Projet Specific: Webzine

By Maria Popica, John Abbott College

At a Glance

Discipline

Languages

Instructional Level

College & CEGEP

Course

French 101

Tasks in Workflow

Social Plane(s)

Individual
Group
Whole Class

Type of Tasks

Discussing
Analyzing
Reviewing & assessing peers
Creating & designing
Writing

Technical Details

Useful Technologies

Computer Lab

Class size

Small (20-49)

Time

Multiple class periods (2-3 classes)

Instructional Purpose

Application & knowledge building

Overview

In the first part of this activity, the aim is to help the students analyze the different ways to structure informative texts in order to write one of their own. In the second part of the activity, students are creating a Webzine with a group of 3-4 students from the same program of study. The overall goal of this activity is to help students learn about their field of study while being able to write a text with proper grammar.

In the first class, students work individually to write an informative text about their field of study. In groups, students provide peer feedback. In the second and third class, students learn about webzines, and, in groups, create a webzine.

This activity uses both the peer assessment and reflective writing strategies and takes place over three classes.

Instructional Objectives

Students will be able to:

Write and edit an informative text with the proper language specific to their disciplines
Demonstrate proper researching techniques
Demonstrate team collaboration and cohesion

Workflow & Materials

Activity Workflow

View on CourseFlow

Document

Teacher Instructions (French)

Maria Popica

Contributor's Notes

Benefits

Permits students to validate their comprehension through group discussions so that they are more confident when they write their texts autonomously
Students learn to be open to being in a co-productive process, which is often difficult for creative projects
Students teach each other and can therefore get a better grasp of the material themselves as they learn to synthesize and communicate it to their peers
This sort of activity fosters a better class atmosphere
Sending the links to the webzine to the rest of the class helps the students become more familiar with their peers and where each of the students are coming from. Sending it to a class in a high school helps expose the students who are making the decision of their program of study to the options available in each of their fields

Notes from Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique (CCDMD)

Challenges

As this is an obligatory course that students take, there is occasionally a challenge in motivating the students to undertake more involved projects
As this is a 101 level, students are often aware that they can write well enough to be understood and it is sometimes a challenge to push them further
The size of the group is also a challenge for an activity like this as the teacher has to circulate and manage the group work as much as possible to ensure they are staying on task

Notes from Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique (CCDMD)

Tips

It is beneficial to go through each of the stages with the students for an informative text
Make sure to be very organized and plan to take more time at each stage than would be expected
Even if pressed for time, it is important to let the students have ample time during their discussions
It is helpful to show examples and videos from past years to the students
Be confident and prepared to alter any steps; flexibility in a discussion based activity is important

Notes from Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique (CCDMD)

Applied Strategies

Peer Assessment

Critical thinking and communication

Reflective Writing

Formal preparatory reflection

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Published: 22/10/2019

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