Page 181 - Resources and Support for the Online Educator

Small Changes and the SAMR Model • Chapter 6

report. Second, there was a level of engagement and motivation among the
students creating these projects. They each practiced the video portion to a
much greater extent because they knew these would “come to life” right off
the page of their report. Dr. Puentedura’s definition of Modification states that
technology allows for significant task redesign. That’s clearly the case in this
example.

2. Using the Web to Create Awareness

Our students live in a world where accessing information on the web is the
norm. However, how often are our students putting their learning on the
internet? Creating a blog with a tool like Edublogs or Kidblog can be a safe and
controlled way to start that process of having students publish their best work
or share ideas. In some ways, just publishing to a larger audience than Mom
and Dad can have a transformative effect on learning—but what if you used
that platform to help with a cause or raise awareness?

Our Westlake Virtual Vietnam Project (virtualvietnam.eanesisd.net) has been
a part of the learning culture in our English III classes as well as U.S. History.
Students are given the assignment of researching a serviceman or woman
killed in action from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on the National
Mall in Washington, DC, and then tell their story.

What’s immediately powerful about this project is that it causes students to
think outside of their own “bubble” of existence. In a world where they may
be transfixed by an Instagram post or a clever internet meme, they now realize
there is a larger world out there. In the case of our high school students, they
also see that many of these soldiers who died in battle were their age. Besides
the emotional element of this project, students also must figure out how
to contact friends, families, and next of kin, sometimes without the use of
technology.
Through letters, emails, phone calls and faxes, the student then collects
images and videos of the soldier for their final video story. Using a variety
of technology tools (see idea #3, next), the student creates a short film that
encompasses the life of the soldier and how they served our country. These
films can often elicit an emotional response from both the family of the soldier
and the student creating the film. With the power of the internet, video, and

Mobile Learning Mindset: The Teacher’s Guide to Implementation 73

Mobile Learning Mindset: The Teacher’s Guide to Implementation 181