Reflection Chapter 7- Keeping a Project Moving

1. Description of the levels of classroom discussions.
• Teacher to teacher - Teacher conversations help make sure that everything is in order to move on with a classroom project. If teachers are not able to meet or live far from each other, the use of a blog, wiki, or other collaborative tool can help teachers stay in touch.
• Student to student - Students using good communication between each other is very effective teamwork and helps keep them goal oriented and organized! Most importantly a teacher should make sure that students know how to give positive and effective feedback, and make sure the students have an opportunity to practice giving that feedback.
• Teacher to student - There are two different directions to take to make sure the students get the information they need to get their projects done. First, make sure the teacher gives whole-group instructions to introduce a new or complicated concept. Second, teachers can have small group discussions and use observation to see if certain groups need more direction to help!
2. Discussion on the questions for “checking in” on students during a project.
• Procedural - This helps to tract progress toward milestones and deadlines, remind students of the project calendar and monitor students' project logs and checklists.
• Teamwork - This is important to make sure that the group is working well together. A teacher may circulate and ask questions to make sure that the students are on tract and see the team dynamics of the group. To gain the trust of students and give them a safe place to communicate, using a anonymous poll of the day can give the teacher an idea of how well the groups are working together. Another thing teachers can try, if their is some students not participating as much as other students. this can be the perfect opportunity for the teacher to have an open dialogue about teamwork.
• Understanding - Teachers must really observe, listen, and create probe question to the groups to help see the progress in each group. Some groups may start to go off task or use faulty information. The teacher can use questions or suggest resources to redirect the students in the right direction. 
• Self - Assessment - When working in a group project, students can have challenges and frustrations. A teacher ask questions that encourage self - assessment and reflection. Project journals and blogs gives an opportunity to the students to express these challenges and frustrations, and the students can also give their excitements about the project too. It is hard as a student to express these challenges and frustrations in front of all their peers, so this way it gives them privacy to express their thoughts about the project.
3. Discussion on the benefits to students when optimizing the use of technology.
• When introducing new technology to students, it can open many doors to our ever changing world. Students that love to game at home, can get into programing. It is important not to limit students to the use of particular technologies, but instead give them different technology choices to best fit their personal interests! After students can work with technology that mirrors their interest, those students ca add examples to their digital portfolios. The digital portfolios will becomes the centerpiece of their high school learning experience. 
4. Discussion on the 21st-century skills that can make or break a project.
• Team Conflicts and Solving Them
• Real-Life Skill: Being able to resolve problems within groups
• Team Contracts: Team members agree on roles and responsibilities and then sign the contract and be well aware of the consequences for not following through with an individual's responsibility.
• Team Evaluations: Gives the students a chance to give feedback to the teacher, have reflections on teamwork, and have students think about their choice of teammates in the future.
5. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
• This chapter really help to show how important it is to use teacher interaction to help get ideas, perfect a project, and someone to give feedback as a peer. Also, as a teacher it is important to make sure that they observe their students to make sure their is equality in each group, groups stay on track, and all students are getting the best outcome from the learning material and the use of technology. With our project, I hope that students can connect within a group and be able to optimize the use of technology in a group setting.