Incomplete Project Blog Essay

If you do not think you will be able to finish your independent portfolio projects an alternative is to write an analytical essay for your blog to be presented with your senior or junior portfolio. In order to accomplish this you first need to define the thesis of your essay.
The thesis of your essay may be about the project or the subject of your project. For example, Shane would like to interview people about their different experiences in education. He could chose to write his essay about the small school movement in New York City while using some of his research in the paper. For example, asking teachers to compare their experiences between large schools and small schools might become part of his project. The thesis question of his essay might looks something like "Are small schools good for New York City students?" and his answer will depend on how his perspective develops through the research.
The paper is not meant to replace your project, but to help you organize the research you have already conducted about your topic. For example, Kanisha wants to create a portfolio of modeling photos based on Tyra Banks. How could Kanisha develop her knowledge about the model turned talk show host? Her thesis question might be "How did Tyra Banks achieve success through the media?" Again, her answer, will form a thesis statement supported by paragraphs of facts and opinions and a conclusion. Kanisha's thesis might be "Tyra Banks may be the next Oprah Winfrey having transformed her career from a supermodel into a talk show host." Kanisha then would support the statement by analyzing Tyra's rise through the modeling world into a supermodel, her work on America's Next Top Model, and finally her success in day time television.
These are only suggestions and Kanisha might want to write about how Tyra became a model or write a general essay on modeling as a career using Tyra as an example. Shane might want to write his essay about how people experience educations in New York. The topics of your thesis questions should reflect your interests, but develop a deeper academic research connection.
Your first assignment is to really think about your thesis by coming up with five different possible thesis questions. You must email me your list of thesis questions before class next Monday and list them in order of importance. I need to be able to respond to your thesis questions with feedback before you begin to write your essay, and I need to know which one your are most interested in. It has to be a question that will allow you to use your basic research and interviews so that you may begin to form a coherent thesis statement and support it with facts and your own opinions.

The final essay will be posted on your blog supported by relevant images and links to your sources. We want to make the essay and interactive and dynamic text that takes full advantage of the Internet.

Digital Collage

Today and tomorrow you will continue to experiment in Adobe Photoshop by creating a digital collage for your blog. The collage should include a background, a minimum of 5 images you find on the Internet, a text layer, a layer effect, a filter effect, and a drawing/painting layer. The theme of the your digital collage should relate to the theme of your project and convey why you care about the project in the first place. There is a list of tools and tips on the board to help you, but we will revisit the project soon. If you are really struggling with Photoshop ask Gavino or Gary for help as they have been very good working in the program.

Procedure:

• Open up Adobe Photoshop in the applications folder.

• Create a new file 600 x 600 pixels. (File>New)

• Reset all the palette locations using Window>Workspace>Reset palette locations.

• Use the Paint Bucket or Gradient Tool to create a colorful background for your image.

• Open up Safari or Firefox and COPY and PASTE 5 images you discover on the Internet that you want to include into your digital college into NEW FILES. Save them as image1, image2, image3, image4, image5.

• Use the marquee and lasso tools to select areas of the images that you want to include in your blank canvas. Use the feather tool to soften edges on 2 -3 of the images.

• Remember, each time you paste in Photoshop it creates a new Layer. Make sure you select the layer you want to manipulate.

• Arrange your images using the Move Tool (black arrow).

• Apply a Filter effect to at least one of your image layers.

• Create a new Painting layer using Layer>New>Layer and try and use the paintbrush/drawing tools to unify parts of your collage.

• Use the Type Tool to add a relevant phrase, quote, or word to your collage.

• Apply a layer effect to your type using Layer> Layer Style > and choose one of the options.

When you are finished working for the day on Thursday SAVE the file as yourname.PSD in photoshop format.

When you are finished working for the day on Friday SAVE the file as yourname.psd and then SAVE FOR THE WEB as yourname.JPG and choose the JPEG option.

Post the file to your blog using the IMAGE option in your post and UPLOAD the image. It will appear in your post. Title the post Digital Collage. Please post your image even if you are not done. I will be checking them over the weekend and need to see whatever progress you were able to make in class.

Holiday Reading Assignment

"When others trust us, they give us greater leeway because they feel we don't need monitoring to assure that we'll meet our obligations."

This is a nice quote from the reading that connects directly to the idea of self-regulation.  When you are given a project or an assignment, there is an expectation of trust that you will complete the work.  It connects also to your project, your goal setting, and my trust in you that you will meet your goals instead of coming up with excuses.

When you come back on Monday after the break, please bring back the reading on trustworthiness with a written response to the idea that stands out to you the most.  Which one do you think is the most important, difficult, or challenging?

• Honesty

•Integrity

•Reliability

•Loyalty

 

Based on the do now, which was to define honesty, integrity, reliability, and loyalty in your own words, write a one page response on how your definition or understanding of ONE of  the terms connects to the text.  

