Technology Integration Plan

  

The lesson I chose to teach is a lesson on The Odyssey. The lesson begins with an overview of the text with a class discussion, small group discussion, and Q&A, and is assessed with a group project and a student-taught lesson. This lesson should last 4-6 weeks.

After each student has read Homer's The Odyssey, I will direct a class discussion (aided by a PREZI presentation) where we will discuss the main ideas behind the text, the plot, and a very basic character analysis. The students will be broken up into four equal groups; each group will represent an island that Odysseus visited on his way back to Ithaca. They will have access to the Internet, if need, to look up certain words and phrases in the text that may not be understood. I will walk around to monitor discussions and contribute to the discussion if necessary. The groups will answer and analyze the following questions:

• What occurred on the island? 
• What were the personal obstacles Odysseus had to overcome? 
• How did his character develop?
  
  

 This will promote a democratic learning environment where everyone will learn together by help one another “fill in” unknown details and find clarity. Vygostksy’s zone of proximal development explains: “the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”. By participating in small group discussions, assuming that each student fully read the assigned text, they will be able to help each other reach new and higher levels of understanding.

THE FOUR ISLANDS

Island ONE: Circe’s Island: Circe turns Odysseus’ men to swine but Odysseus is protected from her magic with the help of Hermes, a god who gave him a magical herb called Moly. Years pass, but Odyssues does not realize how long he has been on Circe’s island. Before Odysseus departs, Circe finally tells him that he needs to find the blind prophet Teiresias in the Underworld.

Island TWO: Cyclopes’ Island: Here, Odysseus and his men find the Cyclops’ cave, lured by cheese and wine left in front of it. The Cyclops traps them inside the cave, where Odysseus and his men determine they must blind the Cyclops then sneak out under his herd of sheep.

Island THREE: Calypso’s Island: Odysseus finds this island after drifting out at sea for a significant amount of time. It is an island inhibited by women lead by a nymph named Calypso. Enamored by her beauty, Odysseus spends seven years with Calypso. Hermes finally convinces Calypso to let Odysseus build a new ship and sail home.

Island FOUR: Scylla and Charybdis: Odysseus chooses to sail for Scylla, a six headed sea serpent, rather than Charybdis, a giant whirlpool. He did this because he knew that if he went to Charybdis, the whole ship would be destroyed. However, if he went toward Scylla, six men would die. A sacrifice the brave Odysseus had to make.

After about 15-20 minutes of small group discussion, the students will jot down a list of discussion questions for the entire class to discuss. The class will then have another full-class discussion where I--as well as other students--will ask and answer any of these questions.

THE GROUP PROJECT
After each "island" has sufficient information and has analyzed how their given island has developed Odysseus's character, they are to create a PREZI presentation that they will present to the class. The groups will need to put together a 20-minute lesson on their island. The lesson must include videos (either from YouTube or recorded at home) as well as photos that relate to the island. Their lesson must explain the three questions they were to answer during their group discussion in DETAIL. They are to show an extensive understanding of their island, Odysseus, and the other characters involved. They must also make a handout for the class. The handout can be an outline, fill-in the blank or matching questions, or they may even make a game, as long as the handout will give their fellow classmates a better understanding of the other islands.

PEER EVALUATION

Each island will be judged and evaluated by their peers on:

-        The comprehensiveness of their PREZI

-        Depth of knowledge about their island

-        Use of videos, photos, and any other multimedia

-        The comprehensiveness of the handout and if it appropriately correlates to the presentation

The reason why I chose PREZI over using a PowerPoint is because PREZI is fun and interactive. Students will have a list of fun templates and will have to be very creative when making their presentations. They are able to imbed music, videos, and pictures—much like PowerPoint—but PREZI takes more time, is much more visually appealing, and has a collaboration mode in which all students will be able to work on the presentation at the same time.

My Google Spreadsheet can be found here.

Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development