I agree with chapter three that knowing the core concepts and processes of a subject is the first step of project planning. If a teacher doesn't know much about the topic or subject then they won't be able to create the best project possible for their students to become engaged in. Teachers should think about what is most important for their students to learn about the subject and then decide if a text book is the best option for teaching them the information. Unfortunately, text books are extremely limited to the information that is contained within them. If teachers believe that there is more information that is necessary to be taught to the students beyond the what is written in the text book then they should choose a different approach rather than having the students read a text book. A different option would be having students create projects and learn through experience. This allows the students to become involved with technology while learning the information that is most important for them to learn in that subject. There are so many different ways for teachers to have students become aware of the new technology that is surrounding them in their every day lives on a constant basis. Instead of sheltering the students from using the technology that is at their fingertips, teachers should teach the students how to become familiar with the technology and the proper ways of using it. For example, a teacher in the chapter decided to use MySpace as a means for the students to learn about Romeo and Juliet. She had an educational purpose for the use of MySpace which is what she was able to communicate to someone if she were to be questioned about her teaching choices. The purpose was to educate students and parents about online security. This teacher decided that MySpace was the most obvious way of teaching this because most of her students already had MySpace accounts and they were able to explore a topic and the safe uses of MySpace.
When teachers think about creating a project they should be replacing the word project with passion and rethink about the idea they had in mind. If the teacher doesn't think that the students would be passionate about their research then they should rethink the project they have created. This means that the projects should be interesting and important. The students shouldn't be groaning, saying "why do we have to do this...this is dumb", like many students said about projects when I was in school.
This chapter informs the reader of 8 essential learning functions: Ubiquity; deep learning; making things visible and discussable; expressing ourselves, sharing ideas, building community; collaboration--teaching and learning with others; research; project management: planning and organization; reflection and iteration. These are important for teachers to keep in mind when teaching their students about a topic and having them work in groups on a project.
I liked your observation on the teacher that used MySpace for teaching students about Romeo and Juliet. By using tools and technologies that students are already familiar with and are using everyday, we can cut out instruction time and get right into the core of our lesson. Students are already using MySpace (or today, it could be Facebook), and we as teachers should take notes from the teacher in the text, and integrate modern technologies to get students motivated and involved. I like that you mentioned that the teacher also explored safe uses of MySpace- if we are going to integrate technology- especially social networking sites- into the classroom, it is necessary to also educate our students on how to use them safely and effectively.
ReplyDelete