Smile Box Plus Editor Lesson Plan

STUDENTS' AGE : 17- 18 years old

LANGUAGE LEVEL: Upper - Intermediate

NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 14

GRAMMAR FOCUS: Past Simple and Past Continuous

TOPIC: My best memories

OBJECTIVES: By the end of the lesson, the students will know how to ...
 

• Use ICT equipment and software
• Write about past events
• Design slideshow including photos, music and text
• Deliver an oral presentation about their project

LANGUAGE AREAS: speaking - writing

ALLOTTED TIME: 80 minutes

PHYSICAL LOCATION: classroom and computer lab

Warmer

The teacher will tell the students some of her best memories: the day she met her best friend (in primary school), the time she went to Disneyland on holidays for her 15th birthday and her graduation trip with her classmates. Then, the students will be asked to mention their best memories. After that, the teacher will write a list of questions on the board such as the following:

• What are your best memories?
• Who were by your side?
• Where were you?
• How old were you? 
• What did you do together?
• Why do you consider it one of your best memories? 

She will ask them to discuss in pairs about these questions.

Web

The students will go to the computer lab and they will be briefly introduced to the webpage Smilebox Plus Editor. The teacher will send them the link of the tutorial by email: Smilebox Plus Editor Tutorial . They will have to create their own slideshow there by dragging and dropping photos of their social networks and writing descriptions about their best memories. Probably, they won't have enough space to answer all the questions discussed earlier, but they will have to talk about it later. There will be two students per computer.

The final product may look as follows:

What's Next

After finishing creating their slideshows, the students will show their final product to the rest of the class. They will expand on what they have written as a description of the photos. The teacher will provide them feedback about their presentation taking into account grammar mistakes and language. 

EVALUATION CRITERIA 

•  Content:  All material clearly supports the primary message. The slideshow should include photos of you memories, appealing music and some key words or phrases that make you remember what you want to share with your classmates about that memory.
• Organization & Coherence: The slideshow should have an appropriate order that leads you to the final conclusion for your audience. 
• Grammar and Vocabulary: During the presentation, the students should speak fluently and accurately, avoiding grammar mistakes and using descriptive vocabulary to talk about their memories.
• Speaking skills: Poised, clear articulation, proper volume, steady rate, good posture and eye contact, confidence.
• Collaboration among students: Each member of the team should participate equally in the presentation of their slideshow. 
•  Communicative achievement: At the end of the presentation, the students should leave a meaningful message or conclusion for their audience

Theoretical Support

• Triple E Framework by Liz Kolb
This framework developed by Liz Kolb (2017) comprises three elements that the use of technology in the classroom should include. The use of Smilebox Plus Editor can be analyzed taking these three elements into account:
Engagement: When the students make use of this tool, they become active learners as they are able to write their ideas, discuss the content they want to include in their slideshow and show to their peers memorable moments which are very meaningful for them.  In addition, they become engaged since they have to focus both on the features of the website and on the ideas and connections between them in order to develop their final task, the oral presentation. 
Enhancement: By using this tool, students will create content in a visual way which will lead to clear understanding of the information they have to present. Besides, their presentation will be more attractive for their audience.
Extension: Smilebox Plus Editor is  a tool that allows students to create slideshows, work collaboratively to write the photos' descriptions and apply the language they have learnt in the classroom to express their feelings and ideas and share them with their family or friends. 
• PLANIED (Plan Nacional Integral de Educación Digital)

It is a proposal from Ministerio de Educación y Deportes de la Nación, whose mission is to integrate the educational community to the digital culture, promoting pedagogical innovation and quality in learning. Promote DIGITAL LITERACY. It proposes six dimensions needed for a person to be considered digitally competent. These dimensions will be dealt by considering the use of the Web 2.0 tool Smilebox Plus Editor:

1. Creativity and innovation: Smilebox Plus Editor allows the students to create slideshows in which they can choose from a wide range of templates and add text, images, music and time limits. Therefore, the students can express themselves and build knowledge through appropriation of  TICs.
2. Communication and collaboration: As the students work in pairs, they communicate and cooperate with each other to write the descriptions of the photos and to decide what material include in their slideshow: content, templates, editing, etc.
3. Information and representation: With this tool, students analyze and organize the information in a way that is clear and understandable for them and the audience, taking advantage of the technology they are using.
4. Responsible and solidary participation: students are responsible for what they choose to include in their slideshows. Ideas can be commented and negotiated as to ensure a fair participation in the final product.
5. Critical Thinking: Students must make decisions in a critical way, using applications and appropriate digital resources taking into account their audience.
6. Autonomous use of ICTs: To complete the task, students will have to consult dictionaries to make sure they are using correct and appropriate language. They understand the mechanics of TICs and integrate them to teaching and learning projects.

• SAMR model by Dr. Puentedura

Ruben Puentedura (2006) has designed this four-step model for the analysis of the integration of technology in the teaching classroom. This model includes four levels, each focusing on the use and purpose of technology. 

1) S for substitution

2) A for augmentation

3) M for modification

4) R for redefinition

In this lesson plan, the use of Smilebox Plus Editor corresponds to the the Modification level. Within this level, "technology allows for significant task redesign" and therefore by using this web 2.0 tool, the students can combine audio, video and text and present it to an authentic audience while all are learning similar writing skills. Computer technology is necessary for this classroom to function allowing peer and teacher feedback.

References:

• Kolb, L. (2017). Learning first, Technology Second. Arlington, VA: ISTE.
• Ripani, F. (2016). Competencias de Educación Digital.  Ministerio de Educación y Deportes. Retrieved in July 2017 from http://planied.educ.ar/marcos-pedagogicos/competencias-de-educacion-digital/
• SAMR Model - Technology Is Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/a/msad60.org/technology-is-learning/samr-model