial, sequence our ideas, create scenes, edit our work and present to the class. You could require students to write a script, create a graphic organizer, journal, research other commericals and assess them for particular criteria... the possibilites are endless. Two benefits of this type of project, in addition to the wide of range of skills that are practiced, are that the use of technology is integrated (technology is not an add-on here, it is necessary) and there is independent learning/self-learning. Students must probelm solve throughout the process to create their final product.
We created a commercial for the iPad based on the premise that the iPad makes literacy and learning interesting. It doesn't really do anything you couldn't do another way... you can trace letters on paper, you can take a picture with a camera, make a movie with a movie camera, play games on the Wii, read a book, use flashcards to practice sight words; however, somehow the iPad makes all of these things EXCITING! Old tasks are new again. They are refreshed?! Tracing letters is more fun when there are cute characters, relaxing music or fireworks when you are correct. Flashcards and well-known stories come to life! I can't quite put my finger on it - what is the attraction? Why does everyone love the iPad? My three year old is addicted; my 55 year old uncle tried it last night and immediately declared he is getting one. I have joked with my husband that it has drugs in it somehow to make it so addictive! Anyway, back to the commerical. We create a number of scenes where people were doing tasks the "old" way and the "iPad" way to advertise the merits of the iPad. It turned out well and it was fun to create.
Finally, with regard to evaluation. Just as the skills used in this task are varied, so too are the assessment possiblities. Teachers could assess for content, technology, problem solving, communication, research, writing, drama, presentation, and on and on! I briefly discussed with my group the problem of assessing according to outcomes for this kind of task. For example, I teach Law 12. If my students were to create public service announcements on a particular aspect of the law, just as we did for this task, how would I assess them according to the outcomes of the course? None of the outcomes require the use of technology, communication,etc!? I could assess for content, but then the other skills the students use are not valued. This is a cunundrum! Conversely, if I was assessing this task within the outcomes framework of English 12 I would have loads of outcomes to attach to the project within all of the different categories (Speaking and Listening, Writing and Other Ways of Representing, Reading). Just something for me to think about...
