Reflection #8

1. Description of some ways to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom.

Its really important for students to feel and be connected with a real audience, and digital-aged projects offer that to our students. Knowing that others will be reading, or watching your work can be a powerful motivator. Using these technologies students can branch out and consult with experts in the topic they are researching. Connecting students with experts may require some effort on your part, but if you make this a regular part of your process then it will become effortless. A great resource is your students parents, don't be afraid to ask them for access to their world of expertise or if they know anyone whom you are looking for. Technology is so unlimited you can design a project so that your students have to communicate with a class down the hall or half way around the world.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
2. Description of the EAST initiative Model.

EAST stands for Environmental And Spatial Technologies, they are a network of schools that have been demonstrating the benefits of using technology to solve problems and make improvements in their communities for a dozen years. These students master tools that are commonly found in professional labs and design studios, to help solve community problems that interest them. For example, a team of students recorded oral histories of World War II veterans and then used software to develop architectural plans for a museum in their honor. I think that is pretty inventive and a lot more impressive that anything I have ever done. The EAST initiative started in Arkansas in 1996 and has grown to have more than 260 schools in seven states. It started out as a high school program but has come to include students from second grade to post-secondary levels.

3. Discussion on some reasons to let students "lead" their projects.

I know it sounds kind of scary but once you are more comfortable with PBL then you can start to see that students are very capable of leading their own projects. Letting the students pick their topic for their projects can be so beneficial to their learning, we know that if students are more interested in a topic than they most likely work harder or go more in depth with it. This way students can really find their own path in learning and it can become more memorable in the long run, because they pick something they liked, not just the teacher giving them a topic they have no interest in. This way you, the teacher, are not micromanaging every project.


4. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project. 

Our overarching topic is Hurricane Sandy, and from the way we have formatted our project, its as if the students came up with the topic because the hurricane affected them in some way. I think this is comparable to the EAST initiative model because the students took it upon themselves to research a topic that involves their community and those around them. From this chapter I think a great idea would be to maybe ask someone whose life was affected by Hurricane Sandy to maybe talk with the students. Another idea would be that we could set up an open blog so that anyone who was affected by Hurricane Sandy could post and help answer our students questions.

Reflection #8

1. Description of some ways to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom
Technology surprises me everyday! There's so many ways that technology can build connections and branch out beyond the classroom by blogs, personal or community websites, and any other communication tool associated with technology. Everyone around the world uses technology to learn or express themselves, this allows students to take full advantage of learning through technology by communicating and researching beyond their community and even their country. Blogs are a good way to communicate, it allows students to communicate with teachers about what they are learning without talking face-to-face. It provides students with the opportunity to invite more people into the project and it also allows them to reflect on their own learning.

2. Description of the EAST Initiative Model
The EAST Initiative Model was a student-driven learning project where students were responsible for their own learning. This also involved an authentic project based learning by students being engaged in solving real world problems in their communities. Which in this case was the fact that a Japanese-American internment camp disappeared from their community's collective memory. This project also involved technology tools where they needed to acces relevant technologies that professionals use to solve real world problems. Along with all of these tasks, students were required for collaboration. When learning is student-based it is important to remind students that they need to work together as a team to help one another get the most out of what they are doing. It is important as a teacher in this situation to keep it student-based. To help guide students along rather than "telling" them what to do and hope they do it. The EAST Initiative Model began in Arkansas (1996) and expanded to over 260 schools in seven states. At the end of each school year an annual conference is held where students showcase their projects. 
This is such an amazing idea! I would love to get involved with something like this. Real world problems is the best way to learn about the world and to help the understanding of more complex problems.

