Lesson Spotlight: About Me
"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." ~Aristotle
This is a great project to get students engaged and excited about creating attractive presentations. This could easily be done at the beginning of the year and then shared with classmates so students can get to know their peers. Here is an example of what they will be creating. I highly recommend the teacher go through the unit and share it with their class so they can get to know the person who will be teaching them. For the most part, students really enjoy this unit. They will choose at least 5 themes which can include whatever topic they want as long as it is appropriate. Here are some examples of themes they can choose from. They can use themes that are not represented in the example as well. If students only have one favorite basketball, football or other sports’ team, they can add images to represent that one team. For instance, if they like the New York Yankees, they can add 6 images that represent the Yankees. Students thought they had to choose 6 different favorite teams. I can’t imagine having that many favorite teams. Some students choose their least favorite food, activities, etc, which is also a great possibility. This same concept can apply to your favorite musician, favorite athlete, etc.
Once the students have chosen their themes, they set up the Google Slide template with titles. Once they have the titles, they locate quality images that are copyright friendly. The how-to videos for this project are available on the directions’ page of the About Me template. They need to add labels to identify the images they add. They should be encouraged to write a short label so that it fits within the space of the labels of the template. If they change the font to fit in the space, they would need to do that to all the slides to keep consistent with design. Having different font sizes and styles is not good design. Design tips are mentioned consistently throughout the instructional videos. If students follow the steps, they will end up with an attractive product. Students who deviate from the instructions don’t learn as much and their project often lacks good design. This is a quick video that will give tips on design so that you can be the expert with your students if they run into problems.
about me example.mp4"Good design is good business." ~ANONOMOUS
If you are interested in setting up such Google Slide templates from scratch, you will want to check out my unit on Places I Want to Travel. This unit will also give more depth on how to use various tools in Google Slides. CARP Design is emphasized throughout the unit. Design is a very important skill if students want their work to be taken seriously and maintain the interest of an audience. I remember walking into the lab next door to me and a science teacher was having her students work on brochures. I thought the students were doing a great job making attractive presentations. I told the teacher they were making attractive brochures and she said, “I don’t care what the project looks like. I care about the content.” As a design teacher, I was a little put out. My philosophy is they both are important. I usually will read something if the creator has taken the time to make the presentation visually appealing. If the article has poor design, I am less likely going to read the content. I would imagine this is the case for many consumers of content.
After completing my lessons with your students, I would love your feedback on any of my units. Fill out the survey and I will randomly draw names for another free digital lesson at the end of each month. I encourage any educator who uses my resources to reach out to me if they have issues. I plan on dedicating my time to helping teachers to make their lives easier. I know how hard it is to be a teacher. We have so many hats to fill and teaching is only part of a teacher's job. I think back on my first years of teaching and am amazed how much technology has changed. I have spent a great deal of my free time to become more proficient with tech integration in the classroom. I have continued to modify my lessons to maximize the learning experience of my students. I find it challenging and very exciting. You can see student comments by visiting this link.
