Final reflection for PBL class

The roll I think I played was that of contributor. Of the three people in my group: one was very good with technology; one with writing and organizing, and one as ongoing contributor and 'looker over'. I would probably work differently next time in that I would want to add more of my discipline in the project-I think this is important.

I was definitely happy with our final project-I think that we did a good job! People were a bit confused because I think they did not understand where we were coming from-maybe we could add something in there about that.

I would come in with more ideas but it was a little difficult because we struggled so much the first week so I just went with the flow. We really worked well the last week of class.

Rebekah has inspired me to use Blogger more-it is a very cool tool, more than I thought before. Blogger is more like a web site now.

I would like to develop a PBL project for my classroom-in digital format-like we did in this class but as well a field work.

Overall I enjoyed this class-we struggled in the beginning but I think in the end we did a good job working together; I learned and I grew.

PBL reflection

Today was a very good day in terms of things coming together. I thought the walk through preview was really helpful because we got to see what other people were doing and how we could improve our project. I also really enjoyed the team building exercise! That was totally cool.

The walk through was a really helpful resources. I also think that we are creating a very good PBL project. Our group members each bring individual expertise to the table I am learning and creating at the same time! I am getting some good training in collaboration- I often work alone and I needed this project, as I am becoming a better listener (this can happen when one takes too many online courses).

I see things coming together and our project is evolving-it is so nice to see. I am enjoying the class and the project. My initial frustration is gone!

I think our final steps will be completed tomorrow. We left today with ideas for tomorrow-that was nice. I am enjoying the process this week, things are really coming together nicely-I am pleased with our progress. Our final project is not so final, it is something that can continue to evolve.

Project based learning reflection

Yesterday was a very productive day (Monday 6/28/10). I felt like we got a lot done for our final group project. I am looking forward to the final product as I feel I have a better understanding of what is expected of our group; we are also working better as a group-in whole.

The first few days were tough as we tried to figure out our roles and how we could work most efficiently and effectively together. I had some frustrations as I was unsure where we were going with our project. We have three very strong personalities in our group and we really do not know each other that well and two of us have never worked together.

I was also unsure of what our final project was suppose to look like- I think we were all a little unsure. The most difficult part was agreeing what we wanted our project to contain. We were struggling over the most basic, yet important, parts-such as wording.I felt a lot of frustrating and I was unsure where to direct it-I did not want it to affect our ability to work together. We all took a step back and worked on our own-this was therapeutic and enabled us to be productive. We later came together and put our individual parts together to create a whole-this was a good experience.

Good resources were each other. We each had our strengths which added to the picture as a whole-a team; sometimes it is just better to work alone as I know I needed space.
When the puzzle started to look like a picture I felt the stress level decrease substantially-I think it is safe to say that this was true for everyone in the group.
Once I had a better understanding of what was wanted I could actually feel like I was working productively and in the right direction.

This weeks has been much better for me than last week.

Personal Learning Environment

Google reader seems really 'thick'. I am exploring each item one by one-there seems to be a lot of information here and I have only added a few of my personal settings. I want to be able to personalize it a bit more as I am grasping a better understanding of all of the features. I am spending a lot of time on the computer and I am noticing neck and eye strain and pain. I have to decide what is important to study and what needs to be ignored-though feel like I might be 'missing' something!

What I have learned

Blogging is a full-time commitment. I suppose it is if you want dedicated followers.
As far a classroom tool it is a very use way of connecting with all parent at once.
As a teacher you can comprise a brief daily journal of what you and your students' did in class that day. It is a very useful way for parents and student to keep up on daily activities.
Missed a class: check the blog. What is the homework assignment: check the blog.
I see the telephone becoming an obsolete tool for 'talking' and communication being completely digital. I think I might miss the 'talking' part !!

Fun and educational blogging

I found a few fun videos on YouTube that pair with my food pyramid and healthy eating habits theme. I am getting better at editing and blogging in general. I found a way to cut the size of YouTube videos! Pretty stoked about it!! Credit to Denvy's web design class. Might not seem like a big deal to 'experts' but to me it was a big step in understanding html code a little better.

Fun gardening video

Understanding the food pyramid

Fun learning the food pyramid video. Short informational video

Keeping in touch through blogging

The more I use my blog site and explore blogging in general the more comfortable I become. So far I think it is relatively user friendly though I have not attempted much fancy work as of yet-it will happen soon enough.

