- Formative: Did the project get implemented as planned?
- Summative: Evidence of success in addressing the problem of practice.
My evidence of success is that the students are interested in my project! It is a good indicator that at least my high school students will be interested in and use my web site next year. I have also had interest from some of the staff at my school who have been watching the progress of my website. I know that they have asked questions about how I set it up and how hard would it be for them to set up a website. Next year when I truly implement my website I will be putting survey questions on the site to see how it is working. I am also planning on assigning Blog responses for my students to get them used to visiting my site and introduce the concept of an educational Blog.
- How would you approach another project of this type differently given what you’ve learned here?
The only thing I would change in my approach of another project of this type is that I would like to have my classes in place before trying to set up a website. Right now I feel like I am creating both at the same time (no syllabus, no course outline, no links, etc. yet) and the things that I don't know have left gaps in the website that I can't fill until I develop the courses. I would do many things the same; research, start working on the project and get feedback from colleagues, and the intended audience.
- What are the lessons learned that others might benefit from knowing about?
Some of the lessons I learned that others might benefit from is that you just have to accept that some projects just don't ever reach a point where they are done. I went into the project thinking that it would be "perfect" and ready to go by the end of this class but I can see now that it will be a changing and evolving process AND that is a good thing! The most important lesson I learned is that it is essential to get feedback! I got wonderful insights from my students, daughter, from my CEP group and instructor as they could see things that I couldn't and could tell me what THEY thought was valuable. I read and heard their comments with interest and then went back to my website with fresh eyes and tried to incorporate their ideas. I also made a lot of notes to myself about their suggestions to incorporate next year (all on an "invisible" web page)!
- In what ways will you endeavor to do the same project again, and what will you change or not do?
I will "complete" this project later in the summer as I add new information and revise some of the information I put on there as fillers. I will definitely get more people to give me feedback. I would not attempt a huge project thinking I could get it done in a short period of time. Fortunately since I now have the framework completed, a lot of great ideas and a vision I think it will be easier to use for the fall and keep up-to-date.
My website so far: http://mspilant.weebly.com
I think with any website, it will never be officially done because there will always be maintenance required to keep the site up to date. But I agree with you that to complete this site without knowing what exactly will be your schedule next year, would be difficult. But because of this project, I am sure you have a good handle on how to create a website through Weebly much faster. You have worked through any of the kinks and will be able to sail through another site once you have more concrete information.
ReplyDeleteAs you begin your new site over the summer, keep us updated on the progress and ask for feedback through this blog. I would be more than willing to look through it and give you feedback. I know the more eyes looking at it, helps to reveal some little details that could be altered. Good Luck in your future website construction and like I said feel free to ask for feedback. I am around all summer!
I love the picture of you! As you said, you're still working on it, but you now have the tools to succeed which is so positive! Like Tammie said, we're here all summer if you want help or feedback. I think it's great your coworkers are untreated in your project. At my school, everyone hates technology so it can sometimes be hard to get excited without being shot down. Having people to bounce ideas off of it's invaluable however.
ReplyDeleteThe last rather contradictory thing I might say is not to get too caught up in the feedback. A lot of the time students and parents don't know what they will use or like. I spent hours creating a listening sectin none of my students used and created one flashcard section just for fun. They loved the flashcards despite having said they weren't interested in them. It sounds like you're on there right track. Good luck!
Even though you weren't able to use this site with your students, the most important part of the project has been successfully accomplished: a well-built, nicely organized framework to which information can be added. You already know this, but - web site building is never done! There will always be links to update, information to add, changes to be made, work-arounds to be made, etc. Good luck next fall as you begin using this wonderful site with your students. Just a heads up ~ You might want to check to see if you could navigate through your site using FireFox as a browser. This is something you will want to share with your students in the fall.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar situation in that the school year was winding down--AND I don't know what my job situation is going to be for next year. But the fact that you got your website running, and have figured out a few of the initial glitches, has got to make you confident about next year. Is your blog incorporated into this site, or will your site link to an external blog? I'm curious to hear how you've set that up, and what programs/features you've used to do so.
ReplyDeleteDave, I used Weebly's blog feature and its on my website.
ReplyDelete