3. Discussion on some reasons to let students "lead" their projects
When students are encouraged to engage in technology based learning, they are able to express themselves in a more positive and accepting way. It allows students who are less confident to interact and communicate with students or other people with similar interests (or in the textbooks case, disabilities). After Sarah was encouraged to communicate through a blog, Sarah got the courage to begin a resource for other children who have dyslexia. She wanted to share her experiences with other people so others can relate and feel more comfortable and gain tips on something they care deeply about. As a teacher, it is important to remember that you don't have to micromanage every project. "They can take on their own learning, and I can be there to support them." (pg. 136)

4. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project
When we came up with the Topic of Hurricane Sandy, we pictured this as if the students were the ones who wanted to learn about Hurricane Sandy and what it had done to harm the US and what they could do to help those in need. If this was a real life classroom, I would encourage our students to continue to ask questions and build inquiry about what they want to learn and how they want to learn. Having students take lead in projects is extremely important to me because when students take initiative it shows them that they have confidence and they can count on themselves for learning instead of just listening to a teacher talk all day about something they aren't interested in. We've all said before, communication is key. I think it is important to continue to have students communicate in various ways. Blogs are something that I want to encourage in the future of our project because it helps keep things organized and helps us set goals together and continue that need of communication.

Reflection #7

1. Description of the levels of classroom discussions.

There are three main levels of classroom discussion, they are teacher to teacher, student to student, and teacher to student. In teacher to teacher, these conversations will likely touch on everything from the procedures to the assessments. If teachers don't have time for face-to-face collaboration, or if their colleges are far away, they can use a blog or a wiki to keep in touch and share ideas. In student to student discussions, its best for them to be talking about what their learning as they learn it, to their group members as well as across the different teams. Its important to remind them that good communication skills are part of an effective and successful team, and will help keep them organized and on track. Model how to give effective feedback as you listen to your students. In teacher to student discussions the lecture format is probably not going to be effective, especially in PBL classrooms. A whole class discussion is a great way to to check in on student understanding or wrap up a certain phase of the project.

2. Discussion on the questions for "checking in" on students during a project.

When your class is in the middle of a project, it is most likely that the different groups are in different directions and are going at different speeds. So here are some questions that might help in finding out where they are or if they need any assistance.
Procedural: Are we staying on schedule? Do we have the right materials available? Be sure to remind students of the project calendar if they need help keeping on track.
Teamwork: How are the team members getting along? Is one student carrying too much of the load for the whole team? Its good to ask questions about how they are solving their problems and this helps you asses their team dynamic. Its important to give them a safe place to raise concerns or ask for help if they are experiencing team trouble.
Understanding: You want to spend time observing teams as they work, listen to student conversations, and ask probing questions. Like Have you though about...? or Have you considered this research? If you see opportunities for students to go beyond expectations, make sure to encourage them.
Self-assessment: When you want to find out what the students are thinking about the project, give self assessment questions for them to reflect on. Project journals or blogs can be great facilitators of this to let students get out frustrations and share their excitement about the project.

3. Discussion on the benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology.

With the technology now a days you want to make sure that the certain tools you have chosen for the project are a distraction to your students, rather than a helpful tool. you need to ask yourself, is the technology helping students stay organized? Do the students have acceptable access to the technology? When technology is used to its fullest potential, you may find students gaining benefits you did not envision at the beginning of the project.

4. Discussion on the 21st century skills that can make or break a project.

Troubleshooting is a major 21st century skill that makes a student an effective project manager. this can help them earn from setbacks and fine-tune their strategies for getting a project back on track. I like what one of the teachers said in this chapter that "PBL is more like real life. you can mess up, but then you have the opportunity to learn from that and make adjustments" I couldn't agree more with this statement. There is so much value and learning in this experience.  Teamwork is another 21st century skill that is make or break for a project. Its really important to helps students learn to manage their own team conflicts. Its a real-life skill that will serve them well for years to come.

5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

This chapter is very helpful to our project, especially in the category of 21st century skills. My group has had to deal with troubleshooting when we weren't sure how to do some things. We worked well together and ask the appropriate questions to help our team along.

Reflection #7

Chapter 7:

1.            Description of the levels of classroom discussions.

Classroom discussions take place on three different levels. The first level of classroom discussion is teacher to teacher, the next is student to student, and the last is teacher to student. These three levels of classroom discussion are all very important and each grasp different ideas. Here are the three different types of classroom discussion:

-Teacher to Teacher: These conversations will likely touch on everything from the procedural to a formative assessment. If teachers do not have time for face-to-face collaboration, be sure you are using a blog, wiki, or any other collaborative tool to keep your teacher to teacher conversation going.

