Jane Stevens / Lab School '06

Friday, June 16, 2006

This summer will be a time of experimentation and growth. Not only will I be attempting to improve curriculum within my economics course, I will also be implementing technology in new (and hopefully exciting) ways. I want to imbed technology- message boards, podcasting, blogs, into Economics so that it is truly a course of our students' generation. My hope is that the course content can evolve with the innovative changes of technology and the economic circumstances of our local, national and global communities.
I am happy and a bit relieved to have accomplished three (tech) goals during this first week of summer school. My first goal, was to begin recording the economics textbook to podcast as an audio option for my students. I told them to email me and let me know if they have any trouble with it. I have not heard from any of them so I am crossing my fingers that it worked and they can download my voice reading their book to them at anytime:)

My second goal was to set up an MVN forum so that my classes can generate weekly reflection questions to be answered over the weekend. Although I plan on having my students create the questions for each other, I went ahead and posted the first of five weekly questions. Many of them have already answered the question and it is great to see quick feedback- not only with the technology of MVN being used but also in regards to the actual assignment.

My final goal was to investigate and decide on a medium for the final project. I had envisioned a website of some sort but after talking with Lisa, Eric and Kevin it seemed more appropriate to simply use this- MovableType blog. I introduced the format of the final project as well as the blog to my students yesterday and they are excited about using something such as this to create their collaborative project (rather than the same 'ol research paper). The feedback from the students about their initial reactions to the project can be found on the MVN forum message board under 'Summer Economics'.

The on-going project will can be found on our MTP blog under Summer Economics 2006. This will be a great way to archive the research and final projects for future use and reference.

Posted by Jane Stevens at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The students spent this past week solidifying their roles within their groups and deciding upon what question/s each group member would answer. The students have completed the local phase of their research and have had success in posting their information on our MT blog. We have experienced some difficulty with access from home computers due to different browsers (older versions) and other "gliches". These obstacles are inevitable and will not be eliminated until all my students have laptops with identical imaging.
Apart from technological challenges, the students seem to be embracing this project and appreciate the link between their community service assignment and in-class experience. Ideally, this is what we would like to occur for all seniors during the school year, by taking Economics/CS simultaneously for an entire semester. By reflecting on the "what can be done" portion of this project , our hope is that the students realize that they can play a role in the economic livelihood of the different communites of Oahu. Their local experience will then push and motivate them to look beyond our island and state to make an impact on the national and global levels

Their project can be seen at:
http://iws.punahou.edu/user/JStevens/project

Another portion of our class was dedicated to the understanding of the concepts: supply and demand, equilibrium, price floors and ceilings. We watched a movie on the Enron scandal and I asked the studetns to think about how the economic principles of supply and demand can enable the exploitation of the consumer and allow for the acquisition of financial power. Some students created reflection questions based on these intial questions that I posed- answers can be seen through our message board:

http://apps1.punahou.edu/mvnforum/mvnforum/index

Posted by Jane Stevens at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

During this third week of school I was able to assess the local phase of the final research project. The students seem to have the hang of the blog format, especially the text. We are discovering ways to manipulate, cut, paste, and use keywords to keep the entries of particular group's members together. Without such organization the group's issue lacks cohesion and creates a challenge for me when I am grading. Overall I am pleased with what the students have discovered and their inquiries will make their summer experience much more rich.
The students will be incorporating more visuals to personalize and make their blogs unique during the second phase- national level. I would like to be able to identify their group blogs without reading the title. I realize this is a learning process for all of us- the students as well as myself.
Some interesting feedback was uncovered by an interview of two of my students in regard to podcasting. These particular students use the text podcast consistently. This information will allow me to answer one of my initial questions of whether or not learning is enhanced through listening to the text. In the case of these two students, they are actually just listening, not reading....

*As of 7/5/06 one of the students that consistently listen to the podcasts will be doing both- listening and reading. She will be taking one of her quizzes without listenting to podcast to she if it makes a difference in her understanding of the material.

The consistent use of the MVN forum has been ideal, particularly to extend thinking and reflection outside of the classroom. I would like to see the use advance beyond just Q & A, if time allows we will have more threaded conversations through the message board.
We have accomplished quite a bit and I am thankful to have such enthusiastic and patient students who have embraced everything that has been presented and asked of them.

Posted by Jane Stevens at 6:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Grace and Amanda discuss how hearing the podcasted texts has affected them. Quicktime movie format.

