Information, Technology and Authenticity

 

People will stick to a fitness program that has meaning. Planting a garden, participating in a "walk" for a cause like diabetes research, and hiking to a historic site are great exercise as well as productive experiences. Authentic activities are those that are perceived as genuine, real, true, worthwhile and meaningful. When planting trees, young people might wonder: Which plants are native? How deep should we plant them? How much water do they need? It's mental exercise with a purpose.

Authentic Activities and Information Fluency - As you plan lessons, consider how young people use technology as an integral part of an authentic activity such as evaluating web-based information to make a decision or communicating an expert to solve a problem.

"Authentic learning involves exploring the world around us, asking questions, identifying information resources, discovering connections, examining multiple perspectives, discussing ideas, and making informed decisions that have a real impact. An authentic learning environment is engaging for students because the content and context of learning are accepted by the student as relevant to his or her needs and deemed by the teacher as simulating life beyond the classroom." - Callison and Lamb (SLMAM, 2004)

What's authentic? Visiting an art museum or creating art is a more authentic activity than reading a textbook about art. However you can't always go on a field trip and you may not have the supplies for the art project you have in mind. Consider ways that technology can fill in the gap. Go to the Museum of Moden Art: Destination Modern Art, Red Studio.

• Tour a virtual art museum. Examples: Smithsonian Online Exhibits, Meet Me at Midnight, Lizzie Visits the Sculpture Garden, Virtual Museums, Virtual Field Trips
• Create a work of virtual art. Examples: Glass Sculpture Activities: Lower Grades, Upper Grades.

Go to NoodleTools: Authentic Audiences for ideas.

Authenticity and Primary Source Materials

Consider how to balance fiction, nonfiction, and primary source documents as you investigate historical topics.

• Children
  • Dragonwings by Laurence Yep
  • The Earth Dragon Awakes by Laurence Yep
• Young Adults
  • A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 by Simon Winchester

Web Resources

• Museum of the City of San Francisco (Eyewitness Interviews)
• The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake from USGS (Science Data)
• San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 from LOC (Photographs)
  • Before and After the Great Earthquake from LOC
  • Before and After the Great Earthquake and Fire: Early Films of San Francisco, 1897-1916
  • The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906
  • Today in History: April 18
• On This Day from The New York Times (Original Newspaper)
• San Francisco's 1906 Quake: What If It Struck Today? from National Geographic
  • 100 Years Later, San Francisco Ripe for Another Megaquake
  • Video: San Francisco's Perilous Perch in Quake Country
  • Big Bay Area Quake Likely Within 20 Years, Experts Say
• EarthQuake Science
  • Nature's Fury
  • EarthQuake

Analyzing Primary Sources

• History in the Raw from National Archives - teaching with documents
  • Document Analysis Worksheets
• Using Primary Sources in the Classroom from Library of Congress

Other Primary Source Document Lesson Ideas

• Chronology of US Historical Documents
• Library of Congress: Collection Connections
• English and Language Arts
  • Literature and Poetry
• Fine and Applied Arts
  • Great American Potluck
  • Music
• Math, Science, & Technology
  • Environment
  • From Fantasy to Flight
  • Science and Invention
• Social Studies
  • Advertising
  • Community Center
  • Eras: Early America,
  • Events: Summertime, United States Holidays
  • Exploration and Explorers, Lewis & Clark
  • Geography: America,
  • Government: Elections, Political Cartoons, We the People
  • Movements: Civil Rights, Labor, Women's History,
  • People: Asian Pacific Americans, Immigration, Native Americans
  • Wars: Civil Wars, Great Depression, War and Peace
• Other Areas
  Sports: Baseball

Explore primary source materials. Select a topic and consider the primary source materials that might be used as part of a springboard activity.

Go to Scrapstarters for other ideas including book starters such as Al Capone Does My Shirts.

Authentic Assignments and Assessments

Examine your curriculum and think about ways to incorporate authentic assignments and assessments. Use the following ideas to get you started.

Alternative Versions and Views

Encourage young people to "think different." Look at the world from a different perspective. Ask students to transform a traditional work into something new. Look for a different view or a different way of thinking.

• You usually see objects that have been finished. Show a place that's under construction.
• You usually see the outside of a building. Can you show the inside?
• You usually show the famous people. How about the ordinary person?
• You usually discuss the big events. How about the smaller events that get the ball rolling or stimulate change?
• We often see the national impact, how about the local impact? Can you create a parallel timeline?
• You usually read the classics. What about the lesser known authors of the same time period or genre?

Modern Shakespeare. Compare the original Shakespeare with a modern version using No Fear Shakespeare from Sparknotes. Identify a scene that's not available in a modern version and write your own. Create your own "audio book" in Microsoft Word.

