Chapter 8

for this chapter talks about branching out and building connections there are three parts it is broken down into the first one is connecting with experts, when the projects are designed based on inquiry asking questions of experts becomes a huge part of the learning experience.sometimes this connection to me about the teacher introducing things online to make it connect with the students are learning. Can I do your students with expert will take some effort on the teachers part but you can start by developing a list of Willy experts. Knowing the skills of your students parents is a good place to begin you can give them surveys and then you can use those for years to come. But if they don't have the expertise you're looking for they might know someone who does. The next section is expanding the learning circle, this is saying you should reach out and expand your learning community to not just your classroom or your school but finding participants from other districts, cities, states, countries or continents. And the third one is simply communicating your findings.you need to find authentic opportunities for your students to share their research or advocate for a cause to make it more powerful.
Knowing that it brings us into the EAST Inititive Model. This stands for the environmental and spatial technologies. Which is simply demonstrating the benefits of using technology for real purpose or to solve problems and make improvements in their communities. They use geospatial technologies and Moulton media tools there more found in professional settings but now used by students in applying them to problems that interest them.
I believe this ties into letting the students leave their own projects. You want to start with an idea that they care about and then have them work through it they will be more passionate about it.
Turning this into our project I believe it is important that students leave their own projects and there's a lot of wiggle room with an art project for the students to go their own direction.

Chapter 7

in chapter 7 there are three levels of classroom discussion. The first one is teacher to teacher:this is when the teachers get together and talk about the procedure all the way to the formative assessment. And how about their going to plan the lesson, and the direction that they're going. This is important to have the face-to-face collaboration with your colleagues you can use a blog, or other collaborative tools to keep your teacher to teacher conversation going. The second one is outlined is student to student: this is on students talk about their learning experiences as they happen within their teams and also across other teams. This will help with good communication and effective teamwork to help keep them organized and on track. As a teacher you want to make sure that you are listening to the students conversations. The third and outlined a student to teacher: and traditional classrooms it's for lecture and then the interaction of students have with the teacher due to election but this will change with a project-based classroom.
Therefore types of questions for checking in they are procedural, teamwork, understanding, and self-assessment. The first is procedural this is good for checklists and monitoring student project logs. The second is teamwork giving them a safe place to raise concerns and ask help if they need it they can also Ask questions using a blog or journal having them write entries. The third one is understanding you want to spend time watching the teams work listen and conversation while asking and solving problems. The last One is self-assessment, you want to ask students questions for self-assessment and sulfur flexion again journals or blobs offer space for the students to describe the challenges of frustration and ask questions that they might not be comfortable asking out loud or they can even just share how excited they are about the project.
When it comes to optimizing technology in the classroom you want to make sure that the tools the students are using meet learning goals and don't poses a distraction. Students respond positively to the experience of learning the technology, it gives them an alternative way of presenting The information you can make it fun while still reaching the learning expectation.
For the 21st-century skills they talk about troubleshooting and managing conflict within teamwork. Troubleshooting helps distinguish the effectiveness of the project. The students for understand that real world projects come with real-world challenges, and learn from setbacks and help them get back on track. For managing conflict this can be challenging because of different personalities do you have to pay close attention to team dynamics you to talk trouble you to help the students learn to manage their own team conflict. Again it is a real life skill that will serve them in music on in the real world with jobs and other opportunities.
For my project we are using Skype, the Internet and ePals,  students are going to have to work together and overcome challenges with troubleshooting and managing conflict with in their teams. It also talks about the questions for the students and I will have to make sure to ask these questions to students along with having them ask questions and work together with in their groups.