• What is similar or different about your understanding of the term and the definition in the text?
• What do you agree with or disagree with in the text? (pull a quote)
• Describe a moment in your life where your own honesty, integrity, reliability, or loyalty was challenged (write about the term you selected).  What was the situation?  How did you respond? 
• Why does trustworthiness have four parts? What makes it so complicated? Based on your understanding of all the terms, try and make a connection between the one you have selected one of the others.  
  

You can write your response on the back of the packet.  Please bring it with you next Monday.

Goal #2 Reflection and Goal #3 Setting

Today, leave a comment on Goal #2 explaining whether you met the goal or not.  If you met the goal, be prepared to show your evidence.  I will be checking during class today.

After you have finished reflecting on your previous goal post your #3 project goal.  You're third goal should be something that you can complete over the holiday and come prepared to show next Monday.

The second marking period ends next week, and we will be having project conferences to evaluate your progress.

• Leave a comment on last week's 2nd goal.  Did you complete it?  What is the evidence?
• Post a 3rd project goal on your blog to complete over the holiday.  

Self-regulation and continuous learning

Working independently or within a group is something that requires a lot of each you. In order to be successful in college you must be able to set and meet goals to become a self-directed learner. What does that mean?

Imagine it's your first day in class in college and a professor says, "write an 800 word paper on Government due in one month?" How would you do it? What are some steps you might take to meet the professor's demand? Write down some of the steps you would take to accomplish this paper. Add the most important one as a comment on this post.

Self-Regulation is an important part of assessing your own progress on any given task. To self-regulate you must take control and responsibility your work.  Hopefully, in college and with your own digital portfolio project you will be pursuing an area of study that you value and would want to learn about outside of school.  To help you self-regulate you have to set some basic goals, know when they have been met, and if they meet necessary standards. 

Part of of this process of self-regulation first requires you to think about your own style of learning. A self-regulating student or worker doesn't wait for other people to get them started, but uses inquiry and experimentation to accomplish their own goals.  Answer the following questions on your blog in a new post.  Copy and Paste them into your blog and answer the questions honestly and thoughtfully:

1. What is the best environment (home, school, work, library, etc.) for your learning? Where do you work the best?
2. Where do you choose to study? (If you don't study, why not?)
3. Where do you choose to work creatively? Where do show your individuality?
4. How do you work with others (school, teams, work, family etc.)?
5. What is your favorite way of learning (listening, looking, doing, experimenting, etc)?
6. What do you think are your talents or strengths (drawing, writing, speaking, problem solving, etc,)?
7. Where do your personal interests lie (sports, arts, music, dance, socializing, etc.,)?
8. When do you check for accuracy and precision in your life or work?
9. Are you persistent in developing your work or accomplishing things in your life?
10. What will you work on independently in class tomorrow?

Self-regulation begins with your own internal reflection on how you learn and work best. Once you start to realize your strengths you can start to work towards those on your own.  When you become a self-regulated learner engaged in continuous learning, you would have something to do everyday in school even if there were no teachers to tell you what to do.  

Searching for an Expert and an introduction

Today, before you do anything else, write a brief and polite introduction to any potential experts on your topic area that you may end up interviewing.  In one paragraph, introduce yourself, your project, and the purpose of your email, which is to ask the expert some questions you have about your project/topic area.  The introduction should be well written in proper English with no slang or texting shortcuts.  It should have a greeting "Dear expert (for now)", a body, and a salutation "Sincerely, your name".

Send me your introduction and your 7 interview questions to mr.powhida@gmail.com.  Then, for those of you who do not already have someone to interview move onto the next step. I will review your introduction and questions and send it back if there any corrections/changes.  Then, when you discover some experts to contact you can send out your questions.  

How do we find experts? While there are some experts in the school that you can contact, everyone in here can start searching for an outside expert to ask for help and briefly interview with your questions. In fact, one of the best ways to gain new knowledge is to interview a person. That way, they share their knowledge in their own words, which means they are putting that knowledge in their own words from their perspective. This is a higher order of thinking that just giving you a list of facts and/or advice.

To start your expert search, you should begin by searching locally in Brooklyn and New York City in general for people with careers related to your field. For example, Brandon might search for chefs, television, New York

Let's look up the results that pop up and see if we can find contact info like an email address for Brandon.

Now that you've seen it's possible, spend some time trying different combinations of keywords in Google and see if you can find as many contacts to email your interview questions.  Save any contacts you find in your Google Research Worksheet in a new box and label it Expert Contacts Include the person or business's name, email address, and area of expertise.

Finding An Expert

Many of you are struggling with the idea of how to start your project, because there is an overwhelming amount of information on the Internet. As you know, information is nothing unless you are able to comprehend, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate it. In order to help find some guidance we will be searching for experts, or people who have already applied the kind of higher order thinking you will have to, to help us out with the project. 

