Reading Reflection 5

Brittney Cox

Reading Reflection 5

            There should be many things considered before starting a project with students.  First the teacher needs to have done thoughtful preparation to ensure there will not be confusion that could have been avoided.  Time needs to be invested wisely and we must be sure the resources we will need is available.  Boss says “effective time management, teaming, and assessment” (p 75) needs to be addressed prior to the introduction.

            Teachers project-management needs are “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- engaged in a variety of learning tasks at the same time, and assessment tools and strategies” (p 84-85).  Students project-management needs are “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 work, through self-reflection, team input, and teacher advice, and ways to work iteratively and to see how parts add up to the whole” (p 85).  To be successful both the teacher, and the students, need to be prepared.

            There are many technology applications we can use in our classrooms.  Some of these applications are: wiki, blogs, Flickr, Skype, and ClustrMap.  Each one of these applications can be helpful if the teacher is prepared and have specific uses for each.  The students will have freedom to create projects that are relevant to their lives because these technologies support creativity. 

            Our students in the project we have created will be emailing pen pals through a trusted web site, which is much like the technology application I have discussed above.  We did not plan for our students to use Skype for this project, but that could possibly be an option if we were able to set something up with the students from around the world.  We want to use technology in our project in an effective way.