Reflection/Chapter 5

Before starting a project, you should look at your inventory and see what supplies, tools, or other materials that you will need. Some materials might be available to you at your school or even offered by parent communities or other supporters. If you do not find what you need, either put a word out in a class website or email a newsletter to post so that parents can be aware of the supplies you need. You can also look at local recycling centers; you never know what you might find. Teacher project-management needs include: • Tools for communicating with students and others about the project • Tools for making milestones and events visible and for notifying students when changes occur • Methods for getting resources to students • Systems for management work products • Structures that support a productive learning environment in which teams and individuals are engaged in a variety of learning tasks at the same time Student project-management needs include: • Systems and tools that help them manage their time and flow of work • Systems that help students manage materials and control work drafts • Collaboration tools • Methods for seeking assistance • Ways to get and use feedback on their work, through self-reflection, team input, and teacher advice • Ways to work iteratively and to see how parts add up to the whole Technology applications that should be considered for your project could be to link a set of tools together in a wiki, associate them with a blog, or alternatively, use a web-based “desktop” application. Concepts in this chapter that relate to my project are the web-based application. In class, we have created a blog, which allows viewers to comment on postings that we have created. It also allows us a great tool for communicating about the progress or milestones related to our project.