Education By Design Project ETEC 510 March 31, 2013

Classroom Websites: Enhancing communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking in a 21st century learning environment

By: Adeel Farooq, Kymberly Francis, Michelle Furlotte, Christine Irvine, & Emma Sarbit

Key Frameworks: The focus of our design project is to create a classroom web space integrating web 2.0 features that will enhance engagement, collaboration, communication, and reflective practice in sixth through eighth grade students. Both within and outside of the classroom, this website will afford enhanced opportunities for student-centered instruction, serve as a venue for students to display coursework and projects (an electronic portfolio space) and forge a strong home-school connection. Prior research demonstrates a strong correlation between student engagement and academic achievement (Guthrie & Davis, 2003). Web 2.0 tools (dynamic and interactive web pages that facilitate the communication, collaboration and sharing of information between communities of users) are not only highly engaging and motivating for students, but also provide an element of flexibility, encourage creativity, and enrich student learning. Additionally, research indicates that web 2.0 tools play an integral part in fostering 21st century learning and innovation skills (including critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, innovation, presentation, reflection and feedback) in students (McNeil & Robin, 2012). 21st century learning refers to competencies, rather than specific learning objectives; students must learn how to learn, be inspired for life-long learning, and learn collaboratively by solving problems and building on each others ideas (Friesen & Jardine, 2009). These skills will best prepare todays students for the challenges of tomorrow's competitive global marketplace. The Premiers Technology Council (2010) supports the importance of 21st century skills, stating that technology levels the global playing field the work that takes place in a knowledge-based society becomes ever more mobile. It can be done anywhere, by anyone with the appropriate training (pg. 12). By incorporating these tools as an integral part of our site design, we are able to support 21st century competencies and foster student-led interaction and collaboration. Available literature also indicates that well-designed student portfolios enhance learning through student reflection and the linking of academic learning to personal experience (Barrett, 2001). A portfolio is defined as a collection of student work demonstrating achievement and communicating growth and development (Stiggins, 1994). Integrating electronic portfolios into our classroom website empowers students to share their understandings with a wider audience, incorporate artifacts using diverse media (including audio, video, and graphics), as well as utilize links to organize and make connections to learning outcomes, goals and personal reflections. Additionally, studies have shown that classroom websites are an effective, efficient and non-threatening way to encourage communication between parents, teachers and students (Crippen & Brooks, 2003). Websites offer a bridge between home and school, allowing parents an opportunity to engage with, encourage, and assist their child. Families can conveniently access classroom materials and schedules, view samples of student work, provide

feedback and participate in discussions. This promotes parental awareness, involvement and support of students learning. The theoretical insights and perspectives that frame this project are based on the constructivist learning theory (Dewey, 1906 and Vygotsky,1978), with influences from Gardners Multiple-Intelligences Theory (Gardner, 1983) and a humanistic approach to instruction (Dick & Carey, 1990). The guiding principles serving as key benchmarks for the development of this website are: - Learning is an active, constructive and social process where knowledge is gained through personal and shared experiences - Learning is individual as each learner has a unique combination of intelligences that assist in the acquisition of knowledge - The whole being (cognitive and affective domains) should be engaged in learning, growth and development The elements contained in this website will emphasize social and collaborative learning, where students will be active participants in their learning rather than passive observers of knowledge. They will be encouraged to participate in collaborative elaboration, where they will use each others experiences to construct knowledge together. Students will also have access to a variety of media options to suit their personal learning styles, and focus will be placed on the total development of the learner with specific emphasis on reflective growth and development. The targeted group of students for this website design range from sixth to eighth grade. The individuals in this group are among those who already utilize technology seamlessly outside of school. Playfully referred to as screenagers (Moorman & Horton, 2007), this group of students are at a defining point in their education as these grades are seen as the critical years in a students college and career readiness process (ACT, 2008). It is anticipated that through the utilization of this classroom website, the targeted group of learners will develop skills necessary to continue on to becoming effective students, workers and citizens in the 21st century workforce and world.

