JOURNAL 4

The article, Designing to Learn, by Diane McGrath focuses on increased Project Based Learning (PBL) in classrooms. I am very much in favor of this type of learning, but as stated in the article it is vary hard to balance it with the other duties of the day and week. I have organized and carried out projects that required designing a project, planning it out, presenting it to an audience and turning in a final draft or artifact. These types of projects are fun for the students, but can become nightmares for teachers if they are not managed well. We as educators know that different students work at different paces, some are more dedicated to personal achievement than others, and most importantly students have different ideas or concepts regarding organization. The key to developing a successful artifact via a PBL is stated early on in the article. It is the teacher’s responsibility to be sure that he or she have the following skills and abilities, as well as, arm the students with these same tools. They are research skills, organizational skills, develop understanding and useful meaning of the artifact, ability to present it to an audience, self evaluate, receive peer evaluations, and willingness to revise.

Questions:

1. What if I do not have the confidence to successfully prepare my students and complete a Project Based Learning assignment or artifact?
As a teacher nobody is asking you to reinvent the wheel. Use your coworkers as help. They may have a PBL assignment for beginners that can introduce students taking on such projects. Taking baby steps in order to reach mastery of a skill is not a crime.

2. How often can I use PBL in my classroom?
That depends on you. If you feel that you teach more effectively and your students absorb information better using PBL assignments than use it that best suits your classroom and teaching techniques. It is important to be aware that the students are not getting too carried away with the project itself and keep in mind that there is a goal of mastering a specific subject matter and learning standard.

JOURNAL 3

In Jim Paterson’s article, “A War of Words”, many valid points are voiced on how to control the problem of plagiarism or teach students what to recognize it in their own work before publishing a body of writing. In my own experiences I remember being taught what plagiarism was, but never taught how to recognize it in my own work. I really found it interesting how a librarian at an Elementary school was able to develop a program to create student awareness at multiple grade levels. In the article she was able to gain a second graders perspective on how to identify that the concept of plagiarism is wrong. Immediately, I linked it to how as young children we are taught at an early age that the concept of taking something that does not belong to us is stealing and that it is wrong, not to mention illegal. Why not incorporate those same principles and guidelines when teaching writing. What are the actions we as educators are taking to teach students about plagiarism as opposed to just policing written bodies of work?

Questions:

1. How early is too early to begin to teach students about plagiarism?
It is never too early to begin teaching students the definition of plagiarism, forms of plagiarism and how to properly site their sources. It is in the students best long term interest to be informed how plagiarism is unacceptable in any form and the severe repercussions that may follow. As soon as the students are exposed to the principles of summarizing and paraphrasing it is the time to begin teaching them how to cite resources properly if they are using ideas other than their own

2. Are the programs that are out there designed to patrol plagiarism doing more harm then good?
I think that those who are designing these programs are on the right track, but may be incorporating them in ineffective ways. For example, instead of using many of these programs to catch students after the fact, it may serve as a more effective tool to use it as a formal lesson to assist students in recognizing and avoiding plagiarism.

JOURNAL 2

In the article, “Infusion or Integration” by Kimberly Ketterer an interesting question is brought up. The question is, “What are schools today actually doing with instructional technology?” I do not know the answer to that question. I have had the experience of teaching in two different school districts and have had two totally different eperiences with the use of technological resources available. Both schools had computers available to students. The main difference I noticed was the computers were located in the library at one school where I never witnessed students using the computers, only teachers. The second school had their computers located in the media center, which also served as their library, and there were session times and dates for students to learn how to use the computers and the programs installed provided by the media center director, also known as the school librarian. As an elementary school educator, I feel that it is my responsibility to provide a foundation, at the least, in the use of technology for each of my students. Therefore, in the future they will have the tools to infuse or integrate technology to their educational career as deemed necessary.

Questions:

1. How can I be more efficient in integrating technological devices in my classroom?
If you do not feel completely comfortable with or you feel overwhelmed by the use of technological devices accessible to you then focus on one devise to master. When you can work with the device at a stable comfort level or have developed a sense of mastery and you feel you are ready to move on to a second technology device then proceed to the next device of your choice and add to your technological abilities at your own pace. Each time you can infuse and integrate your new skills to your classroom. Think of it in terms of adding to a personal portfolio of technological skills.

2. What devise should I begin with?
Begin with the devise that you feel you have the strongest understanding, or skill level. Also, choose one that you will be able to get the most support from your peers and immediate production from your students.

JOURNAL 1

In the article, “Power of the Mashup, by Suzie Boss and Jane Krauss a spectacular way of developing student participation and interest has been put into action by combining old ideas of the past with new ideas using technology. This provides hope for teachers who find it difficult to capture student interests in such topics as Literature and History. Though they are two of my favorite subjects, they are not always the easiest to keep interesting to young children. The article describes sort of a virtual reality trip students can create as they follow a particular body of literature or historical time period. I incorporates a visually stimulating images that go with the given topic to increase understanding and interest. I have always looked for new and innovating projects when teaching to these subjects in order to maintain student interest. The ideas expressed in the article are not only fun for kids, but serve a secondary, yet important, purpose which is learning new and useful technological skills as they work on their project.

Questions:

1. How can a teacher with low technological capabilities use some of these ideas in their classroom?
That is the great part about this project. There is a website called Google Lit Trips that demonstrates how this works. It is probably a good idea for the instructor interested to create their own lit trip using a favorite novel of theirs to test and record their findings. This way the instructor can experience and predict problems students may come across during the process Instructor can learn from them their own triumphs and failures to aid his or her students.

2. What if I do not have enough technological resources to utilize this for an entire classroom?
This type of project would be ideal for an extra credit opportunity or for those overachieving students who seem to finish class work or class projects quicker than the rest of the class. Students can work on this independent project during that extra class time in teams or individually. The students creating a Lit Trip can complete a project for pleasure of for school or district wide academic competitions.