Success!

Well, we're back at school, and back into the swing of things. My hopes of getting my students signed up for g-mail and my wikispace took more time than I had anticipated, but we finally got everyone taken care of. The first 'Authentic Learning" assignment of the year was Elemental Survivor. I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out. The kids enjoyed blogging, and interacting with each other on the blog. They honed their researching skills, although they used Wikipedia as a source more than I would have liked, despite my direction to verify the information with other sites. I set up a blog for each of my classes and had each class research the same twelve elements. I realized, after the fact, that it would have been better to set up one blog, and have each class research different elements. The interaction between the classes would have added another dimension to the project, and they could have covered most of the elements on the periodic table.
My next big project will utilize and MP4 format. We'll be researching the development of the atomic model, sharing our findings on the wikispace, and creating podcasts. Stay tuned....

Back To School...Maybe

After a productive summer, I'm preparing for a new school year. I'm really excited, I've got some projects ready to go. One project is based on the 'Survivor' television series, and I call it "Elemental Survivor". Each group of students will be assigned an element to research. They'll have to classify it, find as many uses as they can for it, get some background information on the element's discovery and history, find out where it's found in nature and how it's isolated, and lastly, why it's necessary. We'll consider future possible uses for the element. We'll determine the cost of obtaining the element in whatever form is most beneficial. I obviously chose these elements carefully, there are some listed that just aren't that vital for life on this planet. The tech piece for the project involves a blog. The kids will share their findings with each other by posting to the blog. I'm hoping they generate a friendly competition as they evaluate each other's posts. Eventually we'll vote to narrow down the field, and finally vote one off completely. Well, at least in our little virtual corner of the island.

The second project will be researching the structure of the atom, using an MP4 format. More about that later.

Now, sadly, several of my computers are unusable (although they are all new), and I have some full classes this year. Tech support in my district is...shall we say....unsupportive? So I'll looking forward to dealing with that issue. I guess we'll be doubling up on computers for a while. It's frustrating to put so much time into building curriculum and putting these projects together, trying to make the most of the fabulous technology I have at my disposal, only to be stymied by the powers that be. Oh well.

And finally, our contract is expiring, and I doubt we'll be starting the school year on time. Keeping my fingers crossed though.

Entering The O-Zone

I began my eighth summer vacation as a teacher today. I wonder if I'll ever get that 'summer off.' In my eight years of teaching, I've revamped my curriculum eight times. And each time, I decide I'll get it right, and I'll be able to relax a bit next year. Right. I just completed my first year as a 'Classrooms For The Future' teacher. I have lots of technology in my classroom, and I've gotten my feet wet testing all of it out. I'll spend this summer turbo-charging my curriculum, and doing all of the wonderful things I've heard I should be doing to prepare my students for ....their future....the global economy....passing their PSSA tests....

Summer is always a great time for reflection. For learning. For relaxing. For preparing. Not sure what order that should be in. But I am diving in.