Intentions and Positions: Research has shown that students with the ability to think critically about information, solve novel problems, communicate and collaborate, create new products and processes, and adapt to change, will be at an even greater advantage in work and life (The Center for Public Education, 2009). Our classroom website will help facilitate these competencies and engage students. Actively engaged students participate in the learning process, and more importantly, persist despite obstacles and challenges. Research supports the use of technology to encourage student engagement when the programs allow for experimentation and exploration, the computer is used to accomplish curricular objectives, the computer is one of many tools used to learn, students have choice with learning tasks and how to accomplish them, teachers allow content to be explored across curricular areas and the computer experience is responsive to

individual student interest and ability (Becker, 2000). A general positive relationship between the use of technology and student engagement with learning outcomes has also been publicized (Chen, Lambert & Guidry, 2010). Through the creation of our website, we sought to engage students. This is achieved through interactive elements such as our blog, creative and challenging assignments, and access to links that will assist achievement of curricular goals. In addition to these student interactivities, we have provided support for executing research as well as a variety of document and rubric templates in order to facilitate independence, personal responsibility and problem solving elements. Collaboration is a key component, and this is achieved through a variety of assignments and promotion of partner and group work as part of the curricular requirements. In addition, collaboration is part of the blogging process as ideas are shared and reformulated. Reflection is also an important element of 21st century skill development. Research indicates that engaging with another person in a way that encourages discussion, questioning, or confronting, helps the reflective process by placing the learner in a safe environment in which self-revelation can take place (Hatton & Smith, 1995). Additionally, carrying on a dialogue with one or more learners about submitted work is the ultimate in promoting reflection via feedback (Hatton and Smith, 1995). These interactions can be promoted through discussions via the classroom website. Communication is also fostered through the use of our classroom website. Parents are able to educate themselves about policies, goals and subject matter, which allows them to better support their childs learning at home. Our Parents Space page provides parents with resources and topics geared to the whole child so they can assist their child. Family engagement helps children build academic and social skills and reinforces the importance of what they are learning at school. Students can respond to prompts, give instant feedback, reflect on learning, and ask questions. Connecting globally through links, e-mail, and other venues allows students to read, discuss, make connections, ask questions and think more deeply around a variety of topics. Our classroom website provides an opportunity for community; teachers create increased interactions with students and between students. In fact, student who are typically shy tend to "open up" when provided the opportunity to interact via email, wikis, blogs, online discussions and other individualized means (Franklin, Yoakam & Warren, 1996). Community connections are fostered through engaging students in the school garden as part of the Tamarack community. Students and parents become part of community development and solutions which can be fostered and shared through the website and through links to other community organizations and initiatives both locally and globally. However, in addition to discussing the numerous benefits, we must also reflect critically about these 21st century learning goals. Content should not be shortchanged for an ephemeral pursuit of skills, teachers must be trained in a way that helps them grasp and teach in these new ways, and there must be new assessments that can accurately measure richer learning and more

complex tasks. In fact, Why mount a national effort to change education if you have no way of knowing whether the change has been effective? (Rotherham & Willingham, 2009). The New London Group (1996) defines multiliteracies as linguistic, visual, audio, spacial, gestural, and multimodal literacies. Effective learning requires interaction with multiple literacies encompassing four frameworks: situated practice, overt instruction, critical framing, and transformed practice (The New London Group, 1996). Situated practice places the student in the learning process, building on prior knowledge and experiences. Critical thinking and problem solving skills are supported through overt instruction, and students critically frame and question their understanding in relation to the context and background. Lastly, students are individually and collaboratively involved in reflection and practice. Our classroom website provides students with a platform to gain the skills to become competent in the 21st century. It provides a collaborative environment with an emphasis on reflection through directed discussions. Students are engaged through activities that are differentiated and dynamic and that provide for real-world problem solving. Creating new products and using creativity are fostered through a variety of tools. Key Concepts and Contexts: The conceptual knowledge that is the focus of our design project includes using blogs, social media, and e-portfolios to share and evaluate student work. The context for the design project is a website template to be used by upper intermediate classroom teachers and their web of invested partners, such as parents and community members. The site template incorporates sample pages that can be used for specific learning situations, with a focus on the learning needs and styles of students at the upper intermediate level. Adding personal pages to the provided categories individualizes blogs, and blogging expectations support collaboration by requiring students to blog, and contribute to anothers blog weekly. Students can access blogging tips and ideas using the first page of the class blog. Procedural knowledge includes how to write and respond to blogs, how to collect and post information for an e-portfolio, and how to communicate via Twitter. The blended nature of the website, with students working in traditional classroom settings and contributing to the online workspace either at home or using school computers, requires instructors to carefully manage student participation and access to technology. Requiring timed or content-related participation in blogging and contributions to eportfolios can be used as an evaluation tool for both formative and summative evaluation. Students can be evaluated on specific subjects, such as written language, Mathematics, Socials or Science skills within the e-portfolio or on skills such as blogging skills, research skills, or site utilization skills (being able to use all aspects of the site). Opportunities for responding to others and considering their points of view abound on the class blog and personal blog. In the classroom, students can work in groups to discuss blog successes, to review how to write good entries, and to self-assess and peer assess e-portfolio contributions. Parents can be invited to review student blogs and have open access to the website, creating open lines of communication

