PROJECT FOUR: CREATE YOUR OWN WEBSITE

General

National Education Technology Standards

1. Creativity and Innovation

a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas products, or processes

3. Research and Information Fluency. 

b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, sythesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.

c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.

5. Digital Citizenship

b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity

6. Technology Operations and Concepts

d. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies

For this project, you will be creating an informational website using Weebly. You must create your own account with Weebly. Use the same username and password you use for EdModo.

You have to click, play, try, do, undo, and discover this skill on your own (although I will obviously be here to help you when you have questions).

Visit my Weebly Project Four example website here. 

Courtesy of rbhs208library from YouTube:

Tutorial created by Jessica Pilgreen

Topics: Although you may choose your own topic, they must be teacher-approved and educational.

Topic Ideas

Arts and Entertainment: architecture, art history, dance, fashion, interior design, music (production, technical), music (production, technical), painting/drawing/sculpting, photography (you can take your own pictures), television (technical, not about shows), theater.

Books and Literature: authors, books, poetry.

Computers and the Internet: artificial intelligence, hardware, history, introduction, the internet, viruses.

Geography and Travel: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, North America, Central America, South America, Travel, Wonders of the World.

Health and Safety: diseases, fitness and exercise, mental health and psychology, nutrition. 

History and the Government: Africa, ancient civilizations, asia, disasters, elections.

Math: algebra, theories

Mythology

Science and Technology: astronomy, earth science, life science, physical science, scientific method.

Social Sciences and Culture: conflict resolution, crime, cultures, customs, dance, education, fashion, food, indigenous people, languages, names and genealogy, news and the media, popular culture, teen issues, women's issues. 

Sports and Recreation: American football, amusement and theme parks, baseball, basketball, bicycling, camping/hiking/climbing, crafts, extreme sports, fitness, golf, gymnastics, soccer, tennis, volleyball. (if you do sports, you have to bring original pictures of you demonstrating the sport).

To see student-created websites, visit ThinkQuest Education Foundation.

Validity/Reliability

You will be required to have at least two sources: Encyclopedia Britannica and a book (you can check this out at the school's library or go to your local library).

Imagine a student in Kansas City (or anywhere in the world) is writing a research paper for school and finds your website and wants to use it as a source. You need to be a responsible webmaster and make sure that all the information you are writing is correct. You need to make sure you are using sources that are valid and reliable. 

Remember that you need to have your sources cited in MLA style (you may use Citation Machine to help you with this).

When you use Britannica, you can get the citation from the bottom of the screen that looks like this:

Copyright

Remember that you can add links to other websites, but it is a violation of copyright laws if you copy a "page" Web site and post the material on your Web site.

Copying images off the internet without permission and putting them on your page is also a copyright violation, even if you give credit to the source. Graphics on the intern are not free unless they are advertised as free.  For royalty-free images, go here: FREE DIGITAL PHOTOS

Website Section Requirements

HOME: This will be your main page. It will tell your audience what your website is going to be about. DO NOT WRITE "This website is about" ... just tell us! Do not write in first person point-of-view (me, I, we, us, etc.) Keep it second person point-of-view (you) and third person point-of-view (people, they, she, he, them, etc.).

ABOUT: This will be a short section about you. This is the ONLY section that will be in first person point-of-view).  You need to tell your audience that you are a high school student. However, DO NOT include any personal information about you (real name, age, Facebook account, city, name of school, etc).

REFERENCES: This is where you will cite your sources (Britannica Encyclopedia and the book) in MLA style.

BLOG: After this project, you will be blogging on your website in an effort to improve your writing. Be sure to add a blog to your website although you're not required to blog yet.
LINK 1, LINK 2, LINK 3:  Think of these links as three body paragraphs of an essay. These are subtopics about your topic. For example, if my website is about fashion, one link may be about fall clothes, another about nail colors, another about shoes, and another about hair styles.




Royalty-Free Photos

For royalty-free photos, visit Free Digital Photos. 

• Search what you need on Free Digital Photos

• Click the image that you like

• Once the image is loaded, click on the right where it says "Download" 

• Click on "Terms of Use" and type the "Captcha" code

• Once the image is downloaded, it will automatically open.
• When the image opens, close it.
• Go to PowerPoint and choose INSERT>PICTURE and search the picture under the DOWNLOADS FOLDER 

• Once you selected the picture (make sure you know the name of the image so you can find it) you click on INSERT and the photo should be on your slide.
• You must provide credit to the author who took the picture. To do so, click on "How to publish a credit" under "other uses". This needs to be in your "Resources" section.

PROJECT THREE: iMOVIE

You will be creating a three-minute iMovie. You have three choices:

National Education Technology Standards

1. Creativity and Innovation

a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas products, or processes

3. Research and Information Fluency. 

b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, sythesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.

c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.

5. Digital Citizenship

b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity

6. Technology Operations and Concepts

d. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies

See Rubric and be sure you get the highest grade you can get!