We happen to live in a city of experts. In terms of your projects, many of you will be able to find help and ideas within the school and others will have to look beyond the school walls. How you do find an expert? You search for people and contact information in the industry you are researching and you reach out to several of them until someone responds. I was contacted by a student at the Young Writer's Academy to talk about my work as a writer in Brooklyn. I sat down for an interview about my writing process. The student found my email on the Internet and contacted me. I responded because I thought it would be good for the community. 

Before you start searching for an expert on your project (or area of interest), you will need to think of several questions to ask your expert. For example, Milaida  wants to make a film about her dancing. She might ask an expert on film "Why did you get into film-making?", "What are the basic steps to making a film?", or "How can I plan out my film?", "What should I learn about editing?"

Before we move on to writing our questions, you need to search for a published interview with someone in your field or area of interest.  For example, Kenyetta could search for an interview with a famous Jamaican or Jamaican-American to find out if they talk about their background and culture.  Nephteli could search for an interview with one of her favorite dancers or choreographers.  Jeff could search for an interview with a famous graffiti artist like Shepard Fairey or Banksy.  When you find a good interview, copy and paste the link into your RESEARCH WORKSHEET in google docs.  

Each of you needs to write a series of at least seven questions for an expert about your project. They should not be yes or no questions, but ones that will help guide your work. Add your 7 questions to one of the boxes in your Google Research Worksheet.  

If you finish your questions early, start searching for people in your field of interest or if you know a faculty member that might be able to help.  So, if you are making a video/film search for "Brooklyn, Film makers, production companies". If you are doing fashion, search for "Brooklyn, fashion designers," If you find any contact information, save it in your RESEARCH DOCUMENT in google docs.

1st Project SMART Goal

Based on your writing prompt in class, try and make a very achievable and simple goal for yourself to help you get started with your project. What is one thing you need to accomplish so that your project can move forward? Steps might include:

•Gathering materials and resources
•Making lists of areas to research around the topic
•Drawing sketches of designs
•Making a list of materials you will need
•Writing a backwards plan
•Summarizing your research

Depending on how much planning you've done during the getting ready phase, some of you can make very concrete goals about what you want to do next. If you still need to clarify what you are doing, make that a goal for yourself.

Post the SMART goal on YOUR blog using the SMART goal template:

By blank blankI will blank blank blankand I will show blank blank blankaas evidence. 

Research Post

So far you have all been getting ready and learning from Internet sources to create your project.  Getting ready has included generating (thinking about) a project topic.  Then you brainstormed some questions and some of you posted some steps you will have to take.  

The next step has been using the research worksheet to learn from sources.  One of the problems though, is that many of you are just gathering pictures, diagrams, and links without actively making any connections or seeking a deeper understanding of how the information relates to your project topic.

Today, your task is to take the information you have gathered and use it to write your first process reflection by connecting the information you've discovered to your prior knowledge (stuff you already knew or had questions about).  The reflection post incorporate the most important, interesting, or helpful information you have discovered into a the blog entry.  

What will you write about?  Many of you have not expressed or explained what you already know about the project topic or why it is so important to you.  For example, Medina really cares about animals.  Gary is trying out for the basketball team and wants to move up to the next level.  Aziza performs with a dance group outside of school.  Brandon already cooks and is an aspiring chef.  Leon is an avid video game player and wants to pursue a career in game development.  Miliada is also a dancer and has been for a long time.  Shanoi really like fashion and Cortland is fan of rock music.  

Start your blog entry today by taking the time to explain why the topic is so important to you and what you already know about it.  Then explain some of the questions you had about the topic and how your research has begun to answer those questions.  While some of you may feel like you are done researching, you have only really begun to learn about your project.  

Try and make some connections between what you already knew about your project topic and what you learned from just a few Internet sources.

As we move ahead with the project, you will begin learning from primary sources including people you interview, secondary sources like books and magazines.  The Internet is only one source of information and not all of it is good.  You will also begin to learn by doing including performing, experimenting, creating, imaging, and generally making stuff.  There are more steps in the learning spiral that you will encounter before you really have made a project.  

Due today: A 150 - 200 word reflection post about your project topic starting with why it's so important to you, what you may have already known about it, and what connections you've made through the research to your own questions.  Title the post Process Reflection #1

What is SMART goal setting?

In order to help you complete your project we will begin to set and meet goals each week.  The goal setting process will occur every Tuesday for warm-up.  To help you learn to set and meet your individual goals, we are going to look at protocol for goal setting that professionals use. The idea is to set smart goals that you can accomplish. So why do we call them SMART goals? Take a minute right now and think about each letter in the word SMART: S-M-A-R-T. What word might each letter stand for that would help you set and meet goals? Try and figure out at least one and leave your inference as a comment.

SMART goal indicators

• S - Simple - keep your goals directly related to the task at hand. Use your backwards plans.
• M - Measurable - your goal should show growth with demonstrable evidence.
• A - Achievable - your goal should be something that you can accomplish with effort.
• R - Realistic - no amount of effort or hard work can overcome an unrealistic goal.
• T - Time Table - your goal should have a deadline.

