Reflection #6

1.  Discuss how technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths.

• Blogs-students can use these to journal their ideas during the project and then reflect on them later.

• Profiler PRO – by creating a survey for the students to take that assess their skills, they can retake it several times to see how their abilities have developed.

• Tools such as Survey Monkey and Zoomerang- students can use these sights to asses themselves.  Teachers can use the information to find areas for improvement and the students can see how their progress compares with their classmates.

2.  Describe several ways in which you can get students’ minds ready for a project.

The topic for the project can feed off the student’s prior knowledge and relevant issues.  It would be best to present the topic ahead of time, about a week or two.  This gives the students time to think about the possibilities and to talk it over with classmates, friends and family. Then they will have time to settle into the idea of it and get excited about it.

3.  Discuss the elements of teaching fundamentals first.

Students need to know the basics before they start a big project.  It is best if smaller concepts are broken up into lessons ahead of time, that way the students are spending their time actually doing research and completing the project, instead of trying to figure out the little stuff.

4.  Describe the important steps in preparing students for using technology in project.

• Asses what they already know how to do.

• Set aside time for them to learn to used divides on their own and from each other.

• Let students who know how to use the technology, teach their classmates.

• Create a project log or journal for students to track progress.

• Demonstrate the skills needed to the class yourself or through a video.

5.  Discuss ways to promote inquiry and deep learning.

Asking the right kind of questions of the students is important.  Also, it could be interesting to start a out with physical props and a mystery question, before the project begins.  The students begin research and try to find the answers, and in doing so, they become involved and interested in the topic and willing to dig deeper into their understanding.

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

With gardening, self-evaluation of the students will be a good tool.  Students may start out with a limited understanding of plants and how to plant and care for them.  By doing regular assessments, they can see and track their own progress.

Reflection #6

1. Discuss how technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths:


Technology tools can encourage students to evaluate their own strategies through blogs by offering them space where they can reflect over time about what they are learning, through ProfilerPRO that allows students to identify  the learning characteristics among group members through strengths, interests, and weaknesses, and also through SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang which allows students to track trends and help see how their self assessment compares to the larger group. All of these are great technology tools that will help students reflect and evaluate their strengths.


2. Describe several ways in which you can get your students' mind ready for a project:


There are several ways in which we can get our students ready for a project. Some ideas include: a KWL chart, encourage students to explore and think about the topic, having guest visitors, give the idea time for it to settle in their imaginations, design research questions, and much  more.


3. Discuss the elements of teaching fundamentals first"


Teaching the fundamentals first is very important. If there are things that students don't know about in the project, it is important to relay meaning and importance to the topic. Teaching the fundamentals leads our students in the right direction when they go to start their project. This is all a part of the inquiry stage in where they will build their skills gradually before taking on a large project with little knowledge about the topic.


4. Describe the important steps in preparing students for using technology in a project:


There are many important steps when preparing student for using technology in their projects. One big thing to think about is what resources are available and how the students can use them. Another thing that is important is asking yourself: what tools are best for the job? What do students already know how to do? What will they need to know? These are all important questions to ask yourself when preparing for the use of technology with your students.




5. Discuss ways to promote inquiry and deep learning:


Guiding students while they start their project is an important part of PBL. Having students come up with their own questions about a topic allows the students to engage in deeper learning. It is important to let our students explore and let them come up with their own ideas and thoughts. Let students plan out their investigation and let them get involved and excited in what they are doing.


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


This chapter relates to our project in many ways. This chapter relates when it talks about how we need to be prepared with and what resources we need available. It also relates to this chapter when it talks about inquiry. We want our students to be able to come up with their own ideas and research throughout the course of the project.