Reading Reflection: Chapter 8

Chapter 8 was all about building connections and branching out.  Some ways to build connections and branch out beyond the classroom include connecting with experts, expanding the learning circle, communicating findings.  Each of the ways to branch out that were discussed in the book all made great points and things I think are important for teachers to remember.  Connecting with experts would allow students to do just as it says connect with experts which allows students to ask questions of experts which then becomes a learning part that they get use to doing.  Expanding the learning circle reaches out to include other classrooms, districts, businesses, and even to other parts of the world which gives students a cultural experience and huge learning potentials. Communicating their findings is an important part because in many cases students are conducting research to raise awareness for a real world problem and if so then they need to communicate their findings so that others are aware and more is done/change is made. All three of those are important and are great things for students to learn.  The EAST Initiative Model was developed first by Tim Stephenson. The EAST Initiative started in rural Arkansas in 1996 and since it has been developed it has grown to include more than 260 different students from second grade up to the post secondary grades. This allows students to use technology for a real purpose and to demonstrate the benefits of it.  I like the point that Matt Dozier said on page 133 “Technology is the hook we use to get kids into significant projects and to get communities into significantly wanting to support those projects”.  I agree with him and also think that technology is the hook that we (teachers) use to get kids interested in something because our society is growing on technology so it comes natural to many students and because of that it might as well be used to its full potential.  I think it is important for students to lead their projects because if they are able to choose what they want to do then they are more likely to be passionate about it and interested in it therefore they will be eager to work on it and excited for class.  I think letting students lead their projects is the “hook” to get them interested.  By having a project being student lead it makes the student accountable and responsible for their own learning, they are engaged in learning, and they are taking on their own learning and the teacher is supporting them.  This chapter has related to my groups topic/project because we are leading our project as a group but it was a topic we all wanted to do, we are learning how to use different tools that we can use in the future for student tools, and we use the blogg/elearning/google docs all as a discussion place where we are able to connect with each other and with other classmates.  This chapter was interesting to read and brought up a lot of useful things that I can see myself using in the future. 

Chapter 6 Reflection

What is super awesome about this chapter, Project Launch--Implementation Strategies is that it reflects on how students can reflect and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and grow within their work. Examples of this is having a blog just like I am using here. The students have their own space in order to write and reflect on their learning. They can post as much as they want, they can also add to previous blogs.
The chapter also covers ways that students/teachers can get the students ready to do their projects. To begin with you should tap into prior knowledge, or using K-W-L charts.  Each day have the students for a few minutes, this could bring up more ideas they have, or ones they are still interested in. This way the excitement will build and get them ready for the project.
The elements of teaching fundamentals first are important because students need to understand what is expected and what the goal of the project is before they start it and before it gets to far in to it and they are lost. There are some elements of teaching that are important; Setting up a technology playground. Tapping student expertise, introducing project-management tools and then ending with demonstrating the tools for the students. They all are important for setting the students up for achievement for the project.
There are ways to promote inquiry and deep learning. Students should understand that there is a relationship between need and opportunity. Also money, bartering and other means of exchange as existed throughout history and will always change. Modern money has a symbolic worth as an exchange medium, economics, health and well-being are actually related. And humans are interdependent.
This relates to my project because with deep learning and inquiry, I want my students to have a deep understanding in their learning, and want them to want to learn.

Reading Reflection Eight- Chapter 8

I think having an authentic audience means a lot to student. Not only does it get them more excited about the work they are doing, but it makes it more meaningful too. It is no longer just an assignment for a grade. They can be encouraged knowing that others will see it and appreciate all the hard work they put into it. Using technology to share their work also opens a lot of doors. Parents are always going to love their child’s work, but using technology opens the door to all sorts of different audiences.

This same technology also allows students to learn from others. Teachers will not always know everything and with technology students can find an expert in their area and reach out for more in depth information. Having a plan for connecting with experts is important. While students’ work may take a different course than originally planned, the teacher can do what they can to think ahead and think on their feet when necessary. When possible it is important to do research on who would make a good expert, if they’re willing to help, and how best to utilize their help. I also like the idea of creating a list of experts. This could come in handy if students develop a line of questions that was not expected, you can still find an expert willing to help. Using parent is another good idea, they are easily accessible and a lot of parents can bring a lot to the classroom.

Preparing students is important as well. Having the best expert in the world is not going to be helpful for students if they do not have specific goals in mind, or how best to communicate with the expert. Of course there is the technical aspect as well, learning to use the technology necessary to actually communicate. As a student teacher, I also like the point that it can be mutually beneficial. College students can offer a lot in an elementary school while getting experience working with students. Connecting with others through technology does not always have to mean connecting with an expert either.

Technology breaks down barriers that prevent students from connecting with each other. When I was in school you would hear about pen pals every now and then, but students today are not as limited. With use of the Internet students can connect with students across the country, or across the globe. I really liked reading about how teachers are using this to give their students the chance to experience new things and different places.

