When blogging is MY project

I admitted to some confusion or lack of ability to organize my thinking on project based learning in my last post. Then it suddenly hit me. I am in the middle of my own project!

When I attended the blogging workshop at the beginning of the summer, I started a blog in class. The title I gave to the blog, Book Curious, suggested one focus (books) and I envisioned one audience (students). But another assignment that day was to write our first post - "About Me." As we were presenting our blogs to the class, I realized that I had addressed a completely different audience (teachers) in my post (1).

After the training, I thought about the blog I had created, and realized that I had more to say than the original focus of my blog. I decided to create a second blog at home, which would focus on technology and education issues, and be directed at teachers. I revised the book blog to reflect it's clearer focus. (2)

I began to think about what I should write. I realized that the blogging workshop had some really great ideas, ones that I would like to use in class this year. But I also am working towards more lesson planning with the other 7th grade English teacher, who had not attended the training. SHE was attending other trainings this summer that I couldn't. What we needed was to share information. And suddenly I had ideas and a purpose for writing - at least on the teacher blog. (3)

I decided to blog, at least to begin with, about the trainings that I was attending over the summer break. It would combine some how-to entries, some links to further information, and some notes and reflections to remember the training. (4)

With my first entry, I realized that I wanted to include a graphic showing a web page, and identifying portions of it. I emailed a technology teacher, who told me how to make a screen capture, how to open it in Powerpoint, label it and draw shapes, and export it as a .jpg file, which I added to my post. (5)

Subsequent posts taught me that graphics help relieve the eye after so much text. I embedded videos, photos, and a slideshow. Many of the images I included did not load in a way that I thought was pleasing visually. So I checked the HTML code, found the image size measurements, and made changes. But I didn't want to distort the image, so I had to increase or decrease the measurements in the same proportion. (6)

Although it doesn't always seem like it, I learned to revise for grammar, spelling, and length (yes, some of these posts were longer.) I researched sites that I was recommending. I prioritized writing ideas, set goals, set (and broke, I admit) deadlines for completion. (7)

How would I feel if my students did this?

Are you kidding me?

Look what I've accomplished:

(1) completed class assignments, evaluated product, identified strengths and weaknesses.

(2) devised a solution for biggest weakness (lack of focus), identified audiences and purposes for writing two blogs, independent practice of skills taught in class to create second blog, edited first for focus

(3) established purpose and ideas for writing, researched information analyzed notes for instructions and resources

(4) explored different forms of writing, according to subject matter covered, analyzed notes for instructions and resources

(5) identified problem/need, researched solution, self-taught new skills (Synthesis level of Bloom's includes integrating training from several sources to solve a problem) - not to mention collaboration and reading of practical, instructional text

(6) still evaluating, assessing effectiveness, now I'm crossing curriculum to math (I've already asked the 7th grade math teacher when and how she teaches proportions, thinking I can use it in a blog lesson at the same time of the year)

(7) revised for content, usage, and mechanics. Published and sought (some) peer review.

I wrote this a couple of days ago, and was actually thinking of erasing it. It seemed so obvious both that I had done these things, and that they had educational value, especially if I can get students to do some or all of them, too.

But I'm going to go ahead and publish it, exactly because it wasn't obvious to me, especially while I was doing it. I did exactly what I would pray my students would do, with no requirements or trainer-given assignments other than the first two. I did it, determined what and when and how and how much. It became relevant to me, and truthfully very rewarding.

Now, I'm an intrinsically motivated person who loves learning so much that I would probably engage in a lesson on mold growth. I love it. I'll have students who don't. But if I could get 5-10 to do just half as much, and share it with their classmates, then I could see some very exciting things start to happen in my classroom.

What is your "project?" Did you ever think of turning it into a student project?