Our learning group has just completed a project on problem solving aimed at designing a lesson plan for one class period of an English learning class; the class could have been the example on the handout given to us by Professor Heather, or one which a member of our group has observed.
Our group came together in many different ways to complete this project. Our first goal was to decide which class we would model our lesson plan upon, and just what activity would be appropriate for the topic of "problem solving." After a lengthy face-to-face discussion, we settled upon an idea of using an observed class which was studying future tense, and involving them in discussions on ways to save energy.
One day we decided to use internet based chatting on SacCT to talk about our project, and it presented a number of difficulties. There was a large amount of cross-talk, and some group members even made comments which were misinterpreted by others and possibly damaged group relations. Eventually, the group was able to come together, and we utilized the internet to our full advantage while talking to each other face-to-face, to maintain the cohesiveness of our group. We eventually agreed to use SacCT's discussion board and email features to communicate and transmit files both inside and outside of class.
We scoured a number of websites aimed at spreading information about saving energy, finally agreeing to use the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) website [http://www.pge.com/] because it had flashy animations explaining about energy production, storage, and delivery along with a good list of energy-saving tips. Ann did a wonderful job of putting together a handout meant to guide students to the proper site; at first she was unsure, but after being shown how to use the "Print Screen" button and Microsoft's Paint program to make images of her computer screen (screen-shots), she went wild and we ended up with an amazing handout!
Ann also was able to find a website that allows one to make their own word-searches if provided a list of words [http://www.armoredpenguin.com/]. Ann seemed to be a powerhouse and producing handouts!
I'm not sure how else we could have utilized technology in our group to a better end; we tried web-chat, but it only created more problems. We ourselves were subject to our own bit of problem solving in that communications seemed scattered when we used technology, and it was difficult for us to divide the work evenly so that each member felt included and important. This was an important excersise in learning how to create a cohesive group effort, it will definitely impact the way in which I view group projects and collaborative technology projects in the future.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
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