Using these connections to form a project around something that is actually meaningful to students adds a lot as well. Students can step outside of the classroom and get into actual real world problems, and find something they can do to make a difference. When this is combined with global connections, it can really grow into something significant. This kind of grows into letting students lead a project as well. If they find something they really care about they could be given the chance to create a project around it.

Reading Reflection Chapter 7

Chapter seven pointed out a great point on page 113 which stated “keeping a project moving requires teachers to support students on their learning journey” this quote I think is something that I think teachers need to remember as it is important.  This chapter discusses the levels of classroom discussions which includes teacher to teacher, student to student, and teacher to student.  Teacher to teacher is a conversation between two teachers or a group of teachers which gives them a chance to communicate and is a collaborative tool to keep your teacher to teacher conversations going.  Student to student is to get students communicating about their learning experiences as they are happening to deepen their learning.  Lastly is teacher to student which I think is extremely important because it keeps the connection open, this method as the chapter pointed out “is ideal for practicing your own listening skills and asking probing questions that push students toward higher order thinking”.  Getting students to higher order thinking is a key thing that teachers need to implement because it will only give them a higher level of understanding and knowledge.  I found it interesting that “60 percent of the questions asked by teachers are lower-order questions, calling for recall or recitation of facts.  Another 20 percent are higher order questions asking for evaluation or analysis, and 20 percent are simply procedural”.  I am shocked that more teachers do not use higher order questioning but maybe it is because they are not as educated about it.  This is something I can connect to my lesson/topic/project because we use higher order questioning to deepen learning.  There are ways for teachers to check in on student progress to help you as the teacher make adjustments to the project/lesson.  Depending on the questions and information you want a teacher can ask the following types of questions; procedural, teamwork, understanding, and self-assessment.  The more questions a teacher asks students the higher level of learning they will get which is why higher level questioning is so important.  There are benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology but teachers need to be monitoring and paying attention to simple things like is the technology helping students reach the learning goals you as the teacher set, is it helping them stay organized, is it accessible, are they expanding their horizons by using the technology, all of those and many more can help to optimize the use of technology.  The topic of group dynamics was interesting and groups work if everyone does their part and pulls their own weight. I have had groups that I have loved working with and ones I have hated working with but overall I would still implement them in my classroom but I would be sure to pay attention to them to make sure that it’s not one student doing it all and that it is equal participation. This chapter has been very interesting and I am enjoying the book and all the great information it has.

Reading Reflection Seven- Chapter 7

The opening story about walking speeds really demonstrates the mindset of students these days. They have always had Google to fall back on, and probably trust the answers they get with out further investigation. I really like how the teachers handled it and pushed students to not just accept the first answer they got. In the end they still did the experiment, but it was on their terms and they were probably more invested in it than they might have been if the teachers just told them not to use Google. It also really demonstrates the points that the author was trying to make, teacher’s need to take into account where students are while staying flexible but still moving toward learning goals.

Discussions can be key in facilitating learning. I like that this chapter breaks down the different types of discussions that can take place. Normally people would only think of teacher to student discussions because that is most common. But teachers are also talking to other teachers to get ideas, support, or help. Students talking to each other is also a very powerful tool, just as teachers bounce ideas off each other, students can talk through tough topics with other students to come up with ideas and problem solve.

Higher-ordered questioning is an idea I am pretty familiar with, but struggle with in practice. Some questions come naturally through discussion, but there still has to be some thought and planning of how to push students more and challenge their thinking. I like the idea of students coming up with the questions, and realizing that teachers will not always have all the answers. Wait time is also an important component of questioning. Students will have higher quality answers if they have time to think through a response, rather than shoot off the first thing that comes to mind. Using questioning to check in with students is a good idea. Questioning has many purposes and it can be a great tool to keep track of all the different areas students are at.

Technology is always going to be there in projects, and it is important to stop every now and then and make sure technology is serving a role. Students have the potential to easily get off track and use technology for personal use. By questioning the use of technology and having students question what technology is best it can be ensured the project will stay on track. Of course, technology will also break down. I like that this chapter brings this to light and talks about ways for students to trouble shoot and learn how not only to work with technology, but fix it when necessary.

