Reading Reflection #6

 Technology tools such as using a blog can be great for any level student. This gives them a chance to write and record ideas over a long time, going back every so often to evaluate how there writing and ideas have really developed. Also with a blog other students can view the work and share there ideas on the post, giving you something to think about and reflective over. In the last class we talked about ipads, these can be great when a student is trying to evaluate themselves. They could be playing a game and see where they might need to improve on, instead of just talking a test.
 A great way to really start getting students minds ready for any project would be to get a feel for their prior knowledge. I really loved the Know-Wonder-Learn activity, this would be awesome to really get the students minds working and ready for the project at hand. I think it would be important to not just jump into the topic right away but let the students really explore and really think about the topic. I like the idea that the topic is brought up a little each day, to really get the students more and more excited and really thinking about the overall topic. Its important to get the students interest and to not just throw them into groups and say start.
 As it is really important for students to be working together it is also important to think about teaching prerequisite knowledge or skills students need in order to work with a degree of independence in their investigations. When students are than aware of what they know and don't know, they can establish a good point of departure and a sense of purpose when doing the project. Again the K-W-L would be really helpful. Another important idea would be to share the assessment rubric. Like the book states it can be their road map toward great achievement. All students should be aiming for the highest rating performance on each dimension.
 The first really important step would be to find out and understand how much technology background the students really have. Whether that be with a computer, ipod or even a smart board. Maybe your project involves the students making a broadcast, they will need to learn how to record and use that kind of technology. Some of this many need to be teach before the project can really start. If the students don't have a lot of background with a lot of technology maybe let them pick what they feel must comfortable with. You could also bring in a specialist to help the students as well. The idea one size fits all is not true at all, some students many be great with all kinds of technology and others may lack in that field, you can always work around that.
 Promoting inquiry and deep learning is really great idea, guide students as they choose questions, plan investigations, and begin to put their plan into action. Brainstorming as a group is always a great idea. Its also important to share with the students that sometimes doing less research on the Internet is good and just take a step back and really think about everything a little and than go back to researching with a clean open mind. Being there to really guide the students through research and mini lessons or activities will make for a better project overall.
Of course all the ideas and topics in this chapter are really important but I didn't find them as useful or helpful when thinking and planning about my project. I love the K-W-L activity and defiantly want to work that into my project because it seems so important. As well as getting the students minds ready but it seems a lot like the ideas we talked about in the chapters before and some of these ideas i believe would leave the students bored, just ready to start the project already.

Reading Reflection #6

Technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths in many different ways. Blogs offer students space where they can reflect over time about what they are learning. ProfilerPRO allows you to identify the learning characteristics of an individual and also among members of a group, and you can identify interests, strengths, and weaknesses, and use this information as you guide learning. Tools such as online survey sites, Zoomerang and SurveyMonkey, can help you set up online surveys and use the results to track trends and help students see how their self-assessment compares to the larger group. Several ways in which you can get students’ minds ready for a project is by starting with students’ prior knowledge, get the students’ attention and give the idea time to settle in their imaginations, invite them to open their eyes to possibilities before digging in, encourage students to explore and think about the topic, and to discuss their ideas with friends and at the dinner table for several days. Discrepant events and role-playing predictions are two ways to arouse curiosity and start students thinking about the learning ahead. The elements of teaching fundamentals first are set the stage for independent inquiry and share the assessment rubric. Students need to know their starting point and have some idea of their destination. When students are aware of what they know and don’t know, they can establish a point of departure and a sense of purpose. Teachers need to give students an assessment rubric because it’s the students’ roadmap toward great achievement. A good rubric shows students what performance look like through a qualitative description of each rating. The most important steps in preparing students for using technology in projects are set up a technology playground, tap student expertise, introduce project management tools, demonstrate, rely on your technology specialist, and one size fits all – or not. Set up a technology playground where students can explore and encourage students to teach each other. Let technically able students teach each other. Set up computer stations, each with one tool students will use in the project, possible an online database at one station, a presentation software on another, and a shared wiki on another. Have small groups rotate from station to station as the student trainers demonstrate how to use the tools. Encourage students to write about their own progress toward goals because you as the teacher can gain in insight into where and why they may be struggling or falling behind. If you are comfortable enough with the tools students will use, demonstrate their use. Collaborate with your technology specialist to match learning objectives with technologies that help students meet them. Think about the usefulness of the technical skill within and beyond the project will help you decide what and how much students need to learn. Ways to promote inquiry and deep learning are to transform limited questions in questions for a deeper inquiry, guide students toward skilled questioning by imagining what practitioners or experts might ask, consider guiding inquiry using question starters such as, “which one” questions, “how” questions, “what if” questions, “should” questions, and “why” questions. “Which one” questions ask students to collect information and make informed decisions. “How” questions as students to understand problems, to weigh options from various points of view, and to propose solutions. “What if” questions ask students to use the knowledge they have to pose a hypothesis and consider options. “Should” questions ask students to make moral or practical decisions based on evidence. “Why” questions ask students to understand cause and effect and helps us understand relationships. The concepts in this chapter relate to our project because as teachers we need to know how to get our students’ minds ready as well as promote inquiry and deep learning for our students. If we can get them interested in the topic, students will be more accepting to learn deeper about the topic at hand. They will be able to open their eyes to many possibilities. Getting our students interested in the topic will also help promote students to get a deep learning and ask more advanced questions.

