Marshall: Chapter 3 RR

1.   On finding “the Big Idea” for a project the teacher must consider “who cares about this?” and “who does it touch?”. This is extremely important because both of these questions relate to students. For a project to be successful, the students must be invested in it. This includes the students having interest in the topic and how it relates to their lives.

2.     When one enters the “real” world, they must analyze and evaluate everything around them. This leads them to create their world to their benefit of survival. Life 50 years ago was very simple as to what it is today. There are so many options for a lifestyle that today the American must analyze, evaluate and create everything around them.

3.     The 21^st literacy skills include digital literacies. This is extremely important because as time goes on technology advances and it is up to us to stay up-to-date with this. As teachers it is our responsibility to make sure that there is not a technology divide among our students. This begins with the teacher continuiously learning about the benefits of teaching with technology and incorporating it into lesson plans. The goal from students using technology in the classroom should be that when they are out of the classroom they are “independent, aware and productive citizens”.

4.     Tools like blogs or wikispaces are great for students to utilize technology inside and outside of the classroom. As a student myself, I have used both of these tools in the workplace, for other group projects and shared it with others after learning about them in the classroom. 

Finding information on the Internet that has already been filtered is very easy. Utilizing databases and primary sources for information will allow the student to create their own meaning from what they have gathered.

When giving a presentation, the audience always loves any sort of visual aid that the presenter can give. In my experience, audiences like to see pictures rather than words. Mapping something out, showing a photo slideshow or even a video is very helpful to the audience.

We all like to express ourselves and build community with our peers. A wonderful idea is to not separate this from school. Utilizing the Web as ways for students to express their ideas while building community in the classroom can bridge the gap.

Any sort of collaboration on project is only going to help promote success. It is beneficial to collaborate with others for new ideas, revision and support. Utilizing websites such as wiki and survey tools are easy to manage and quick to learn.

Research can help promote the critical thinking skills of any student. Providing proper search engines for students to do research and help them tell if a website is valuable or not is a skill that is needed for 21^st century projects.

Managing time, work, sources, feedback from others drafts and products during projects all boils down to organization and management. In order for a projects completion and success it must be organized.

One main idea that cannot be forgotten when it comes to projects is the reflection and iteration of what they have learned and the outcomes. Students can share digitally their projects and outcomes.

Students that are working on their own garden can use a blog to keep photos of their project and share so others can see the progress. Wikispaces is a great website that students can use to collaborate on ideas and organize the research they have all done on planting their own garden.