One beneficial thing about using blogs in the classroom is parent involvement. Blogging v. a website- blogging is interactive. Parents can see some of what we are doing in class. It is a nice way for parents to be involved-somewhat.

Parent can also communicate with me. I don't know if this one way other teachers communicate with parents but it is something to think about.

Also a nice way to profile students work so parents can view their kids work as well.

Blogging as a classroom tool

Blogging in my health science class would be very useful in the following ways:

1. Diet journals. My students' could blog about their daily food intake. I could read and monitor these from home or school. A great way to keep up with my students'.
2. Exercise journals. My students' would blog about their daily activity at the end of the day. Just spend a few minutes at the end of the day blogging about how they met their daily exercise requirement.

I realize not every student has access to a computer and or the internet at home so I would have to allow time and access in the classroom as well.

I think blogging would be of interest to my students'. Blogging is also a fun way to meet the daily writing requirement.
As the teacher it will take more effort to monitor students blogging versus written journals. With blogging and the internet it takes a dedicated effort from the teacher to monitor students blogging to insure no hazing or inappropriate content is published. This is definitely a very important element to consider.

Blogging for me

Blogging for me, at this point; interest me only as a classroom tool. At this point I am finding some blogs interesting but I just don't have the time to spend a whole lot of time blogging myself. I have definitely leaned something new in this class. Blogging has become so much more than it once was or what I thought it once was. I find the blogs in our class insightful and interesting but I have not explored much beyond other blogs outside the students in this class. The blogs in this class have kept me busy.

I have looked into national newspaper blogs and this seems to be where the industry is heading. Seems blogging is the new forum for editorials. Be interesting to watch and see where this all goes.

Blogging in the classroom

I have been thinking this month about how I can use blogging as a classroom tool. This has been easy to think about in term of a long-term plan because I am not currently teaching in the classroom. This gives me the opportunity to ' play' with blogging i.e. viewing others blogs; benefits; pros and cons; best uses to name just a few. And most importantly becoming proficient in all the tools blogging has to offer.

I once thought blogging was just a one dimensional tool: you post your blog, people read your blog-end of story. It is much more than that now. Like much in terms of technology; it (blogging) is always evolving.

Useful bit of information on blogging in the classroom

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/47

Here is a simple article on blogging in the classroom. Worth checking out. Take a look.

Thought of the day

“We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results.” ~ Herman Melville

Saturday we had our first class on blogging with Denvy. Was a fun and interesting class. Seems there are many ideas about the importance of blogging in the tech age. I am most interested in blogging as it relates to students in the classroom. I would not like to see blogs replace newspapers, magazines, or journals. Is it too late? Have we already started down this path? I personally believe they can co-exist. Not everyone is a blogger or even enjoys reading print on a computer screen. I don't think we have replace one thing with another in order to call it advancement.

Blogging in Education

Hi this is Laura Carpenter from Corvallis. This is my second term in the Masters program at WOU. I am learning a lot and know that there is so much more I will be learning. I am enjoying the process and have to remind myself that technology moves so fast and that baby steps is the motto for me. Fortunately WOU has some outstanding teachers.

This is my first blog site and I though I have read other blogs (limited) this is my first time creating a blog site of my own. I used Twitter for about 5 minutes twice and then lost interest. I personally do not find Twitter useful for me a this time. I enjoy email and texting. Those are pretty much my mode of electronic communication experiences. I think blogs can work great in the classroom and would like to implement blogging in my own classroom when I find a district that is hiring and hires me specifically :) Oh I almost forgot; I do have a facebook acct. but only use it 1-2 hours per month-yes month-max! I find email+ texting to be valuable. I think blogging can be a great learning tool. Twitter as far as I have found is very limiting but I have very little experience with it-I find it somewhat annoying. Facebook can be annoying because some people over use it-this is my opinion.
Texting and email has changed my life because I can communicate to multiple people at the same time so it can be very efficient. Texting is nice because I feel I can text someone at anytime and not worrying about interrupting them at work etc.
I find that we don't communicate face-to-face anymore. We are addicted to non verbal communication. I find this a little disconcerning at times but I am guilty of it too at times.