Before starting any project with
your students, you need to consider the resources you will need and plan strategies
to support effective time management, teaming, and assessment. As we have heard
before in Project Based Learning, we invest most of our time upfront. I think taking
the time upfront to iron out any possible kinks before presenting it to our
students is a crucial indicator of the success of your project. Being well
prepared will allow for more learning time and model to students good time
management and organizational skills so they can begin developing their own strategies.
One of
the teacher and student management ideas that I really liked was the development
of an on-line calendar and the personal briefcase online. When students are
given a big project, I think it is only fair that we break the milestones down into
smaller manageable steps for them. If they can see exactly when things are due,
and where they should be, it will not feel so overwhelming and they will be
less likely to wait for the last second to do it. I think having a secure
online website containing the student’s private briefcase is a great idea. The
student can do work at other locations and teacher can see their progress. I
also think it is a wonderful idea to have a class podcast or website to keep
parents informed. I honestly think they would listen to a podcast before
reading a long newsletter and if we set up links, we could include homework
helpers for parents and students.
Some of
the other technology applications we should consider for students are
collaboration tools, methods for seeking assistance, and ways to get feedback
from peers and their teacher. Many of the tools we are using in this this class
today will benefit our future students. I know that I find it helpful that Sabrina
and I can work on the same document in real-time so we never have to guess what
the other partner has done. I also like that we have a class website that gives
us links to what we need and tells us the due dates.
Although I think technology is
amazing in that it allows us to experience things in places we wouldn’t
otherwise be able to go. I think the real time operation room is excessively graphic
for high school students. Now if they are in the medical field it would be one
thing but we are talking high school, I would have passed out. In using this type
of technology for our project, I think a time-lapse video of a butterfly’s life
cycle would be great and then have students participate in a video conference
with a specialist at Fredrick Meijer Gardens.
Hi April!
ReplyDeleteI can absolutely relate to the points you make in your last paragraph! The idea that students should be removed from technology at times in the classroom because of the overexposure i find that they get to it at home, is one that I brought into this classroom with me. As much as I still advocate for this point, I am beginning to see that with technology, it seems that quality over quantity is where it is at! As long as we can find efficient, appropriate and real-life preparatory causes for technology in the classroom, I see how it could possibly take away from any student. Perfecting the best mix of real-life, paper and pen and technology strategies will definitely be a challenge- but very possible! :)
Great job!
-Sabrina
I agree with your point about taking time in the beginning to iron out potential kinks! The work load is definitely front loaded for the teacher, but if the teacher is able to fix any potential problems, and figure out the small details ahead of time, students will have that much more ability to take ahold of the project and let it grow. The teacher is doing the beginning work, so students can take the reins from there. I also agree with your point about making sure the technology, and anything being shown to students, staying appropriate for the audience. While it may relate to the project, it might not be for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the point you brought up about how teachers need to work out the kinks before presenting any information or project to their students. It is important to do this if you want the project to be successful. I also like the idea about an online calendar. Students need a project to be broken down for them because if you throw everything at them at once it can be overwhelming. Therefore, breaking it down into smaller steps will be more beneficial. My partner and I like working on a document at the same time without having to be in the same room as well. It helps us out a lot with scheduling!
ReplyDeleteI like how you brought up the idea of an online calendar. For one of my classes we had to do something similar, we had to make a list of all of our due dates for all of our major assignments and then that way we can keep track of when things need to be done and when they are due. But ours wasn't online I like the fact that you can do it online. Organization is key to management within the classroom. And I think management in a classroom is super important in order to do successful projects.
ReplyDelete