Before you start project with your students teachers need to consider is what type of materials are you going to need. You should make sure you have all the materials before starting a project so you don’t run into any problems. You also need to consider if there is any technology that you or students have never used before. You should always plan for an introduction for the technology. Will you actually need to expand the access of technology that your students use or will it all right be in the school is something that should be considered. When having a public speaker are you going to have them come in physically or are you going to have them give the presentation virtually. Lastly you should consider who can help you with your project. You could ask other faculty members or even parents to help with the project.
To help students’ with their time management skills, you should share your project calendar with them so they will be able to see deadlines. Seeing deadlines will help your students be able to plan ahead, track their own progress, and see trouble ahead (hopefully there is none). Teachers should also share the planning calendar with the parents as well so they can help with deadlines and milestones throughout the project. Teachers will also benefit form the schedule of the project to help students break down big concepts of the project and be able to keep the classroom on the right time track.
The first technology application that was discussed in the book was using a wiki. A wiki is just a Wikipedia page that can be changed by the students and is something that can be changed by multiple students, this is something that would be neat for a group project. The next technology application discussed was a blog. You can create your own blogs, students can have group blogs or you can link all the blogs together. Blogs are great for commenting on each others work, as well as posting work that the whole group needs to see. Drupal and Textpattern are nicer blogs basically.
I would use these concepts in my project because if I was going to actually preform this lesson I would make sure that I had all the materials for the weather report as well as the journals. I also would make sure to have a schedule where the students, parents and I will be able to follow and make sure we are all on the right track.
I think it is important to know that you can reach beyond faculty members and parents for help with projects. It is a good idea to think about if students should hear from an expert on a certain topic. Since experts aren’t always able to come to the classroom, videoconferencing or virtual field trips might be something a teacher may want to consider. Also, like you said, the technology coordinator, media specialist librarian, and other faculty members may be of great help. There are so many resources teachers can use so it is important to plan ahead in order to make sure those resources are available.
ReplyDeleteThe part of your reflection that stuck out most to me was about the deadlines. I don't remember much about the chapter talking about them, so it was good to read your reflection to read about them. I think they will definitely help students to stay organized and manage their time. It's good to have parts due at separate times along the journey of the project so that students can stay focused on a certain component at once instead of trying to keep everything in mind to be due at once. Also, they can act as checkpoints to make sure the students are staying on track and not forgetting any small parts that help to make up the entire project. I also agree with you that these calendars/deadlines should be shared with the parents so that they can help their child stay on track and also help them with any parts they may be struggling with.
ReplyDeleteI agree that you should always make sure that students are comfortable with the technology that is going to be used during a project. I like when you talk about making the students aware of the deadlines so that they can plan ahead. This is important in learning time management. I also agree that parents should be involved and know these deadlines so that they can help keep there student on task.
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