-Student to Student: These conversations should help each student become comfortable with other students in discussing materials or being open with different ideas. Students learn from each other all the time and the more they are collaborating and sharing ideas then the more they will learn.

- Teacher to Student: This level of classroom discussion is important for both the teacher and students. The teacher is there to guide each student and it is important that each student is comfortable with opening up and sharing any thoughts or concerns with the teacher. This method is also ideal for the teacher because it allows them to practice their own listening skills and push the students toward higher-order thinking.

2.            Discussion on the questions for “checking in” on students during a project.

There are four types of questions that teachers should be asking students or “checking in” with students about throughout a project.

-Procedural: Are we staying on schedule? Do we have the right materials available?

To track progress toward milestones and deadlines, remind students of the project calendar and monitor students' project logs and checklists.

-Teamwork: How are team members getting along? Is one student doing most of the work? How are their time management skills?

Circulate and ask questions to help assess team dynamics. If you have students using a project blog or journal, ask them to write an entry specifically about their team's progress. Give them a safe place to raise concerns or to ask for help if they are experiencing team trouble. If you see that some students are consistently contributing less than others, use this observation to open dialogue about teamwork.

-Understanding: Have you thought about...? Have you considered this research?

Spend time observing teams at work, listening to student conversations, and asking probing questions. Review online workspaces where you can see student work in progress. If you see students going way off task or basing their decisions on faulty information, ask questions or suggest resources to redirect them. 

-Self-assessment: To find out what students are thinking about the project, ask questions that encourage self-assessment and reflection. Project journals or blogs offer space for students to describe challenges or frustrations, to ask questions that they may not feel comfortable asking in class, or to share their excitement about the project. 

3.            Discussion on the benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology.

Students will gain new ideas and ways to communicate with a different type of audience. Students enjoyed this way of learning and thought that it actually helped them to learn more and really review their own ideas. If technology does become a huge distraction on their learning then there may be certain rules and restrictions for the students, but as of now it is a huge advantage and the students are gaining many new insights through technology.

4.            Discussion on the 21st-century skills that can make or break a project.

During a project and in the classroom make sure you pay close attention to the way that each team works with each other. If you detect that there are conflicts, allow the students in that team to try to work out their conflicts on their own. This is a real-life skill that every one needs to have and is very beneficial while working in teams.

5.            Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

Concepts in this chapter relates to our own team topic because my team  is also learning to work together and strengthen our own ideas about our project. We are all trying to understand where each of us are coming from with our thoughts and we have learned that student to student discussion is a very important level for us throughout this project.

Reading Reflection #7

1. Description of levels of classroom discussions:
(1) The first level of classroom discussion is Teacher to Teacher. Teachers collaborating and working together continue to make PBL work smoothly and more effectively. Formative assessment is a huge part in classroom discussions. Providing ways for students to work together and discuss their thoughts and understandings toward a project is very important. If teachers do not have the time to collaborate face to face, they may consider using a blog, wiki, or other tools to keep teacher to teacher conversation stable.
(2) The second level of classroom discussion is Student to Student. Students should always be talking to one another about their learning experiences and what works best for how they learn and understand the information coming from a project. It is important to remind students that good communication skills is part of an effective team. As a teacher, it is important to continue to listen to student-to-student conversation so you know if students are on the right track or if they bring up something that can help better your instruction. Teacher's shouldn't take over the conversation, adding comments and encouragement is key. It is important to model good communication skills while giving critical feedback which give students the opportunity to use those skills themselves.
(3) Teacher to Student is the third leve to classroom discussion. In a PBL classroom, it is important to keep conversations student run. For example, create a discussion topic and see where students take it and what they want to learn from that topic. As a teacher, you need to be there for guidance and be there whenever students may get off track. Ask probing questions that push students toward higher-order thinking.

2. Discussion on questions for "checking in" on students during a project:
There are four types of questions that teachers should be asking students during a project.
(1) Procedural questions include: Are we staying on track? Do we have all the materials needed? Do we need to schedule any meetings with outsiders?

• Remind students to move toward milestones and deadlines, providing them with a calendar and monitor project logs and checklists.

(2) Teamwork: How are team members getting along? Is one student doing most of the work? How are their time management skills?