Reflection #6

1.        Discuss 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 through a few simple ways. First off, blogs present students a place where they can reflect about what they have learned and what they continue to learn. Secondly, online websites, such as ProfilerPro, give you an option to take a survey that in return will recognize traits like strengths, flaws, understandings, and interests. Another website that was mentioned was SurveyMonkey, which gives you an option to set up your own surveys. This way a student can assess their own findings compared to the rest of a specific group.
2.        Describe several ways in which you can get students’ minds ready for a project.
The best way to get a student ready for a project is to spark interest, in other words engage the student and get them excited about the work that is ahead of them. Give them plenty of notice about the project so the information as time to settle in and flourish. Once you have their attention, support the students to think about the topic and come up with ideas. When they have come up with their own proposals encourage them to share with others, this not only will get them thinking more about the project but can give them insight to more possibilities concerning the task. When it comes time for the project to actually take place the students will have many ideas to run off from and the excitement will continue to thrive.
3.        Discuss the elements of teaching fundamentals first.
By teaching the fundamentals you are ensuring that your students will go off in the right direction. By getting students off on the right foot they will have a solid and accurate basis to go off from. This way they can build their knowledge from what they already know and it will make the information more relatable. Teaching fundaments first is like building blocks, and can be used as a great step when launching a new project.
4.        Describe the important steps in preparing students for using technology in project.
The book states, “Technology is not the project, but rather how the project gets done.” I think this is a good statement in the fact that it shows that we are using technology to aid us in getting a task done. It is also pointed out that all students will learn technology differently, some it will be natural and others may need a little extra help. The book suggests setting up a starting point, a “play ground”, I feel this is a good idea because it gives students a chance to explore and test their own knowledge. It also gives you a chance to see where the students are at as a whole and on an individual level.
5.        Discuss ways to promote inquiry and deep learning.
To promote deep learning once again it is important to engage the students and spark their interest. Once they are curious and gain excitement about an assignment that is when they begin to think deeper and come up with more imaginative and creative ideas. You can use questions and activities that help students learn things together along with their individual interests too. Encourage them to come up with new ideas that are different yet relevant to themselves.




6.        Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
The concepts in this chapter will help us with the fundamentals of the project. I now know also how to get students' minds ready for the project!

Concept Map Revised

Reflection #5

1. Discussion on the items that should be considered before starting a project with students:

Starting a project is about the organization of delegating out the work and a way that makes it the most effective. You need to know; what partners are responsible for? What materials you will need? When will you complete your part? The students learn how to manage their time and have to give their best so that they put their group in the best spot possible.

2. Discussion on teachers' and students' management needs:

The teacher has a lot of responsibility in organizing the layout of the student project. The teacher has to provide students with good resources, effective tools for the project, a way of communication between the students because they may not know any of their group members.  

The students’ project management needs include; ways of collaboration, reflecting on their personal work, feedback from others, advice from professionals and team work to complete the job.

3. Discuss some of the technology applications that should be considered for use in a project:

Possible technology applications that can be used include a blog, personalized web pages, wiki and many others. These applications really put students in a real life scenerio where they have to learn how to work with a team on a project.

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

The most important factor of this chapter is preparation. You have to be prepared before you try to jump into this project. You need to layout your objectives and make activities that reach your goals. If we want to be successful we need to be prepared.

Reflection #5

1.  Discussion on the items that should be considered before starting a project with students.

Before the project is started, all the resources should be in place.  These resources can vary from physical materials, to technology.  Sometimes they can be obtained through the school, such as technology, but sometimes it may be necessary to go into the surrounding community, to find the other materials.

Also, the items needed also include skills and expertise present.  If the project is a collaboration among school staff, responsibilities should be divided according to skills.  Also, depending on the project, it may be helpful to find someone who is an expert in the area covered, to provide more input for the students.

2.   Discussion on teachers’ and students’ management needs.

Project calendars are helpful for the student.  They can be color coded and help the student keep on track as far as deadlines.  It will also help if a large project is broken up into many smaller requirements that would help them process the information in a more organized manor, and not become overwhelmed.

As far a organization for the teachers, regular assessments of the class seems to be the key point.  This can be done in many ways.  The most common is formally with a grading scale, but observing and interacting with the students is great, to keep up with how they understand the project and any weaknesses they may need help with.

3.   Discuss some of the technology applications that should be considered for use in a project.

There were many forms of technology that were discussed, that will be helpful with a project.

At the very beginning, a digital survey would be helpful in assessing the students capabilities with technology, to find out what still needs to be taught, before launching the project.

At the very least there is the basic district server, but it was discussed that there is the weakness of not being able to access it from outside the school.  This is where Learning Management Systems (LMS) are introduced.  These are tools such as Moodle or Desire2Learn.  These can be accessed from any computer with internet access.  Students can interact with the teacher, and submit work for review at any time from any location.

Other resources such as Google Docs are helpful because the teacher can monitor individual interaction and what is being done, by whom and when.  The teacher can also give helpful input during the progress of items such as reports, before they are even completed and handed in.

A web page for the class is also helpful to keep up to date with announcements and deadlines.

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

Discussing the need for different programs such as Blogs and Google Docs was helpful for me, to understand why they are being used, and how helpful they really are.

Also, the concept of dividing students into groups according to skill and how they complement each other, was a new idea.  The traditional weak with the strong has always been my experience, but they brought up a good point that pairings like this put too much work on the strong and do not improve the skills of the weak student.  This would be great to keep in mind when dividing students into groups of three for the Garden Projects.

Reflection #5

1. Discussion on the items that should be considered before starting a project with students:

All items should be considered before they are put to use with students. What is their readiness level? Do they have any prior experience with these items? Would they benefit from this?

2. Discussion on teachers' and students' management needs:

Teacher's management needs include tools for communicating with students and others about the project, tools for making milestones and events visible and for notifying students when changes occur, methods for getting resources to students and systems for managing work products, structures that support a productive learning environment, and assessment tools and strategies.
Student's management needs include systems and tools that help them manage their time and flow of work, systems that help students manage materials and control work drafts, collaboration tools, methods for seeking assistance, ways to get use feedback on their work, through self reflection, team input and teacher advice and ways to work iteratively and to see how parts add up to the whole.

3. Discuss some of the technology applications that should be considered for use in a project:

Moodle and Interact, Lotus Notes, blogs, google maps are very good things to incorporate into projects. Really any web application that you find may be useful towards your project it would be good to use. By incorporating technology into your project, it becomes more interesting.

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

The  biggest thing that this chapter relates to our project about is the different ways to prepare. It helps us know how the teachers and the students both need to prepare for in order to start a project.

Reading Reflection #5

1. Discussion on the items that should be considered before starting a project with students:

Some of the items that should be considered before starting a project include the following: What materials will you need? Will your project involve the use of technologies that are new to you or your students? Will you need to expand your students' access to technology? Will your students need access to experts to answer the questions that are apt to come up during the project? Who else can help with your project? How will you divide responsibilities? Some of the things you can do before the project starts is to plan a project calendar for the students to let them know what needs to be done, teach your students to be effective time managers, and to let students know of deadlines along the way. All in all, you need to plan for assessments, deadlines, teamwork, and resources.These are all things to consider before starting a project with your students.

2. Discussion on teachers' and students' management needs:

Teachers' project management needs: tools for communicating with students and others about the project, tools for making milestones and events visible and for notifying students when changes occur, methods for getting resources to students, and systems for managing work products.
Students' project-management needs: systems and tools that help them manage their time and flow of work, systems that help students manage materials and control work drafts, collaboration tools, methods of seeking assistance, ways to get and use feedback on their work through self reflection, team input, and teacher advice, and ways to work iteratively and to see how parts add up to the whole when the project is complete.

3. Discuss some of the technology applications that should be considered for use in a project:

Some of the technology applications that should be considered for use in a project include a wiki, a blog, Drupal, Textpattern, personalized web pages, use a web based desktop application, and much more. These tools can help students collaborate and can allow the student to learn about new changes when they arise.

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

The biggest thing that this chapter touched base on that relates to our project is the preparation aspect. In order to start our project it will take a lot of preparation and organizing before we just jump into things. In order to be successful with our fundraiser, we have to be sure we are well organized and prepared for anything.

Reading Reflection #4

1. Discuss the potential pitfalls in project design.

The aspect that stuck me the most was when a project is long on activity, but short on learning.  For me, one of the major aspects of the project based learning, is not only the process, but also learning topics more in depth.  So if a project is very active, but they don’t learn anything more in depth than if they had read the book, or listened to the lecture, what’s the point?

