Reading Reflection 8

1.       Some ideas on expanding connections in and outside the classroom are to include experts and also classrooms from other countries.  If a teacher searches the people they know and who their students are connected to, they may find an expert in the field of their project that could put students right in the middle of the project field and get them up to date information.  The students can brainstorm questions before the interview with the expert to prepare them for the meeting.  It`s also a good idea to branch out to other classrooms across the world for information because they can give students insight into their cultures, the lifestyles in the other country, and maybe even provide pen-pals for the students.  This also helps students get the idea that they`re really doing something with the project to learn or help with a real world issue instead of a historical or false scenario. 

2.       The EAST model uses tools in their projects that are used in many professional settings and master them by helping solve community problems.  I thought it was neat that the students at EAST created a documentary about the Japanese American Internment camps since this event has been somewhat forgotten.  A project that uses the professional tools and also has important topics can really impact the students because they can get the word out to their community about the project and educate the community on a topic.  The students can have a huge impact on their community with projects like this.

3.       There are many perks to having students lead the projects.  If the students have been taught the basic background knowledge, they can do research, an important 21^st century skills they should master, and find much of the project information themselves.  Next if they have been taught the basic skills to organize and manage their own projects they can lead themselves and learn how manage their work and find organizational tools that work well for them.  I think it`s most beneficial to students that a teacher just facilitate around the class and be there to set up opportunities for students to learn and gather information.  If a teacher does this, students can learn to monitor their project and know how they work at projects.  In a real work setting an employer is just a facilitator at the most, so if the student is used to the teacher constantly monitoring their work and the student not having to be entirely responsible for remembering everything it will be a big adjustment when that changes in the workplace.

4.       This chapter is very important to our project because we should be thinking about what programs students will use in the workplace so we can see if they will be useful to our project.  I would rather students use technologies they will use for a very long time in the job world than less useful tools.  Also, it is a really good idea to ask the parents and other people in the community if they know any experts in the field we are studying or know of any places that might give students a similar opportunity to learn.  Teachers can also look on local college websites and in the local news to see if any experts or seminars are coming through about the topic of the project so students can get information there as well.