TechBoston Academy , Dorchester , MA
A Gates Foundation Model Secondary Small School
(http://www.techbostonacademy.org)
(August, 2002 – current)
My Role : As the web development teacher at TechBoston Academy, I develop and teach the web development curriculum to 9th & 10th graders.
(Read about my pre-practicum experiences)
(Read a summary of my practicum experience)
Project : 9th grade personal web pages
(Fall, 2004)
Description : 9th grade students learn how to build web pages in HTML. Students are asked to answer a series of questions about themselves, and insert a digital collage into their web pages. Students reflected on the project and about how relationships are formed on the web. These pages are incorporated into their interdisciplinary eportfolios at the end of the year.
(More examples)
Project : School Newspaper
(Fall semester, 2003)
Description : The first issue of the Techboston Academy school newspaper, The Messenger@TechBoston Academy, was built by a staff of eighteen sophomores in my Advanced Web Development class. The students used digital cameras, web design software, and Adobe Photoshop to develop an online version of the articles they wrote in their English classes. Students grouped into departments - activities, technology, creative writing, entertainment, and editorials - and took on specific roles within their departments. The class turned into a company of editors, webmasters, photographers, journalists, and project managers. I also took the class on a tour of the headquarters of Boston.com, where students presented their web site to a panel of the Boston.com design team.
When the semester ended, students were interested in developing more editions of the newspaper. I subscribed to a high school newspaper Web hosting service, provided by the American Society of Newspaper Editors/KRT, and a selected group of students continued publishing editions of The Messenger@TechBoston Academy as part of an after-school activity at TechBoston Academy. Students work with their English teacher to write and edit their articles, and use the ASNE tool to publish their articles online.
Project : Eportfolio
(2002 -current)
Description : Electronic portfolios are a showcase of student work in the classroom over the course of an academic school year. TechBoston Academy students are required to build web sites featuring selected work from each of their classes. Students show samples of their best work in English, Science, Math, History, Language and Technology courses, and reflect on their progress.
Each portfolio includes :
- a home page
- one web page per subject
- at least three examples of work per subject
- a reflection on each project
Project : Chemistry web site
(Spring, 2004)
Description : Sophomores were required to build a web site explaining at least three of the chemical reactions they observed in their Chemistry class. They collected content in their Chemistry class using digital cameras, then built a web site about each reaction using WYSIWYG software. The seven students in my Advanced Web Design class were the webmasters of their Chemistry class group. Students received two separate grades : one grade in my Advanced Web Design class based on a web site rubric, and a second grade on the accuracy and completion of content assessed by their Chemistry teacher. The Chemistry grade was then integrated into the final project grade and counted in both their Web and Chemistry classes.
Class : Advanced Web Development
(2003 - 2004)
Description : Sophomores learned multimedia skills while completing a series of eight projects in the class. Students integrated subject content (English, Chemistry, and Foreign Language) into their projects.
- Personal collage
- CD cover contest about recycling
- Personal web page and reflection
- Chemistry web site
- Animated motion or emotion
- Group stop-motion animation
- Flash animation of a word or a quote
- Independent project
