Outline+of+Investigation

This kit is designed to take place over a period of 10 weeks (1 school term). Because of the vast quantity of information available it is my aim to provide a limited number of recommended websites, video clips, magazines etc for students to use in their research. They will, however be able to do extra research if they desire. Students will be divided into groups to investigate the issue of bullying in schools. Each week a new discussion question will be posed and students will discuss in groups and post responses individually or as a group concensus. I have allocated a page to each group of students (the number of groups can be increased if desired) and their work will be assessed on group participation and individual contributions.I recommend having 5 or 6 children (maximum) per group as class sizes usually are between 25-30 children. This will give teachers a manageable number of groups to monitor. The group size also ensures that everyone has a chance to contribute and contiributions will reflect a good range of opinions.

As the Long Term Plan shows this unit of study encompasses the key competencies particularly "relating to others", and many curriculum areas.

The first 4 weeks will be devoted to finding information from various sources and critically evaluating it, in class discussions at school and pupil or teacher initiated asynchronised discussion boards.

The remainder of the term will be used for further investigation as required for the students to create an anti-bullying resource suitable for use by their peers. This will take the form of a song/rap, video, booklet, play, podcast, advertisement or any other multi media presentation.

The Weekly Plans reveal the steps in more detail.

The assessment rubric outlines criteria against which students work will be evaluated.

=How is this investigation enhanced by and extended through the use of new digital technology?= Firstly this investigation is enhanced just by using a wiki as the means of delivery. This enables all information and resources to be accessed from one place. By changing permissions and opening the wiki up to other educators this investigation can be continually updated. Teachers have the ability to interact with their students at any time 24 hours a day through the discussion boards and through individual pages which can be assigned to each student.For students it gives them the time to think critically and reflect on other responses before making contributions and in this way takes away the pressure to respond immediately to teacher questions.It provides the students and teachers with a user-friendly effective collaborative tool for constructing knowledge with others (Jonassen, Howland, Marra, & Crismond, 2008).

Secondly through the use of communication technology such as e-mail, Skype and video conferencing, children's learning is expanded outside the immediate classroom environment and into the local, national and even global classroom.This gives them a much wider perspective and is an excellent tool for creating opportunities to evaluate and authenticate information.

Thirdly, websites such as youtube and teachertube offer a variety of educational videos for use in the classroom. The possibilities for their use include motivation, information, explanation, entertainment, or as a platform for discussion, debate, and to stimulate writing, Technology today caters for a variety of learning styles.Many of our students are visual learners and the use of technology is a great motivator for today's digital natives.