Discuss how technology tools can encourage students to be reflective and evaluate their own strengths.
Students will most likely already have a baseline of technological knowledge that they have gathered over the years of their existence. Using technology in the classroom will cause students to further master modern tools and to realize what they haven't learned yet. They will be able to see how they grew from the experience and will be conscious of what they are taking away from it.
Describe several ways in which you can get students’ minds ready for a project.
Mess with students. Take concepts which they thought they knew, and surprise them with something odd or strange that takes them back for a second to reassess their current knowledge. Also, bring the subject to attention a few times for only a few minutes at a time at first, so as to peak students' curiosity. Though I would elaborate, this question is pretty straightforward and the book doesn't have much to say besides contributing a couple examples of how this element works.
Discuss the elements of teaching fundamentals first.
This is really important because if we just jump into the project without laying the groundwork and figuring out what our students know and don't know about the subject, then jumping into the project will seem forced and rushed, and students won't take much away from it. If students have no base knowledge for the subject, then everyone remains at the different levels which they started with and no clear expectations are made.
Describe the important steps in preparing students for using technology in project.
Check NETS*S and look at the Essential Learning Functions of Digital Age Tools. Make sure that you know what you want students to get out of this project rather than what is simply going to fill the time. First, let students check out the technology on their own to see if they can figure it out by themselves. Secondly, let the students who already know what to do help each other because it makes them feel like ballers. Introduce project-managment tools and demonstrate exactly what you want your students to do. Try screencasting.
Discuss ways to promote inquiry and deep learning.
The teacher needs to find a way to figure out what everyone knows about the subject at hand already before progressing. The book suggests doing a K-W-L, but I think they're pretty stupid because they have always been done too early for me.
Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
Obviously, we are going to use technology in our project. Duh. We also have built the curiosity of our subject by building it up and talking about ways in which weather is cool and by making daily weather observations.
Our whole project is based on the use of technology so I think it is important to learn. I also agree with what you said about KWL charts. Teachers need to do the lesson when the students have already learned a little about the subject so that they have some information to share that they already know but not so much information that they don't want to learn anything else. There has to be a balance.
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