Professional+Feedback

=Professional Feedback= = Media Specialist: Ilene Zeff, Winnona Park Elementary School =

Strengths
 * Liked the idea of a wiki as a way to organize the information. Stated that wikis are beneficial because the media specialist can add age-appropriate information to the site without requiring students to browse the internet.
 * Rubrics look good. Show students what is expected, (though students oftentimes do not use the rubric). Stated that schools highly encourage the use of rubrics.
 * Liked the simplicity of student contributions to the wiki. Stated that this is a good opportunity for students to practice writing and keyboarding skills without overwhelming them with too much typing.

Weaknesses
 * Kids will have varying reading levels, so for such a young age group it might be a good idea to post age-appropriate material directly to the wiki.
 * Time is always an issue. Teachers don't want to give up too much time with their students. Other interruptions occur (fire drills, teacher out sick), which can interrupt the time set aside for media center. Suggested scheduling shorter projects with the students so the work can get done in one day to minimalize disruptions.

Suggested resources:
 * Nettrekker
 * Brainpop, Jr.

Local School Technology Coordinator: Kathy Page, Jenkins Elementary School

Strengths > and also seems like a very engaging way > most schools are just beginning to open up these kinds of tools. > Students are not familiar with it yet. > Students love this topic and I think you have captured their attention > and interest to invest in the research. > ago) and the introduction of the newest learning tools like interactive > boards and wikis > investigate it more and probably add it. Thanks for sharing! Weaknesses > sources. For us, 3rd graders don't understand this very well and need > lots of guidance. > group activity using student response clickers. > pages and make comments on each others work. This will take a while for 3rd graders. > This could happen in their classroom later if there are several > computers and they could work in small groups again to make it go > faster. > > >
 * Love the cave wall idea. It's a great way to teach finding key words
 * Like the group wiki work as a way to start using this resource since
 * I like the contrast of something ancient (fossils of animals from long
 * I like the neok12 site - I don't think I have it on our pages and I will
 * For Lesson 1, you could add a brainpop movie as part of the intro.
 * For 3rd grade, you may want to add some lesson time for learning to cite
 * For the online quiz, if you want to add more technology, it could be a
 * You may want to build in a day for them to explore and read each others