Different Perspective. Explore artists and musicians, poets, historical events, scientific discoveries examining different perspectives and different views. Use Ellis Island Records for the traditional way of thinking. Use Angel Island for a different way of thinking. From what other directions did immigrants arrive in the United States? Look at your own community. How was it formed? Create a document exploring different perspectives. Record audio of the different "voices" represented.

Civil War Literature. Let's explore the combination of Literature Circles and wikis. Check out a project under development called WikiLit. Go to the Civil War Literature wiki for an example of a "wiki starter". Brainstorm ways that you could use the power of Web 2.0 to teach a unit on Courage and Responsibility: The American Civil War focusing on the impact of the war on the Midwest.

• Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (Illinois)
• Captured! A Boy Trapped in the Civil War by Mary Blair Immel (Indiana)
• Guerrilla Season by Pat Hughes (Missouri)
• The River Between Us by Richard Peck (Illinois)
• Soldier's Heart by Gary Paulsen (Minnesota)

Geographic Locations. Visualize the geographic location of places discussed in class using Google Earth. Go to Google Earth. Explore Google Lit Trips - A Different Way to Read Great Literature.

• Let's use Bloomability by Sharon Creech as an example. It's the story of a teenager who moves to Switzerland to live with her aunt and uncle. As you read each chapter, think about the geography could explore with Google Earth.
• Make Way for Ducklings. Search for the setting in Google Earth.

Technology Ideas

• Write the text in Word. Then create an audio button. Pull down the Insert menu, select Object and Wave Sound. Click OK.

Other Alternative Versions and Approaches Ideas

• Modern Fairy Tale. Compare different versions of the same folk or fairy tale. Create an updated version. Use The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka as inspiration.
• Read books that take different perspectives on the same event. Compare these backgrounds. Example: Books set in The Great Depression - Esperanza Rising, Out of the Dust, Bud, Not Buddy, Grapes of Wrath, A Year Down Yonder, and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
• Explore American Farming Technology: Science and Literature Unit.
• Explore other ideas for literature circles at Literature Ladders.

Comparisons

Use illustrations, charts, timelines, and other visuals to help young people make comparisons and show relationships. Seek out opportunities to compare some aspect of the student's world to the world beyond school, the historical world, or other cultures.

The Food We Eat. How does the food we eat arrive on our dinner table? Does it come from the grocery store ot the drive-through? Compare the way you eat with how people ate long ago. Track your food from farm to table. Ask young adults to consider the carbon impact of eating foods "out of season."

Local and National. Create your own polls and surveys to collect local data. Compare your findings with national or international data on topics such as recycling, elections, and popular issues.

Technology Ideas

• Use Inspiration, Kidspiration, or other concept mapping software to track foods and make comparisons.
• Provide young children with photos they can sequence in PowerPoint. Then, write sentences to go with the slides.
• Collect and compare data. Use one of the following tools: Create a Graph, Grapher
• Explore NYPL Digital Gallery for examples that can be used for "Then and Now" assignments. Examine the history and economics of street vendors in New York City.

Other Comparison Ideas

• True/False
• If/Then
• Yesterday/Today/Tomorrow
• Before/After
• Then/Now
• Cause/Effect
• Local/Global

Then and Now Project Ideas

• Check out the Google Earth (Before and After) Katrina photos.
• Search history databases for "then and now" use HistoryLink as an example.

Explore other "then and now" websites:

• BBC - how has the UK changed?
• Black History Timeline
• Business: Then and Now
• Centennial
• Central Park
• Chinook Tribe
• Comparing Then and Now
• Congress
• Crocs - then and now
• Disease video - how has infectious disease changed?
• Farming - how has farming change?
• Kansas Resources: then and now
• Little House on the Prairie
• Mental Health: Then and Now
• Prices - Then and Now
• Old Tales - Brother's Grimm
• Public Health
• Reservation Controversies: Then and Now
• Rescues - how have other community services changed?
• Science - how has science changed?
• Shakespeare's World: Then and Now
• Stuff We Use
• Then and Now
• Time
• Timelines
• To Kill a Mockingbird: Then and Now
• Then & Now Project
• Updating the Journals - Lewis and Clark
• The Way We Are
• Wisconsin Sesquicentennial - could you do this in your state/province?
• Women's Issues

 

Debates and Decisions

Many problems have more than one solution. Ask students to look at multiple perspectives. Collect evidence, make an argument, and come to a decision.

Explore ScrapQuests for ideas. Project include Fossils (PPT) and Mystery Nests (PPT).

Technology Ideas

• Working in pairs, students identify the key issues in a debate. They work together to build a PowerPoint presentation.
  • Students create an issue slide together, then each learner creates an argument slide associated with that issue.
  • Students work together on each slide choosing a visual to represent the issue. Then, create audio narration to present their side of the issue.