Revised Concept Map

Some of our topics were at a higher level than the grade level we are expecting our lessons and project to be based around. We expanded on all of our ideas.

Reading Reflection #5

     A lot of preparation is needed when working with project-based learning, so there of course are still many items that need to be considered before starting a project with the students, such as, keeping your project within budget is a 21st-century skill. It is now time to gather all the resources you will need as well. Look back at the project and consider how specific resources could support the project. Its also important to see what materials you will need, what supplies do you already have or what supplies does the school offer? Technology is a major key to these project, what kind of access will the student have to it. Of course there is always a lot more to consider when starting a project just remember the students need to learn from it, so have a great plan set up and be prepared for anything.
      When starting a project and working through it, its important for both the teachers' and students' to manage there time and flow of work. Teachers' need to have tools for communicating with students and others about the project, they need to have methods for getting resources to students as well. What I believe to be the most important is structures that support a productive learning environment in which teams and individuals are engaged in a variety of learning tasks at the same time. Students on the other hand need to have methods for seeking assistance and have collaboration tools. Students need ways to work iteratively and to see how parts add up to the whole. Lastly they need ways to get and use feedback on their work, either through self-reflection, team input, or getting the teachers advice.
      When thinking of some great technology applications that should and can be considered for any project the best place to start would be simply the web. With the use of a computer and the Internet the students can do so much, find a pen pal, look up great information, start a web page and the list can go on and on. A computer is also a great tool to use, you can work with skype, make a simple power point or even edit a video to share.
     Like before, these concepts can all relate to my project, I need to have my "items" in place before the students can really begin the project. I need to consider where I might find my tools and how I might go about getting them. Management will play the biggest role in a project I believe, both students and the teacher need to learn management to really have a successful project overall. Plan ahead what kind of technology might be best for the project as well.

Reading Reflection #5

The items that should be considered before starting a project with students are what materials you will 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, and who else can help with your project. We need to see what supplies, tools or other materials are available at school or offered by the parent community and other supporters. We need to think about the essential learning functions we need technology to deliver, and then select the tools that will help students meet the learning goals. We need to think creatively about how to make access more frequent and equitable. Teaching students to become effective managers of their own time should be a primary goal of any project. It’s a skill that will support them throughout their education and beyond. Teachers should plan a project calendar with milestones along the way because it will help students see deadlines of upcoming milestones so they can plan ahead, track their own progress, and double shoot potential delays before the fall behind. Learning management systems offer teachers and students another way to organize the components of a project in an online environment. The project-management tools and strategies teachers need 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, systems for managing work products, structures that support a productive learning environment in which teams and individuals are engages in a variety of learning tasks at the same time, and assessment tools and strategies. The project-management tools and strategies students need 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 and use feedback on their own work, through self-reflection, team input, and teacher advice, and ways to work iteratively and to see how parts add up to the whole. A wiki, blog, or a Web-based “desktop” application are some of the technology applications that can be considered to use in a project. A wiki is an easily edited Web page. Users create pages of sharable content using just a browser and the most basic markup language to format text, add Web links, or build new pages. Collaborators can write and edit together, from anywhere. Wikis are great tools for developing information that flows from many to many. A blog is an easily edited Web page, but in structure and flow it is more of a one-to-many delivery system, with one author controlling the contents. Viewers can comment on postings made by the author, but interaction in a blog is less of a free-for-all than a wiki. Blogs offer great tools for communicating about progress or milestones and to broadcast news related to the project. The concepts in this chapter relate to our topic/project because it helps me think of different management needs I should be putting into my project as well as what should be considered before starting a project with students. If we don’t know what to consider before starting a project, then we will struggle developing the project for the students. If this happens then the project may be a complete waste to do with the students.