between home and school and allowing them to have a clear view of their childs progress and learning style by viewing their e-portfolios, and their values and concerns through viewing their blog contributions. Prior research indicates that employing blogs and e-portfolios in classrooms can improve student achievement and motivation. Blogging increases student understanding of audience, and the audience can become transformative to student writing as bloggers are influenced by the immediate feedback received (Glewa & Bogan, 2007). Using interactive blogs has been associated with positive attitudes toward achievement and a motivation to learn from peers (Yang & Chang, 2012). Peer feedback improves the quality of student writing; learners find it easier to write without restraint, write meaningful content, and edit using sources on the internet (Chen, Liu, Shih, Wu & Yuan, 2011). As discussed earlier, portfolios are purposeful collections of student work that illustrate effort, progress, and achievement in one or more areas over time (Paulson & Paulson, 1991). Teachers can use e-portfolios as repositories of work completed in class, and students can individualize these on the blog by adding pages that showcase their talents outside of the classroom. Portfolios of learning allow students to highlight their skills and focus on their strengths in their learning (Gardner, 2006). There are also some pitfalls to using websites for learning. Crook (2012) found that students had reservations about using web tools at school. They included submitting to teacher authority, dishonesty in use of research tools and content, redundancy and content synchronization in collaborative projects, distractions and teacher presence in blogging environments, being seen as a braggart or stupid by others, not trusting the ideas of peers in publications. These can be dealt with through scaffolding expectations of web tool use, teaching critical thinking about media use and how to source work, basing projects and lessons on sound, explicit learning outcomes and giving students time for reflective practices, such as responding to their online experiences in a journal.

InterActivities: Google has created a series of apps aimed towards schools. No hardware, free software, high security, no downtime, no fees and the power to be able to integrate a large number of apps are just a few of the benefits in using Google Apps for Education. Some of these apps everyone is familiar with, such as Gmail and Google Docs, however this projects main focus will be in Google Sites. We have created a middle school prototype and teacher resource for the creation of a classroom website. Our website can be viewed at: https://sites.google.com/site/510etec/. Below is a summary of the steps our group completed in order to create this classroom website which focuses primarily on student engagement, collaboration, and communication. Setting up the website:

