It is hard for me to be critical of something someone spent so much time on and to think that I would be challenged to do any part of what they created. I think that these teachers did amazing work, and amazing technical work at that. But the assignment is the assignment, so here goes...
Dearborn- I appreciated that she spoke directly about her focus on primary grades, so clearly this is for primary grade teachers. I appreciate that she was clear about her tech abilities, started with digital citizenship, and then went on to basic lessons about how to start. My only critique would be to make more clear to the audience whether her focus was on integrating digital tools into early literacy, or was it about homework and blogging. So my question is, "Are we supposed to bring in other tools, or ideas that integrate with our capstone theme, or do we keep the focus narrow for clarity?" Gottfried- I really enjoyed this site. I felt that the topic was clear and concise. The graphics were great and what was created was shared for classroom use. The logo told what the capstone was about and it's benefits, using words. Very clever. I thought that at every turn she was explaining not just why, but how to get this blogging happening. Her audience seemed to be for teachers AND students, although this is never stated directly. So my next question is, "Should we state directly on our homepage who we intend our audience to be or by doing this are we turning people away who might have something to gain-people who turn away because they are not perceived to be a part of the audience group?" Vale-I was challenged to get a lot out of this site but was eager to do so, as I feel that it is strongly connected to my capstone topic. Perhaps what I wanted to see was hidden due to the work being done on the learning lab website. That said, I felt that there should be lessons that are specific to the topic and that take you through the process of how to create this type of classroom. The resources also seemed general and of enjoyed sites, but not specific to her topic. She seems to address her audience clearly at first, teachers of any grade, but then because her message is lost from lack of focus or information, the audience is essentially lost. My last question, "Will my cohort or instructors let me know if I am doing this in my capstone, so that my product can become useful? Was there a lack of criticism, time, or understanding that led to this site's shortcomings?" My general observation is that most sites seem to follow the script:Home Page=the what, Learn More Page=the why, Standards Page= more why & Cal to district to school scores if needed (should our research be added here?), Lessons= the how, Inspiration=why you chose this topic, Author Page=the who. Through these examples I can see that I need to make sure that I begin creating products that are specific to my topic (an infographic to be used in the classroom), have ready my lesson plans to share, learn to link up videos that go directly to the video I choose and not just a website. This capstone picture is starting to come into focus for me. Not that I am anywhere near the finish line, mind you.
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