Secondary Level: Engaging Technology Tools Projects     Let's create a meaningful, engaging, real-world project! Start by locating some resources and identifying a learning outcome. Then, develop an engaging, technology-rich activity. Finally, assess student performance.

What are you teaching? What resources do you already have available? In what areas could you use some additional information, examples, or excitement to build the learning environment? Start by exploring the topics we've listed at 42explore.

Seek out resources in your subject area interest. Pick a couple that you'd like to work with for this activity.

Bookmark (or favorite) this site for easy reference.

• Starting Points
• Reference Resources
• Agriculture
• Business and Career Education
• Computer Science
• English, Language Arts, & Communication
• Family & Consumer Science
• Health & Physical Education
• Fine Arts: Art & Music
• Science
• Social Studies
• Technical & Industrial Technology

Identify a Learning Outcome

Go to the Active Words page to find more descriptive, active words for your learning outcome.

Share your active words and learning outcome with a peer.

Develop Engaging Activities

Introduction. Draw student interest with an intriguing introduction. Hook your learners with a picture, quotation, statistic, or problem that you know will pique their curiosity.

Activity. Carefully design a project that will allow students to explore, evaluate, organize, analyze, and apply information they've found to solve a problem, formulate something new, or communicate an idea. Go to the Activity Ideas page and brainstorm some interesting products that students could create using the information found on the Internet.

Tools. Consider the different types of technology tools you can use to help students develop creative projects.

• Tools for Writing: Word Processing
• Tools for Organizing: Databases
• Tools for Calculating: Spreadsheets
• Tools for Visualizing: Imaging & Multimedia Software
• Tools for Sharing: Web Projects

Directions. Students need guidelines for completing your activity. You may wish to provide step-by-step instructions or a more general list of requirements. It's helpful for students to see examples, nonexamples, models, and samples. On the other hand, you don't want students to simply copy your suggestions, so your directions need to be flexible enough to promote unique ideas and approaches.

Timeline. How long will students be working on this project? What's realistic? Provide students with some guidelines for project development.

Identify an engaging activity and design an project.

Assess Student Learning

Find out what your students have learned. Give them a chance to share and reflect. Assessment isn't about testing and report cards. It should be about helping you and your students understand where you've been and where you still need to go to reach your learning outcomes. Go to Student Success to identify ideas for assessing student performance.

Brainstorm alternative assessments to match your outcome and activity.

 

Classroom and Project Management Tips

Before you try out your projects. Consider some Technology Tool Tips.

 

 

Do It! Project Development

Brainstorm a project. Answer the following questions: What's the goal of the project? What problem or issue will be solved or addressed? What's the context of the project? What kind of data needs to be collected? What's the best tool for organizing, calculating, and analyzing the data? What's the specific student assignment? How will student time be spent? Do students have the resources they will need to be successful? Will students be working individually or collaboratively? What procedures will be used to collect, enter, and analyze information? How will student progress be monitored? What will the project look like? What end product will be developed to communicate the results? How will the student performance and project be assessed?

 

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Developed by Annette Lamb, 7/99. Updated 10/99.