lisa-- allie said you had a mac. did you use iMovie for the assignment? if you did how the heck did you get it upload b/c iMovies are the only thing my comp won't let me upload!

yeah i agree. i'll just continue with my topic too! 

it looks like we are making a movie on a topic for our unit. i plan on continuing with where landfills are located! i hope that is okay! Good luck!

I thought it all was really interesting!

I also started looking at the assignment for module 7.  I wanted to get a head start because of the busy week ahead with midterms! I was thinking that for my movie I would do what recycling is, what we recycle and things like that. Really just the basics since it's an intro to a lesson.  Let me know what you guys think and what you plan on doing! Good luck if you have any midterms this week!

what did you all think of Module 6?  I had never heard of virtual field trips before.  They would be really useful in the classroom for tight budgets!  Assistive technology was a term better recognized by me, we learn about it in my special education classes pretty frequently.  Hope everyone had a good weekend.  ONE WEEK UNTIL SPRING BREAK!! :)

I'm sorry to hear that Lisa! 

I just finished my lesson plan but having trouble submitting it. Where is the "Share with Reviewer" button? 

i don't think you can take it in the wrong direction, it's supposed to be the direction you want to take it.  sounds good i'm sure it will turn out successfully.  mine was done, but i might look over and edit some more since i'm not going to chicago anymore

Thanks Allie that was helpful.

This is what I'm thinking, I know I keep asking for help but I feel as though my topic isn't as straight forward and I don't want to take it in a wrong direction!  So I was thinking that I would take the first couple of days to give general background of NYC like the history, what its known for, the fast pace lifestyle as compared to the rural, etc. Then let the students explore over the internet the recycling techniques they use.  Then maybe allow them to present their findings along with how they compare to what their own family does in terms of recycling.  Let me know what you think!! Thanks guys!

I like where you are going Katelyn. I agree with giving a back ground of New York which allows our rural students to understand the type environment the urban students live in. I dont know if i would explain how harsh the environment is because I do not want the rural students to get the wrong impression. Every type of community has their down falls and by not incorporating the harsh environment of a rural community into the lesson I believe they will think there environment is perfect. I hope that made sense... I do however think you should address the fast pace life style they have and how recycling can or has been brought into it. I hope this has helped :D

I think it would be interesting to do the urban community of New York City.  I'm thinking I would first give a general background about New York City and then branch off into how the fast pace lifestyle is harming our environment.  This is just a start off idea, but if you guys could let me know what you think along with any suggestions that would be fantastic.  I'm going to be out of town this weekend as well so I'm with Lisa on getting this done asap! Let me know please! Thanks!!!

Lesson Plan One...COMPLETE! Oh man did it take me awhile.  It feels great finishing though!  Now I can relax in Chicago :)

Thanks Lisa!

I am going to do landfills. I plan on covering both rural and urban. The rural will be brief compared to the urban seeing that our 5th graders are from the rural setting. Good luck!

Module 5

Hey girls, 

For this module each of us has to create a SEPARATE lesson plan that directly relates to our project on recycling.  The lesson plan should be geared toward our fifth grade elementary students, and the specific guidelines are stated in the module assessment on e-learning.  I will be in Chicago this weekend, so will be getting an early start to avoid serious procrastination.  For my lesson plan, I was going to have the students gather general information on recycling to get a good grasp of how it works in order to further research recycling in urban communities.  So basically, my lesson plan is going to outline recycling in the simple and general form.  For you two, some suggested ideas could be a lesson plan on the urban community of NY or information on landfills and waste management.  Just ideas in case you get stuck.  You can always scroll down our blog to go over our assignment objectives we've come up with so far.  We just have to make sure each lesson plan is different or else points will not be rewarded.  Good luck and let me know what you guys are thinking! 

Description of the Map

Along with our map connecting our rural and urban communities together, we plan on giving each student a map, along with the name of the student they will be contacting through out the semester. By giving the students a map allows them to visually see where the student they are communicating with are located. The map is a great way to start the students off feeling comfortable and excited because they are starting an adventure of communicating with others through technology

Assignment Description

    The assignment given to our fifth grade students that will demonstrate cultural understanding and global awareness will be a communication project about recycling between our rural students of Dundee, Michigan and a class of urban students from New York.  The project will demand the students to use technology based communication through blogs and epal to acquire information and resources about recycling in the urban community of New York.  The students will begin the project by contacting their assigned student from the urban school and assessing cultural insight through various questions suggested by the teachers and questions of their own creation.  The main topic of their project will be recycling. The goal of the information gathered is to create a better understanding of the urban culture and educate their urban student about recycling as it pertains to their community.  The idea is that the urban student will be creating the same project, so the goals are mutual.  The students will have the whole semester to work on this project and will present the final product in a powerpoint to the teacher and urban student.  

    The questions to help build the students projects are as follows:

• Does your family recycle? If so, what do you recycle and where?
• Do you learn about recycling often?  Who educates you and what do you learn?
• What would you like to know about recycling?
• Why is recycling important for you and your community?
• Are there any landfills located near you?  Where?
• Do you have to pay to recycle?
• What are common forms of recycling used in your community?  (Agricultural, Industrial, Individual)
• Is recycling visitor friendly in your community?
• How does your community advocate recycling?    

Students will communicate through E-Pal and a blog created for them and their assigned student.  Each blog will be available to each student in the rural class in Dundee, Michigan and the urban class in New York.  Students are working to gather information about what their student knows and what they want to know to help structure their recycling topics.  They will provide general information about recycling as well as recycling in the urban community of New York.  The students will also find local resources to advocate recycling among the students they work with.  With their student working on rural recycling, the end result of both projects will demonstrate global awareness and cultural understanding in an urban or rural community. 

I just uploaded the map! The map is going from our rural community, Dundee, MI to our urban community, New York, NY. The route we chose is the quickest!

View Recycling in a larger map

I added some ideas to what you initially said Lisa.  I'm a little confused what exactly we are supposed to be doing for our assignment as far as when we get all our ideas out there and what the map is for.  Any clarification will help so I can do my part!!!

google assignment

hellooo, 

i will take on starting the folder and google maps for our assignment #4.  then i will let you all know, because i have to invite you.  this assignment takes a lot of collaboration and team effort, so we definitely can't wait until sunday to conquer it.  let's all try to do a little bit from now until sunday so we don't have to stress last minute.  plus, the directions or activities seem a little complex so it will take some critical thinking!  we should all try to check our blog and other forms of communication daily at minimum so we can knock this out as quickly and effectively as possible!  read the directions so we all can start brainstorming on how we want to approach the topic.