1. Discuss how technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths.
There are several different technological tools out there that can encourage student reflection in the classroom. Some of the tools listed in the book are: blogs, ProfilerPro, SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang. Blogs are a great resource for students because they can use it as a space to display their learning and growth throughout the project. It's also a useful form of communication among group members. One technological resource that I enjoy is Glogster. This is a user friendly website that teaches you how to create your own interactive website. This would be a great tool to use in the classroom because it allows students to show their creative side and makes the technology aspect to learning more engaging.
2. Describe several ways in which you can get students’ minds ready for a project.
Activating prior knowledge is helpful to introducing any new idea or project to students. Giving the students the chance to bring what they already know to a project gives them the opportunity to teach others, become confident about the topic and expand their knowledge. The use of a K-W-L chart is beneficial to students because they can actually see their growth over time. When starting a project make sure to get students attention and keep it. Having a really strong anticipatory set in your lesson plan will make sure this happens. Giving students the opportunity to let the idea sink in, to explore the idea and to discuss it with their group members is important for student comprehension.
3. Discuss the elements of teaching fundamentals first.
Prior to starting a project a teacher must first think about all of the elements that go into implementing this type of project. Making sure that students have a grasp on the technology that will be used is important for students to be able to work on the project and research independently. Also making sure that the project is at their appropriate level and that the students are able to produce prior knowledge about the topic makes the learning meaningful and makes it stick. Like I mentioned earlier using a K-W-L chart is helpful for students in developing good research as their driving force for their project. Making sure to share the rubrics with students allows them to have a guided plan for maximum achievement. Sharing a well thought out rubric with students shows them exactly what you expect of them and gives them the chance to show their skills.
4. Describe the important steps in preparing students for using technology in project.
The first important step in preparing students for technology use in the classroom is figuring out an efficient plan. Going over your inventory list will help immensely and make the planning process easier. Discussing your plans with colleagues gives you the chance to brainstorm with others to make the project engaging and meaningful. The second step is setting up a specific time and place where students can explore with all of the technological tools that will be incorporated into the project. Setting up a rotating station system would be beneficial to students because they will be exploring in small groups, learning from each other and getting the chance to work with each technological tool. Having student facilitators could be an effective resource in time management. I have found that sometimes learning from peers is more effective because they can put it into simpler terms. Demonstration is also the key to student success and the overall success of the project. Discussing different project management tools with students is highly important to keep students on task and ensures that they know what is expected and when assignments are due. This is where the use of a blog is highly effective. Making notes on a blog or in a google document allows students to come back to their ideas when they are not in the classroom and working on their project. Concept maps are also useful tools to use to ensure that the students are incorporating each main point into their research and final product. Maintaining contact with your tech support team always comes in handy when working with technology. If you aren't sure about programs or if you are having difficultly these specialists are there to help. Make use of the resources directly located at your school.
5. Discuss ways to promote inquiry and deep learning.
To ensure that your project promotes inquiry and deep learning it is important that you know what the learning outcomes are prior to planning the project. A good project covers all subject areas and has learning outcomes for all areas. All inquiry learning starts with an initial questions that needs to be solved. Students use their prior knowledge and skills to research the project. They are encouraged to formulate their own questions to expand the research and knowledge that they are obtaining. Allowing students to guide their learning with questions gives them the drive to dig deeper into the topic and create meaningful lessons. Before and after each assignment students should be reflecting on their knowledge and skills that have been expanded or learned from the lesson. This shows students their personal growth and shows teachers what students have learned and what still needs to be taught.
6. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
The information in this chapter is beneficial for teachers in the sense that it gives you great ideas and tips about starting a project. Chapter six pretty much lays the whole creation process out for you and makes sure to highlight what you need to include in your plans to make sure the project is successful and beneficial to your students. I feel that a lot of the information will be helpful in creating the lesson plans for this course and making note of the main points that need to be included in our procedures. In class, Professor Peterson always makes sure to introduce us to a program before we are expected to explore it ourselves which gives us the skills needed to work independently and with our groups. The most obvious way that this chapter relates to this course and project is how we reflect what we have learned. Our group blogs is essentially a place to reflect on the information that we have learned so far in this course. We can use it as a resource or as a way to individually assess what we have learned.
Kyleen, I agree that it is important to have a great anticipatory set. K-W-L activities can be done in so many creative ways, especially K-W-L charts. There is not really one set way. You do a great job in summarizing that self-assessment, prior knowledge, and providing students with a rubric as a guiding tool for maximum achievement. Learning from and with peers is so important and demonstrating what you want them to do. Last semester I did my internship and did a project on the Earth, Sun, and Moon where students did just that and the rotating stations came in so handy, almost like learning with the jigsaw method. I like metacognitive activities as a great way to reflect about what they have learned before starting a new lesson. I agree that guiding students with questions is very important, something our group considered for our concept map for setting the stage. Most importantly, I like how you conclude with explaining that Dr. Peterson provides us with initial guidance about the technology we are supposed to be using in a lesson and then transfers the responsibility to our groups. Even me answering to you in our blogs is a way for me to self-assess what I have learned and to give you feedback. I now understand how that can be very beneficial to student's learning. Loved your reflection and how you did more than simply summarize everything.
ReplyDelete