Because our group was not part of the same school or district, we were not able to use a true education edition of Google Apps. Instead we used a regular edition available to anyone with a Gmail account. There was a few technical differences, like not being able to use a school domain like UBC.ca, nevertheless we were still be able to use the full power of Google Apps to create our website. Once the site name was selected, the site owner invited each of the group members to be editors of the website. This allowed each group member to work collaboratively on the website. The group then decided on the sharing permissions for each page of the website. Permission settings are extremely useful as set privileges for students, parents, and teachers can be specified. This restricts the editing of certain pages, thus reducing the risk of editing the wrong page and the managing the potential spread of misinformation. The following pages are included in the website: homepage, student portfolios, parents space, question period, extra credit, collaborative reading project, announcements, student of the month, class blog, class calendar, class photos, forms and docs, grades and homework. Descriptions of the features of the main pages on this site are found below. Homepage: The homepage acts as a summary of what is going on in the website. A viewer can see the most recent announcements, classroom twitter feed, word of the week, homework assignments and student of the month. Class Blog: We decided to use an external tool to allow students to create their own blogs. A website called kidblog.org allows students to collect work samples, set goals, and reflect upon their progress. As kidblog.org allows for the seamless embedding of slideshows, videos, podcasts, artwork, Google Docs, and Web 2.0 tools (such as Storybird, Animoto, Glogster), students will be able to publish their writing and projects in a single, secure e-portfolio that they will be then able to reflect upon and share with parents and classmates. Parents Space: A list of valuable resources for parents is posted on this page. The resources are divided into the following categories: organization, test-taking skills, social skills, perseverance, communication, collaboration skills, learning independence and study skills. Question Period: Google Moderator allows you to set up anonymous questions for students to vote on. This is a valuable tool if you wish to ask your class a question and avoid peer pressure affecting the voting. This tool has the potential to be utilized both in and outside of classroom instructional time. Collaborative Reading Project:

A series of Google Docs were created for this page. The first document is a list of books suggested by the teacher. Clicking on a title of a book takes the user to another Google Doc that contains three generic questions. The idea is that as students read the book, the Google Doc will continue to grow, therefore stimulating conversation about the various story elements. This page allows students to access files required to complete their homework. A file cabinet page in Google sites allows the teacher to upload files directly from his/her computer and organize them in a logical manner. As long as students have viewing privileges to the page, they will be able to download any of the files. Teacher Page: The main purpose of this page is to facilitate communication between teachers. The privileges can be set to only allow teachers to access this page if preferred. Google Analytics is a valuable tool that can be used by teachers to provide statistical analysis. As a webpage evolves, it is important to know what areas are being used and for how long. Google Analytics gives the teacher a detailed breakdown of who is using the website, where the users go and for how long. Google Analytics, along with a parent and student survey, will assist the teacher in tailoring the website to match the needs of students and parents. Additionally, this page may be set up to facilitate collaboration and the sharing of resources between teachers worldwide. Class Calendar: A number of different calendars can be added to the website. Depending on the permission privileges, either a teacher alone can add events or a teacher can allow students or parents to add events as well.

Verifications: In order to ensure that the design project matches the proposed intentions and is solidly based in theoretical underpinnings, the website includes built-in and extraneous verifications to ensure that it is meeting the design proposal goals. The goals that require verification include constructivist principles, as would be evidenced in increasing student engagement, improving home and school communication, increasing opportunities for collaboration, and encouraging students to engage in reflective practice. Surveys for parents and students, using Survey Monkey, are linked to the homepage sidebar. Questions include how often the website pages are used, whether they are perceived to be useful, and how students and parents feel about using the site. This allows teachers to gauge student engagement and communication improvements between home and school. Student collaborative work can be evidenced by the interaction on blogs and eportfolios and through questions on the survey about whether students enjoy these opportunities. View counters on blog pages measure how often blog pages are visited. Additionally, Google Analytics are embedded on the homepage, with data accessible to site administrators. Data is collected on site visits, unique visitors, page views, pages per visit, and visit duration. This information can be used to give a general overview of whether the site is being used.

Opportunities for reflective practice within the site occur when blogs are updated, e-portfolio contributions are altered and feedback is given from peers. External reflections need to be built in to assigned work, either by referring students to the reflection rubrics under forms and docs, or as a criteria of the assignment itself. Teachers using classroom websites must be vigilant to ensure that they too display their understanding and value of constructivist ideals by considering their own collaborative efforts in using the site, whether that is by conferring with parents and students, or sharing the site with other professionals. They should continually ask themselves if they too are engaged in using the site and regularly reflecting on whether it continues to meet their goals for student learning.

