Artifact 1

Context: I completed a Modern Fashion and Invention Activity in an Integrating Media and Technology into Teaching course at Appalachian State University, under the direction of Jeff Goodman.

Impact: By participating in the Modern Fashion and Invention Activity, I created a web page model to illustrate to students the activity’s outcome, or final product. By having engaged in the activity myself, I am familiar with the procedural steps and can, therefore, better guide students in completing the activity. By selecting an odd gadget, inventing a use or purpose for the gadget, writing a descriptive newspaper article, taking digital photographs, and creating web pages to display the article and images, I have knowledge and technological skills to assist students in effectively completing such an activity.

Alignment: The Modern Fashion and Invention Activity fulfills goals IIE, IIIA, IIIC, IVA, IVC, and VIA of the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers, as well as INTASC Standards II, IV, and VIII. Through the Modern Fashion and Invention Activity, students will be provided opportunities to use critical thinking skills as they create new uses for odd gadgets. By prompting students to apply reasoning skills in determining purposes for odd gadgets, I will be effectively managing student learning in a technology-enhanced environment (IIE). By engaging students in the Modern Fashion and Invention Activity, several North Carolina Standard Course of Study objectives will be met in the areas of Language Arts, Information Skills, and Computer Technology Skills. For example, students will learn to demonstrate knowledge in the use of computers and other technologies, use technologies to communicate information, employ listening, reading, writing, and viewing skills to evaluate and communicate information, form connections through language, media, and technology, create written and visual texts, and apply grammar and language skills to communication information (IIIA). Students will also use higher order thinking skills and creativity in writing descriptive newspaper articles about odd gadgets, as well as in designing web pages to display information about the odd gadgets (IIIC). By communicating comments, suggestions, and final grades on the Modern Fashion and Invention Activity to students via email, I demonstrate a way of using technological assessment techniques (IVA). In addition, I included a grading rubric on my Modern Fashion and Invention web pages, which highlights how students will be evaluated on their uses of technology (IVC). On my Modern and Fashion Invention web pages, I provided an example for students on how to cite online resources, and I also modeled the fair use policy by citing all images that I included on my web pages. Thus, students should be better able to understand the importance of legal and ethical practices as related to technology, as they, too, cite borrowed information on their web pages (VIA). Through participation in the Modern Fashion and Invention Activity, students are able to be self-directed learners who actively engage in learning experiences. Furthermore, students work collaboratively in small groups to brainstorm ideas for gadget uses as well as ideas for newspaper articles (INTASC II). The Modern Fashion and Invention Activity incorporates the use of multiple instructional strategies as students use thinking and reasoning skills to create uses for odd gadgets, take digital images of gadgets, produce descriptive newspaper articles, and design web pages to display articles and photographs (INTASC IV). Finally, formal and informal assessments are employed to evaluate student learning. For example, a rubric is used to guide teacher grading, while also communicating to students items that should be included in their work. As teachers offer feedback on Modern Fashion and Invention activities via email, students are aware of strengths and weaknesses and can make changes and alterations before submitting final projects (INTASC VIII).