A collaborative project involving 16 classes from around the world.
What is a COMMUNITY?..... learning together to create a definition.
innovative?
Since I'm a huge Glogster EDU fan, I couldn't think of a more creative design that would hopefully capture other educators' interest in this crazy idea of mine. So, the above Glog was born!
I put it on Twitter, sent some DMs to those in my PLN that I thought might be interested, posted it on CAPspace, and my tech integrator, Mark Carls, put it in a couple of his Ning groups.
Google Form -
I liked... A simple and straight-forward way to sign-up for the project, plus one can add a theme to the background. It was so nice to have everyone's information all organized.
Areas to improve on... Be sure to have all of the information you'll need in the form and be specific on what you're requesting. I also realized after the fact, that I should have shared this with all participants. Well, at least the contact information so people could set up collaborative projects with each other if they wanted to.
Google Doc -
I liked...How all of the classes were able to edit the same Google Presentation. Classes were able to upload their pictures and put their questions up for the rest of the participants. I'll admit I was amazed at the variety and amount of questions that the students came up with. The kids were interested in each other and wanted to know about all aspects of their life. In doing so, I think they were hoping to visualize and picture what it would be like to be in their town, school, state, country,..... community.
Areas to improve on... Be sure to request the email that the educator is using for their Google Account.
Google Earth -
I liked...The great feedback! Many of the students and educators really seemed to enjoy how it made the project more understandable and easy to picture the locations of all involved.
Areas to improve on...The tour had one of the schools at it's old location. Be sure to use the address even if the building pops up when searching. Also, two of the districts had a difficult time getting the tour to work - check on different versions. I'd also like to figure out how to embed the Google Earth Tour so it can be viewed online within the gadget so anyone can see it.... still working on that one.
Google Wave -
Here's the link to Aviva Dunsinger's Blog Post on the Google Wave since she was able to record it.
I liked...How SO many classes were able to take part in the Wave in real-time - about 6 or 7 classes. Yet, it was also really neat how those who weren't able to, were able to take advantage of Wave's asynchronous benefit and add to it anytime after it was started. I was also inspiring that there were many educators who hadn't tried out Wave yet and were willing to give it a try with their classes.
Areas to improve on...Be ready for anything! Sometimes things can change direction mid-project or not go the way it was envisioned or planned, but that's just part of the whole process. We had so many people participating in the Wave in real-time, that that was amazing in of itself. No, we didn't answer all of the students questions, but that's okay. It was a tad unrealistic of me I guess, but thought they'd love it to see their question come up and everyone else answering it simultaneously. Yet, kids were impressed regardless. The discussions continued both on the Wave and in the classrooms.
Collaborative Slideshare
I liked... The variety of quotes was absolutely amazing. There was a nice mix of student slides, class slides, and slides created by a small group.
Areas to improve on... Be careful of the directions. Even though you may be trying to clarify to those who would like it, double and triple check the steps you've given. But, when mistakes happen...just re-explain and move on. Andrew Kauffman encourgaed me and said something to this effect... Remember we are always learning and it's just part of the process that leads to success.
IMPACT?
Here's how this project influenced....
My class - We had an opportunity to connect with many classes and cultures. They really liked creating the quotes & slides in a small group. Regarding the Google Wave, my classroom actually was more engaged the day after when we referred back to it. We really liked reading about Ms. Purti's class in India. They also were awed at the different areas that the communities were located in the Google Earth Tour.
Others - I was thankful that other classes shared how they were learning about communities in their classrooms. The original and creative ideas that others make happen in their classrooms. I was really amazed at Mrs. Dunsinger's videos that her students created about community helpers.
Me - I think I learned the most of out of everyone. I don't usually go into something wondering what I'll leave with, but this time I feel that I was the one that learned the most. Well, at least I learned so much more than I ever imagined. I'm so glad that all of these opportunities and challenges that were unexpected came into my life. I'm a reflective individual always looking for better ways to approach things and the list is lengthy this time, yet I'm so thankful that those that were in this project alongside me were understanding of the learning process. Will I ever tackle another collaborative project involving numerous classes? Definitely. Will I approach things differently? For sure. Will I learn and grow from my mistakes? Continually. Will this make me a better learner? Yes.
Impressed?
I was impressed with how this impacted me as an educator. There are some absolutely inspiring educators in our world. I'm just thankful that I had the opportunity to connect my class with some through this project.
Last week I attended Riding the Digital Wave in West Seneca, NY. I really like the approach that the Keynote speaker Roger L. Firestien, Ph.D. recommends when evaluating ideas of others -
Consider the:
Pluses - strengths of the idea
Potentials - list them
Concerns - phrase your concern as you would phrase a question or problem statement (This way your mind will immediately begin to look for ways to overcome it instead of disregarding the whole idea.)
I'll be using this approach on my own ideas in the future...
Sometimes I get so into the potentials, that I fail to address the possible concerns. Although, some ideas aren't necessarilty poor ideas, but just might need to be accomplished in another manner.
I learned so much more than I could have imagined. I'm glad this was difficult and that I decided to take the risk.
The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.
~Mortimer Adler
