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Relieve Student Boredom with This Quick Engaging Project
by Grant Zimmerman


 

Yes, I really did count the holes in class.After counting the holes in the acoustic ceiling tiles for the umpteenth time (1225 holes) while listening to the explanation of long division in elementary school, I wondered how new products are created. Are humans capable of inventing brand new things or are the new products the result of combining present elements into innovate, marketable widgets? Strange what ten year olds think about during class?
Alack, I still haven’t completely answered the question to my satisfaction. With the release of the “new” iPhone 4, the Motorola Droid X by Verizon, and the Sprint HTC 4G, the invention question and its academic fortune came back during an early morning reverie. After all, are these phones “new” or do they just combine ideas into a new package?
Let’s use the ideas of innovation, invention, art, language, communication, and marketing to engage our students when they return to school. Use the marketing campaigns of Apple, Verizon, and Sprint as starting points for a cross-curricular project. Tell your students, using protocols that you create to match your district’s standards, that they will create a “brand new” product by combining three common tools or goods. Their tasks are to draw a picture of the new product, describe the new product, and create an advertisement for the product. You could even take the process a step further and talk about patents.
Project Steps—Innovation and Marketing
Acme Innovators assigned your 2-person team the responsibility to create and market a new product. Your team will present the new product for audience review on (release date to be determined).
1.       Choose from this list three products to combine to make a brand new product. (add more items or delete items as you wish)

broom
skateboard
roller skates
phone
shoe polisher
vacuum cleaner
duster
computer
television
camera
pen/pencil
soft drink dispenser
hair dryer
mp3 player
flashlight
headset
compass
bicycle
GPS
magnifying glass
stapler
refrigerator
microwave
golf club
scissors
hedge trimmer
shovel
paper shredder
printer
drill

 
2.       Draw a sketch/s of your new product. (Easily augmented for higher levels by asking for different view of the product, i.e., front, back, isometric, top, cross-section, etc.)
3.       Describe your new product.
4.       Create an advertisement for your new product. Choose from the following marketing mediums: (provide guidelines for production—double page magazine spread, 20-second radio commercial, 30-second television commercial, etc.)

Magazine
Radio
Television
Web Page
Billboard
Newspaper



 
 
 
 

Have students collect and bring to class numerous examples of print advertisements to study. In small groups, have the students first find the center of the ad. Draw lines connecting opposite diagonal corners. The center will be where the two lines intersect. Acknowledging the center places the rest of the ad in perspective.
Have each group ask and answer the following question about the print ads.
a.      How does the ad communicate its purpose?
b.      How does the ad use color to capture your interest?
c.      How does the text add or detract from the message?
d.      What messages are delivered by the advertisement not directly stated by the text?
e.      Identify the kinds of persuasive techniques applied in the advertisements such as:
a.      Bandwagon, testimonials, repetition, transfer, name-calling, glittering generalities, deck stacking, and snob appeal.
5.       Have students, with your guidance; develop rubrics for each marketing medium. It’s always a good thing to know what is expected.
6.       Design assessment rubrics for the audience to use as they review the presentations. Use assessment language when creating the rubrics instead of words that communicate evaluation.
7.       Present the advertisements on the scheduled release date.
Your students will love the innovative way you ask them to think and learn. They may even stop counting the holes in the ceiling tiles.                       
Grant Zimmerman is the Senior Education Consultant with Knowledge Network Solutions—Leaders in Technology Integration in Schools. Grant is also on the faculty of The National Paideia Center at the University of North Carolina. He leads educators in Professional Development sessions on the Paideia Seminar, the Paideia Project, and Technology Integration. You can reach Grant at gzimmerman@northcarolina.edu.
 

 

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