Thinking with Technology

Activity 11.6

Showcasing Your Project

During this activity, think about the benefits of showcasing learner projects, consider how you can manage a project showcase in your classroom, and prepare your project for a showcase with your colleagues.

Step 1 - Considering Showcase Options for Learner Projects

You can use events like a showcase to allow the greater community to provide input to your learners and to celebrate their achievements. In your classroom, after learners have had an opportunity to refine their presentations, as a form of affirmation, invite parents, school personnel, and other community members to participate in a Sharing Night. When learners realize that a wider audience than just their teacher and peers will view their work, they tend to invest more time in product development, often resulting in better products.

Showcasing products created with ICT tools often demands different methods of facilitation than showcasing products created with more traditional tools. Following are some ideas for accomplishing this activity in your own classroom:

Small Group: Create small groups of four to five people. Each learner is given 20 minutes to share his/her project with the small group, plus an additional 5 minutes for those in the group to provide written feedback.
Rotation Stations: Half of the learners stand at their computers, while the other half, and any other observers, rotate and give feedback. Then, the two groups switch. This can be done in 45-minute intervals with 30 minutes at the end for full group discussion.
Whole Group: Each learner uses a projection device to present his or her project to the whole class.
Pair and Share: Use some method to pair learners for sharing. Follow the pair and share with a whole class discussion. View the Activities for Pairing learners document for additional ideas on how to pair learners.
Virtual Showcase: Have learners upload their products to a wiki. Peers can provide feedback by filling out printed forms, uploading files to the presenter's wiki, or creating new subpages in the wiki for comments.

Next: Proceed to Step 2 of Activity 11.6

Thinking with Technology Module 11 - Completing Your Project

	Activity 11.6 Showcasing Your Project During this activity, think about the benefits of showcasing learner projects, consider how you can manage a project showcase in your classroom, and prepare your project for a showcase with your colleagues. Step 1 - Considering Showcase Options for Learner Projects You can use events like a showcase to allow the greater community to provide input to your learners and to celebrate their achievements. In your classroom, after learners have had an opportunity to refine their presentations, as a form of affirmation, invite parents, school personnel, and other community members to participate in a Sharing Night. When learners realize that a wider audience than just their teacher and peers will view their work, they tend to invest more time in product development, often resulting in better products. Showcasing products created with ICT tools often demands different methods of facilitation than showcasing products created with more traditional tools. Following are some ideas for accomplishing this activity in your own classroom: Small Group: Create small groups of four to five people. Each learner is given 20 minutes to share his/her project with the small group, plus an additional 5 minutes for those in the group to provide written feedback. Rotation Stations: Half of the learners stand at their computers, while the other half, and any other observers, rotate and give feedback. Then, the two groups switch. This can be done in 45-minute intervals with 30 minutes at the end for full group discussion. Whole Group: Each learner uses a projection device to present his or her project to the whole class. Pair and Share: Use some method to pair learners for sharing. Follow the pair and share with a whole class discussion. View the Activities for Pairing learners document for additional ideas on how to pair learners. Virtual Showcase: Have learners upload their products to a wiki. Peers can provide feedback by filling out printed forms, uploading files to the presenter's wiki, or creating new subpages in the wiki for comments. Next: Proceed to Step 2 of Activity 11.6