• Having students create a blog on team progress is key to continuing that team work and understanding that each student in the group is getting the equal amount of work. 
• Using online survey tools are good for this type of monitoring.

(3) Understanding: Formative assessment is where understanding comes in. Provide students with "have you thought about this....?" or "have you considered....?"

• Provides students with the opportunity to go beyond expectations and encourages them to push themselves.

(4) Self-assessment: Project journals or blogs offer space for students to describe challenges and frustrations, or to ask questions if they don't feel comfortable asking in class. This is also a way for students to share their ideas and excitement about the project as a whole. 

3. Discussion on benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology:

When a teacher involves new technology, it broadens students' knowledge of technology and allows them to use this technology in other courses or iin future projects. If the technologies become a distraction, then there will be more strict rules on using the technologies while having weekly goals to maintain in order to stay on track. Online technologies allows students to broaden their learning community, a way to connect to the outer world for more information and tools to use during a project. Students will gain insight on how to communicate with a culturally diverse audience. I love the idea of educational podcasting. It helps not only students, but adults who want to learn mor about something. My boyfriend listens to a lot of different kinds of podcasts, anywhere from basketball to comedy. He learns a lot about media and communication.

4. Discussion on the 21st-century skills that can make or break a project:

Troubleshooting provides the chance for students to overcome challenges. Brainstorming with students helps students use their brain to focus on what they want to get out of a project. The teacher is there to guide students in the right direction. Communication skills are very important. Nowadays, there aren't many lecture based classes. Most of the classrooms contain student based learning and collaboration. Team dynamics is very important when doing student collaboration projects. Evaluating peers is a tactic that will help give team members critical feedback and knowledge of what they need to work on and how they can become a better team worker. 

5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project:

My partners and I are learning that communication is extremely important. It is hard to get things done if you don't communicate and understand each others thoughts. Troubleshooting is something that we have done a few times and it reassures us that we can overcome our struggles. 

Lesson Plan 2 Subjects

Courtney - Hurricane Sandy Organizations
Taylor - Effects of Hurricane Sandy
Arielle - Formation of Hurricanes

Reflection #6

1. Discussion on how technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths. 
Technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths by learning how to use new and different tools. Many tools are used for organization while others are used for group work. Some tolls are used for asking questions and learning how to do something. These tools can also be very effective by showing immediate feedback while evaluating their success.

2. Describe several ways in which you can get students' mind's ready for a project. 
Background knowledge is very important to capture when getting ready for a project. In order to get what you want out of your students, you need to get them interested in the topic. The use of an "introduction" or activity is very helpful for bringing out that background knowledge. It will get all your students involvement and create interest in the project. If the project is the students' idea, of course they will be interested. If the project is the teachers idea, the teacher must be passionate about the topic in order to get the students attention and passion. Using day by day introduction helps students get ready for the "big project".

3. Discuss the elements of teaching the fundamentals first.
Making sure students have the skills and knowledge before getting in to a project is very important. Students should be able to navigate the project on their own, in order to do so, they need to know the basics before the big idea. It will be easier for you and your students if they know the basics before a huge project.

4. Describe the important steps in preparing students for using technology in projects.
Technology is how a project gets done.

• What tools are best for this project?
• Set up technology playground: encourage students to find technology tools on their own that they think would work best for a specific project. 
• Tap Student Expertise: use technology that most students have a lot of knowledge about but introduce new ones to broaden their learning. 
• Demonstrate: make sure you know how to use the tools before you teach the students. Nothing is more embarrassing than getting in front of the class and being corrected for something simple. Make expectations clear.

5. Discuss ways to promote inquiry and deep learning.

Guide students as they choose questions, plan investigations, and begin to put their plan into action. Students will decide what they want the outcome of the project to be. Help students thought outside the box, think outside of their original question. This will hopefully get them excited to learn because it is coming from their own thoughts and questions.

• "what if?"
• "Should..."
• "why?"

6. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

This chapter has a lot to do with our project because we are using a lot of different kinds of tools to make the project come together. Concept maps, blogs, podcasts, lesson plans... We planned our project on inquiry by having the students come up with the idea of the fundraiser for Hurricane Sandy.