Activity+10

media type="custom" key="9323254"Activity 1:
Title: Sketch Artists

Task: Activity 1 is an interactive activity requiring participants to engage in an asynchronous sketch using Google docs. This activity encourages participants to add to fellow learners’ sketches and to collaborate to determine an appropriate title for the resulting drawing.

Method: asynchronous

Tool(s): gmail account; Google Docs drawing application; group wiki

Instructions: The class will be divided into two groups. I have emailed each of you assigning you to either group 1 or group 2. Two of you have also been identified as the group initiator. If you are assigned the role of initiator, you are responsible for starting the drawing and emailing the rest of your group members the link to the sketch. Each member must sketch in a different color by using the pencil icon on the toolbar. According to this picture, blue ink has been selected for the sketch.



......................................................................................................Look up!

Continue the drawing until all three group members have added to the sketch. Download the drawing as a JPEG file (FILE—DOWNLOAD AS—JPEG), name it either group 1 or group 2, and then uploaded it to the group wiki. Each member of group 1 is required to write a possible title for group 2’s sketch. Likewise, each member of group 2 is required to write a possible title for group 1’s sketch. I have provided an example on the group’s wiki page under the tab ‘example sketch’. Goals: 1. use Google Docs drawing feature 2. work collaboratively with two class partners; 3. practice downloading and uploading documents; 4. practice using the FILE feature of the group wiki; 5. practice posting to the group wiki; 6. use the wiki to reply to posts--make sure to sign your initials; Evaluation: we will share our drawings and experiences during our face-to-face meeting on Friday. Please make sure to complete sketches by Thursday at 9:00 pm so that I will have time to review them before 9:00 am on Friday morning. Feel free to contact me by email if you have any questions. As always, have fun!


 * < Did all three members participate in the sketch? ||< Yes ||< No ||
 * < Did all members suggest a title? ||< Yes ||< No ||
 * < Was sketch successfully uploaded to wiki? ||< Yes ||< No ||

Activity 2:
Title: This groups as a COMIX!

Task: Think of a question that you have had while participating in this computer group. Use this question to serve as the plot of a comic strip. To do this, you will have to go to [|www.makebeliefscomix.com]. Make sure to include your question either as the title of the comic or within the text. Also make sure to identify a possible answer to your question. In the example that I have provided below, I used the question--HOW MUCH DOES EMAIL COST?--to direct the comic. The answer--IT COSTS A LOT OF PATIENCE AND PRACTICE--reiterates our experience. Check it out! I look forward to reading yours. Make sure to email one other group member your comic and post your link (using the Link feature) to this wiki so everyone can see it. My Comic: [|How much does email cost?]

Method: asynchronous

Tools: internet, email account, group wiki Goals: 1. Each participant will identify a question and answer that has impacted his/her learning during this computer group experience 2. Create a comic strip that incorporates the question and answer--other learners will get to see what questions have been resolved while participating in the group 3. practice emailing other group members 4. practice using the LINK feature of the group wiki; 5. practice posting to the group wiki;

Paste Links to Comics Here:
Evaluation Rubric:
 * Did comic include a question that was germane to this group || YES || NO ||
 * Was comic emailed to another member? || YES || NO ||
 * Was a LINK provided in group wiki to member's comic? || YES || NO ||

Activity 3
Title: VoiceThread-ed Conversation

Task: This activity presents us with an opportunity to have a group conversation

In order to participate in this voice conversation, you will need to check your email invitation. I have emailed all of you. You can familiarize yourself with the 5 different ways to contribute to a conversation by exploring the site (http://voicethread.com). Please make sure to post one comment to me and post one response to a comment that another group member made.

Method: asynchronous

Tools: internet, email, voicethread

media type="custom" key="9264530" width="56" height="56" align="left"

Goals: 1. Utilize new tool--VoiceThread--to have a group discussion 2. Create a VoiceThread account after responding to the e-mail invitation 3. Identify ways in which the computer has become a part of our daily lives since we began this group 4. Post 2 comments to a VoiceThread

Evaluation Rubric Created a VoiceThread account YES NO Made 2 VoiceThread comments YES NO

** 2. Reflection ** ** Write a reflective essay that describes how you think your students might react to these activities and the reasons why you selected these particular activities for your course. Support your reasoning for their effectiveness. Be sure to include citations for quotations and paraphrases with references in APA format and style. Save the file in RTF with the correct course code and information in the header. Upload the completed assignment in the Activities area of the course ELT7003. **

Activity selection is a necessary component of creating a learner-centered learning environment. While reducing the learners’ dependence on the instructor (Watkins, 2005), increasing the level of interactivity with other learners “is important for…encouraging critical thinking, challenging assumptions, and achieving many of the online course’s objectives” (p.213). The activities that I created for this assignment follow the four recommendations for gaming design provided by Hackett (2001): provide clear information, offer opportunities to reflect, give informative feedback, and allow for intrinsic motivation. Providing clear information was achieved by including a detailed activity rubric. Two of the activities require the learner to reflect on their experiences in the group and to identify how they have started to integrate the computer into their daily lives. In addition, these activities give the learner feedback by allowing him/her to preview his/her work before accepting it. Finally, each activity is designed to play on the learner’s level of intrinsic motivation by allowing him/her to use new tools to create projects that can be as sophisticated as the learner wishes.