Final Reflection

This process has been a lengthy undertaking. I began a month ago wondering about Italy and have learned so much during this project of my own devising. I had many questions about Italy because I really didn't know much even though I had been studying the Italian language informally for about 2 years. Because I formed my own questions, finding the answers were meaningful and also required little motivation, a key element to the inquiry models we have been studying. I felt that I was getting first-hand experience in inquiry-based learning.

One thought that kept coming to mind during while I was working on the final presentation product was that all that I had learned was hard to put into words and pictures! One piece of the puzzle led to another while researching. How could a simple PowerPoint convey all that I had learned. For example I picked my imaginary hometown of Collechio after finding out about many facets of Italy, like population statistics, weather statistics, maps, demographics, and location tools like maps. I now had a deeper understanding of Italy that required many levels of learning. I know that all that I learned is not in the PowerPoint, but I hope I was able to convey the connection to me!

The searching process was overwhelming due to the vast amounts of information and because it was difficult to know when I had enough! More information just led to more questions which led to more information! Finally, time began to be my guide as it dictated that I must move on.

One aspect I was happy with was the variety of resources I was able to draw upon. Even my "blogmate" gave me a good idea about exploring the National parks and led me into a new direction of searching I had not considered. I drew from data sets, maps, printed matter, surveys, interviews, and websites (both commercial and informational). I tried some "official" Italian websites too - but my language skills are not that good to glean information from a page done entirely in Italian!

Tying standards to what I was doing also kept the teaching focus front and center. It also helped me connect what I viewed previously as a gargantuan list of standards to the real world environment of inquiry based learning using a variety of standards.

I am glad I tackled the new PowerPoint. My regret is that I am not personally going to present it because I believe the software allows for several methods upon download and I hope that it is viewed as intended! By tackling the software, I became much more proficient and would be confident helping other students or staff if asked. Every media specialist should keep their skills up-to-date with the latest software - it's finding the time that is the tricky part!

A few of the technology requirements I had used previously and it was good to revisit those tools. The most fun I had with a tool was the Survey Monkey. So much critical thinking went into devising the survey that I was thinking about how just building a survey is a lesson in itself! Students would benefit so much and improve their logic skills building surveys from time to time! Surveys could be posted on the schools website with a wide range of subject matter from lunchroom favorites to sociology test to prove points in papers!

Finally, I can't even imagine trying to "grade" a product such as this blog! Because of the free nature of the assignment, I think that some teachers would be overwhelmed by digging through each blog. However, by the use of narratives in each post, I hope that it is apparent that real "thinkin" has taken place. I tried to make some aspects of this blog alittle easier to compare to the checklist by creating extra pages related to standards, technology requirements, and citations. I also used the extra space pages provided to showcase some examples of some of my creations such as the Italy Idea Map. This organization scheme also helped me to stay on track as well.

One thing is for sure, I still want to go to Italy and now I know so much more, that I am looking forward to a future visit with more confidence than I had before because I have a deeper understanding of the country and its people.