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Science, Environment, Math online course
February 2005
I really have felt some positive results from early and humble efforts
with PBL. My students rewarded me by giving the library rave reviews
when a state inspection took place last week. We had a special
commendation in the final report. My students clearly gain a sense of
ownership in the ìworkshopî type projects we have been trying in the
library. They are feeling more empowered with each experience with
projects, and specifically with iEARN projects.
With these students we are reaching across the digital divide during
the 1⁄2 hour weekly sessions in the library. Our project is Amazing
Science, and we actually started the project by using books to look for
and evaluate facts. Now we have moved on to our subscription databases
and we are learning to search online using Google. Without the focus of
this project we would not have learned evaluation skills as thoroughly
or been able to compare so many sources of information in such a short
time. The online forum has further enhanced studentsí critical thinking
skills of comparison and evaluation. The technical part of posting to
the forum is just starting for most students, but they will become
faster with each experience online.
Anne Lambert
John Muir School, San Diego
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Social Studies Online Course
February 2005
 Dear Barry and Tommie (course facilitators),
Despite the fact that I posted already there really is so much more to
say. When I read the name iEARN for the first time I equated it
with the money I sent not with what I might learn. It was a
natural reaction. Wow was I wrong. I have earned more
knowledge in my one year with iEARN than I gained in 4 years of
undergraduate school and 2 years of my masters. iEARNed more than
words can say. I connected and collaborated with brilliant
people. I even met a special mentor Farah Kamal (in Pakistan) who
is co-facilitating a
chat room with me in May. Farah has taught me so much and exposed
me to a world I didn't know. Losira Okelo has also mentored me
and given me such wonderful advice. Joanne Tawfilis (facilitator
of the Art Murals project) showed me the road to children's
peace. Last but not least there are the two of you. You
have given us so much information. I love Tommieís humor.
Thus iEARN is really what we gain from this wonderful adventure.
Lynn
Rosen
P.S.135,
New
York
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Creative Writing/Language Arts
February 2005
When deciding to take this class I did not have many assumptions other
than it would be great to take a class and not have to leave the house.
I truly did not understand the impact that this course would have on me
and my classroom, or how I would come to feel about iEARN. It was just
another course to get me to my next salary increase.
There were so many useful parts of this course that it is hard to
reflect on just one or two. The enthusiasm of the facilitators was an
enormous help to keep me motivated. The resources were phenomenal and I
learned so many new things about different websites that are available
to me. I printed so much to help me in my classroom. I felt that the
Six +One Trait writing rubrics were extremely helpful because it
actually came to me at a time when my principal had asked my grade to
come up with a standard rubric for all fourth grade writing
assignments.
I shared this with my colleagues and they loved it. We tweaked it to
meet our needs and now it is what we will be using. I also found an
absolutely great black-line master to help my students with accountable
talk. It was actually for writing but when looking it over, I thought
with a few word changes, it would work for accountable talk, which is
really big in my school.
Another super useful part of the course was the forums. It was an
invaluable experience to be able to ìtalkî with others involved in the
same projects that I was as well as other projects. I made new friends
and began a collaborative project with another teacher from the same
state where I live. In fact, we plan on meeting for a picnic with our
classes in June. One other thing that I found that was really helpful
was the feedback from the facilitators. I have done assignments and
papers for other classes during my time spent in school getting my
degrees. Some come back with just a grade on it and no feedback. I
think that is probably even more important than the actual grade you
receive at the end of a job done.
The project I have selected for integration into my classroom is the
folktale project for a few reasons. One reason is because I think
children are natural story tellers. They just love to be heard. They
love to write stories. I have a very mixed bunch of children from many
different backgrounds. I thought it would be a good way for
them to share some of their culture with the rest of their classmates
in a fun way. Another reason I chose this was because my school follows
the Columbia University Teacherís College Reading and Writing Workshop
model. This means that each month we are locked in to a particular type
of reading and writing. I thought it would just be fun to do something
different.
Debbie Pellegrino
P.S. 12Q, New York City
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