Reflection+Early+American+and+Common+School+Era

Group Reflection The Wiki page assignment initially inspired fear in our group as it caused us to shift in our respective paradigms. We wanted to complete the assignment successfully, but we were not sure that we had the appropriate skill set. As we looked closely at the assignment, we realized our strength was in our ability to work together as a team and support one another. The more we collaborated, the better our work became. We shared resources and talked about creative ways to enhance our pages and the time period.

We were also thankful for the clear directions Dr. Ceglie provided both in writing and in the lab (modeling). The guidelines and instructions empowered each group member to be successful with the technology even though we all had differing comfort levels. This project gave us the opportunity to stretch our awareness and increase our capacity in using technology and exploring history. We were able link technology and content in way that we hope was both entertaining and educational.

We were able to learn from each other as a group as well as a class. We were appreciative of our colleagues’ feedback. It added an objective dimension to our product. Evaluating it enabled us to determine some items that would have made our project stronger. We looked deeply at our strategy for the project. It began with our organization of the main page that linked to the other pages. The links were intentional. We felt that the opening page should allow the easy exploration of topics. It was a roadmap. We wanted people to know where they were going. We also examined our weaknesses. We could have incorporated or created more opportunities for colleague interaction. While quizzes are available through the website links a more overt area for interaction would have added to our page. We attempted to create a discussion area but we were unable to do so successfully. We had a plethora of resources to share with the class in a limited amount of time. The information we were able to present was a good overall representation of what our page contained.

Once the task was completed we felt a sense of accomplishment. Our only regret was that we would not collaborate on this project again with the same intensity. We came away stronger than we were before because we relied on one another and were able to gain a vast amount of new learning. This assignment brought new light and relevance to the subject, and we can see this as a great project in our schools and classrooms. It was a very unique way to learn and explore the history. Our paradigms collectively shifted. The journey was well worth it.