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Posted by Lisa Stewart at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

As the summer progresses, and we gain more experience with the blog format, we have begun to view its use with a more critical eye. At first the novelty of it was overwhelming- the excitment about its potential overshadowed any skepticism. Overall, the students are still embracing the idea, yet with two of the three "phases" of their final research project complete, they have been able to reflect and evaluate this new endeavor. Their ideas about the use of the blog can be see on MVN as well as the interview on this blog:

http://apps1.punahou.edu/mvnforum/mvnforum/listthreads?forum=361

Although the students have shared their honest opinions- some great, some good, some not so good- we (the teachers) have taken their constructive criticism and made changes. For example, the organization of the entries within the blog was lacking, and the accessiblity of the blog is limnitless, leading to a lack of continuity as group members posted from anywhere, at anytime. To remedy this, we decided to simply cut and paste, meaning one group member would recieve all entries in the form of a document or an attachment, and then they would be the designated "poster" so that all entries: "History", "Current situation", "What should be done", and "What can be done", would appear together.
The students have become much more experienced with footnoting and posting visuals. I will require them to use some audio for the final phase-global.
We have experienced some obstacles and challenges which makes for a "learning experience". The intitial motivation for using such a format has not been lost. A chance to move away from the traditional research paper to create something more authentic, personal, and innovative was what I was looking for and I have successfully "discovered it". The students continue to work hard and display such integrity and accountability- they not only want to impress me, but each other and perhaps even themselves.

Posted by Jane Stevens at 3:43 PM | Permalink

Download file
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Posted by Lisa Stewart at 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A project intended to broaden the awareness of personal and family spending
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Posted by Jane Stevens at 3:00 PM | Permalink

A collaborative research project based on the investigation of an issue on the local, national and global levels.
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Posted by Jane Stevens at 8:49 PM | Permalink

Econ text-for class use only
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Posted by Jane Stevens at 8:35 AM | Permalink

podcast- for class use only
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Posted by Jane Stevens at 1:19 PM | Permalink

lecture power point
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Continue reading "Demand & Supply" »

Posted by Jane Stevens at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Power point for lecture
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Posted by Jane Stevens at 8:36 AM | Permalink

lecture power point
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Posted by Jane Stevens at 8:40 AM | Permalink

lecture power point
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Posted by Jane Stevens at 8:41 AM | Permalink

podcast of text- class use only
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Posted by Jane Stevens at 7:32 AM | Permalink

for class use only
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Posted by Jane Stevens at 7:14 AM | Permalink

podcast for class use only
here is the podcast

Posted by Jane Stevens at 12:00 PM | Permalink

MVN is used by the students to post weekly reflection questions. All students are required to respond to the questions. I also use this message board to gain feedback about class and the technology we are experimenting with this summer.

The following is the link to MVN (access to ePunahou users only):

http://apps1.punahou.edu/mvnforum/mvnforum/listthreads?forum=361

Posted by Jane Stevens at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

podcast of text-for class use only
Download file

Posted by Jane Stevens at 12:20 PM | Permalink

This is the rubric used for the second phase of the project- National. The rubric was used to assess each phase for the group with individual grades being calculated from the group grade and group member/self evaluations (worth 20 out of the total 80 points per phase).

Download file

Posted by Jane Stevens at 8:29 PM | Permalink

podcast of text-for class use only
Download file

Posted by Jane Stevens at 1:18 PM | Permalink

podcast of text- for class use only
Download file

Posted by Jane Stevens at 1:21 PM | Permalink

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Posted by Jane Stevens at 1:30 PM | Permalink

podcast of text- for class use only
Download file

Posted by Jane Stevens at 7:17 AM | Permalink

My initial question for my summer lab/technology experience was:

Can I enhance my students' learning by incorporating more economic analogies and interactive graphs into my curriculum and lessons.

In my effort to transform the traditional research paper assignment into a collaborative and innovative endeavor, my question changed. My question became:

Will using a different medium (other than a research paper) enhance my students' learning and increase their awareness and appreciation of their chosen topics?

Posted by Jane Stevens at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

podcast of text-class use only
Download file

Posted by Jane Stevens at 7:42 AM | Permalink

My summer lab school experience was an excellent way to (almost) end summer school. In retrospect, having the lab school in the fifth out of six weeks was ideal. The work I had put into my economics course leading up to the fifth week, had been done at a rate that did not allow for ample reflection and processing time. The lab school setting allowed me to converse, reflect, and question by creations.
The comments from participating lab school observers pushed me to think beyond " my norm". Marco Torres was inspirational and seemed to validate all that I had done so far. His expertise in technology and the teenage mind enabled him to ask probing questions and accurately "assess" my assignments.
As I have stated before, I am thrilled to have built my "foundation" for the economics course. As Marco said "cry now, smile later", the hard work I put forth this summer will not be deserted once the fall commences as I plan on building upon what I have already established. I foresee more work, but the exploration and innovation will become more focused and streamlined as my ideas come to fruition.
The potential of the economics course (as we move towards a semester) is becoming clearer. The feedback I received from the lab school participants, along with my students is valuable and will continue to push my train of thought as further development occurs.

Posted by Jane Stevens at 7:40 AM | Permalink