EVENT IN HISTORY: 

The Holocaust

The 9/11 Terrorist Attack

World War I
World War II

The Cold War
The Vietnam War

Top Ten Events in U.S. History

TIMELINE: (What is a timeline?)

The 1940s

The 1950s

The 1960s

The 1970s

The 1980s

The 1990s

The 2000s

From 2000 to 2012, etc.

The History of Television

The History of Cars

The History of the Telephone

BIOGRAPHIES: (Your source must be www.biography.com) The life of...

President Barack Obama

Bill Gates

Steve Jobs

Michael Jackson 

Princess Diana

Frida Khalo

There are endless possibilities if you choose a biography, but the person you choose must have made a contribution to society. You cannot do a biography on a actor or singer unless is someone like John Lennon and Michael Jackson, whose lives are complex enough for a complete story. 

Take some time to browse through the Biography website until you find someone interesting. 

Step one: Decide your topic. Get your topic approved.

Step two: Find a reliable/credible/valid source and take handwritten notes. You must paraphrase the information (to avoid plagiarism). Keep track of the address (URL) of the website where you got the information from. You will be required to cite your source on the credits of the movie in MLA style.

Please check your writing for proper sentence structure and spelling.

Step three: Collect photos that go with your assignment. The photos must be saved in a folder within the "documents" section, and they must be larger than 500 x 500 pixels (so they won't look blurry in iMovie).  You need approximately 20 pictures to begin. 

Do not use photos/pictures/graphics that have watermarks or words in them. 

Getting started with iMovie

Step One: Open iMovie

Step two: File>New Project>Name

Step three: Watch tutorial and begin movie! Remember images must be large (500 * 500 pixels minimum) so they won't be blurry. Revise your writing. Keep address of website used to include in credits. Be creative and have fun!

Credits

Produced by Name Last

"Pablo Picasso." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/459275/Pablo-Picasso>.

Featuring "Title of Song" by Name of Artist

Copyright 2012 Civitas SOL

Final Checklist:

1. Is your movie three minutes long?
2. Do you have transitions?
3. Is your story complete? Factual? Cohesive?
4. Is your movie free of grammatical and spelling errors?
5. Does your audience have enough time to read every slide?
6. Are your credits at the end of the movie in MLA?
7. Does your movie have music? Is it appropriate? Is the volume fine? (not too loud or too low). Silent movies are not acceptable.
8. Have you exported your movie to QuickTime?
9. Have you submitted your movie to EdModo? (mobile size > export to iTunes)
10. Are you proud of your work? 

PROJECT TWO: RESPONSIBLE TECHNOLOGY USE

With the use of technology comes responsibility. In groups of three, you will create a poster that explains the concept assigned. You will be the experts in charge of teaching other students about your topic. 

National Education Technology Standards

1. Digital Citizenship

a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.

c. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.

1. Your poster should have a symbol or drawing depicting the concept
2. Clear definition
3. Clear examples
4. Check for proper English language conventions
5. The poster should be neat, colorful, and creative
6. You need to fully understand the concept before you can explain it.

Group #1: Visit Citing Sources in MLA Style and teach the class how to cite websites in MLA style. Label the example you provide.

Group #2: For this poster, you will explain what Nettiquete means.

Group #3: What is plagiarism? How can you avoid it?

Group #4: How do you know if a website is reliable? How can you trust the information you find? What are good examples of sites you can use for research? What are some websites that should never be used when investigating a topic? You will present the validity and reliability of websites.

Group #5: When you conduct research, how do you even begin? You will explain five ways to search the internet more effectively.

Group #6: When you copy and paste from the internet, you're plagiarizing... that's illegal. You should always rewrite ideas in your own words and cite your sources. Your group will teach the class how to paraphrase text.  Come up with an example of original text then paraphrase it. Your poster should have both, the original text and the paraphrased text. Don't forget to cite your source in MLA style.

PROJECT ONE: POWERPOINT

Assignment: You will use PowerPoint to persuade your audience to agree with you. 

Your PowerPoint must be 15 slides including your title slide and your bibliography slide. 

National Education Technology Standards

1. Creativity and Innovation

a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas products, or processes

b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression

2. Communication and Collaboration

a. Communicate information and ideas effectively using a variety of formats.

3. Research and Information Fluency

d. Process data and report results

5. Digital Citizenship

b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity

6. Technology Operations and Concepts

d. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies

Topics:

