Week 6: Thoughts on Chapter 8

Two things stood out for me in chapter 8.

The first thing that stood out to me that also brought me back to Brian Crosby's class was using Web 2.0 tools for those learners who miss time in the classroom due to things such as sickness or family.  Brian Crosby used a Web 2.0 tool to incorporate and involve a student with leukemia into his classroom.  Chapter 8 discusses using technology for students who are absent for an extended period of time to help them avoid the disruption of their education.  Both of these situations have happened to me and I only wish that I had had the forethought to think of using technology to keep the kids in the classroom.  Three years ago a student in my homeroom was diagnosed with leukemia and he missed most of the last half of the school year.  This past year I had two students with families from India and Pakistan who traveled for over two weeks for family issues.  Moving forward, I will be better prepared to look into this for my students.

Another issue that stood out to me was using authentic assessment to prepare students to be successful in standardized testing.  This is a question I continue to struggle with, how to intertwine and balance it all.  Over the past few years teachers in our district have had more pressure placed upon them to not only master the curriculum, but incorporate reading, writing, and technology into the core curriculum.  In addition, the science coordinator is pressing science teachers to do more labs and project-based activities with students.  Initially, I took these all in isolation.  I would do a separate lesson on different aspects, rather than incorporating them all into one authentic assessment.  This has been my aha! moment for this class.  You don't need to add more to your plate, you just need to learn to mix all that is already there.