Personal Multi-media Projects: Experience of Olean’s ELA Department Sally Ventura, Olean High School Lou Ventura, Olean High School Tim Houseknecht, Catt-Allegany Teacher Center

Initial Goals of the Project Provide a student-driven & authentic assessment with guidelines & suggestions from teachers Allow for creative expression Have students learn great ways to showcase their skills to colleges and employers

Additional Outcomes of the Project Provided a platform for 21st century skills: Critical thinking & problem solving Media literacy Technology literacy Flexibility & adaptability Initiative & self-direction Climate of collaboration Leadership & responsibility

History of the Project Our concept of the classroom changed when we rewrote the English 12 curriculum. The project began as a shared folder on the district server. Students wanted to personalize their work creatively. We recognized the limitations of our own knowledge base. We needed someone in the room who understood the goals of the project and had the technical know-how.

History of the Project We started to use the Teacher Center’s Sample Word project.Sample An online option was also discussed.online Many students loved the online version. We liked it because it got around some technical problems. It offered an opportunity to promote a positive & responsible web presence.

Work Samples Here are some better examples of student work from our first year of online projects: Wordpress.com Projects: Brianna Baker Sarah Shembeda Caitlyn McNamee Chris Mosher Projects done in MS Word: Kevin Stevens Katelyn Parks Casey Konieczka

How We Are Using Wordpress Each student creates their own account. Pages can used instead of posts. Comments are turned off One of the many Wordpress themes can be used. , address and phone #’s not included.

Another Idea: Wikispaces Very easy to set up. Ad free educator accounts available. The teacher can easily set up student wikis. Files can be uploaded to each wiki. Each student has their own wiki address. Multiple pages can be made in each wiki.

Another idea: Wordpress.org Software can be down- loaded to a server and hosted by your school/district. Allows for more district control. Go to Educational showcase at

Yet another idea: Edublogs Similar to Wordpress. Blogs have ads, but can be turned off with a supporter account. Schools can purchase larger accounts. Go to

Challenges & Solutions Challenge: Accessibility to Programs & Equipment Solution: Team up with technology coordinator. Convince administration to lower security settings in some cases. Be prepared to sell the idea to administration.

Challenges & Solutions Challenge: S chool security and student privacy issues Solution: Remove contact info from online work. Contact information would be in an or letter that would include a link to the online work. Create 2 projects one web-based (no contact info) one MS Word based

Challenges & Solutions Challenge: Technical Know-How Our knowledge needs to be increased. Some kids know more than we do. Uneven student skill base Solution: Students teach skills to other students Outside tech help (Teacher Center, BOCES, etc.) Improve and utilize (develop and implement) a standardized student tech skills plan.

Other Challenges School Politics Department duplication Assessment Authentic assessment takes time, but worth the effort. Developing a rubric to assess work Maintaining flexibility Grading Rubric in present form

Unexpected Bonuses Got to know our students better Professional development o Video cameras, scanning, digital images, blogging sites, school networks, Delicious online bookmarks, the list goes on and on Team approach o Relationships: Student to student, Teacher to teacher, Students teaching teachers, Teacher to administrator, Outside agency assistance All students contributed

What Next? Start next year off with this project. Modify and improve our rubric. Bring on other teachers in our department and other departments o We worked with the Music and Art departments for several students' projects. Make a wish list: o schedule tech help o look at programs and equipment (be part of the conversation for tech purchases) Make sure students share the product of their isolated efforts with others, like colleges and employers. In other words – Live locally & think globally.

Questions?

Resources Cattaraugus-Allegany Teacher Center’s Tutorials page: Teacher Center’s Example portfolios: Wordpress: Wikispaces: Tim’s sample Wikispaces account: Wordpress.org: Edublogs: