Blog 11 -B- Exam 1

In our first exam for the class we had to collaborate with fellow students to formulate a presentation from the given scenario by the professor. The scenario that we were given was that we were teachers in a school that received a 10,000 grant for the use of technology. As 5th grade teachers we had to work together to come up with a proposal to the principal of how we would use the money for the better of the school (what we would buy, how would we use the materials we bought, and how would it benefit the school). For each dollar that we were going to use we had to justify why it is important to the curriculum and how it would engage the students and their ability to learn. Our class was broken up into 3 groups of about 7 or 8 students. We had to meet at least once using the online chat room provided by the professor as well as post and discuss aspects of our project on our assigned discussion board. For the online chat room we were given prompt question on how to start and continue the direction of the conversations so it would remain on the topic of the exam. We were to work together on having a main group focus, but each individual student had to make their own proposal which they would submit via the essay that went along with this exam. What that meant was, that each group members would have the same principles in their proposal as the rest of the group (the ones that were discussed in the chat room) but they would still have to right their essay adding their own twist and originality to their proposal.

I have learned that working as a team to reach a goal is a very wonderful and influential way of learning. Even though i like to work by myself, because then i have full control over the outcome of my research, preparation, and the overall project. With this project i realized that sharing the workload and cramming ideas together makes the proposal seem very small in its size and allows for a swift easier project. This exam also gave me a bigger perspective on how i have to create a use/significance for technology in my classroom. Within the project we had to explain why would we use the money for that certain technology and that got me to think outside the normal areas for what i use technology and create new and exciting/engaging ways that will reach my students.

This exam was filled with challenges, hence it was an exam, but most of them had to do with time restrictions for many of the participants. In my group when we were supposed to meet for the online chat room, for some reason i was not allowed into the chat room, the professor forgot to grant me access. So the next class period i talked to him and we got that straightened out. So our group went for another try except this time we were missing a couple group members. However we went ahead with the online chat room and then posted some of the important material onto the discussion board. Another challenge that i faced was answering the questions that the professor wanted us to answer. He gave us some specific question to answer, but the problem was that they were very similar to other questions, so it seemed to me that we were repeating ourselves many times throughout the proposal. This confused me and i could not deal with it, because we are not allowed to intervene with protocol and were forced to do it the professor laid out guidelines or we lose points. This forced me to spend an extra long time writing the essay and had my proposal well over 2000 words. That is a lot for just one exam. I faced the challenges as they came along and did it with a good attitude. They were minor obstacles in the path of the final project, but nevertheless i turned it in on time and from my point of view a very decent proposal, but we will see.

Through this assignment i learned that i need to give up my instincts to work alone on projects and cherish the assignments that allow us to work together and take full advantage of the opportunity. Also i have realized that even though a essay may take a very long time to write, if i follow the directions and answer each question then the process will run much smoother. I know now that i am much better at multiple choice and in class essay exams then a project like this one.