1. Should students be allowed to have cell phones in elementary?

2. Should students have to wear uniforms?

3. Should the elderly receive free bus rides?

4. Should state universities be free to attend?

5. Should all American citizens have to complete a year of community service?

6. Should the voting age be lowered to sixteen?

7. Should the driving age be raised to twenty-one?

8. Should students be paid for having good grades?

9. Should schools sell money by selling candy and sugary soft drinks to students?

10. Should girls be allowed to play on boys sports teams?

11. Should teens be able to buy violent video games?

12. Should boys and girls be in separate classes?

13. Should our country have a universal healthcare program?

14. Should people who download music and movies illegally be punished?

15. Should school athletes have to be on the honor roll to play games?

16. Should music with curse words be allowed at school dances?

17. Should public schools begin the day with a silent prayer?

18. Should schools offer fast food options for students to buy in the cafeteria?

19. Should cities offer public Wi-Fi?

20. Should the government restrict junk food purchases to those who receive food stamps?

21. Should the 2nd Amendment give citizens the right to own weapons?

22. Should people traveling in airplanes have to undergo intensive security screenings?

23. Should restaurants be allowed to sell genetically modified food?

24. Should there be an ordinance citing people who fail to recycle?

25. Should there be an ordinance citing people who play music too loudly?

26. Should students who fail their classes be cited for wasting public funds?

27. Should larger passengers have to pay for two plane/bus/train tickets when traveling?

28. Should sexual education be taught in public schools?

29. Should students be allowed to eat during class?

30. Should students have open campus lunch periods?

31. Should the death penalty be used to punish violent criminals?

32. Should students learn about world religions in public schools?

33. Should the United States end overseas military operations?

34. Should people with terminal illnesses have the right to doctor assisted suicides?

35. Should Puerto Rico become a state?

36. Should high school students have to complete community service hours to graduate?

37. Should teens over 13 years be allowed into R rated movies?

38. Should unhealthy fast food products be sold with a warning label?

39. Should everyone under the age of 17 have a 9:00 P.M. curfew?

40. Should schools with low standardized tests be closed?

41. Should American families who live in poverty have a two child maximum rule?

42. Should those caught driving under the influence lose their license?

43. Should students who fail their classes be retained?

44. Should the government censor internet content?

45. Should parents of truant students be fined?

46. Should teenage girls be allowed to get birth control without the permission of their parents?

Ethos, Logos, Pathos

In order to convince your audience, you need to use ethos, logos, and pathos. Aristotle’s "ingredients for persuasion" are known by the names of ethos, pathos, and logos. They are all means of persuading others to take a particular point of view.

According to yourdictionary.com, 

• Ethos is an appeal to ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader... an expert in a particular subject. REMEMBER: ETHOS = EXPERT

"He is a forensics and ballistics expert for the federal government – if anyone’s qualified to determine the murder weapon, it’s him."

"Our expertise in roofing contracting is evidenced not only by our 100 years in the business and our staff of qualified technicians, but in the decades of satisfied customers who have come to expect nothing but the best."

"As a doctor, I am qualified to tell you that this course of treatment will likely generate the best results."

• Pathos is an appeal to emotion, and is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response. REMEMBER, PATHOS = EMOTIONS

"There’s no price that can be placed on peace of mind. Our advanced security systems will protect the well-being of your family so that you can sleep soundly at night."

"You will never be satisfied in life if you don’t seize this opportunity. Do you want to live the rest of your years yearning to know what would have happened if you just jumped when you had the chance?"

"Where would we be without our culture? Ever since our forefathers landed at in America, we’ve celebrated Thanksgiving without fail, making more than cherished recipes. We’ve made memories."

• Logos is an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason. REMEMBER, LOGOS = FACTS, LOGIC

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury: we have not only the fingerprints, the lack of an alibi, a clear motive, and an expressed desire to commit the robbery… We also have video of the suspect breaking in. The case could not be more open and shut."

"Research compiled by analysts from NASA, as well as organizations from five other nations with space programs, suggests that a moon colony is viable with international support."

"The data is perfectly clear: this investment has consistently increased approximately  five percent year-over-year, even in spite of market declines."

Suggested Order of Slides:

1. Name and topic

2. Point of view

3. Ethos

4. Ethos

5. Logos

6. Logos

7. Pathos

8. Pathos

9. Possible logical solution, in your opinion

10. A question to the audience

11. Open

12. Open

13. Open

14. Open

15. Source slide (List the webpages where your information was found. The source needs to be in MLA Style. Visit Citation Machine for help on citing your sources).

1. You will be getting this screen when you first open the PowerPoint program. This is your title slide, where you type your name and the name of your project.

2. To insert a new slide, go to "new slide" on the tool bar or you may go to INSERT>NEW SLIDE from the long menu.

3. To customize your slides/text, open your TOOLBOX (Formatting Palette).

4. For photo and text effects, click on the stars on top of the Formatting Palette. For it to activate, you must first either click on a photo or highlight the text.

5. For slide transitions, click on "options" under "transitions" tab.

6. Keep a slide where you keep your source information. Remember that you have to avoid plagiarism, so you must cite your source. For help citing your source, visit Citation Machine. Your last slide will have all your sources cited in MLA Style.

7. Remember to keep several copies of your assignment saved, specially on your USB drive. Once you have finished, review your slides and prepare for the oral presentation.

When presenting, be sure to maintain eye contact, avoid reading slides aloud, speak loud and clear and memorize the main points. 

Assessment: You will be graded with the Habits of Expression and Presentation as well as the Technology Standards above. Technical requirements include having 15 slides, transitions, text effects, photo effects, WordArt, photos and/or clipart on every slide, proper English language conventions, no disproportioned or blurry photos.