Wrapping
Wrapping involves creating and packaging ideas and solutions. Why is this issue important? Who needs to know about this? How can you effectively develop a product that will communicate your ideas to others?
According to Webster's dictionary, wrapping involves winding, folding, surrounding, or embracing a product for transportation or storage.
Students need to consider what kind of product will best communicate their vision to others. What's the best way to express your ideas to others? Synthesize the information you've collected into new words, develop a picture, create a chart, design a timeline, or make a video.
Choosing a Product
Start with your audience. Who needs to know about this topic? What's the best format or product for your audience?
Select a product to develop. Think about how you might use technology elements in a traditional product. For example, you might use photographs from the web or digital camera in a project. Consider word processing elements of a paper-based project.
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Planning a Product
Successful products start with a good plan. There are many ways to plan including discussions, outlines, storyboard, and sketches. Some students need more help than others in getting started. It's a good idea to provide guidelines. You may also wish to provide templates or other starting points such as clipart resources. Go to Production Scaffolds and learn how students can develop a product. What production scaffolds do you think would be important in inquiry projects?
Planning Tools. Storyboards, notecards, diagrams, outlines, scripts, and other tools can make planning a product easier. Provide organizational tools to help students plan their products.
Templates. Consider providing students with the basic structure of the project, so they simply need to fill in the information or ideas. Provide templates for Powerpoint presentations, Hyperstudio stacks, Inspiration documents, word processing documents, and other publications.
Prompts and Starters. Preselect colors, backgrounds, clipart, quotes, sound clips, statistics, story starters, and other useful resources that might be incorporated into a product. Students can use these to generate ideas or save time while putting the project together.
Guidelines. Provide students with guiding questions or ideas for creating a particular type of production. For example, list hints for sound editing or ideas for writing reports.
Tutorials. Provide step-by-step instructions for simple and complex technology tasks that might be helpful in creating products. For example, you might provide directions for making an imovie or copying a picture from the web.
Samples and Models. Give students some examples and nonexamples that can be used as models for developing their products.
Both critical and creative thinking are needed to develop product. Students need to take the ideas they've woven together and formulate a new product.
Developing a Product
As students begin to develop their products, they may need assistance in writing or technology. Try some of the many technology tutorials available online.
Wrapping Checklist
Develop an activity that helps your students select and develop a product.
Choosing a Product - develop a set of product options
Planning a Product - create production scaffolds
Developing a Product - select resources to assist in development
View Presentation (1:01).
Carol Kuhlthau discusses the importance of students putting their ideas all together and addressing their problem or presenting their findings. – Excerpt from interview with Daniel Callison.
Use of this video clip complies with the TEACH act and US copyright law. You should be a registered student to view the video.
Learn More
Writing Resources
- 42eXplore: Writing - lots of writing resources
- Guide to Grammar and Writing
Technology Tutorial Resources
- Tutorials Links - links to lots of tutorials
- Microsoft Tutorials - Microsoft products
- 4teachers Tutorials - links to tutorials