Reflections and Connections: Group Reflection: As with any group project, communication is your greatest ally and also the greatest barrier to success. Establishing open lines of communication is often a challenge when you are working in the same physical space as someone else, however it gets a lot more complicated when you are dealing with three different time zones, two countries, family, full-time work and sometimes even lack of internet access. After having used blackboard tools for the design proposal, we started to communicate via email. This was unwieldy, so we chose to combat these challenges through the use of Google Docs. This platform allowed us to build a shared pool of knowledge and resources as well as keep track of changes, stay informed regarding completed and outstanding tasks, as well as add content simultaneously. Luckily one of our group members was very familiar with the google site program and generous about sharing fixes and procedures for using the site. Without referencing members prior knowledge, we might have needed quite a bit more time to troubleshoot technical issues and we would have had less time on the creative aspect of the project. One drawback we found was that as a respectful group, we wanted to ensure that our proposed changes or additions were relevant and purposeful and ensure each group member was well informed and involved. As a result, regardless of working in Docs we still had to maintain rigorous email correspondence between each other in order to verify that we were all travelling on the same path, ask questions, clarify meanings, and update progress. In order to do this it was important to keep in constant contact and to return correspondence in a timely manner. As a group, we believe we were successful in this, however we noted that the lack of face-to-face discussion sometimes led to different interpretations. In summation, while working on this collaborative document the heavy importance we placed as a group on clear communication and timeliness in responses was key to the success of our design project. Personal Reflections: Christine Irvine: During the process of working on our classroom website and completing part of the design project proposal and final write up, I learned many important lessons. Some were

technical, such as how to use Google sites or troubleshoot browser compatibilities, how to ensure your product is a match to your values (eg constructivism) and goals (eg to engage students, to encourage collaboration, etc.) but the most important lessons were about the critical need to design online learning environments that are based on pedagogical principles and for which the goals of the project and student learning outcomes are explicit and clear. I wasnt familiar with Google sites, and it was a fairly steep learning curve. I now know more about how to organize the site, add links, create pages, edit pages, set up templates and other site specific skills. That obstacle was overcome by having an experienced user who shared knowledge in our group. In terms of teaching and learning, I know now that I cannot just create an e-learning environment for the fun of it. Helping to create the new site has shown me that the cost in time to build a site (and it is quite time-consuming) must be balanced by my confidence that the learning environment improves student achievement, motivation and collaboration, increases communication between parents, students and the school, is USED by students and parents regularly, and is fun for me to invest my time in, or at least provides assessment opportunities. My time is more precious than ever, and time itself will tell if this type of learning environment will have a longer lifespan than what I currently use. If I make it a priority and am proud of the product, I have high hopes that it will. I have accepted that constructivist learning principles fit my value system most neatly, though it remains a challenge to walk the talk some days. Making students engaged, giving them opportunities to be social, reflective and learn through authentic tasks all within a scaffold that is purposeful and clear can be challenging. However, its not that much more challenging using technology, once youve mastered all the technical issues. Those issues still loom large for me, but it is getting easier. Luckily the culture of sharing that exists in the online world is alive and well! Michelle Furlotte: Designing a website is a process of trial and error. When considering what to include in the website a template was helpful as a starting point and it would have been daunting without one. That being said, the template was limited and more pages were added in order to reach our proposal goals. I thought it was important to add a Parents Space and a Community Connections space. These spaces were important as tools for connecting with parents and making connections with the larger community. These spaces are reflective in their nature which is also an important position taken in our paper. They also provide a springboard for discussions about what it means to be a learner. The community connections page provides a space to discuss and develop problem-solving skills and to reflect and develop based on authentic learning opportunities (the garden and outreach). The interactivity of the website was provided in multiple ways and by multiple participants in the project. This was difficult at times as some of the interactive components worked with some browsers and not others. The site design had to be implemented, checked and rechecked and reworked based on these realities. Keeping in touch with group members through