Today we will set our first SMART goal together to help start our research into our project idea and develop a list of resources for our blog.

SMART Goal template

By blank blankI will blank blank blankand I will know I achieved blank blank blankbecause blank blank.

Using the SMART goal template post your first SMART goal, which you will work on tomorrow in class to meet.

Project Presentations

Tomorrow you will be presenting your project idea to the class. You will talk for 1 - 2 minutes and answer questions from your peers. Today, you should review the protocol for the presentation, which will give to talking points for your project.

Presentation Protocol:

1. State your name and grade.
2. Briefly explain your project idea.
   What is the main question or issue?
   
3. Summarize your backwards plan. What are some steps you will have to take? What materials or resources will you need?
   
4. Explain why you think your project is important.
   
5. How will your project affect others? How does it connect to the community?
   
6. Discuss what two habits of mind your project will exemplify or require you to use.
   

The class must ask each presenter at least two questions and receive an answer before we move on. The class may also provide any comments or suggestions to each presenter in addition to the questions.

Preliminary Backwards Plan

Creating an independent project for yourself is a big task and often the hardest part is getting started. It's easy to get overwhelmed by the whole idea of a project. In order to help ourselves get started we are going to try and create preliminary backwards plan. What is backwards planning? 

imagine it's early June and you have just shown your amazing project to your portfolio group. In your mind, try and imagine where you are in the school. Try and imagine what you have just shown, read, or presented to your audience. Try and imagine exactly how you presented your project. Close your eyes and visualize exactly what you are presenting to your audience

Now, you should have a picture of what your final project will look like. The question is 'how did you get all the way there from here?' Instead of starting with the first step, let's start with your end goal. Today I would like you to:
•Briefly introduce your project idea (one sentence to readers know what the project is about)
•Start a bulleted list like this that begins with the final step of your project, the final product, whether it's debuting a video or an exhibition of art work, and exactly how you would present it at portfolio.
•Then put your list of steps in any order that you believe you will have to go through to complete your project.
Start at the end and try to work backwards, but if a step pops into your head add it to your list. Post your backwards plan list of steps under "Preliminary Backward Plan". 

What is backwards planning?

The situation: You have to bake your mother a birthday cake for her birthday and you want to make it really special.

The final product: A beautiful birthday cake for your mother's birthday.

The steps: What is one step you would have to take to accomplish this task?

Think about any 3 steps that you would have to do at any point in the process to make accomplish the task. Leave a comment on this post with the 3 steps you know would have to get done from big steps to little ones.

What did customize on your layout?

What changes did you make to your blog layout? Leave a comment on this post and let me know one or two changes you made to your blog layout.

Revising Your Project Idea

How can I revise my project idea according to the rubric?

Based on your project reflection worksheets, go back into your project idea and make sure you are addressing all of the worksheet questions in your project statement. Also, look over the project rubric again and try and address the standards in your project statement. Does your project reflect perspective, analysis, connections, imagination, and commitment?  

When you have finished updating your project idea, please read over your feedback partner's project idea by visiting their blog and posting a comment. Please try and help your partner clarify their idea with ideas, questions, or suggestions.

If you have not signed up for an academic gmail address yet, do so now at gmail.com and then visit blogger.com and sign up for a digital portfolio blog.  

First Blog Posts

Today we are going to add our first blog posts. Your first post will be your personal introduction. The introduction is saved in your sent mail in Gmail or I can email it back to you at your new Gmail address. Before you post your introduction, forward the email to your new feedback partner, who will review the introduction for grammar and spelling errors and then send it back to you with any corrections or changes.

• Copy the introduction and paste it into the body of your first blog post.
• Title the post "Introduction" and click Publish Post beneath the editing window.
  

After you post your introduction, your second blog post will be your initial project idea. Please make sure you type your project idea in the form of a statement and not just a list. For example,

In digital portfolio I would like to create a short video about crime in the community. I am very interested in pursuing a career in criminal justice or forensic science like on CSI. I would like to interview a police officer, a college admissions counselor, a student at John Jay on video. I will conduct research about crime in Brooklyn and present the facts and the opinions of people I interview in the video. The project connects to science and government, as well as my own career interest in being a police detective or crime scene investigator. I also hope to learn more about shooting video and editing it on the computer.

• Type up your project ideas from yesterday and post them under the title "Initial Project Idea".
• When you have finished your post, send the link to your feedback partner's email address.
• Visit your feedback partner's blog and leave a comment with your thoughts and ideas about their initial project ideas. Do the projects seem realistic? Do you think it's appropriate for a portfolio? Does it seem important?

Project Reflection

One of the final steps to completing Digital Portfolio is to write a reflection essay to accompany your independent project. In the essay you should reflect not only on the growth of your project but your own growth as a self-regulated learner. The reflection essay is also an opportunity for those of you who have struggled with the independent project to explain the difficulties and obstacles you have faced.