Other Debate & Decision Ideas

• Bees - Friend or Foe?
• Our Policy - Paper or Plastic?
• Our Tree - Pine or Oak Tree?
• Stem Cell Research - Yes/No?
• Best Graph for Data - Histogram/Bar?

Digital Storytelling

Tell stories using text, audio, and video elements.

Oral History Projects. Select a theme or time period. Conduct oral histories with local citizens. Go to Guardians of Freedom for an example.

Technology Ideas

• Use a mixture of your own photographs along with stock photos or historical photos.
• Add narration over a slide show using PhotoStory
• Use your still digital camera to record short video segments that can be placed directly into the computer. Get a 1-2GB card for best results.
• Use an audio recorder during an interview. You can transcript the interview later and use short video excerpts. If you don't have a digital recorder, you can just play the audio into your computer's microphone. It works pretty good.

Other Digital Storytelling Ideas

• Digitales
• Digital Comics and Graphic Novels

Escrapbooking

Scrapbooking is the practice of combining photographs, memorabilia, and written narratives, poetry, quotations, stories, or other textual content into a scrapbook style album. Technology has expanded the techniques available for producing, duplicating, and distributing scrapbooks.

Problems and Solutions. Create a "Community Math" e-scrapbook adding problems throughout the year. Identify or invent an example of "math in the real-world" of your local community or the larger world around you. Write about and illustrate (i.e., draw, photograph, scrapbook page) the situation. Pose a problem. Record your voice with the solution or hide your answer in a box. Use presentation software (i.e., PowerPoint) with a different problem on each page. Use the e-scrapbooks as review. Need ideas? Think about cooking, road construction, shopping, geography, history, energy conservation, health, and other content area connections to establish a context.

Technology Ideas

• Rather than using the standard PowerPoint templates, start with a totally empty page.
• Use an online look such as Scrapblog.

Other Escrapbook Ideas

• Escrapbooking: Projects
• Bread and Roses Too
• Louise Hancock Diary
• Laura Wilson Graphic Biography

 

Public Service Announcements

From safety tips to health eating habits, there are many ways your students can express their understandings of important issues through the use of public service announcements and advertisements.

Explore examples of student produced Public Service Announcements such as Filmmaking with a Message and Student Video Gallery. Create a PSA. Check out an example at ESD112 - "Want to Stop Smoking?" Submit it to the National Student Television Award project or to your local or regional media fair.

Save The ... ! Many people don't know that animals around the world are endangered. Let's make a public service announcement (PSA) to inform people about the need to save this creature. Go to Arkive: Images of Life on Earth and explore information about endangered animals. Which do you think is most important to save? Download a QuickTime video of this endangered animal, insert the video into PowerPoint, and write a script for a public service announcement about saving this animal. As a class, brainstorm what should be included in the PSA such as how this animal is unique, how it fits into it's environment, and why it is important to save. Then, use these criteria in your assessment. Right-click the PSA (PPT) and save the Powerpoint document. Directions are in the Speakernotes. (Communication Arts, Science).

Other PSA Ideas

• Book reviews - use book covers
  
• Book series - use book characters
  
• Safety tips - use photos of safety areas: water, bike, fire, tornado, flood
  
• Heath habits - dental care, healthy eating

 

Quick Reference

Locate the wide range of resources and information on a particular topic. Then, organize materials in a way that's easy to understand. Select the most important elements. Design a guide that provides concise access to this information using varied media including text, graphics, audio, and/or video. Projects include pictionaries, flipbooks, posters, and brochures.

Job Jargon. Create a quick reference booklet for a specialized vocabulary related to a particular profession or specialized area such as medicine, police work, information technology, sports, sailing (nautical), hunting, fishing, business, biology, music, oceanography, politics, farming, ranching, forestry, law, business, or other professionals. Each term should include an example and illustration. The origin and history of each word should also be included. Record your voice using each word in context. To deepen the thinking, terminology could be categorized in a meaningful way. Students might also defend their choices and discuss the choices made by classmates. Then, use the quick reference in writing a short story, comic, or paper related to the topic such as a crime story using CSI terminology.

Technology Ideas

• Search Strategies. Search for the topic and the word terminology such as "medical terminology" or "law terminology" for ideas. Also try the words: vocabulary, terms, dictionary, definitions.
• PowerPoint Scenes. Create a series of slides that represent professional situations identify use of the language. Use the Speakernotes to expand on the ideas, give definitions, or provide historical information.
  • Create a scene for categories of words related to business law. For example, a court room scene might include words such as defendent, judge, prosecutor, oath, affidavit, appeal, malice
• PowerPoint Flipbook. Create a slide for each term, print them 6 on a page and create a small flip book.
  • Create a flip book for each community member such as police officer, fire fighter, shop owner, banker, baker, teacher, librarian, etc.
• PowerPoint Professional Poster. Print two slides per page and create a "professional poster."
• PowerPoint Slide Show. Create an entry slide containing each term with a link to a slide containing the information and audio.
• Comic Life Software. Create a comic using panels for each word.

