Grade+6

=Grade 6 Information Technology=

toc
 * Qatar Academy, 2007-8**

Wiki Development
To finish this year you are going to set up your own wiki with Qatar Academy wikispaces. Follow these steps carefully:
 * 1) Open [|Qatar Academy wikispaces] - http://www.qataracademy.wikispaces.net/
 * 2) Click on 'Join' and use your QA email address and ID eg 14ddd@qf.org.qa
 * 3) After your request to join has been approved your own wiki spaces will be set up. This will be a unique URL eg http://14ddd.qataracademy.wikispaces.net.
 * 4) After the wiki has been set up you need to open it in the browser, make sure you are signed into Qatar Academy wikispaces, and then request to Join your own wiki.
 * 5) Once you have been approved to join, you will then be made an organiser on your own wiki.
 * 6) What can you do with the wiki to get ready for next year?
 * Go to Manage Space, 'Look and Feel' and choose different colours
 * Also in 'look and Feel' you can upload a logo to replace the bonsai pot, make sure it is 150x150
 * Edit the home page and add a greeting, some information about you and an image or 2

Unit 3: New Technology for Learning
This project is about new technologies that can be used for learning. We are going to follow the design cycle to complete this. Unit products:
 * You will need to research and collect information about your new technology to create an [|Animoto] 30 sec video and a [|VoiceThread]
 * You will also be making regular blog posts for each stage of the design cycle

Investigate
Choose a new technology and investigate it using the following guiding questions:
 * What is the new technology? How is it used in everyday life for communication or creativity?
 * Where do you get it? How much does it cost? What are the brands and models available?
 * How is it or could it be used for learning at school?
 * Bookmark ALL of the websites in your [|delicious account] Make sure you tag everything for this project with **newtech**
 * Bookmark all of the images for your project in your delicious account

Write a blog post called 'INVESTIGATE'
 * Write about your investigation and **answer the questions above**
 * Hyperlink to resources
 * Add at least 2 pictures

Design
Create a new blog post and answer these questions (every one is to do this individually)
 * Discuss one idea showing how a lesson at Qatar Academy could be enhanced by using the new technology
 * What tasks would it be used for?
 * Would all students need one?
 * How could the use of the technology add value or improve the lesson?

Plan
By your self (or with your partner) plan how you are going to complete the following tasks: The plan process must include:
 * Animoto introducing your new technology
 * Voicethread showing the design of your lesson using this new technology
 * What you will compete each lesson between now and the end of April
 * collecting images
 * editing images
 * creating Animoto
 * creating lesson plan
 * creating Voice Thread with images and script
 * writing evaluation
 * An Inspiration document that shows clearly your plan
 * The Inspiration document saved as a .jpg file and upload to your blog as well as adding a text description

Create
As you work on creating the artifacts for this unit keep in mind that you are aiming to convince Dr Hedger to implement the new technology you have chosen into the classroom. This is a really good chance you have as 'digital natives' to convince us that these tools can be a vital part of your learning at school. You are to create the following: Your Animoto can be imported into VoiceThread! What a great idea to start with this and then move to the slides with commentary. First you must download the animoto, then upload it to VoiceThread like you normally do with an image. Easy!
 * You have to convince Dr Hedger!!**
 * 1) An [|animoto.com] video: 30 seconds of 'advertising' your technology using 12-15 images and accompanying music
 * 2) A [|voicethread] presentation: Now choose 6-10 best pictures that you can use to speak to. You can add text comments as well, but we need to hear you talking about your technology. How is it going to be used in the classroom??? This must be good!
 * 3) A blog: Everything needs to be available via your blog. Embed the animoto and the voicethread and refer to your blog posts to support you argument for why this new technology is 'good' and why it could be used at school for learning.
 * LOOK!**

**Student Presentations** Checklist
All students will present their new technology work to the class over the weeks beginning May 11 and May 18. Therefore the deadline for completing all work is May 11. Checklist for presentation:
 * Animoto - must be embedded on your blog (and your partners)
 * Voice Thread
 * Must have at least 6 pictures
 * Must have script outline with details on your blog (and on your partners blog)
 * Must talk on each picture (preferably both partners will talk on most pictures to get the different voices)
 * Must talk about the use of your device in education, how it is or can be used, what students will do to improve their learning with this new technology
 * Must be embedded on your blog (and your partners)
 * Blog
 * Check all instructions above for required blog posts
 * Make sure you have a new blog post for every week we have been doing this unit, including the script
 * Make sure some blog posts describe how you created the work, and discusses any problems and successes you had with the tools you have been using
 * Evaluation Blog Post - At the very end, after you have finished your practical work, write a final blog post covering these points
 * Describe how the design of your presentation may have changed from your original ideas
 * Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your final presentation
 * Discuss how your work could have been improved
 * Make final comments about this unit, would you recommend other students do this next year? Why? Why not?


 * Everyone must be ready to do their presentation from their blog (yes, both partners must open their blog!) from the week starting May 11.**

Unit 2: Become a Web 2.0 Expert!
For this unit your are to explore all the different aspects of what is called 'Web 2.0'. This refers to the 'Read/Write' web where not only are you consumers of information on the Internet, but also producers of content and information. Some topics you need to explore include:
 * Social Bookmarking (e.g. [|Delicious])
 * Blogging (e.g. [|blogger.com])
 * Podcasting
 * RSS
 * Wikis

Task 1
Let's explore Atomic Learning for online tutorials about [|Web 2.0] **Login with: ID - qataracad PW - doha** Open the [|Understanding Web 2.0] video and watch it. Make sure you are able to explain the definition of Web 2.0.

