This 11th-grade English assignment is a take on the popular TV show, Lit Tank. Students have five weeks to plan and create a product, service, or business that is literature or literacy based. Students create a digital pitch site, a social media marketing campaign, create mock-ups or prototypes, and present to a panel of “Sharks” composed of district teachers, administrators, and community members. You can see our PBL Launch video below.

There are three rounds of judging that make up a team’s score in Lit Tank. The Pitch Site, the presentations, and the teacher’s score (based on the student work over the 5-week period (students set their own deadlines and work schedules for the entire 5 week project). I used Google Docs and Forms to set up Judges schedules and to collect their ratings for each phase of the judging. I used the Autocrat and Docappender add-ons to gather all of the judges comments together and share them with each group of students as feedback. These scores were averaged an a winner was announced for each class period for each teacher, for each class period overall, and one overall winner was selected. The winners in each period overall and the top winners got their pictures taken with their “$1 Million Dollar Check” and an opportunity to work with Dr. Leslie Bender Jutzi and the Academic Innovations Department to pursue their venture. All of the winners can be viewed in the gallery…but the Top Winners of Lit Tank 2017 were from Mr. Boren’s class: Group 26 – The Lit Scanner – See their Pitch Site HERE And Group 18 – Our lone presenter with The Poly-Lingual Pen – See her Pitch Site HERE We’d like to thank all of our judges for their time and participation: Pitch Site Judges:

• Dr. Leslie Bender Jutzi – Chief Academic Innovations Officer
• Rexanne Higgins – Principal, Burleson Collegiate HS
• Lindsay Foster – Learning Technologies Coach
• Matt Kitchens – Learning Technologies Coach
• Heather Sanders – Learning Technologies Coach
• Teresa Sumrall – Learning Technologies Coach

And our Presentation Judges:

• Kevin Hodges – Regional Manager for Google for Education
• Pat Worrell – BISD School Board Member
• Yvonne Hensley – Secondary ELA Curriculum Coordinator (and Lit Tank Co-Creator)
• Stacia Pearce – Elementary ELA Curriculum Coordinator and Lead Curriculum Coordinator
• Lindsay Foster – Learning Technologies Coach
• Heather Sanders – Learning Technologies Coach
• Teresa Sumrall – Learning Technologies Coach
• Marc Foster – Community Member