ECI 546 New Literacies and Media

Artifact:
The Inquiry Learning Project required students to create and implement an investigative project utilizing technology. My partner and I decided to focus on how we could use Cinema Veriteen to allow students to demonstrate plot knowledge, reading comprehension and creativitiy.

My Project:
The world today is a fast paced and ever changing place.  Sometimes students can be more tech-savvy than their teacher.  Teachers can use this as an advantage in classroom instruction.  Educators should use technology tools to help students make connections.  Below is a link to a video of the booktrailer featuring students going through the process of answering the question my partner and I asked during this ILP project. 

Booktrailer featuring 4th grade and 9th grade students

This activity required students to summarize a story and create a short booktrailer to entice other students to read a particular book.  The students were more engaged in this kind of activity than they would have been if they had been required to write a paragraph summarizing the story and telling why they would recommend it to others.  Technology is very exciting, and if used effectvely in the classroom, can boost student engagement in the learning process considerably.

Curricular Connections:

NC Standard Course of Study - English Language Arts - 4th Grade

Objective 2.02
Interact with the text before, during, and after reading, listening, and viewing by:
   *setting a purpose using prior knowledge and text information
   *making predictions
   *formulating questions
   *locating relevant information
   *making connections with previous experiences, information, and ideas

Objective 2.04
Identify and interpret elements of fiction and nonfiction and support by referencing the text to determine the:
   *plot
   *theme
   *main idea and supporting details
   *author's choice of words
   *mood
   *author's use of figurative language

Objective 3.01
Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes by:
   *analyzing the impact of author's word choice and context
   *examining the reasons for characters' actions
   *identifying and examining characters' motives
   *considering a situation or problem from different characters' points of view
   *analyzing differences among genres
   *making inferences and drawing conclusions about characters, events and themes