Agenda+for+Online+Collaboration

Here is where we will collaborate on our first online collaborative meeting of our Professional Learning Committee via our wiki. We will be working together to decide on the following: --Purpose --Objective --Grade Level --Facilitator's Name~La Sheonda Martin --Community Members~La Sheonda Martin, Bea Fallis, Pam Wanieck, Sara Womack, Catherine Berkeley-Jones --Activities

A recommendation for our first activity as a group is to establish a vision of what we want our group to be about and to accomplish. Let me know if that sounds like a good first activity for us to pursue. We want to be able to serve our kids and to help them through the use and integration of technology. That should be an element of our purpose, along with any other things the group decides. Please add your comments and ideas to the agenda items above. We can also continue to add others to this forum to continue to expand our ability to collaborate within our department to the benefit of our students.

//This is almost like viewing other classrooms without actually being there physically. If teachers post lessons that have been successful then the sharing begins.I am always interested in a __new__ ways to teach an __old__ lesson. The students need these fresh ideas as much as the teachers. What a great way to communicate this information! As for students; kids love to read their peers' writings and it gives them new ideas. On the other hand, a student may feel his ideas are not warranted and when they read someone else's that is similar, it gives them confidence to move forward.

My students are constantly asking questions about their homework. They ask me before school, during lunch, after school, and during class. I am sure there are times at night or over the week-end that they have questions about their homework. Using Wiki would be an opportunity for them to ask these questions while at home and maybe expedite their work. Additionally, other students might be on wiki at the same time and able to answer their questions for them without teacher intervention. Wow, peer sharing!! All in all, I think the Wiki has enormous possibiities!! Pam

Wow!! This really is an amazing tool! I am still new at it and learning as I go, but I believe it would be an amazing asset to our staff and students. Since my area is ELA, I tend to think in that direction. So, I believe our students could possibly write Journal entries (not confidential stuff) and write Essays/Papers for their English classes using the Wiki format. That way, if the information is not confidential, other students in the classroom could learn from each other through collaboration and sharing. The teacher would be a facilitating tool in guiding aspects such as the grammar and format, but the students would be the leaders in the process sharing ideas and content. I also think the Wiki could allow for more staff communication through less meetings on campus if that is what the staff prefers. Teachers can communicate electronicall through a Wiki based format. We could answer questions/concerns, post any questions we may have, share ideas and successes all instantly on-line. I may be thinking big, but when I was doing my master on-line, we blogged the responses to the journal question of the week. It took some getting used it, but I really enjoyed it!! Bea//