Assignments

Part 1: Media Madness
As noted in this lesson, the Web contains a wealth of information about media -- how to scan; how to use a digital camera, etc. You can also find tutorials on almost any software program.

Select one piece of hardware or one software program that is available in your school -- challenge yourself to learn about something new. Using the websites in this lesson, instructions provided with the software/hardware, or another source of information, create a multimedia nugget. For example, if your school has a digital camera, and you've never used it, now is the time to take a picture! Or, if you've always wanted to learn Inspiration, now's your chance!

Part 2:  Laptop Lessons
Access the website, No Strings Attached. View one of the lesson plans that is targeted toward your subject area or grade level. Write a short description (just a couple paragraphs) of how the activity could be integrated into your curriculum (assuming that you had access to some laptop computers). If a modification of the lesson would be required, explain how your lesson plan would differ from the one described.

Part 3: Classroom Scenarios
Read the following scenarios. Assume the role of mentor for the teacher involved -- provide a couple suggestions on classroom management for each scenario.

1. Ms. Smith's 8th grade class was working in small groups of four to produce digital movies to enhance their science projects. Everything was going fine until two of the four cameras ran out of battery power. Several of the students became bored and began distracting the groups that had working cameras. What could Ms. Smith do to prevent this situation from occurring in the future (besides charging the batteries on the cameras).
2. Mr. Jones's 5th grade class had access to laptops -- one for each student. Prior to beginning a short term activity that involved the construction of a spreadsheet and graph, Mr. Jones wanted to demonstrate the procedure for creating the graph. To his dismay, he discovered that several students were surfing the web; others were playing Solitaire. How could he maintain the students' attention even though they had a laptop in their hands? 

Evaluation Checklist