Blog entry 7

First and foremost, the biggest challenge I face when planning projects is making sure every student in the group has a role, not just any role, but a role that is meaty and contributes equally to the end product. It is hard to design projects that force all students to pull his/her fair share and not have one or two students do all the work. Part of this is an engagement and motivation issue. According to Egbert (2009, p. 69), “research shows that students are more task-attentive and positively collaborating around the computer than in non-computer-supported tasks.” This is important to keep in mind as the computer is usually in just about every student’s comfort zone in some way. The trick would be to blend the groups well enough so there are experts on several things (e.g. one student may be really good at word processing, another is great at PowerPoint, another can build websites, etc.).

Another potential issue that sometimes keeps me from using technology as much as I should is that of glitches. I am not always able to fix each problem that arises with whichever program is being used. However, Boss and Krauss (2007, pp. 77-78) emphasize the necessity of utilizing your people resources—whether it be the community, a parent, the media specialist, the tech support team, or another colleague. And let’s not forget that sometimes the kids can be our best resource.

REFERENCES
Boss, S. , & Krauss, J. (2007). Reinventing project-based learning. Eugene: International Society for Technology in Education.

Egbert, J. (2009). Supporting learning with technology: Essentials of classroom practice. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.