2.  Discuss the features of a good project.

Good projects are in depth. It helps the children learn how to problem solve. They work together and use relevant technology along the way.

3. Discuss where project ideas come from.

Project ideas sometimes come from other people’s ideas, but it is important to go through the ideas and find the weak spots.  Ideas can also come from collaborating with other educators in different subjects.

4. Discuss the steps to design a project.

First, you need to figure the different points and subjects you want your students to learn.  Then you have to figure out the grade level standard that goes with.  Once those aspects are figured out it is necessary to figure out the technology you want your students to use, to compile all this information, and present it to the rest of the class.

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

The point that seems to stand out in my mind, in relation to my topic is to avoid too many steps.  Gardening can be a very challenging and long term project.  With that put aside, the steps for a third grader should be simplified, so they should learn more about gardening, rather than stressing out about what steps are next.  The goal is the content learned and not necessarily just the process.

Reflection #4

1. Discuss the potential pitfalls in project design:

Potential pitfalls in project design include Long on activity and short on learning outcomes, Technology layered over traditional practice, Trivial thematic units, overly scripted with man, many steps. Long on activity and short on learning outcomes explains keeping a project right sized for what it is meant to accomplish. Basically it’s managing your time on the project for the most important aspects of the project. Technology layered over traditional practice is taking advantage of your technology to better your group’s solutions. Being able to locate better data to allow your students to be more creative. Trivial thematic units is about how themes change how a variety of projects can be addressed. Overly scripted with many, many steps is about keeping it simple and straight forward. No need to use complicated words that confuse your audience be simple and you will get your message across.

2. Discuss the features of a good project:

A good project makes a uninteresting topic interesting. You need to make the information relevant to the students and let your students construct a meaning. You should use an inquiry teaching approach that allows the students to take different paths to learn. Students will be more involved and you will get better results for your presentation.

3. Discuss where project ideas come from:

Most good project ideas come from somewhere else. Nowadays everyone has the Internet, which contains every piece of information you could ever ask for. There are endless sources to find a good project idea.

4. Discuss the steps to design a project:

Revisit the framework is the first step. It is about you need to always be aware of learning objectives. Also that you need to be using the current skills of the 21^st century. Establishing evidence of understanding is making sure that your students fully understand what they are learning and use higher level thinking to learn how to apply it day to day. Plan the “vehicle” is about creating connections to your real life. Plan entrée into the project experience is about getting your kids excited and interested about the project right away!

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

Creating the steps to project is the most important concept I found. You need to plan well and create an interesting project so your kids stay involved and interested. These steps also need to lead towards your objective.

Reading Reflection #4

1. Discuss the potential pitfalls in project design:

• Long on activity, short on learning outcomes- this pitfall basically talks about keeping a project "right sized" for what it accomplishes. We don't want to take a long time on an activity or project and have the learning outcome fall short of what the students put work towards. 
• Technology layered over traditional practice- After going over your plan, make sure that technology was used to bring people together, to connect students to rich data or primary sources, or to provide some other way to allow students to create unique and high quality learning products. 
• Trivial thematic units- think about ways themes can change or the way power could be addressed repeatedly over the year through a variety of projects.
• Overly scripted with many, many steps- don't let your projects get overly wordy with too many steps. The best projects are the ones where students are making critical decisions about their learning path.

2. Discuss the features of a good project:

Some of the best ways to get the best quality in your projects include: make your project loosely designed with the possibility of different learning paths, let yours students construct meaning, include rich data or primary sources, have students learn by doing, include inquiry in your project, reach beyond school to involve others, and get at 21st century skills and literacies. These things will all combine to make for a quality rich project. 

3. Discuss where project ideas come from:

Many project ideas come from other successful project ideas. Project ideas can also come from books, websites, contemporary issues, stories, or just a mixture of many ideas put to one project. 

