Sunday, October 21, 2012

Chapter 5 Reflection: p. 75-91

       When starting out a project, there are many things that should be considered for students, such as considering what materials that will be needed and the ability levels of the students in the classroom. Some of the materials highlighted in the chapter are taking inventory of supplies and materials at the school, or in surrounding communities (parent community or other supporters). Another aspect is considering the technology level the students are at and what ways their horizons can be expanded through the use of the project. They also could benefit from using professionals and experts, whether in the area or out, and allowing them to come into the classroom to talk to the students, in person or through videoconferencing or virtual field trips. The last item to consider before starting a project is the students’ individual strengths and interest. These two ideas are beneficial to consider because it allows for the student to make connections between other students and make the project engaging for all involved the best way how.

      Through every experience students encounter through their educational career, they should be picking up on ways to become effective managers of their own time. They should be able to use these tips and hints through their education and beyond. Teachers have a variety of ways to implement time management, such as project calendar (online or timeline tool). These can be beneficial because the calendar doesn’t have to be just for students to use but their parents can have access to it too, either on the classroom website or a weekly email.

       In the chapter, they suggested using quite a few different technology applications, such as Wikispaces, Drupal, and Textpattern. These applications are used mainly as blogs that connect the bridge for students to access information and communicate to other students from any computer with Internet access. The students can also create their own web pages and use this as a way to post any and all of their thinking in the classroom, like “artifacts”. “Start simply, then elaborate” is a term used to refer back to the ability to start with a simple idea or concept, like a blog, and from there the possibilities are endless.

       There were quite a few concepts through the chapter that relate directly to our topic/project. They discussed the use of rubrics to communicate desired results to the students, the use of blogs as a way to track project and communicate with other group members easily, and team planning such as having students, “who will complement each others’ attributes” and “a good team needs a mix of skills”.

2 comments:

  1. I think that it is really important for students have good management skills. Either in the classroom or in the real world. For students to be leaders it teaches them many things like responsibility, time management, and staying on task. These are skills that work great for projects, it is important to have somewhat of a group leader for a project so that the other students can report to someone other than a teacher.

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  2. It is also very important to "start simply, then elaborate" when creating anything from a lesson to a blog. When you start simply, it is much easier to explain clear, explicit directions to all students, and then address any questions that arise. It is also easier to plan and allow students to explore and create their own thinking. Allowing students to use their own knowledge to create a version of their own projects will force them to use higher-thinking and use life skills needed for the rest of their lives.

    Beginning simply
    Helps students learn on their own.
    Their knowledge expands!

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