Final Project

The final project and portfolio ... hmmm ... so far, I have honestly struggled a little. My middle name ought to be "procrastinator" since that is what I find I do best. When an assignment is due, far out schedule wise, I have a hard time working on it a little at a time. Instead, I find myself scrambling at the last minute the night or two before it's due trying to complete it all. So, because of that I haven't been as diligent at keeping up the way I should. I will say that what I have done I've enjoyed working on. It's relevant to what I want to do, I love the topic I've chosen (ants), and it's something that will help me in the future!

The portfolio is slightly a different story. I honestly am struggling to figure it all out. Relating what I've done in this class, project wise, to the standards, is difficult. Trying to figure out where they best fit and how applicable they'll be is challenging. Also, the definition of the standards, is that from the book or what we feel they represent? I guess I feel I'll need a little more guidance on the portfolio, but because I'm struggling to work on the project, I haven't looked at it enough to form proper questions.

Having fairly extensive homework in this class on top of these projects to work on makes things a little more tricky. I understand why we continue to have assignments but it's the balance between all of that and my four other classes. Talk about learning some management skills! :) However, I'm an A student so I have faith that I will get everything done, maybe it will just end up being in a stressful way. Perhaps I just need the added pressure to do my best work?!

Reluctant Learner

Reluctant learners are a reality of the world. They are found in the work place as well as in schools. Dealing with them can be problematic, but finding their strengths are half the battle. We know that this student excels in mathematics. While she can not be excused from the project, she may be able to focus on different things than the rest of the class is focusing on. If we can engage this student in nontraditional ways she can still contribute to the group. Giving her the task of creating a timeline and incorporating numbers into the times that the actions occurred within the book may be enough to draw her in. She can also be the one to organize and input the information from the other students within her group. Putting her in control of something that is related to the structure and organization of math is something that plays to her strengths.

Also, perhaps taking her aside and explaining why her assets are needed for her group may get her on board. She really needs to do the assignments that are required of the rest of the students, however, being understanding and maybe giving her a different rubric to go by of what is expected of her could take some of the pressure off from her. She is a student who obviously doesn't feel valued, doesn't trust many, and feels inferior in some of her subjects. With a teacher who is understanding of all that, and recognizes those issues, she may just learn that she can excel at things other than math, such as reading and writing.

Online Games

I feel that online games are more helpful to education then they are harmful. As long as they are monitored, appropriate for student use, and related to what is being taught within the classroom, they can be great support tools. Students don't all learn the same way, nor do they all keep attention the same. Due to this, online games can be another method to use within the classroom that can support the learning styles and attention spans of certain students. It can also be an alternative when a student isn't grasping the information being taught. Whether it's another way to look at something, or just a tool that's being used to drive the information home to students.

The article I found online that supports my argument is called, "ALTEC Learning Games: Successful Integration of Learning and Gaming". It can be found at, http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED507103.

This article is actually written by a gaming company. They talk about the specifics of some of their games as well as why they can be beneficial in the classroom. "ALTEC Learning Games utilizes the excitement of video games to engage students and provide teachers authentic online resources that reinforce skills in math and language arts" (http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED507103).

The article touches on how video games and online games help students process information faster. They give another method of teaching difficult information, and they promote community learning. All of these reasons are specifically reasons why I would suggest the use of online games within a classroom. Students can also gain retention skills when it comes to learning new and complex skills through utilizing online games.

Even though this website may be a little biased in regards to the fact that it was written by a gaming company, the points that they made within the article are all points that I agree with. They support my view on how a game can be helpful within a classroom instead of harmful. I think some teachers may struggle with this idea at first, but I don't see anything wrong in trying to utilize a vast amount of methods and resources to support our students.