Social constructivist learning theories suggest today’s educators should create inquiry-based units asking learners to work together to think about big questions. Rather than the ubiquitous class novel study, I planned a unit asking my Year 7s to think about the future of fiction and whether technology can help us to tell a story.
I am currently studying an MEd in Technology and this, combined with my love of books, is an area of great interest to me. As a twenty first century educator, I am constantly considering where reading and writing might be going for learners growing up in a digital age. I wonder if e-readers may re-engage learners who read more online but less and less in print.
My unit was co-constructed with my Year 7s and covered the essential elements of stories, involved reading and discussing lots of stories, then ultimately deciding on a story to tell and a technology tool to tell it with.
The class learned how to storyboard, draft, script, code, write, animate, create electrical circuits, film, create and tell stories using tools such as iMotion, Inklewriter, iBooks Author, iMovie, MinecraftEdu, Makey Makey and Scratch.
Finally, they showcased their stories and wrote reflections on the skills they had developed, what they think they learned, what they’d like to improve upon, and what they were proud of, exploring whether or not they think technology can help us tell a story and where the future of fiction lies.
@MrsHollyEnglish – Global Youth Debates Project Manager, English Teacher, Qatar.
Image Source: Via Maria Elena on Flickr under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
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