Assignment 4, Part 2: Evaluating Peers

I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with my group because these ladies are people I would never have had the opportunity to meet outside of this class. I am grateful to Naketa and Jamie for being willing to take all of our ideas and modify and create materials together. The process for our project was amazing, and I hope those I am evaluating had similar experiences. 

Evaluation 1: Global Learning: Holiday Card Exchange

The first project I chose to evaluate is the Holiday Card Exchange created by Janet Marotte, ​Karleen Vaughn, and Elizabeth Williams. The first thing that I appreciated about the project is the professional appearance of the website. Weebly sites usually look amazing, but the images selected for this project made it appear exceptionally well polished. One the project tab, I appreciated that you did mention this is a HOLIDAY card exchange that encompasses different beliefs and cultures. I also appreciated the community involvement in sending a card to someone serving the community. The directions are very clear and easy to understand, and this seems like something students would eagerly want to do in class. I also appreciated that the links opened in another tab--that is a pet peeve of mine. 😊 Finally, I LOVE that you chose to use FlipGrid--it is one of my favorite technologies to use in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:

• I like that your project involved entire classrooms AND your community. Creating a sense of togetherness near and far really embraces the theme of most holidays.
• The fact that you are able to select a holiday project that is inclusive and built around snowglobes is thoughtful and intentional. This shows that you have considered the cultural differences in your classroom and in your collaboration.
• I like that definitive deadlines are required and posted for viewing. This helps with accountability for everyone involved.
• Finally, I like how you were able to provide the Pinterest icon as your link--that is cool. I learned how to do that after seeing it on your project.

Evaluation 2: Global Read Aloud

The next project I evaluated was the Global Read Aloud created by Ashley Plante and Mandy Fueston. I like that your landing page is simple and informative. You give a great overview with the quote you provided. The Project Outline is clear and easy to follow. The universal suggested pacing is also helpful to viewers to have a better idea of how to plan the time. I also appreciate that you have listed specific standards, but I wish you had student objectives or I Can statements to make it more student-centered. Your project has inspired me to consider some changes to my personal global collaboration project and ways to hold students more accountable as you have with your timeline. I enjoyed this project! 

TAKEAWAYS:

• The landing page: Sometimes less is more. I wish we had created a home page with this approach! I think this looks more professional. 

• I did not know that Global Read Alouds like this existed! Collaborating with people reading the same book is always something I have wanted to try because I believe that our personal experiences influence how we interact with books. I would love to try this in middle school! 

• Creating projects with specific timelines on global projects helps to create personalized classroom accountability. Our project is more open-ended, and now I am starting to think of extensions to do with my own project throughout the year to create an identity anthology. 

Evaluation 3: Sharing Cultures Around The World

The final project I chose to evaluate was Sharing Cultures Around the World created by Daphne Hernandez, Dione Morton, and Paige Griffin. I like that you phrased your objectives in student-friendly language. I think this is important for engaging learners in the process. I also like that your project is a whole-class project but takes ESOL student experiences into consideration. The inclusivity of the assignment seems like it will help to create a strong classroom community. Narrative writing is a great way for teachers to get to know their students and for students to get to know each other, so I love this idea. I know the rubric you posted is the state-aligned rubric, but I think it might be worth taking the time to create a more student/learner-friendly version so that students have better access to the expectation.

TAKEAWAYS:

• I like the reminder that collaboration within our own classrooms has a global component with our ESOL students. 

• Additional technologies do help to make the learning experience more authentic! I like the variety of tools that you plan to use. I am already a huge fan of FlipGrid, and I love the popularity it is gaining. 

• Simple things like phones and microphones can become challenges when collaborating globally. The plan to create podcasts out of their narratives is an exciting way for ESOL students to scaffold toward English proficiency since their verbal fluency is generally more advanced than their written fluency. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

I enjoyed the projects I was able to evaluate, and I look forward to viewing more projects as they are submitted. I learned a lot about elementary teachers and their creativity and engagement strategies for students as I was evaluating these projects. I am excited to see how the students in these classrooms will learn and grow from these projects. The social-emotional learning piece is that part I always worry about getting lost in the transition to greater technology integration, but these projects are all reminding me that we can keep SEL in our curriculum as we teach these kiddos to be global collaborators and contributors! 💗