Make Your 2012 Resolutions Digital

We often make New Year’s resolutions because we like the concept of self-improvement and moving forward to accomplish something new. What if you asked each student in your class to make a school-themed resolution to work towards between now and the last day of class?

How interesting would it be for a student to resolve to practicing cursive writing more often, making a certain grade on an upcoming test, or achieving perfect attendance? Imagine how your students’ goals might possibly teach you something new about the personalities in your classroom.

Depending on the grade level, asking students to make resolutions up front might be overwhelming for them, so here is a list that will help you guide them through the goal-setting process:

1. Ask students to think about the school year so far and write down a couple of their proudest classroom moments. Encourage them to think of a variety of accomplishments, like understanding a challenging concept or getting a good test score.
2. Ask them to list a couple things they felt were challenging or something they had wished they had done better at.
3. Talk with your students about their lists, and ask them which item in the “Challenging” list they would like to move to the “Proudest Moments” list before the end of year.
4. Once students have identified the goals they want to work toward, the final step is to add imagery to their resolutions. Have students think of a meaningful picture that will remind them of their resolution, and have them explain why the picture motivates them.

Now let’s get digital!

Incorporate 21st century skills into the project by transforming each student’s imagery into a digital format. Then make a montage or video to show to the class. Be creative with your approach and resources. Here are some ideas to get started:

• Scan an existing photo.
• Use a digital or phone camera to take a picture of an object.
• Take a photo of student artwork.
• Have access to an iPhone? Use the Voice Memos feature to record students saying their resolution aloud. Then click Share and e-mail the recordings to your account.
• Have access to a Mac with Photo Booth? This is a fun way to capture voice and video at the same time if you don’t have access to a video camera and video editing software.
• Try out free stop-motion animation software online such as www.icreatetoeducate.com.

Once you have your content assembled, make time to share the final results with the class. Before the end of the school year, schedule time to review the montage so that students will still have an opportunity to work toward success.

Happy New Year!