Task 2
Open your own, personal [|delicious account]. Make sure you remember the usier ID and passwrord for next time! Watch these videos:

Bookmark 6 or more relevant and useful websites (you can include videos in this as well) that explain something about Web 2.0. Make sure you tag them with Web2.0 and other keywords.
 * [|Using Tags and understanding Tag Clouds]
 * [|Understanding how tags are used]
 * [|Using tags to share]

Task 3
Watch the [|What is a Blog] video. Set up your own blog using [|blogger.com]

Task 4
First week back after the winter break:
 * Make sure you can still login to your [|delicious account]
 * Make sure you can login to your [|Blogger.com] account
 * Write a blog post about an experience you has with technology over the winter break
 * Did you buy or were you given any new technology?
 * Have you read about new technology on the Internet?
 * Have you played any new online, PS3 or Nintendo wii games?
 * Make sure you hyperlink to relevant websites of the items you are discussing
 * Add these websites to your **delicious** and tag them 'technology'

Task 5
Using [|Twitter] as a tool for communication and creation. We are going to experiment with the use of micro-blogging with a tool called Twitter.
 * Go to http://twitter.com/qait
 * Login using: ID - qait and PW - qataracademy
 * Send a short message saying hello to your Twitter friends
 * Join the Twitter story when it is your turn using hte qait account
 * Sign out and then create your own account on Twitter
 * Find friends to follow and add them

Task 6
Start an [|iGoogle] account using your Google account information
 * Open their iGoogle account and make sure they have created 2 tabs – one for school and one for home. On the school tab their blog should be added as well as at least one other blog of a peer. Also, they need to add their delicious RSS feed.
 * Open their blogger.com blog and create a new post. Title of post: ‘How I can use iGoogle to support my learning at QA’. They are to write 5 ways in which having iGoogle can help them with their studies, homework, research, communication etc while a student at QA.

[|Blogging Workshop] Watch videos categories G, H, I J and K and learn more about how to set up and use your blog with [|blogger.com].
 * Task 7**

Stop Press!!
The Life 'Round Here Project is now finished. The best 5 digital stories from [|Grade 6 at Qatar Academy] are now on the project wiki. Here are all of the stories from other [|classes around the world]. Our school has been asked to choose the best digital story from the [|International School Bangkok]. Here is the [|scoring rubric].

Your task is to work in groups of 2-3 to create a digital story to introduce Qatar and/or Qatar Academy to people from around the world. Choose a specific topic, eg education, tourism, landscapes, history, mobile phones in Qatar, construction and new buildings etc.
 * **Area of Interaction**: //Homo Faber//
 * **Guiding questions**//:// How can we use multimedia to best describe what Qatar or Qatar Academy are like? What is significant about the chosen topic that would be of interest to people outside of Qatar?
 * **Learning objectives**:

Getting Started
Search for interesting resources and bookmark them on the [|Qatar Academy delicious website]. Login: qataracademy Password: doha1234 Make sure you look for interesting pictures and facts and figures about Qatar and Qatar Academy. Tag each bookmark with logical words such as qatar, qataracademy, qatarweather, qatartourism etc

Week 1-4: Investigate, Design and Plan
Follow these steps to prepare for your digital story:
 * 1) Choose your topic and search for photos and images to use. Remember to bookmark all images that are found on the Internet.
 * 2) Put images in order and write a script.
 * 3) Experiment with [|MS Photo Story] and know how to add and edit photos, text and audio.
 * 4) Create a photo slideshow.
 * 5) Add voiceover and music to the slide show.
 * 6) Save your project at all stages. At the end save your final work for the computer.

Week 5-7: Create
(Parameters taken from [|Life 'round Here] wiki by Chris Craft)
 * 1) Stories need to be created in [|Microsoft Photo Story].
 * 2) It may be no longer than 2:30 (2 minutes and 30 seconds). 2 minutes is the goal, with 30 seconds being given for attribution and/or title slides.
 * 3) If photos are used that were not taken by the school or class involved, an attribution slide must be added at the end. If flickr images are used, only use images licensed under creative commons attribution. Only the user name is necessary for attribution.
 * 4) Students may take their own photos or use photos from an online source ([|flickr], yotophoto, everystockphoto, etc) provided they are properly attributed.
 * 5) Student will tell their story in conjunction with the pictures, and only student voices' may be used, no adults.
 * 6) Only instrumental music may be used, if music is used at all. Preferably use the canned music that is included in Photo Story.

Before completing your digital story on 'Life in Qatar' make sure you have completed all these items on the list: Check the [|Rubric for assessing your final product] for more details.
 * Digital Story Checklist**
 * **Mandatory Content** || Title slide and attribution slide
 * The title will tell us what your story is about eg 'Life at Qatar Academy'
 * The attribution slide(s) will tell us where you gor your resources from (your pics) and also include your names. Just put first names on this. Also include Qatar Academy Grade 6. ||
 * **Other** **Content** || Pictures, story (audio narration), music: all of these are to be included in an original and creative way. ||

One of the easiest ways to make the title and credit slides is to use PowerPoint. Here are the steps:
 * Making the title slide and credits slide**
 * Create a single slide
 * Go to **File** and **Save As** and select JPG file interchange format
 * The file is now an image and can be inserted into PhotoStory

Week 8-9: Evaluate
All students will play their digital stories to the class. Each students is required to complete the following on a Word document:
 * 1) A one-paragraph description of what your story is about and how you investigated, designed and planned the digital story.
 * 2) One-paragraph discussing how you used MS PhotoStory to create your digital story: what was good about this software, what was not so good?
 * 3) A one-paragraph evaluation of you final digital story: what are the strengths of your story, what could you have done better?