Project based Technology Classes

Pre-production is where students learn the basics in the unit. For example the start of Photoshop. There is a series of videos that I have either created as tutorials for students to go through or have found online. I am starting to do my own because I feel its more personal to the students. I also feel I slow down more and I show the students each button I push. Students are then able to work through them at their own pace and for the fast finishers they don't have to wait for me to help someone else who might not have got the one instruction because they were behind. I find the videos work for grade 11 and 12 but they are not great for 9 and 10. So for the lower grades I still do a teacher centred lesson and we all work together. Since I usually have some fast finishers and I'm a military wife I use lingo from the Army. I call my fast finishers "Subject matter experts" or SHMESS. They walk around their section of the class to help anyone that is stuck or behind. The students like this responsibility because it is not always the same person each unit.

Round table:At round table groups of students discuss their plan before implementation. They are asked to be "critical friends" and pretend that we are a business and that we are all working together to better the company. Their comments are to help the other workers in the business do better for the client because then it brings in more money. (however no real money is ever given to the students for their work).They work as critical friends and learn to critique others work as well as stronger students are able to show their ideas and work which makes others step up their work, once they see what is possible. Those that seem defeated the roundtable allows me to quickly chunk or list out next steps for students who are behind or need a little more guidance. As a teacher I can then troubleshoot any forseeable issues before final products arrive.

Production is where students configure their projects. As the teacher this is sometimes busy and sometimes not. Depending on who needs help. Keeping close eye on people who are not working is more what get's done. However this time allows me to conference with weaker students and help them more independently work within the group setting. I become a problem solver or option giver for students who run into issues.

This roundtable is different because students will get a mark for their contributions to the group. Students will look at each others work and identify 2 areas that are good and one area that might need to be changed to make the client happy. Smaller settings helps the group feel more confident and less frighting to speak up. For those that are shy I will simple ask questions for example: What elements of design do you see in this poster?

Showcase is a place where students get to view other people's final product for the client. They will get asked 3-4 questions that they are told a head of time. They are free to speak as they choose but using technical language is key.