I just made some updates to the international project wiki. I did some searching for links we can use during the project. I also finalized the driving question/statement we will use for the project. Tim's suggestion was perfect and I just added and clarified a few things.
I have a few more things to do for tomorrow so that we really have a full view of what we are doing and just clean up some of the small details. One of the things we have to work on asap is gathering the expert resources. This is the greatest part of a project but also takes some time to coordinate with potential experts' schedule.
Can't wait to continue going tomorrow.
Showing posts with label international project planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label international project planning. Show all posts
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Going Into Overdrive
I was scheduled to talk with Tim again today but had to postpone. I didn't get a chance to work on the project like I wanted. I need to update the wiki to include resources we need to use. One of the major components of a PBL is the use of experts and multiple books or sites for information. I want to make sure we both can get experts so that students hear from both countries. We will need to discuss if we will video tape the experts when they visit the class and put it on the Ning so both classes can benefit.
I also have to get going on the first few projects of the school year. School starts in a week. My goal is to have at least one project for each unit of study. For the first time, I will try having PBL being the way to teach a concept rather than using it to see if students understood a concept taught in other fashions. My goal is to have students interested in learning the concepts because they want to answer the client's problem.
There is a lot of work to do....
I also have to get going on the first few projects of the school year. School starts in a week. My goal is to have at least one project for each unit of study. For the first time, I will try having PBL being the way to teach a concept rather than using it to see if students understood a concept taught in other fashions. My goal is to have students interested in learning the concepts because they want to answer the client's problem.
There is a lot of work to do....
Thursday, August 7, 2008
International Planning
The planning process is really getting on a roll. I really enjoy working with Tim. For someone who has never done project based learning, he is full of great ideas. I have to admit, this is not working out like I thought it. I anticipated some challenges.
I haven't always been a teacher. When I entered the education world, I was amazed at how little collaboration occurred. In all my previous careers, I was always getting assistance and working with team mates. You are pretty much on your own in this arena and people are not always willing to help you or their help is limited. I am glad to be at a schools where I had some teachers who were willing to work together but it has still been limited. I expected Tim to have a lot of reservations. I was so WRONG! HE IS SO AWESOME! I wished we worked together all the time.
We had a great conversation this week. We went through the pbwiki page that we are using to plan the project. I explained that this form is something I got from Buck Institute for Education but am willing to adapt if he knows something else. He was completely flexible with using the form and I guided him through the parts. He had great suggestions from the very beginning and said their is an assessment form the school uses that we may both be able to incorporate into the project. Like probably many teachers, he thought his technology skills were weak and that I am some guru. I quickly assured him that he is better than most people I know as we went through voicethreads together. We had a lot of laughs that night.
Since our conversation, he has made some changes to the wiki that are absolutely fantastic. He also emailed me with great ideas of what to name the ning. We are so glad we are working on planning this so far before the September 15th launch date. I believe the planning time is the fundamental difference between PBL and regular teaching. It requires a lot of planning but the execution is very easy and the learning is rich and lasting. However, regular teaching doesn't require more than a day or week planning but is really tasking when it is executed and students commonly don't remember anything beyond the test.
Next week, I meet with my team mates to discuss goals and structure of the team. I am hoping we can start discussing doing a joint project again. I have one new team mate that I think will want to jump right on board. She is already into doing alternative teaching methods.
Did I say how excited I am? I AM SO EXCITED!
I haven't always been a teacher. When I entered the education world, I was amazed at how little collaboration occurred. In all my previous careers, I was always getting assistance and working with team mates. You are pretty much on your own in this arena and people are not always willing to help you or their help is limited. I am glad to be at a schools where I had some teachers who were willing to work together but it has still been limited. I expected Tim to have a lot of reservations. I was so WRONG! HE IS SO AWESOME! I wished we worked together all the time.
We had a great conversation this week. We went through the pbwiki page that we are using to plan the project. I explained that this form is something I got from Buck Institute for Education but am willing to adapt if he knows something else. He was completely flexible with using the form and I guided him through the parts. He had great suggestions from the very beginning and said their is an assessment form the school uses that we may both be able to incorporate into the project. Like probably many teachers, he thought his technology skills were weak and that I am some guru. I quickly assured him that he is better than most people I know as we went through voicethreads together. We had a lot of laughs that night.
Since our conversation, he has made some changes to the wiki that are absolutely fantastic. He also emailed me with great ideas of what to name the ning. We are so glad we are working on planning this so far before the September 15th launch date. I believe the planning time is the fundamental difference between PBL and regular teaching. It requires a lot of planning but the execution is very easy and the learning is rich and lasting. However, regular teaching doesn't require more than a day or week planning but is really tasking when it is executed and students commonly don't remember anything beyond the test.
Next week, I meet with my team mates to discuss goals and structure of the team. I am hoping we can start discussing doing a joint project again. I have one new team mate that I think will want to jump right on board. She is already into doing alternative teaching methods.
Did I say how excited I am? I AM SO EXCITED!
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