Project+Statement

1. Briefly describe your proposed project.
We intend to implement a project called “Our Place in the World.” Students from all three schools will research the demographics of their school as well as the major industries that may exist. Ultimately the goal is for students to find a line/a common link between each other even though they live in different communities in different parts of the United States. In this way students will learn how the world is interrelated and connected.

2. How will you improve learner performance by engaging learning in authentic experiences?
Learner performance will be improved because students will take ownership of their own learning. As Januszewski and Molenda (2008) stated learning will be “controlled and owned by the learners.” Student will also be held accountable by the students for the other schools.

3. How will you facilitate learning through constructivist, collaborative learning experiences?
The research needed to complete this project will need to be both detailed and accurate. Students will have the opportunity to interview guest speakers from the community regarding various industry leaders in their local area. Students will also be able to ask each other questions through skype, wikis and blog. The key to this successful completion of this project is ongoing and consistent communication between the students of the three schools as well as between the students and their local community. This collaborative learning project will allow student to build upon their own schema (knowledge and experience).

4. How will you create sound instructional materials and learning environments that are based on solid research and learning theory?
Prior to beginning this project, each instructor will develop a list of possible guest speakers regarding the local industry. Teacher will also create a webquest in which reputable and reliable websites are preselected to guide the students through the research process. Students will also be instructed on how to utilize the technology tools needed to complete this project to include, but not limited to, skype, wikispaces, livebinders, and blogs.

5. How will you facilitate the use of innovations through the diffusion and integration of new technologies and technological experiences for your learners?

Instructors at all three schools will model the communication and collaboration expected of the students with each other. Instructors will participate in a weekly skype chat to discuss both success and difficulties encountered throughout the process. Teachers will maintain a reflection blog just as students are expected to. Should a student stumble upon a new technological tool that they would like to utilize, teachers will determine the suitability of the tool rather than simply dismissing it.

6. How will you most effectively manage this process?
Rather than a “sage on the stage” teachers will become the facilitators and/or coaches to develop student learning and independent thought. As such, by facilitation, teachers will be afforded more time to effectively monitor and insure tasks are being completed in a timely manner. Students will be monitored via “netsupport tutor” on the computers and blogs will be subject to teacher approval prior to becoming posted. Comments to blogs will also need to go through the “approval” teacher process. Students will be well aware of the technology acceptable use policy as well as expectations in the classroom prior to beginning this project.

7. What ethical considerations will you make to ensure sound decisions are made?
Students will complete an internet safety lesson prior to beginning this process. They will need to pass the assessment of said lesson with 100% passage rate. The interest safety lesson will focus on divulging personal information, cyber bullying, sexting, and identity. Through the use of a webquest, they types of websites that the students can/will visit will be monitored. Through the approval process of the blogs, students will be monitored. The wikipages will be created by the teacher and private so that only approved members (those that the teacher approves) will be able to view or edit the page.

8. What processes and resources will you include?
Students will have access to computers with internet access. Computers will have Microsoft Office products and an internet browser installed. Class blogs will be set up on kidblog.com as well as wikipages for each group.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9. Describe the learning environment and population that will be engaged in your project:

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Audience
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Jan - Middle School Students in GA
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Brigit - Elementary Students in FL
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ahmetrie - Middle School/Junior High School Students in Durant, MS
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Learner Characteristics: Grade Level, Number of Students
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Jan - 7th Grade Model United Nations Students - 27
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Brigit - 5th Grade Students - 18
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ahmetrie - 8th Grade Students - Est. 10 per class
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Anticipated Entry Level Skills of Audience
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Jan - Intermediate to Advanced Computer Skills
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Brigit - The ability to navigate basic to advanced computer skills, demonstrate the appropriate use of the internet, and some social networking.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ahmetrie - Collaboration tools such as blog, wiki, social networking, Skype
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">School environment
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Jan – School environment is 800 students between three grade levels. School is located in SE Georgia in a small rural town. School has high transiency rate and is 90% African American with 95% of the student body qualifying for free/reduced lunches. School has a student with disability population of 44% of the entire student body. This is a Title I school
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Brigit - Myrtle Grove Elementary (Title I) schools demographics consists of 667 students. The school is located in Pensacola, Florida. The student body is made up of 46.2% females and 53.8% males; 46.2% white, 33.4% black, 5.7% Hispanic, 3.6% Asian, 0.4% Indian, and 10.6% with two or more ethnicities.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ahmetrie - Williams -Sullivan school is in Durant, MS. It is a public school in the Holmes County School District 3. K-12th grade learners.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Support for project by community, parents, or administrators
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Jan – Parents will be invited in as guest speakers and encouraged to work with their student at home. Administrators will serve as mentors to the students offering assistance as needed. Students will also be participating in the Port as Classroom project with the Port of Brunswick to explore the economic impact of the port and how the port affects other parts of the United States.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Brigit - Parents can participate in assisting students on the internet and soliciting speakers. The librarian can help by providing extra computers for students to check out to use at home.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ahmetrie - Parents can volunteer during the time their student are collaborating within the group activity and assist students with online resources or other activities that are effective to complete the project.