Week+7+Reflective+Journal

This has really been a busy week as we examined the student needs assessment results. I was glad to see that the majority of students wanted to use a note book computer or laptop in the classroom rather than an I pod touch or cell phone. I think that these will be easier to read for them and there is less chance of them falling on the floor. I was not surprised to see that not too many students were familiar with Google Documents.

I enjoyed watching the video where students were creating learning booklets for students in Uganda. I especially liked when the one boy said that he was really trying to make a good booklet, not because he wanted a good grade but because he wanted the students who read it to learn a lot from it so he wanted it to be really good. I am going to have my students start telling what they learned from the project based activities that we do. I plan to use some of their work in my movie.

I am excited to try the digital story telling. I can see so many applications of this in the classroom. I also want to point out to the students how this can be used in a portfolio for college entrance, job applications, tributes to loved ones, and for business opportunities. My daughter, sister - in law and husband are attempting a business venture and I can see how these can be used for on-line advertising, etc.

I agree with the article about Cooperative Learning. I especially liked the part about all group members sharing a common fate. This helps struggling students by being paired up with a student with greater ability. I asked the students to write a short paragraph about why they like cooperative learning. Most said that they learned better with a partner. They all said they liked the wordle activities because they had to decide what words were most important. Many students say that they are still struggling with deciding what is important when they read and I would like to find some activities to help with that.