The reflection essay should cover the project rubric items that we looked at near the end of last marking period. Additionally, you want to make sure you reflect on your growth as an independent learner; setting goals, conducting research, gathering evidence, experimenting, creating, planning, and reflecting on your task. The reflection essay should cover the following points:

• Introduce and explain your project idea. What problem does the project address? What task, phenomena, stimulus, question, or discrepancy does your project attempt to solve? You should refer to and include any relavant planning information from your blog.
  
• Analyze your efforts to solve the problem, answer the question, or complete the task through your project. Describe what research, experimentation, and/or action you have taken to complete the project. What new knowledge did you acquire through the project? What if any new knowledge did you create through the project? What have been your strengths and weaknesses working on the project?
• Explain your personal and academic connections to the project. What attracted you to the problem, question, or idea for the project? Explain why the project is important to you and also why it is important to the community and/or the world? How could the project help others?
• Explain how your project synthesized your idea, planning, research, and actions into a new creative form. What ways did you create, image, or innovate to produce your project? Remember, synthesis is the form of thinking where you create your own solution to a problem. How did your imagination help you think flexibly or take a risk?
  
• Evaluate your overall commitment to the project. Predict whether your final project will meet all your goals and offer a solution to the problem you have addressed. This is an opportunity to appraise your performance honestly and address how your project could be improved, revised, or finished.
  

The length and depth of your reflection essay is dependent on how well developed your final project will be. If you feel that your project will be incomplete, the reflection essay should be longer and describe in-depth what your portfolio group will not be able to see on your blog and in the final project. At minimum, your reflection essay should be five paragraphs in lenghth covering the above points. If your project is incomplete, your essay should be substantially longer as you have to explain your entire project in depth. Please post all reflection essays on your blog along with your projects and/or project documentation.

Goal # 8 Reflection and Goal Setting #9

Good morning, today you will assess your progress on your last goal #8 by leaving a comment on your previous post. Please explain how you met your goal and describe your progress including any evidence that you produced last week. When you are finished commenting, post your new SMART goal #9 and begin working on meeting your goal during class today.

During your goal reflection and setting today, I will be coming around to check for evidence of progress. Please be prepared to show and/or explain how you met goal #8. We will look at the number of students who set and met their individual goals today and tomorrow in class. This is the final marking period and meeting our goals is the most important goal for the class.

Project Conferences and Finding your expert

Today I will be meeting with each of you to discuss your progress towards completing your project. We are entering the third Marking Period and projects for portfolio will have to be finished and graded by Tuesday May 26th for Juniors and Thursday June 4th for seniors. The rest of our time in Digital Portfolio needs to be used to create, execute, make, image, write, or design your projects. Your final weekly goals should be about making the product.

Today and tomorrow while I conduct conferences, you may work on your project after you spend some time searching for contact information for experts who might be able to answer your questions. Use Google to search for poets, writers, painters, artists, musicians, and/or people working if fields relevant to your own. Many of you have found blogs related to your topics, and you can contact those people with your questions as well.

Try and find contact info for 3 - 5 people you think could answer your expert questions and email me the information at mr.powhida@gmail.com. In your email, include a short 2 -3 introduction that you will send out along with your questions to the experts. Tomorrow, we will try and send out your questions at the beginning of class.

Goal Setting and Finding an Expert

Now that the Internet is working, please comment on last week's goal #5(6) regarding your progress and post a NEW smart goal #6(7) on your blog. The marking period ends tomorrow and we will be conducting progress conferences tomorrow and Thursday. You will have time tomorrow and Thursday during those conferences to catch up on any blog posting and goal setting you need to improve your grade, as well as meet this week's goal.

Finding an Expert

Many of you could use some guidance for your projects, because there is an overwhelming amount of information on the Internet. As you know, information is not valuable unless you are able to comprehend, apply, analyze, synthesize, and/or evaluate it. In order to help find some guidance we will be searching for experts, or people who have already applied the kind of higher order thinking you need to do in their own work.

We happen to live in a city of experts. In terms of your projects, many of you will be able to find help and ideas within the school and others will have to look beyond the school walls. How you do find an expert? You search for people and contact information in the industry you are researching and you reach out to several of them until someone responds. I was contacted by a student at the Young Writer's Academy to talk about my work as a writer in Brooklyn. I sat down for an interview about my writing process. The student found my email on the Internet and contacted me. I responded because I thought it would be good for the community (commitment).

Before you start searching for an expert on your project (or area of interest), you will need to think of several questions to ask your expert. For example, Karisha wants to write a fantasy story. She might ask an expert on writing "Why did you get into writing?", "What are some of the steps you take to write a story?", or "How can I develop my characters?"

