ALEX Learning Activity

Students will utilize the digital tool Google Slides to create a presentation about a technological advancement made in the United States since World War II and share their findings with their classmates.

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

Students will identify technological advancements on society in the United States since World War II.

1. Have students choose a technological advancement to focus on during their presentation. Some options provided by the standard are: fashion doll, audio cassette, action figure, artificial heart, Internet, calculator, word processor, video game, cellular telephone, personal computer, Doppler radar, digital cellular telephone, World Wide Web, digital video diskette (DVD), digital music player, social networking technology, or personal Global Positioning System (GPS) device.

2. Next, provide students with the checklist that you will use to assess their final project. This will also serve as their guide to complete the project. 

3. Allow students to use laptops or tablets to research their selected technological advancement and create their Google Slides presentation. Remind students to include all of the information required by the checklist, as this is how you will be assessing their final project.

4. After students have developed their presentation, allow them to share their slideshow with their classmates. 

Use the checklist provided to ensure students have included the pertinent information in regards to their selected technological advancement. (You may add point values to each part of the checklist if desired.)

You can use the checklist to assess students as they present, or you can require the students to share their presentation with you on Google Drive, then review their project at a later time.

As each student shares their presentation, require the students in the audience to write down the name of each technological advancement and one important fact about the advancement. This ensures that students can identify multiple technological advancements made in the U.S. since WWII and will require students to pay close attention during their classmates' presentations.

Each student will need access to an Internet-capable device, such as a tablet or laptop, and a Google account to use Google Slides. 

The teacher will need a computer and an interactive whiteboard or projector to display each student's presentation to the class. Each student can log in to their Google account on the teacher's computer to access their Google Drive, or the students can share the file with the teacher to display.

The teacher may wish for students to complete the project in partners or small groups.

You may allow students to identify a technological advancement that doesn't appear in the list provided by the standard.

If students do not have access to an Internet-capable device, they can use various research books to identify the required information. Rather than creating a Google Slides presentation, students can write a paper or create a poster to share the information.