For the past two years I have taught a trimester course on Digital Literacy to all our 7th grade students.   In an effort to improve the curriculum, this year I would like to incorporate the concept of expression styles.  Unlike learning styles, which focus on how students acquire and process information, expression styles reflect the types of products students prefer to create to demonstrate their understanding.   The My Way…An Expression Style Instrument, developed by Karen Kettle, Joseph Renzulli, and Mary Rizza, identifies 10 broad categories of products/forms of expression:

• Written
• Oral
• Artistic
• Computer
• Audio/Visual
• Commercial
• Service
• Dramatization
• Manipulative
• Musical

My goal is to have the students complete the instrument, identify their preferred form of expression, and create a final product for their research project (a topic for another time) that (1) reflects their preference and (2) utilizes technology.  For example, a student who leans toward musical expression might use TraxPC, GarageBand, or Aviary’s Roc to create a composition; an artistically minded student could make a cartoon or graphic novel using Comic Life or ToonDoo.  Although the students will be free to choose whatever tool best meets their needs, I would like to provide technology suggestions for each expression style…and this is where I would really appreciate your input.

This open-access Google spreadsheet has a column for each type of product/form of expression and representative student outputs from Kettle, Renzulli, and Rizza.  If you have a favorite Web 2.0 tool or other technology that can support a form of expression, please add it to the list.   Once I’ve compiled all the recommendations, I’ll share the results so that others can benefit from your collective wisdom.  In the meantime, I hope you’ll take a moment to look things over and contribute if you can.

Cheers!

Posted: 07|8|10 at 10:21 am. Filed under: Digital Literacy.
Comment | Trackback