Each of you needs to write a series of at least seven questions for an expert about your project. They should not be yes or no questions, but ones that will help guide your work. Email me your questions today at mr.powhida@gmail.com

If you finish your questions early, start searching for people in your field of interest or if you know a faculty member that might be able to help, include them in your email today. So, if you are making a video/film search for "Brooklyn, Film makers, production companies". If you are doing fashion, search for "Brooklyn, fashion designers"

Thinking about Thinking

Today we are going to look at higher order thinking and Bloom's taxonomy before we begin searching for outside experts to help us develop our projects. Please reflect on last week's goal#4 and then post your new SMART goal #5

Before you start your reading, I think it's only fair that you start to understand that the kind of work you are doing in this class is difficult intellectually. Why? Well, let's take a look at Bloom's taxonomy, which breaks down intelligence into different categories. Carefully read the 1st domain of cognitive learning only (unless you want to read more) and then answer the six questions below and email me your answers at mr.powhida@gmail.com

Don't post them or add a comment here. Email your answers only.

Copy and Paste the questions into gmail:

1. What is Bloom’s definition of knowledge?
2. How do you define knowledge?
3. Provide an example from school where you demonstrated knowledge?
4. Which of Bloom’s categories of knowledge is the most difficult? How do you know?
5. What category or categories might describe our habit of mind of perspective?
6. Describe which category of knowledge you are required to use in school and explain what you think that means about the school:

When you have finished please begin work on meeting your goal for next week.

SMART Goal #3 Reflection/ SMART Goal #4 Setting

Before you set your goals to today, I would like us to review the project rubric together, so that you can gauge your progress so far. After we look at the rubric here http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhrh47t8_128cb227gg6 and discuss what the different standards mean, you have to give yourself a progress grade so far. Thinking about what you have accomplished so far leave a comment below this POST here and give yourself a progress assessment. Use the example format below:

P - Distinguished
A - Undeveloped
N - Developing
I - Undeveloped
C - Proficient

After you've left your self assessment, please continue to read below and complete your goal reflection and setting for this week.

Today you should take a moment to add a comment about your progress towards meeting your SMART goal #3. (if you have four that is OK, but most people are on SMART Goal #3). When you have finished posting your comment, POST a new SMART goal #4 on your blog. I will be responding to your goals this week as well.

Goal 2 Reflection/New SMART goal 3

In response to your second goal that you posted on your blog, add a comment that answers the question "Did you meet your goal?  If so, support your answer by describing or showing the evidence you produced.  If not, what obstacles prevented you from meeting your goal?"

After you have commented on Goal #2, you now have to set a SMART goal for next week.  Check your backwards plans and give yourself another goal to complete for your project.  PLEASE use the SMART goal template outlined below on the class blog.  Make it a reasonable (small) goal that you can accomplish during the week outside of class because we will be working on customizing our blogs and developing personal banners in Photoshop.  

BE SURE TO POST GOAL #3 on your blog (even if you are not here today) 

 

Materials List Post

By next Tuesday you should have your blog completely caught up to today's assignment, which is to post a list of materials that you will need to complete your project.  Your materials list can include both physical things; paper, paint, video cameras and academic things; learning how to use Flash, how to use Photoshop, or edit a video. 

Think about what you want/need to know, learn, how-to-do and the what you need to make it happen. Type up a list of everything you could possibly want to use and know, don't worry about whether or not we can actually get it yet. Think big first. Post your list on your blog using the bulleted list feature in the menu bar to left of the quotes icon.

Smart Goal Data/Smart Goal Post #2

This is the data from last week's 1st SMART Goal Setting based on what is on your class blogs.  The blue area represents the total number of students who posted a goal.  The red area represents the number of students that met their goal.  The Orange area indicates students who did not set a goal due to absence, not sending me a blog address, or not setting a goal.  What does the data suggest?

For the 3 of you that met your goal;  you should go back to your own blog and leave a comment reflecting on how you met your goal.  You should briefly explain the content of your links with a short summary of how each link might help you.  When you three are finished, you need to think about a next step for your project that you want to accomplish.  Look at your backwards plan and POST a new SMART goal for next week.  

For the 11 of you that posted your SMART goal, but did not meet it, you now have to go your own blog and leave a comment explaining why you failed to meet your SMART goal for the week.  Then you need to POST (2) SMARTS goal on your blog, last week's a new one of your own design.  What is the next step for your project based on your backwards plan?  

Hopefully, you will use your time today to finish last week's goal before starting work on your next one.  

For the 7 of you that did not post a goal; you need to log in to your blog and publish a new Post explaining why you did not post the 1st SMART goal and title it Missing SMART goal #1.  Then you need to read last week's assignments and add 5 links/resources to your blog.  

The format for posting SMART Goals and the steps for adding a link list to your blog are written out on the class blog.  

