ERIKA G.
Have you thought about targeting (or including) certain learning disabilities or behavioral issues into your project? Things like dyslexia and ADHD come to mind. They definitely affect how someone learns.
Hey Erika, thanks for the question. We haven't looked into disabilities for fear of expanding the scope too far past learning styles which we are already trying to redefine. I'll look into how kids with learning disabilities handle iPads and other forms of technology in the classroom. Thanks for the suggestion!
ABBY
You mentioned on your poster that teachers have a pretty big role in fostering self-confidence in their students. how do you think your solution/online community could help kids develop a sense of self-confidence as well?
Hey Abby, thanks for the question. I believe that our system will help foster self-confidence through the child's ability to receive signifiers of their accomplishments that they can see and understand in the present. For example awards for their success that they can be proud of. These same awards they'll be able to share with their parents, mentor, and friends. Hopefully this will encourage them to continue to strive for greater achievements. The x-box generation already has this sense of digital representation of accomplishments engrained in them.
IVAN
You spoke about the students and the parents being able to track the progress of the student. Would it be beneficial for the teacher to perhaps visualize his/her progress as a teacher? I don't know what that would look like or contain but its just a thought.
Hey Ivan, thanks for the question. We are planning on giving the teachers a visual representation of the student progress as well as their own progress as an educator. Because like the students those teachers also digest information best in their own ways.
ERICA D.
Do you think the idea of bringing in an outside mentor would be more or less successful than using the childs' parent or family member?
Hey Erica, Ideally the parent would be involved and be the first channel contacted when communication comes home from the school. Sadly the reality of it the parent isn't always involved or able to be that main contact for the student. Fortunately those Mentors can step in an assume some of that role. Depending on the Mentor in that student's life like a Brother or Sister it could even become more successful. Not only does that student have a chance to have that support from a Mentor who is championing them but they also over come the difficulty of that lack of parent connection which is something they should be proud of.
MATTHEW
You briefly touched on the fact of interaction if the parent is not involved but so much of your new way of learning and communicating leans on parent involvement. Is there a way that children missing parent involvement can work on an equal playing field without feeling left behind due to lack of home support? If there is a ‘mentor’ set in place, is that relationship going to be dictated or will the student have a voice in developing this relationship first?
Hey Matthew, thanks for the question. The system we've designed ideally fosters parent involvement through ease of access and communication. If the parent cannot ideally a Mentor can take that place. If the child has no Mentor the teacher will discover this from lack of response from the other side and ideally dedicate more time to that child who needs it so desperately. The system is designed to work completely in the classroom on an equal level. Outside of that teacher to parent / mentor contact the other students will have no knowledge of the level of parental involvement of other students. In middle school the student won't have a say in the fact the teacher needs to speak with the parent, but their voice is important and considered. This all about them after all.
SAM
Will the goals/rewards of the student differ in terms of learning style, age, or gender?
Hey Sam, thanks for the great question. Like I said in class we don't have separate goals for students of different learning styles. Ideally this could become a reality and each learning style would have their own goals. I also wonder if other students of other learning styles would covet or be disappointed in their own rewards as opposed to the awards of another just because it might take a "cooler" form. I wonder if a common leveled achievement playing field would be more important in that case instead of creating separate rewards to keep things fair. As for gender, and age I would have to say i'll have to do more research into that. I want to say yes, but like the learning styles I don't want to create anything that might foster any feelings of inequality.
MCKENZIE
Do you think that this system might remove some of the personal contact between the child and parents? As in will it take away a social value of actually discussing grades and "how was school? What did you do today?" Type of questions?
Hey McKenzie, Thanks for your question. I don't think that our system will remove any of the personal contact between child and parents. This is because ideally our system would help foster a stronger connection between them. Build on top of the existing but not replace personal face to face contact. If anything we would be creating a communication channel between teachers and parents where one didn't exist before hand. Giving the parent a better idea of the level of involvement their child really needs. We want those parents to sit down with their child and say "how was school" and know exactly how school has been going so that they can better meet that child's needs.
ELIZABETH
How can teachers tailor homework for each student, and how can a teacher go about grading tailored assignments in a fair way?
Hey Lillie, thanks for the question. The homework like the course work would be tailored for each student. The teacher would grade the work according to an established structure that has set perimeters for each learning style. The work will still have the same results, we're just diversifying the channels it travels through so that the student receives it better.
No comments:
Post a Comment