Other Quick Reference Projects

• Create a class pictionary or alphabet book. Each member of the class could contribute a page.
• Create a humorous version of a quick reference playing with words and providing explanations. This is a great extension activity to promote critical thinking and is particularly effective with AP students. Example: RealNurse.
• Create a "quick reference" for processes and procedures. Students have difficulty with sequencing.
• Create a nutrition and fitness guide for young people, new mothers, or seniors.

Virtual Field Trips

Not everyone can go on a field trip. Create a virtual field trip to share a place that you have been. Give others the experiences of "being there."

Technology Ideas

• Use a main page or slide for a map. When you click on areas of the map, you're taken to information about that area.
• Use comic software such as Comic Life to produce a virtual field trip.
• Photograph a single object such as a tree from many different views. Use the Ology website for other ideas.

Other Virtual Field Trips

• Virtual Adventures
• Virtual Field Trips

 

Designing Authentic Learning Environments

Let's explore an authentic assignment that uses a wide range of technology including websites, a wiki for notes, GPS, digital cameras, and handheld devices. It's called CSI: Cemetery Scene Investigation.

Explore some other examples. Which aspects of the assignment are authentic:

• Chasing Vermeer
• Greek Mythology Virtual Field Trip
• Exploring Leonardo da Vinci
• Mystery and Detection
• So, You're Gifted

In the "real world" of standards, mandates, limited time, and financial constraints, it may not be possible to make all aspects of a project authentic. However as you design the learning environment, consider each of the following areas: context, questions, activities, resources, communications and audiences, and assessment. Use the questions and examples below to enhance your use of technology in promoting authentic experiences.

• Authentic Context
  • Does the assignment provide a real-world context that requires meaningful application of knowledge and skills?
  • Is this activity rooted in a meaningful situation? Is the simulation, scenario, or problem believable to the students?
  • Is the activity close enough to a "real world" situation that students will see the connection between academics and practical applications?
  • Example: Connect local with national and international information, people, and events. Compare local recycling data, population trends, immigration experiences.
• Authentic Questions
  • Does the assignment begin with meaningful questions generated from personally relevant concerns, issues, interests, or topics?
  • Are students provided with options, choices, or alternatives that might match their interests?
  • Is the assignment academically rigorous, individually challenging, and thought provoking (i.e., students must apply, synthesize, evaluate)?
  • Example: Provide students with a list of topics and ask them to write about how they made their choice. This makes the project more personal.
• Authentic Activities
  • Are the assignments natural rather than contrived?
  • Does the assignment require an understanding and application of the knowledge and skills being assessed?
  • Are students actively engaged in locating information, evaluating sources, collecting their own data, conducting experiments, and comparing the results?
  • Is guidance provided to help students identify problems, develop strategies, and make decisions?
  • Are adequate directions and technical support provided so students can concentrate on content rather than technology?
  • Example: Get students involved with online contests, fairs, and collaborative projects.
• Authentic Resources
  • Are students using a wide variety of information resources, materials, tools, and technologies?
  • Are students encouraged to identify primary sources of information?
  • Is help provided for locating "real world" resources through guidance such as pathfinders, web search strategies and key words rather than relying on a textbook or other stock materials?
  • Is scaffolding provided to assist students in connecting new information with prior knowledge?
  • Example: Encourage the use of email interaction, expert interviews, and collaborative teams. Rather than reading about city government, students write questions and interview local government officials.
• Authentic Communications and Audiences
  • Do students have a "real world" audience for their work?
  • Are students asked to think about the perspective of their audience?
  • Are students involved in an activity that has application or an audience beyond the classroom and the teacher?
  • Are student communications shared in a real-world setting such as a meeting, community location, online, or other area where community members might see their work?
  • Do students get the opportunity to receive feedback from audiences through live reactions or interactions?
  • Example: Propose a new bike path to the local parks and recreation board.
• Authentic Assessment
  • Are students asked to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in a meaningful way?
  • Do the assignment and assessment address specific standard(s) or learning outcome(s)?
  • Does the assignment and assessment help you identify learner strengths and weaknesses?
  • Are process assessments such as journals, logs, concept maps, conferences, and process reports used?
  • Are products such as a letter to the editor, online book review, or presentation to a local nonprofit organization used in assessment?
  • Is this assignment and assessment the most effective, efficient, and appealing approach?
  • Example: Get students involved with brainstorming the criteria for a rubric.

Try It!
After exploring the possibilities, design your own assignment and assessment. Then, ask yourself about the authenticity of the assignment and assessment using the questions above.

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