Link/Resource List

Today you will start researching your project idea and begin creating a list of links on your blog.  The links will be to resources that you discover on the web to help you develop your project.  For example, if Michael is researching "Hip-Hop, Graffiti, history, Bronx" using Google, one of the first results is a blog called Hip-Hop Intellectuals (http://hiphopintellectual.blogspot.com/2008/04/born-in-bronxbaby.html), a useful blog about issues in hip-hop.  Michael might be able to discover interesting articles and links about hip-hop there.  This is an example of a resource that Michael would obviously need to spend some time reading to find useful information.  

When you find a link that is relevant to your topic you will add it to a Links list you will create today in class.  If you are not in class today follow the instructions below:

• For each link you find copy the URL in the address window in your browser.  
• Then you need to open a new window and log into Blogger.  
• Select your blog and click on the the tab that says Layout beneath the title of your blog in the upper left hand corrner.
  
• In the Layout window click on the field in the left side of the layout that says Add a Gadget.
• In the gadget menu click on the plus sign next to Link List.
• Title the List List "Links/Resources"
• You can sort the links by alphabetically if you select that option.
• Paste the the URL you have copied into the New Site URL area.  
• Add a New Site name below the URL, for example Michael's first title would be "Hip-Hop Intellectuals"
  
• Click the ADD LINK button to put it on the list.
• When you are finished click SAVE.
• Your first URL in your link/resource list should be http://bpdigitalportfolio.blogspot.com and the the name should be Digital Portfolio

To meet Tuesday's first goal you should add a minimum of four more relevant resources to help you create your project to your links/resources list today.  If you don't finish you have until next Tuesday to meet your first SMART goal.  

1st SMART goal

By next Tuesday I will post five resources on my blog and I will know I achieved the research because there will be five new links on my blog. 

SMART Goal Setting

In order to help you complete your project we will begin to set and meet goals each week.  The goal setting process will occur every Tuesday for warm-up.  To help you learn to set and meet your individual goals, we are going to look at protocol for goal setting that professionals use. The idea is to set smart goals that you can accomplish. So why do we call them SMART goals? Take a minute right now and think about each letter in the word SMART: S-M-A-R-T. What word might each letter stand for that would help you set and meet goals? Try and figure out at least one and leave your inference as a comment.

SMART goal indicators

• S - Simple - keep your goals directly related to the task at hand. Use your backwards plans.
• M - Measurable - your goal should show growth with demonstrable evidence.
• A - Achievable - your goal should be something that you can accomplish with effort.
• R - Realistic - no amount of effort or hard work can overcome an unrealistic goal.
• T - Time Table - your goal should have a deadline.

Today we will set our first SMART goal together to help start our research into our project idea and develop a list of resources for our blog.

SMART Goal template

By next blank blankI will blank blank blankand I will know I achieved blank blank blankbecause blank blank.

Using the SMART goal template post your first SMART goal, which you will work on tomorrow in class to meet.

Backwards Planning

Creating an independent project for yourself is a big task and often the hardest part is getting started. It's easy to get overwhelmed by the whole idea of a project. In order to help ourselves get started we are going to do some backwards planning. What is backwards planning?

imagine it's early June and you have just shown your amazing project to your portfolio group. In your mind, try and imagine where you are in the school. Try and imagine what you have just shown, read, or presented to your audience. Try and imagine exactly how you presented your project. Close your eyes and visualize exactly what you are presenting to your audience

Now, you should have an idea of what your final project will look like. The question is 'how did you get all the way there from here?' Instead of starting with the first step, let's start with your end goal. For example, several students are interested in creating video documentaries.

Their final step might be:
"Show video on projector to portfolio group."

What steps would a student have to go through to create a film? Without worrying about the order of the steps, what are some steps this student might have to go through to reach their final goal? Take a minute and think about what you know about film or video and documentaries and add a comment with ONE step you think the student would have to take to create a video that would be shown at Town Hall on the big screen. Think about how videos and films are made. What would a student have to know and/or do to make a video?

After looking at some of the steps we think a student might have to take to create a video, start creating your own backwards plan. Today I would like you to

• Briefly introduce your project idea (one sentence)
  
• write down that final step of your project, whether it's debuting a video or an exhibition of art work, exactly how you want to present your project.
  
• Then brainstorm a list of steps in any order that you believe you will have to go through to complete your project.
  
• Start at the end and try to work backwards, but if a step pops into your head write down. Post your final step and all your ideas on your blog under the title "Backwards Plan Brainstorm".

When you are finished with your backwards plan, please send me an email with your blog address if you have not done so yet.

Introduction

Hi my name is Mr. Powhida....

Signing up for Blogger

If you have completed the project worksheet (see below) and have signed up for a Gmail address it is time to sign up for a blog at blogger.com. Signing for a blog is simple as long as you read the instructions and pay attention to the following suggestions:

• Your blog name should be related to the course or your project. Keep it simple by using your name and a simple description. ie Ariel's Comic Book Project. The blog name can be changed anytime.
  