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Reading Reflection #4

               The potential pitfalls in project design are long on activity, short on learning outcomes, technology layered over traditional practice, trivial thematic units, and overly scripted with many, many steps. If the projects is busy and long but reaches small or lower-order learning aims, it’s not worth investing your time or your students’ time. If learning aims are lofty and technology helps your students reach them, then the integration of technology is essential to the project. Thematic teaching is not necessarily project-based learning, but when examining thematic projects or creating your own, look for ways a theme elevates and connects the learning. As teachers, we need to be wary of over-prescriptive project plans that have many discrete steps.

                The best projects share important features. These features are loosely designed with the possibility of different learning paths, generative, causing students to construct meaning, center on a driving question or are otherwise structured for inquiry, and capture student interest through complex and compelling real-life or simulated experiences. Good projects also are realistic, and therefor cross multiple disciplines, reach beyond school to involve others, tap rich data or primary sources, are structured so students learn with and from each other, and have students working as inquiring experts might. They also get at 21^st-century skills and literacy, including communication, project management, and technology use, get at important learning dispositions, including persistence, risk-taking, confidence, resilience, self-reflection, and cooperation, and have students learn by doing.

                Project ideas come from everywhere. Some examples are 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 or interests, a classroom irritant put to educational use, or even a “mashup” of a great idea and a new tool. There are other ways where teachers can find project ideas.

                As teachers we must remember that our project exists within a context. We need to keep in mind as we plan the school calendar, curriculum sequence, student readiness, and student interest. To design a project we need to revisit the framework. We need to make a final list of learning objectives for core subjects and allied disciplines. We also need to decide on the specific 21^st-century skills we want to address. Then we identify learning dispositions we want to foster. Next we establish evidence of understanding. We need to imagine what students would know or be able to do once they have learned as well as how they would be different as learners and as people. After this we plan the project theme or challenge. We should strive for enough structure and enough flexibility to serve the needs of the project, and true-to-life connections. Lastly we plan entrée into the project experience. What are the first things you might say to get students’ attention and build excitement for the learning ahead?

                Concepts in this chapter relate to our project because as teachers creating a project, we need to be wary of the downsides in project designs so we don’t make the projects a waste of the students’ time as well as our own. This chapter helps me as a teacher know some of the qualities that the best projects share so as a teacher I can find or create projects that help the students’ knowledge grow.

