Technology Project
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Text All About It
Technology Project to Enhance Learning Using Handheld Devices
This project will provide students opportunities to work in small groups to use technology to enhance
their skills in English. This project asks students to create an interactive newspaper based upon literature
that they have read for class. For this activity, the newspaper will be based upon The Crucible. Students
will use several different types of technology to create this interactive newspaper.
The goal of this project is to use technology to enhance student learning. Typically, students are reluctant
to revise and edit their own papers. Teachers often struggle to find creative lessons to encourage students
to revise and edit. The use of Google Docs allows students to easily provide feedback to each other. This
project also gives students the opportunity to publish their work and share it with their entire class. The
technology activities included with each portion of the project allow the readers to interact with the
published product and provide the writers’ opportunities to see the effects of their writing.
Before beginning this project, the class will have learned the various types of writing and technology
applications or tools necessary to complete this project.
Students will be given five class periods to complete this assignment. Students may also work on this
assignment outside of class. Students will be given specific tasks to complete each day.
Required for all Groups
News Story:
Use Google Docs to write a news story about the arrests of the women accused of witchcraft.
Share this news story with your partner. Your partner will revise and edit the story, and then you will
write a final draft of your news article.
Interview
With your partner, create a list of interview questions to ask one of the characters who witnessed the
arrests. The questions should be designed to enhance the story by developing it further with more details
and elaboration.
With your partner, use iMovie to create an interview of witnesses to the arrests reported in the news story.
Once you have completed your video, insert a QR Code at the end of the news story with the URL of
your video.
Editorial
Use Google Docs to write an editorial about the arrests of the women accused of witchcraft.
Share this editorial with your partner. Your partner will revise and edit the editorial, and then you will
write a final draft of your editorial.
Editorial (continued)
Insert QR Codes which will take the readers to the Forum page of the technology project webpage.
Readers will post a brief Letter to the Editor in response to your editorial. Readers may either agree or
disagree with the original editorial.
Technology Project
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Dear Abby (Advice Column)
Use Google Docs to write a letter from the point of view of one of the characters.
Share this letter with your partner. Your partner will revise and edit the letter, and then you will write a
final draft of your letter.
Insert a QR code at the end of the letter which will take readers to the Forum page of the technology
project webpage.
Here, the reader will post a brief response from “Abby” giving advice to the writer.
Classified Ads
With your partner, create two classified employment ads appropriate for the Puritan time period and
society.
Insert a QR code which will take the reader to the Forum.
Readers will text a response applying for the position.
Comic Strip
With your partner, use ToonDoo to create a comic strip appropriate for the Puritan time period and
society.
Choice:
Choose to include either four horoscopes, four obituaries, or two horoscopes and two obituaries.
Horoscopes
Write accurate horoscopes for four different characters in the play. You will not include the name of the
characters for whom you wrote the horoscope. However, the horoscope should be accurate enough that
the reader can guess the identity of the character.
At the end of each horoscope, insert a QR code which will take readers to the Forum.
The readers will text their guesses as to the identities of the characters for whom the horoscopes were
written.
Obituaries
Write obituaries for four different characters in the play. At the end of each obituary, insert a QR code
which will take the reader to the Forum.
Readers will text memorial comments from the perspective of one of the characters in the play for each
character obituary.