• The blog URL or address is PERMANENT. It should be something short that you can tell other people like yaniqueproject.blogspot.com or dannymusic.blogspot.com. Your only get to name the first part - YOURADDRESS.blogspot.com
• Email me your blog address at mr.powhida@gmail.com Copy the blog address into the SUBJECT of the email when you are finished signing up. I will be adding it to the class blog links section.
  

Project Worksheet #1

Today you will take your first steps towards working digitally in this class. Many of you have email addresses that you use personally, but today you will sign up for an academic email through Google that you will use for class. Follow the procedure below to sign up for your gmail account. We will be using the gmail account for Blogger, Google docs, Picassa, and more. After you sign up for your Gmail, you need to complete the first project worksheet in Word and email me your responses as a word document attachment.

Steps:

1. Go to www.gmail.com
2. Sign up for the email and provide the required information only.
3. Choose an account name that involves only your name and up to two numbers. You may use your full name, your inititals, and periods and numbers in the account. For example my academic email is mr.powhida@gmail.com
4. When you have finished signing up for the email, your first task will be be to email me your responses to questions about your project idea. These are due by Thursday at the latest.
   
5. When you click on the link, which will take you to the project worksheet, copy and paste the questions into Word. Type your answers into the word file and save it as YOURNAME_1.doc and email me the file as an attachment. Please ask for help or a demo if you do not know how to attach a file.

independent Project Reflection

One of the final steps to completing Digital Portfolio is to write a reflection essay to accompany your independent project. In the essay you should reflect not only on the growth of your project but your own growth as a self-regulated learner. The reflection essay is also an opportunity for those of you who have struggled with the independent project to explain the difficulties and obstacles you have faced.

The reflection essay should cover the project rubric items in greater detail than your quick reflections your wrote down on paper the other day. Additionally, you want to make sure you reflect on your growth as an independent learner; setting goals, conducting research, interviewing people, gathering evidence, experimenting, creating, planning, and reflecting on your task. The reflection essay should cover the following points:

• Introduce and explain your project idea. What problem does the project address? What task, phenomena, stimulus, question, or discrepancy does your project attempt to solve? You should refer to and include any relavant planning information from your blog.
  
• Analyze your efforts to solve the problem, answer the question, or complete the task through your project. Describe what research, experimentation, and/or action you have taken to complete the project. What new knowledge did you acquire through the project? What if any new knowledge did you create through the project? What have been your strengths and weaknesses working on the project?
• Explain your personal and academic connections to the project. What attracted you to the problem, question, or idea for the project? Explain why the project is important to you and also why it is important to the community and/or the world? How could the project help others?
• Explain how your project synthesized your idea, planning, research, and actions into a new creative form. What ways did you create, image, or innovate to produce your project? Remember, synthesis is the form of thinking where you create your own solution to a problem. How did your imagination help you think flexibly or take a risk?
  
• Evaluate your overall commitment to the project. Predict whether your final project will meet all your goals and offer a solution to the problem you have addressed. This is an opportunity to appraise your performance honestly and address how your project could be improved, revised, or finished.
  

The length and depth of your reflection essay is dependent on how well developed your final project will be. If you feel that your project will be incomplete, the reflection essay should be longer and describe in-depth what your portfolio group will not be able to see on your blog and in the final project. At minimum, your reflection essay should be five paragraphs, 12pt times font, double spaced, and reference any sources with MLA style.

Habits of Mind

In February everyone will be participating in a Habits of Mind based portfolio presentation. Juniors will be presenting their portfolios and discussing their work based on Brooklyn Prep's Habits of Mind. Seniors will be sitting in on the conferences to offer their insight and feedback.

Many students have a hard time talking about their work in the context of the Habits of Mind. What exactly are habits of mind?

By definition, a problem is any stimulus, question, task, phenomenon, or discrepancy, the explanation for which is not immediately known. Thus, we are interested in focusing on student performance under those challenging conditions that demand strategic reasoning, insightfulness, perseverance, creativity, and craftsmanship to resolve a complex problem. Not only are we interested in how many answers students know, but also in knowing how to behave when they DON'T know. Habits of Mind are performed in response to those questions and problems the answers to which are NOT immediately known. We are interested in observing how students produce knowledge rather than how they merely reproduce knowledge. The critical attribute of intelligent human beings is not only having information, but also knowing how to act on it. - Arthur L. Costa, Ed. D. and Bena Kallick, Ph.D.

Think back to yesterday's rubric for your project. The first HOM was Perspective and stated "Student has posed a question and offered a possible solution in the form of a creative project."
Many of you are unable to think about your project in the form of a question, but it really just a problem for which the explanation is not immediately known. Think about your project and try to explain it as one of the following tasks. First, we will have to define what these categories are.

• stimulus
• question
• task
• phenomenon
• discrepancy

Now that we have defined these categories, go ahead and leave a comment describing which category your project falls under and why. Please use the rest of your class time to continue solving your problem, answering your question, completing your task, or understanding a phenomenon...