Agreed! Student feedback is a great place to start when trying something new with teachers. For most of the feedback I gather, I usually just have a conversation with students, asking them exactly the questions you see above:

What did you learn during this project?
What did you like about this project?
What would you do differently (or what would you change) about this project?

When I ask them each question, I always have the students to turn and talk to each other before sharing out with the class. Then we list all of the responses on the board to make sure I’ve documented all of them.

Now that I’m writing all this down, I’m also thinking (especially for older students) that it might be valuable to do an anonymous Google Form with the same questions at the end of a unit – just to see if I get different responses.

@Nancy,

I totally agree that feedback from students is much more powerful than feedback from specialists!

Thanks for sharing the feedback from your students too!

@Kathy

I do agree that using technology can be an immediate way to engage students, but I also think that we need to be careful that we’re not just providing entertainment (or promoting an “us vs them” mentality). Once we have technology in our classrooms that’s just as easily accessible as a pencil and paper, it’s not going to continue to be automatically engaging any more. We need to find appropriate ways to use the technology to meet the needs of our students – not just entertain them.

I think the majority of problems we faced were related to internet speed in Thailand. Often the videos wouldn’t load right away and students were asked to be patient, which can be frustrating for them. Other than that, things were smooth.

@Anthony

Thanks!

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This year we began collaborative projects and two really got off the ground. Student feed back at the MS level was positive and age-appropriately cool- they stated that regarding tech it wasn’t earth-shaking (as it’s their environment) but they benefited the most from the content and meeting other students around the world. Just what we hope for.
The younger ones love the collaboration and although it took the kinder kids a while to grasp the reality, they very much looked forward to sharing and meeting each week.
Thank you again for sharing and reminding me to share our reflections as well!

You are wise to start small and get a few adventurous teachers on board first! The success of colleagues is always a key factor in getting teachers to try new things. The IB is always difficult to work with in terms of technology integration because the program is so traditional and insular. Anything you can do to help teachers reach their curricular goals through the use of technology is a great way to start. Good luck!

Thanks for the timely post. I am a teacher librarian in a high-needs urban high school in upstate New York. The school has a rigorous IB program. I have been working in this school for two years now and have been struck by the insulation of the IB program. Goal setting for next year includes using technology integration to break down the walls. Our students must make international connections, associations, and collaborations by sharing, cooperating, and collective action. It will be a small scale enterprise to begin as both students and teachers engage. Actually, this year I have a number of adventurous teachers teased with a few appetizers. Thank you for sharing your always thought-provoking dispatches.

Jim Schneider