Mr. Rennie's Class

  This has been a very short week for me. Tomorrow the students have their project sharing but I will be at a technology training session to learn about the district's Share Point tech initiative. We are changing our entire technology platform to a Microsoft version as opposed to Novell. It will mean huge changes, new email, applications and opportunities to engage students like class web pages. I may not use this forum next year depending on how user friendly Share Point is.

  Right this moment the students are reviewing their learning logs as the start of a discussion on goal setting in regard to their group inquiries on Central American countries. They are revisiting their goals set early last week to assess their progress towards them. I am going to read them... I just got back to the room after reading a variety of reflections. Some people really thought about not only whether or not they reached their goal but what steps they took to get there. Some were very honest that they chose a goal that was automatic. A no brainer. They wiil need to actually stretch themselves if goal setting and reflecting is going to have an impact on their learning. Those who reached their meaningful goals were really able tothink back and see what they did to help themselves and their team members.

 The students who did not meet their goals got to see how their own actions but also the actions of others determined their success or lack therof. So far I'm really happy with how the learning logs are working out. I think they will be a valuable learnibng tool.