Check-in

This week will be an abbreviated schedule, we will only be meeting today and tomorrow. Juniors will be presenting portfolios and seniors will be preparing portfolios on Thursday and Friday. Before you work on your projects, take a moment and simply leave a comment in response to the following question "Where are you at with your project? What's left to do?" Again, if you feel that you will not complete your independent project by June 13th, make sure you complete the essay assignment listed below. Please make the best use of your time this week on your portfolios and projects.

I am also available to read cover letters for portfolios. Email me your files or share them with me as Google documents and I will be happy to give you feedback and/or suggestions for revision.

Incomplete Project Essay

Many of your projects are based on good ideas that y0u may not have had the resources or time to accomplish. If you feel that you are not going to be able to accomplish your project before the end of the marking period, you must write a brief 1 - 2 page essay summarizing all the steps you have taken so far and what steps remain for you to complete your project.

The essay is not a formal research paper. It is a process essay based on your initial project question. For example, Kimani Reid asked "How can I make an animation?" His project has been about creating a flash animation. Go back to your project idea and formulate your essay around your project idea as a question. "How can I make a video about Brooklyn Prep?" "How can I make a documentary about teen pregnancy?"

The essay should attempt to show all the steps you have undertaken so far to complete your project. Additionally, you should try and address the following questions. They can be used as an outline to help structure your essay:

• What's the question or issue?
• What's my viewpoint and why?
• What's my evidence?
• How does this connect to my own experience?
• Why is this important?
• Have I incorporated individuality and creativity in my work?
• What are different possibilities or solutions for the issue I am addressing?
• Have I experimented or taken a risk?
• Does my work reflection organization, and cooperation with others?

This essay is primarily for students will will not have any finished product to reflect their efforts this semester. It can also be used to support partially finished projects and/or strengthen grades on projects. If your project is strong and you feel it reflects your commitment this semester, please put all your effort into finishing the project for your portfolio.

Post a comment in response to the alternative assignment whether you feel you will need to write the essay to help pass the course or whether you feel you can finish your project by the June 13th final deadline.

Independent Project Deadlines

We only have twelve days left of class officially, though some of you will be out at least one or two of those days for portfolio conferences.

Juniors, your portfolio presentation days are May 29th and 30th. You may not have class next Thursday. That leaves you 9 days to complete your projects. If you do not finish your project in time for portfolio, you may still turn it in before June 16th, the last day of the 3rd marking period. You can always use the project in your senior portfolio. If you plan on using your project in your portfolio, you need to submit the project to me by Wednesday May 28th so I can grade the project and give you a grade sheet. If you need a laptop to present your project during Portfolio, please sign up for one on your portfolio day. Send me an email with the request.

Seniors, your projects are due Wednesday June 11th if you plan on including the project in your portfolio so that I can give you a grade sheet. Please try and get the project turned in before then, so that you have time to incorporate the project into your portfolio letter.

Regardless of whether or not you finish your project or use it in your portfolio, we will be giving brief presentations the final week of school on our overall progress.

Help Sign-Up

Now that we are in the final marking period of your projects, I will be working with individuals and groups at your stations and/or on the overhead to help you accomplish specific parts of your projects. Please take a minute now and think about what you need help with on your project. Before you post your request, do you think anyone else in your group needs to know the same thing? If so, make sure you note that in your request. When you have a request for individual or group help, please post it as a comment below.

I will be working this week with individuals and groups based on your requests. Consider this a sign up sheet for help. The sooner you post your request the sooner I can help you or model a demo for your group. You can also post requests of things you need like signing out a camera, getting a pass, requesting times to film outside of class, or specific materials.

As always, you must post your goals for the week and reflect on last week's goals. It's a new marking period, please be aware that many of you did not post regular weekly goals and respond to them regarding your progress.

Project Conference Agenda

This week the 2nd Marking Period ends and part of your assessment includes a brief project conference. Today you will have time to prepare for your meeting by gathering together all of your evidence that you have produced so far. Examples of evidence include photographs, videos, surveys, research, and/or art work. You have to show me progress that indicates that you will be able to finish your project for your portfolio.

When we conference on Wednesday and Thursday, I will be looking to evaluate your progress according to the following criteria.

PLANNING

• Have you defined a problem to solve for your project?
• Have you developed a possible solution with the project?
• Have you identified clear steps towards finishing your project including resources and goals?

TAKING ACTION/EXPERIMENTING

• Have you persisted in accomplishing your goals?
• What practices and activities have you engaged in?
  

ASSESSING/GATHERING EVIDENCE

• Have you begun to organize your evidence into a presentation form?
• Can you show evidence of your research, thinking, or creating?

REFLECTION/EVALUATION

• Have you reflected on your project and your thinking?
• Have you learned anything about your own strengths and weaknesses as a learner?
• What Habit of Mind do you think are relying up the most?
  

MODIFICATION

• Have you changed your project based on new knowledge?
• Has your thinking about your project changed in any way based on new knowledge?

You can use your class time today to answer these questions or prepare to show me evidence that answers the questions using your blog and/or anything that you have researched or created. You should be able to show me examples of your learning or prepare an answer for each question.