Project+Components

Projects:

Podcast:

Students will:


 * Choose a topic within their collaborative groups. These topics relate to the city the group is researching for the unit we are working on in class. Topic choices include weather, history, tourist sites, and food. The person who chooses “weather” will act as a weather reporter to provide a forecast for the group’s city. The forecast must be based on factual details that have been discovered during the research process. Likewise, the person discussing “history” will create a short historical documentary about a particular subject relating to the group’s city. The student discussing “tourist sites” will highlight important places to see when visiting the city, and the “food” person will act as a critic to describe certain foods that are native to the city that has been researched. In this way, each student has “choice” in the project.
 * Create written drafts that detail the topics that they have chosen. Once students have gathered the information they need about their topics from at least two online sources, they will organize the information into a multi-paragraph written draft that will serve as the “script” for their podcasts. The draft should provide at least three pieces of relevant information, as well as graphics of some type. The group members should work collaboratively to discuss the information and revise the drafts.
 * Utilize video equipment to successfully record video podcasts, while acting in the “roles” they have chosen. The podcasts should be at least 1 minute and 30 seconds in length. All group members should work together to record an effective podcast. Graphics should be included, and proper speaking skills must be used.
 * Upload each of the four video podcasts to the group’s wikipage. The students must show that they can effectively use the technology to post the podcasts to the page.
 * Provide feedback for other groups. As a group, students will watch the podcasts created by the other groups in class. They should provide comments/feedback for at least two other groups. This feedback must be meaningful, showing what the group liked about the podcast as well as suggestions for improvement next time.

Itinerary:

Students will:
 * Research tourist activities for their cities with their collaborative groups.
 * Create an itinerary for a hypothetical trip to the city. The itinerary should provide daily activities for a five day trip to the city they are researching
 * It should be created using Microsoft Word and listed in outline form.
 * Students must cite any sources that they quote in their outlines.
 * The itinerary should be uploaded to the wiki when it is finished.

Budget:

Students will:


 * Research costs for flights, hotels, rental cars, food, and tourist attractions.
 * Create a "budget" for a five day trip to the city they have chosen. This budget should be created using EXCEL.
 * Upload the budget to the group's wiki.

Blog Entries:

<span style="background: white; border-bottom: #cccccc 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #43413e; display: block; font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Students will:


 * <span style="background: white; color: #43413e; font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; margin-left: 0.25in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Create an account on [|www.blogger.com] with their group members.
 * <span style="background: white; color: #43413e; font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; margin-left: 0.25in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Write a blog entry that discusses a day from the group's itinerary. The blog entry should be at least three paragraphs in length and may discuss topics such as restaurants visited, types of transportation used, and attractions seen during the day.
 * <span style="background: white; color: #43413e; font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; margin-left: 0.25in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Use correct grammar and usage in the blog entry.
 * <span style="background: white; color: #43413e; font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; margin-left: 0.25in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Post the blog's link to the group's wiki.

Wiki:

<span style="background: white; border-bottom: #cccccc 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #43413e; display: block; font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Students will:


 * <span style="background: white; color: #43413e; font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; margin-left: 0.25in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Use the information they gathered about their city to create a wikipage that will could be used to persuade others to visit the city.
 * <span style="background: white; color: #43413e; font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; margin-left: 0.25in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Incorporate pictures, videos, music, etc in the wiki assignment.
 * <span style="background: white; color: #43413e; font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; margin-left: 0.25in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Upload all previous assignments to the wiki
 * <span style="background: white; color: #43413e; font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; margin-left: 0.25in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Include a works cited page to document the sources they used to create the projects.
 * <span style="background: white; color: #43413e; font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; margin-left: 0.25in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Present the wiki assignment to classmates during our "Travel Agency" day.