Reading Reflection #1

Reflection #1
There are many things to keep in mind while starting on the journey of integrating project based learning in the classroom. PBL is a great tool to engage the students and to be able to connect the students lives to different subjects. The students are up for the challenge. They are close to fully being emerged into the digital world. They are familiar with technology and are excited to use it. Students also live and learn in the real world. It will be more useful for them to recall the meaning of something when they can remember a fun activity they did.
The benefits of PBL will help both the students and the teachers. A motto that was in the chapter 1 that I thought was really well said was "teach less, learn more". The ultimate goal is the students will learn more because they are finding out the answers to the open ended question through the process of PBL. No student likes to be lectured at by the teacher. The teacher can only say so much but whether or not the student is actually listening is a long shot. With PBL the students have to engage and almost teach themselves.
The students are going to get the most out of PBL. They are encouraged to work collaboratively and solve problems on their own. They are put into authentic situations which makes PBL real to the students. These are everyday scenarios that they will see for the rest of their lives. PBL is going to prepare them for future careers and other aspects of life.
Teachers need to be aware that their initial lesson plan or set up for PBL could very well go in a different direction. Since PBL is a student run project they are in control of what they learn. As a teacher we need to be able to be okay with the fact that the end result might not be what initially was planned. This is the same concept as teaching a lesson. There is always an objective for each lesson, but sometimes the students lead into a more interesting topic which is fine. Being able to adapt to change will be the key to success for PBL.
The New Technology High is a school that has PBL included into their entire curriculum, which was the center base of the teachers instructional design. Like the New Technology Model says "technology is everywhere" but technology should be used as a "tool rather than the focus of learning.". I agree just because PBL uses technology doesn't mean that it should revolve around it. Technology is just a tool that students should be familiar with. The sense of working as a collaborative team should be the main focus and the drive of PBL.