As I was looking at the intime videos and information, I was reminded once again how fast technology changes. These assignments were on the cutting edge when they were created 10 years ago, and many of them now appear very outdated. However, I was also struck by how easy it would be to adapt one of these assignements to current technology. I had this same realization a few years ago when I returned to school to complete my library certification. We had been asked to take an old lesson and revamp it. I looked through my material from MANY years ago (when there was barely any internet to speak of!!!) and found that I didn't need to start over completely. I could easily make my decent lessons good, and my really great lessons even better, simply by adding new technology twists. For example, instead of having my students make a poster for something, I could have them create an advertising campaign using a wide variety of on-line tools. A good lesson does not need to be trashed simply because the technology that it uses is outdated.
The unit that I was particularly interested in was the Solar System Colonization Project for middle school. This caught my eye because one of our teachers has moved grade levels for next year and is being asked to teach Earth Science (an area that she has little background in) and I have been on the look out for resources that could be of use to her. The more I looked at this unit, the more I realized that we could do a lot of neat things with it without having to reinvent the entire thing. When I showed it to her, she was thrilled and now thinks that I am even more amazing!!! You can't beat it.
Nice post.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assessment that many of the assignments appear outdated. I also agree that if the idea is good, the technique for implementing it should be adaptable. I am still using lessons from 20 years ago, and they are as relevant as ever.