After logging on a few times throughout the process I commented on a few of the students work. Mostly, I just encouraged them to edit their material and cite their sources. I really struggled during this step with not being able to see the students face-to-face. It would have been so much easier to just point to Michele to tell her how to cite the source. Unfortunately, that wasn't available to me, so I had to buckle down and try my best.
My comments seemed to to unnoticed though. I found this hard to deal with and was a little disappointed that the students basically ignored me. Now, this doesn't mean they didn't work on their project. I was impressed by how fast the students moved along in the process, it wasn't like pulling teeth. Each group had a bit of a ring leader who got after everyone telling them when the section was due.
My main concern at this point was my opinion going unnoticed. Also, I worry about each teacher in the prospective school having an opinion and not noticing the relationship between the groups. Many of the students started their conversation "after talking with my teacher". I wonder how much input the teacher is supposed to have? This will undoubtedly be something that will improve each year. Do teachers have to be certified in FCP to host the project? Something I need to look into for my future class!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Surprising Start
Well, I won't lie. I wasn't very excited to start to Flat Classroom Project. We worked on the project during Classroom Computer Applications, and incorporating it into our class wasn't the problem--the students were. For some reason the students did not participate. I was disappointed and discouraged, so that is kind of how I went into this session.
Ask me now? I have to retract and just jump up and down with teacher joy! Those kids were ACTIVE participants in the FCP at the beginning. I was so happy to see them working on the project from the beginning, adding me to their Ning, etc. They all introduced themselves, and I was surprised to see many were from the US. It might also be that the people I looked at happen to be from the US, and I scanned over people who were not--it is probably evenly distributed.
Overall, my first interactions with the students were really pleasant! My main concern about FCP at first was really more of a functionality issue. I could not figure out how to reply to a specific question on the discussion. I wanted to message each student back after their response, and could not figure it out! The students were active though, and I looked forward to seeing what they posted later.
Ask me now? I have to retract and just jump up and down with teacher joy! Those kids were ACTIVE participants in the FCP at the beginning. I was so happy to see them working on the project from the beginning, adding me to their Ning, etc. They all introduced themselves, and I was surprised to see many were from the US. It might also be that the people I looked at happen to be from the US, and I scanned over people who were not--it is probably evenly distributed.
Overall, my first interactions with the students were really pleasant! My main concern about FCP at first was really more of a functionality issue. I could not figure out how to reply to a specific question on the discussion. I wanted to message each student back after their response, and could not figure it out! The students were active though, and I looked forward to seeing what they posted later.
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