e-mail and collaborative spaces was the best way to do this, but due to its nature was necessarily reactive. What I mean is that if all of the group members were sitting in a room discussing and trying out these developments in real-time it may have been easier to accomplish (more efficient). Based on the realities of creating a website in an online course, we worked to the best of our abilities! In reflecting, I wondered if the site was cool and interesting from a students perspective. Perhaps having the students re-work some of the components of the site or making suggestions based on their interests would make the site more student friendly? I think that when adults create a space for children, they often leave out ideas or objects that are not immediately apparent to them but would be to children. Things that may seem superfluous to an adult might be the hook that keeps the students interested in interacting with the site both in and out of school. I also reflected on the fact that a website cannot remain static. To provide for a wellconstructed and meaningful website I believe that it should be updated and changed and reworked based on reflection. As teachers we should be creating sites that provide students with fulfilling tasks and ways of learning. Websites should not just be an alternate way of posting assignments and providing news, but should provide ways for students to create and reflect. Adeel Farooq: My initial thoughts focus around the evolution of our groups collaboration journey. We started off by using the discussion board in Blackboard when we were writing our project proposal, however as we moved onto our website we migrated to Google Docs and email. I cannot recall that we ever made an official decision to move to another form of collaboration, but it seemed to make sense as we were working with Google Sites. One of my personal challenges with working with a Google Doc was tracking who had left a comment on the Doc. I found that many times I wanted to email a group member, who had left a comment, to ask for either further clarification or more information. If I had to change one aspect of using a Google Doc it would be to leave your name beside any comment so that we could facilitate future communication. In connection with an evolving collaboration, was how the dynamics of working on one website with 5 people would unfold. To me, the creation of the website resembled a relay race. A couple of us started creating the framework of the site, then others came along to check the work that had already been done and then add their own personal touch. As we moved along and the site got larger, it was extremely beneficial that we had two tracking systems, a Google Spreadsheet and the Google Sites Recent Activity link. This tracking system allowed us to quickly fix mistakes and insure there was no overlap. As we moved on from learning the technical aspect of Google Sites, it was interesting to explore how we were going to meet the needs of the students combined with best practice through a website. One of my main focuses was establishing easy and secure collaboration opportunities for students. Google Sites ability to setup viewing and editing privileges made the security aspect of online collaboration extremely easy. The greater challenge was ensuring we were meeting the students needs and interest. Giving students the power to create and edit part

of the web page and create their own online portfolio I believe was a step in the right direction. However, in the long run input from students on what works, what doesnt and anything they believe could work, would give greater ownership to the students. Overall, this has been a highly educational experience, especially in terms of learning how group dynamics can shift when working with 4 other people online. Kym Francis: In the past, I have created and used a website to communicate information to students and parents. It provides materials for students, so they have a place to find assignments and resource. Behind the scenes, the site connected teachers in my department, providing resources and a timeline for us to collaborate around. Initially the site was created to incorporate technology into teaching and learning, and it hasnt changed much since then. I have updated the materials and links presented to students, but the structure and function of the site havent changed to reflect my growth in technological and educational theory. As we developed our project, I realized the why behind my site hasnt been strong. Although I have participated in group projects in the MET program before, this experience has been one of a kind. Not only was the scope of the project enormous, but the pace of work was remarkable. When we initially formed the group around the idea of blogging and e-portfolios, I dont think I was aware of how many interconnected concepts were at play behind the scenes. As we researched and summarized relevant studies, the project grew larger and larger. There were certainly times where I was completely overwhelmed by the speed at which the group seemed to be working in opposing directions, but these differences in personal experiences and perspective have made the final product exceptional. Unfortunately, I struggle with feelings of inadequacy in such a strong and driven group. It is a good reminder to feel those experiences and remember what it is like to be a student; it helps me relate to my own students. Not only do I need to plan projects that meet the strengths and needs of my students, but I need to be flexible and considerate for individual communication preferences and for the pace. As an introverted, quiet, and reflective learner, group projects are always a daunting challenge. Am I going to be able to communicate clearly with my peers? I feel like it takes me longer to wrap my head around a concept and only once I begin to manipulate the ideas found in research and readings am I able to begin to see the bigger picture. Within this project, the group as a whole worked in a much different manner than what I am familiar with, and I worry that I wasnt as much of a contributor as I could have been. But, from a learning perspective, I have taken so much away from the experience. The communication structure behind our project was impressive the emails, Google docs, tracked changes, and shared resources drove the collaborative process and deep level of understanding woven into our project.

