When starting up a project, there
are some things that need to be considered such as the resources, the what and
the who. There are several questions that you can ask yourself in order to
pinpoint what you will need to begin. “What materials will you need? Will your
project involve the use of technologies that are new to your students? Will you
need to expand your students’ access to technology? Will you students need
access to experts to answer questions that are apt to come up during your
project?” Each of these questions that you can ask yourself will get you to
think about what you will need for your project and tell you more about how to
make the project successful.
Projects
will require management skills from both the teacher and the students. The book
lists several for each of them. The
teachers project management skills need to include tools for communicating with
students and others about the project. This is one of the most important for me
because communication plays an extremely key role. There is nothing more
frustrating than being assigned a project or assignment and not getting enough
instruction from the teacher. This makes it hard to give your best work. When
the students and the teacher can communicate properly, everyone is on the same
page and better results will come from that. One of the most important project
management tool for students is to help them manage their time and flow of
work. Procrastination happens to the best of us, and it is important to help
our students learn to split their time efficiently and get things done one step
at a time, so they aren’t stuck at the end scrambling to do everything at once.
There are
many technology applications that could be considered for a project. “The
simplest way to begin using the Web to support projects may be to build a
project wiki.” This makes it easy to branch other things. Make announcements,
add links, and even make more pages for communication. Personalized web pages
are also a way for students to integrate technology into their projects.
This directly
relates to what we are doing in class, again because of what we are working on
in our groups. When we are constructing lessons and projects for our “students”
it is important to ask questions first, in order to make it as successful as
possible. It also helps narrow down which skills are the most vital such as
communication and time management.
I also thought that communication between teachers and students is key. If the teacher is unclear with what exactly the students need to do then frustration will pile up on both ends. The communication has to be there also by the students if they are confused or do not understand their tasks. Communication is key!
ReplyDeleteMargaret, I enjoyed reading your reflection, and seeing what you had to say for each question. I agree, before starting a project, it is important ask yourself questions and make sure that your project has all the components to make your project successful and run as smoothly as possible. I liked how you talked about one point of management skills for the student and teacher that you thought was the most important. Like you said and as it says in the book, students need help with managing their time, because like majority of us, we leave work until the last minute. It is helpful that when a teacher assigns a project, to have due dates so often for certain parts, that way students won’t leave their work until the day before or day of. I think the management tool needed for teachers can go both ways (teachers and students), teachers need to be able to communicate with their students, because what if something changes, or want to update students on something and also teachers need to communicate with individuals that are helping with the project. I agree there is nothing more frustrating when the teacher doesn’t communicate with students and check in with them. It’s also important for students to communicate with one another. Good job on your reflection!
ReplyDeleteI really like when you said communication between a student and teacher is key because I've had a few teachers where I actually found it hard to learn because they were so hard to communicate with.
ReplyDeleteI really like when you said communication between a student and teacher is key because I've had a few teachers where I actually found it hard to learn because they were so hard to communicate with.
ReplyDelete