Team contracts are a great idea. I know I always hated group projects because it would seem like I was doing the majority of the work. If students are held accountable, and know exactly what is expected of them the team can run much more smoothly. I think the contract will help students really learn to function as a team, not just take a backseat role as others work.

Reading Reflection Chapter 6

Technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strategies by providing them with opportunities to build their awareness of the skills they need and have.  Some examples of this include the use of blogs which give students the opportunity to have their own space to reflect on what they are learning and they can post as often as they want and the length of the post can be up to them giving them control of their learning. Another example is using tools like SurveyMonkey which allow teachers to set up surveys online that students can see how they compare to other and it can also be a way for teachers to get fast feedback on how students are doing. Encouraging students is a hard task sometimes but getting and preparing students minds for a project is another task teachers are faced with. There are many ways to get students minds ready for a project but some ways I think would work would be using a KWL chart because it starts with what the students prior knowledge is, teachers find out what they want to know/learn, and then finally after the project is complete what they learned. Using KWL charts is something that I have done before and it has been successful every time. Asking student’s questions or having them respond by writing out what they know to the given topic is another way to see what students know before starting a project. There are many ways and it is important for the teacher to find the one that works best with their class. The elements of teaching fundamentals first are important because students need to understand what is expected and what the goal of the project is before they start it and before it gets to far in to it and they are lost. The important steps in preparing students for using technology in a project include the following: setting up a technology playground, tap student expertise, introduce project-management tools, and lastly demonstrate. All of the steps are important in creating a project that works for your students and encourages learning at a higher level of thinking and understanding. There are many ways to promote inquiry and deep learning include guiding students, encouraging students to ask questions, and promoting questioning that will promote students to think deeper and more into the project. Something important I found from this chapter was on page 95, “the act of self-assessment causes students to think about their capabilities and how they direct their own learning”.  This was something that stuck out to me as I read because assessing what students know before the assignment or project and then after with questioning or other progress monitoring techniques are important because it teaches students to reflect and to think about their learning and also about how they learn. Assessment was a focus in my education and I think it was designed that way because of the high importance it holds for teachers and students. This relates to my groups project because we are continually looking for ways to assess our students and for our project ways to see that they know and understand the concept being learned. This chapter was interesting to read and as always interesting to see how it connects in with project based learning and everything we are learning in class.

Reading Reflection Six- Chapter 6

I like that self-assessment is addressed. While project-based learning is definitely student centered, it is important that the students come to realize that and come to take control of their own learning. Self-assessment gives students that time to reflect on their learning, and see areas that maybe need improvement, but also areas that they excel in. Hopefully students will see a big difference in their self-assessment before and after a project, especially if it is their first time with project-based learning. These skills to think critically about themselves will also play a role outside of school, when students are faced with job interviews and they have to know themselves enough to sell what they can do to a future employer, and be upfront about any pitfalls they may have.

Introducing the project in advance and getting students excited about the project is a good point. Teachers can prepare a great project, but if students are not interested or invested in the project, it will not succeed. Challenging students to explore what they don’t know, and getting them excited to do so is an important step within the project-based learning system. Getting technology involved from the start is also a great idea. Students will know right away that this is not another mindless activity; it will be something interactive and more engaging.

Another point that I really liked was sharing the rubric upfront. This concept seems obvious, let the students know what is expected of them, but I feel like a lot of the time it just doesn’t happen. By creating the rubric, and putting it in terms that students understand, there should be no confusion over what is being asked. Students will be able to focus on their work with out getting waded down in small details, or wondering what more they need to be doing.

Learning about technology before hand also plays into letting students focus on their work. Technology can be great, but if students do not know how to use it, it will slow down the process and take away from the experience. Both the ideas of having a technology playground, and having students help each other seem like really good ways for students to become familiar with the material. In both cases students are still in charge of their own learning and get the chance to explore the material before they actually need it. I liked that they did include options for more teacher directed tutorials as well, because sometimes explicit instruction is needed to fully grasp an idea, or in this case the technology needed.

The idea of promoting inquiry really sticks out to me, because it seems like one of the center ideas of project-based learning. If students are going to be in charge of their own learning they really have to guide the project based on what they want to learn more about, and ask those questions to steer the conversation. Of course the teacher does have to act as a guide of some sort, or else conversations and projects could get way off course from what was intended.