CLAIRE DEAN

AND

BRENDA HALLOWES

Innovative Teachers

Microsoft Innovative Teachers ForumInnovation in ContentRunner up, 2009

This project has also been submitted to the ThinkQuest Narrative Competition; u12 category, 2009.

Closing date: 4 May 2009.

Requirements: a coach, assistant coach and a maximum of 6 learners from the 2 different schools.

Luzuko and Lithemba of Cotswold Prep School, PE

Kai, Tristan, Ashley and Ashley of Stirling Primary, EL

The members chose this picture as their official logo for their “Roaring with Exploring” touring company.

Created by Jessica in Grade 5 at Stirling Primary, permission granted.

We chose the Geography and Travel Category.

16 topics to choose from.We chose: How would you

introduce a tourist to your home town (or country)?

Our project was based on: “How would you introduce a tourist to your home town?”.

The cities: Port Elizabeth and East London

Essential Question: “Can I be a good tour guide?”

Useful Information

Higher Order Thinking

The following were addressed: Cognitive Processes:

understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create.

Knowledge Dimension: actual, conceptual, procedural, metacognitive

knowledge.

Claire and Brenda used the ThinkQuest Narrative

Competition Evaluation Criteria for assessment

Content Writing & Organization Originality Educational Relevance Global Impact Citations Collaboration Team Diversity Narrative Structure,

Appearance, and Function ThinkQuest Project Tool

Use Rising to the Challenge

21st Century Skills

Learning and Innovation Skills, Creativity and Innovation, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Communication and Collaboration, Information, Media and Technology Skills, Life and Career Skills, Flexibility and Adaptability, Initiative and Self-Direction, Social and Cross-Cultural Skills, Productivity and Accountability, Leadership and Responsibility.

Learning Areas

English

Life Orientation

Mathematics

Natural Sciences

Social Sciences

Technology

Challenge Phase

Participation in an International Competition with no examples of winners of previous year for viewing alone was a challenge.

An opportunity for their schools and their country to be part of the competition in its first year.

The initial brainstorm: - learners had to think about topics that will be relevant for their project and they choose which ones they would like to concentrate on.

Gathering Phase

Members interviewed experts in their field.

PE team went on a field trip with Brenda to the Addo National Park and the Kragga Kamma Game Reserve.

PE and EL teams went on a tour of their cities. PE with Brenda, EL with a professional tour guide.

Both teams interviewed professional tour guides.

Books, websites and members of the respective communities were used to gather information.

Gathering Phase

Members started working on their pages as they received and found enough information.

A maximum of 25 pages were allowed

Team were able to create 24 pages of which many were full.

These are the pages they created:These are the pages they created:

The Touring Company In Preparation Meet the tour guides Our Journals Our Journals - page 2 Tourism Experts General Travel

Information Survey Results SA schools Advice from Traffic

Department Outdoor Beach Activities Words to help overseas

tourists Our 11 Languages

Traditional Customs Traditional Souvenirs The Addo Experience SA hosts the 2010 World

Soccer Cup Indigenous Creatures

and Plants Vocabulary Peer Interview Tour of a life time Tour of a Life Time Page

2 Our Celebration Citations More citations

Gathering, Processing and Presenting Phases

Teaching and Learning Strategies which engaged learners

It was a first time experience of skype for most members and they began to see the possibility of using technology for learning.

The two PE boys had never browsed live web pages before and neither of them had used a digital camera before.

All members of the team had to practice citing sources of information and learn the importance of getting permission form experts and webmasters to cite them in the project.

It was a first time experience for Ashley to use PhotoStory and Kai taught the rest of the EL team how to use Moviemaker.

Teaching and Learning Strategies which engaged learners - continued

The rest of the grade 3’s at Cotswold benefited by the visit from a professional tour guide and they learnt about tourism.

Learners had to prepare questions for their interview of experts.

Using a digital camera was new to some learners, especially recording a video using a tripod.

EL’s art club learnt about logo design – the top 6 logos are incorporated, with parental consent, in the project.

EL ’s five grade 3 classes were encouraged to produce good stories after their visit to Jonginenge at the beach. Knowing that the best stories will be published in the project site with parental consent.

Relevance use of ICT tools

Word processor, Drawing for Children and PowerPoint software,

Moviemaker, PhotoStory, Spreadsheet, Camera to take photographs,Cell phone to take photographs,Camera to record videos,Recording sound using the Windows Sound

recorder,

Relevance use of ICT tools…

Scanner to scan permission forms, a coin and porcelain,

Internet to search for information, E-mail between Claire and Brenda, experts,

parents and webmasters,Telephone, Video Conference and fax,Public space on the Internet, (ThinkQuest),

for the publishing of all learner’s work,Learning about currency and converting the

cost of basic items to dollars and pounds using an online currency converter.

Teachers and learners as change agents

The PE team was interviewed by a journalist of a local newspaper a few days before their showcase and the school has thereby had exposure.

A report and photograph of the EL team has also been forwarded to the local press, this was published on 4 June 2009.

THINKQUEST NARRATIVE COMPETITION

TOUR OF A LIFE TIME

1ST PLACE AND UNDER

View Project Online