Reading Reflection #4

    There are many pitfalls in project design but there are many ways to over come them. A potential pitfall would be having a very long activity/project but very little learning being done, this would be a waste of time for the students. The project should be "right sized", if the reference material is easily found the task is lower-order, at the level of recall and understanding. Other potential pitfalls would be, technology layered over traditional practice, trivial thematic units and overly scripted with many, many steps. This is why it is very important to go back to what we have learned in the chapters before and really put those ideas into practice when coming up with a project, so you don't end up with a pitfall in your activity.
     All good projects share the same distinguishing features when it comes to the main framework of the project. The best project share the same qualities and they are: loosely designed with the possibility of different learning paths; center on a driving question or are otherwise structured for inquire; are realistic and therefore cross multiple disciplines; get a 21-st century skills and literacy's, including communication, project management, and technology use. The book also explains many more but I believe to be the most important feature is have students learn by doing. Being hands on and working together is one of the most important ideas to project based learning.
      Good project ideas are everywhere and can be almost anything that will get the students working and learning together through project design and based learning. An idea can come from the classroom, a book being read in class or something the students really would like to learn more about. There really is no one single place or book that all your ideas will come from. To have a good, even, great project idea you need to have an open mind, even take many ideas from other teachers.
      The book breaks the ideas of designing your project into many steps, the first thing you must remember is that your project exists within a context. The school calendar, curriculum sequence you must follow as a teacher and well as students interests are all things you must keep in mind when putting together your project. The first idea would be to revisit the framework of project based learning. Come up with a project sketch, this should go into great detail and really explain what your project will be all about. Creating an asset map would also be a very good idea. This can really get the project going and break all your ideas down. The book really helps to break these ideas down into great detail but overall its very important to have a good framework of ideas down and how you will go about your ideas, to really start the basic design of your project.
    I believe this chapter concepts relate best to our projects in class. This chapter has been the most helpful to me by showing me the pitfalls to good and bad ideas, how I can start my project and what are good ideas. The best projects part of the chapter was really helpful to read and gave me a really great understanding of what I need to think about when starting my projects for this class and in the future.

Reading Reflection #3

     Every grade level and subject are focuses on a big idea, those big ideas are broken down to help the students with project based learning. Once you have understood the overarching concepts and processes you want your students to understand, figure out what ones are the most important. This will than help with the application or relevance in the real world, this will than help give you realistic ways to teach and guide your students. It will be hard to teach about one big idea, like earth science in the book but break that down and come up with ideas and teach off those instead. You want to remember to always come back to your big idea though.
      21st Century skills plays an important with your big ideas, this means you will need to look beyond the subject. Having a well-designed project  gets the students learning in ways they hadn't before.With project based learning  you can follow three different higher-order thinking skills and the many actions that go along with them. The three skills are: Analyze, really examine the big idea and project, have other teachers look over it or work in the communities like we talked about last chapter, really explain your ideas and points, compare and illustrate. Evaluate, this meaning you must take the time to really improve, debate you ideas, convince and overall assess what it is you want the students to really understand. Lastly create, you might need to adapt in the middle of a project but just be prepared to nothing is ever perfect. So be about to anticipate, combine, compose and imagine. I really like the ideas of reconsider, not just on a biography but anything that might be boring to students and that don't get them involved.
      I really liked the question that was being asked in the book about "21st-century literacy mean for today's learners?"I believe that we will look at books and writing paper in a new way, that will get the students excited to read about boring topics but making it fun with project based learning. "literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials with varying contexts." This goes way beyond just reading a book and writing a paper on it. Creativity needs to be put in place as well as innovation.These idea will help the students become independent.
      There are 8 really important essential learning funcations: 1) Ubiquity: learning inside and outside the classroom, and all the time. Taking the students outisde of the plan old classroom will help them open up and learn in new exciting ways, they can also be more hands on. Everything and everyday can be a new learning experience for a student so make sure to keep that in mind as well. 2) Deep learning or going beyond whats right in fornt of t you and the students, as the book says find "raw" information on the web. When students have to dig deeper and look hard for answers but in a fun way they are using a higher order of thinking. They might come up with a lot of imformation so get them using a new way of organiztion. 3) Making things visible discussable, start using digital tools, they are very hands on and fun for the students. 4) Expressing ourselves, sharing ideas, building community gets students on the web and share ideas with people all around the world. Maybe start up a blog to express personal ideas and than students can comment and share there ideas with them as well. 5) Collaboration- Teaching and learing with others is so important in the project based learning system, everything for the most part is done together in pairs or a large group. Collaboration will get the students sharing ideas and planning together. 6) Research, as a teacher you are coming up with the big idea and sub parts to the big ideas but once a project is put together let the kids have fun and do much of the research on there own. They arent looking in books for answers anymore but to the real world or thw web for help. 7) Project management: Planning and Organization, this will be very important when it comes to project based learning. Students need to learn to manage time, get feedback from others and have everything set and organized to make the project flow. 8) Reflection and lteration, once again deep learning happens when you look at all side and others points of view. It might help if you are stuck to look back at everything you have done up to that point. Get ideas out on the table and share what ypu have come up with together, maybe you missed something and others can help.
   All these concepts will need to be put in place when it comes to our project, only because they are important to project based learning but because they will help to shape are ideas and be able to come out with something really great for the students. All these ideas will shape how we plan and teach for the 21st student, using all new ideas and ways.