4. Discuss the steps to design a project:

• Revisit the framework: You should always look over your learning objectives and disciplines. Also, decide on the 21st century skills you want to address and consider how you will address them. 
• Establish evidence of understanding- Know that your students have fully understood what they are learning and imagine what they would know once they have learned it. 
• Plan the "vehicle"- think about what the students would inquire about, make sure there is flexibility to serve the needs of the project, and imagine the true-to-life connections
• Plan entree into the project experience- what are the first things you might say to the students to get them excited about the project? What will get your students attention?

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

The biggest thing that caught my attention when relating this chapter to our project is the steps to designing the project. As teachers we must plan ahead and look at what will get our students excited about the project and what will keep them engaged throughout. We also need to think about what we want the outcome of the project to be. 

Reflection 4

Discuss the potential pitfalls in project design.
Potential pitfalls include, Long on activity, short on learning outcomes. Technology layer traditional practice. Trivial thematic units. Overly scripted with many, many steps. If you find a project that looks promising but comes up short, keep looking.

Discuss the features of a good project.
Features of a good project include a tried and true project with potential for more meaningful, expressive learning. Project plans developed by and for other teachers. News stories. Contemporary issues. Student questions and interests. A classroom irritant put to educational use. A mash up of a great idea and a new tool.

Discuss where project ideas come from.
Any experience that you have can turn into a project idea. A project idea can come at anytime or anywhere. Keep in mind that one successful project will often lead you to another.

Discuss the steps to design a project.
The first step is to revisit the framework. The second step is to establish evidence of understanding. The third step is to plan the project theme or challenge. The fourth step is to plan entrée into the project experience. At this point the project is coming into view, but it is still may be a bit blurry around the edges and lack of detail. Now it would be time to write a project sketch. After the project sketch is written, share it with your fellow colleagues.

Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
These concepts of this chapter will help us make our projects easier. We now know the features of a good project and the steps to make a good project.

Reading reflection #3

1. Discussion on what should be considered in finding "the Big idea" for a project:

Identifying the “big idea” is how you determine the entire layout of the project. You need to find ways to incorporate pieces of the project to fit the big idea. This involves covering a range of concepts about the topic. Students can relate the ideas to real life situations. This will help them become better deeper thinkers.

2. Discussion on the 21st century skills:

We need to leave the school systems way of how they evaluate. We need to become problem solvers. We should not be simply evaluated on how smart we are based on a test that just depends how long we memorized for. We need skills. Our traditional ways of learning are proven not very effective so it is time to move on.

3. Discussion on the 21st century literacies:

Reading and writing are no going to cut it for 21^st century literacy. We need to learn how to be higher-level thinkers. We need to be more imaginative, inventive, and more productive. The real world is about solving unknown solutions to problems. Reading and writing are essential but not the only important factors of literacy.

4. Discussion on each of the essential learning functions:

•                Ubiquity: Learning all the time. Examples: gps,mp3, mobile phones. With these tools students can learn at all times if wanting to. They can be just as much a distraction as well however.

•                Deep Learning: This helps you understand information that is not explained well. Research and critical thinking need to be used to understand the information. The information has a deeper meaning but you need to figure out in what way.

•                Making things visible and discussable: This all about visual learning rather than just verbal. Every learner learns differently. A picture says 1,000 words saying supports this function. You can interpret information easier for certain things.

•                Expressing ourselves, sharing ideas, and building community: Expressing yourself helps create better connections between people and creates better discussion. Social Media is the newest way people express themselves.

•                Collaboration-teaching and learning with others: Having group projects helps students to work as a team. They need to collaborate effectively to be successful.  

•                Research: Research is the best way to learn in my eyes. You have all the information you could ever ask for on the Internet. You can learn a skill very quickly just by watching a few YouTube’s or pay a bunch of money to get it taught to you in a personal setting.

•                Project Management: Planning and Organization:

In order to be effective and successful you need to learn how to manage your time. You can’t skip management otherwise nothing will be ever completed.

•                Reflection and Iteration:

After you have completed the task you need to look at it from a different perspective. You can look at your own work and critique it. It allows students to reflect on their work and see their successes and failures.

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

This chapter relates to our project because it is based around the big idea of our project. We are working together with others to find a solution. In order to find that solution we have to collaborate and research together. We need to bounce ideas off each other and reflect on them to find the solution.