Through this project, I have been able to clarify and elaborate on the theory behind using a site as a platform for communication, reflection, and writing. More and more, I realize that the technology tool isnt what supports student learning, it is how we use the tool that matters. My current site doesnt get many visitors, other than myself and the students that I am directing to it. It lacks that functional nature to make it a dynamic and effective tool. Through the designing of our group project and listening to my group members determine what is important to include (and why), I have gained a greater understanding of the elements that must be included in my own class site. I am looking forward to taking this template to my department and teaching peers, and using it to create an improved personal site for my students. I know that it has sound educational theory backing the cool design, page layout, and features. Emma Sarbit: My Design Project Journey Preparation: In preparation for boarding, please ensure all necessary items are ready and itinerary details have been organized. The beginning stages of this design project required me to complete a lot of preparation. Although I have set-up and utilized a classroom website in the past, I had not fully understood the educational theories behind its implementation, nor had I fully thought through its specific purposes for teaching and learning. Preparing for this project forced me to delve into these topics and develop my own personal pedagogical understandings. Additionally, I found myself with a lot of necessary technical preparation. As I had not previously utilized Google Sites, I found myself referring to tutorials and videos in order to figure out how to edit and manage my contributions to the website. I am grateful for this preparation as I now have a strong awareness of the theories behind and benefits to using classroom websites as well as another technical notch in my educational technology tool belt! Take-off: Put your seat in the upright position, stow your table-tray, and prepare for take-off because were on our way! When our design project began to take-off, I found myself learning a great deal about electronic collaboration and communication. As a group, we realized the importance of communication and were dedicated in maintaining contact with each other. However, as my inbox became flooded with incoming mail, I found myself realizing the importance of some degree of face-to-face communication. Although I was pleasantly surprised at the ability of five group members (each with very busy and very different schedules) to come together in an online space and simultaneously complete one project, I couldnt help but think of the inefficiencies of our communication. Perhaps what we accomplished over the course of a dozen emails and multiple hours, we may have been able to do in five to ten minutes over the phone or in person. This is something I will continue to ponder as we push forward into an increasingly digital communication world. Smooth-Sailing: The captain has turned off the seatbelt sign enjoy your flight! In reflecting on this learning journey, I can see both personal and professional growth. I have gained valuable technical experience, expanded my understanding of theoretical

perspectives, as well as realized the importance of effective communication and collaboration. However I have also grown personally as both a student and an educator. I have realized the importance of understanding, accepting and acknowledging your own strengths and weaknesses, and in doing so, that its okay to ask for assistance from your group members when required. Through this process, I was able to learn a great deal from my fellow group members and am grateful to them for this. Landing: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to your final destination. Overall I feel we worked well together as a group and capitalized on each others strengths. I am proud of our final project and have enjoyed our collaboration. I look forward to utilizing the knowledge we have constructed together to overhaul my current classroom website and make it a more effective tool for teaching and learning. References: ACT (2008). The forgotten middle: Ensuring that all students are on target for college and career readiness before high school. Iowa City, IA. Available: http://edge.ascd.org/_Middle-Schools-Matter-The-Pathway-to-College-and-CareerReadiness/blog/5462608/127586.html Barrett, H. (2001). Electronic Portfolios = Multimedia Development + Portfolio Development : The Electronic Portfolio Development Process in B. Cambridge (ed.) Electronic Portfolios. American Association for Higher Education, pp. 110-116. Becker, H. J. (2000). Pedagogical motivations for student computer use that lead to student engagement. Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations. Author: University of California, Irvine. Chen, Y., Liu, E., Shih, R., Wu, C., Yuan, S. (2011). Use of peer feedback to enhance elementary students writing through blogging. British Journal of Educational Technology. 42 (1) 1-4. Doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01139.x Chen, P.D., Lambert, A.D. & Guidry, K.R. (2010). Engaging online learners: The impact of web-based learning technology on college student engagement. Computers & Education,54(4), 1222-1223. Doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2009.11.008 Crippen, K., & Brooks, D. (2003) A Descriptive Analysis of a Chemistry Teacher's Web Site. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.ED481938) Crook, C. (2012).The digital native in context: tensions associated with importing Web 2.0 practices into the school setting. Oxford Review of Education. 38(1). DOI:10.1080/03054985.2011.577946 ] Dewey, J. (1906) The Child and the Curriculum. Chicago: The University Of

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