Virtual PenPals and Google Map

Virtual PenPals and Google Map

Over the Ocean and through the English Woods to London, UK We Go

Michigan and London, UK

This map shows the distance between the United States and London, England. We want to show the distance between Michigan and London. London is further North than Michigan is, so we want our students to communicate with other students in London, England to see if they have similar or different weather conditions than Michigan does during the current season.

Reading Reflection #3

            “The Big Idea” for a project should have students invested in their learning. Thinking about real-world contexts helps to reveal the interdisciplinary nature of a project. “The Big Idea” for a project should incorporate science, math modeling, language arts, and civics. Students can use technology in order to find out information about “the Big Idea,” and students will have learning opportunities they normally wouldn’t have without project-based learning.

                The 21st Century skills for project-based learning are particularly relevant to the last three Bloom categories of objectives: analyze, evaluate, and create. Analyzing means to examine, explain, investigate, characterize, classify, compare, deduce, differentiate, discriminate, illustrate, and/or prioritize the information the student have gathered about “the Big Idea.” Evaluating means to judge, select, decide, justify, verify, improve, defend, debate, convince, recommend, and assess the information that the student has analyzed. Creating means to adapt, anticipate, combine, compose, invent, design, imagine, propose, theorize, and/or formulate new ideas, questions, and mini projects to “the Big Idea.” By analyzing, evaluating, and creating through project-based learning, students are able to expand their intelligence in ways traditional learning activities do not.

                The 21st Century learning literacies highlight digital-age literacy, inventive thinking, effective communication, and high productivity. 21st Century learning literacies have incorporated core subjects such as mathematics, science, language arts, etc., along with 21st Century content (global awareness, entrepreneurial and civic literacy, and health awareness), learning and thinking skills (critical thinking, problem solving, communication, creativity, collaboration, and information and media literacy), information and communications technology literacy, and life skills such as leadership, self-direction, accountability, and adaptability. 21st Century literacy can basically be broken down to be explained as learning to be independent, aware, and productive citizens.

                The essential learning functions are: 1) ubiquity-learning inside and outside the classroom, and all the time, 2) deep learning, 3) making things visible and discussable, 4) expressing ourselves, sharing ideas, building community, 5) collaboration – teaching and learning with others, 6) research, 7) project management – planning and organization, and 8) reflection and iteration. Ubiquity is when students are given the opportunity to learn anytime, anywhere, and with whomever they want to learn it with inside and outside of the classroom. Deep learning is when students are engages to navigate, sort, organize, analyze, and make graphical representations in order to learn and express learning. Making things visible and discussable can help students share ideas about the material being shown to promote conversation between students. With technology becoming so widely used, students have many ways of expression themselves, sharing their ideas, and building communities through websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Projects invite collaboration and help us learn together. There are many different things students and teachers alike can do with each other such as share writing and reading. Students now-a-days look to the World Wide Web for research. Search engines can help find materials that are related to “the Big Idea” being researched. Project management helps students manage their time, work, sources, feedback from others, drafts, and products during projects. By reflection and iterating on their own work, students can determine the difference between what is acceptable and masterful work. Students deep learn when they examine ideas from all sides and from other points of views.

                The concepts of this chapter relate to our project because we have a “Big Idea,” weather monitoring. This “Big Idea” needs to be researched, analyzed, evaluates, and created into a project that will get students to have a deeper understanding of weather besides the temperate, the precipitation, and the clouds outside. By researching “the Big Idea” through many different features just as this chapter states, we can create a lesson plan that will help students understand why the days become longer near the summer time and shorter during the winter instead of just understanding that the days are longer during the summer than in the winter. This chapter relates to our project because as teachers we also need to have project management. We need to plan accordingly and be organized.