So I’ve been putting a lot of work into this wiki lately and I’m actually really proud of what I’ve accomplished so far. I wasn’t sandbagging at the start of this semester – I truly was technologically inept. It’s satisfying to look at this resource and know that 3 months ago I was pretty much ignorant of everything technological other than email, Microsoft Word and a bare bones PowerPoint. Over the past month or two I’ve constructed a website, created a calendar, embedded video, linked to a number of different sites, etc. I’ve found I’ve been very particular about this project. I never would have thought that I’d be worried about ensuring the headings all appear in the same font or that the music videos would be put in the order we study them in class. It has been a lot of work but I’ve dove in and I’m happy with the results.
Now for the background. I chose to switch to this project as I seem to constantly have a large number of students sick or away from class for tournaments, family trips or any number of other reasons and I’ve started to grow tired of frequently being asked to provide homework, worksheets, etc. I think this will be an outstanding tool to help students gain some independence and provide parents with more of an insight into what their child has been doing in my class. I may or may not have stretched the truth from time to time as a teenager myself, but now that parents can access due dates, resources, rubrics, etc., the ball is 100% in the students’ court.
Tags: eci831
November 14, 2009 at 9:31 am |
I think that is a fabulous project! I love the fact that you are enabling students to catch up what they’ve missed from previous classes and putting the onus for learning what they missed right back on them. This is such an important life skill they will need to rely on constantly in their lifetime. Teaching autonomy of learning and independence is no easy task for sure, but harnessing the power and fun factor of social media to do that is a terrific idea, in my opinion! Good luck!
November 15, 2009 at 4:01 pm |
Great to hear that you are making progress, Brian and that you’ve come a long way.
Another reminder to improve your blogging, it would be good at least to have some hyperlinking. For instance, having a link to your project would be an absolute minimum in a post like this. It could lead to some feedback from others who are reading this. Just a thought.
November 24, 2009 at 7:33 pm |
Wow…I think you’ve done great coming from where you started to where you are now. Great idea for your digital project!
December 1, 2009 at 7:02 pm |
Your wiki looks great, your students will appreciate all your hard work!! Bettina