Week 7_Reflection on Final Project

 

I am a member of Group 9, along with Duong Ngoc Nam, Duong Thi Nhung, and Tran Khanh Linh. This is the first time I have worked on a group project as a final assignment. Typically, group collaboration in my past experiences has only involved group discussions and presentations. Therefore, this experience is truly different and refreshing.

From the moment we received the group project, I was excited and thought, "Wow, this project plan is so interesting; I can envision many great ideas." Among the nine master's subjects I have taken in my first year, Technology in Language Teaching stands out as the only one with a unique approach for the final assignment. This excitement gave me strong motivation to engage with the group and start the project early.

To be honest, at the beginning of the project, many challenges left me feeling quite discouraged. However, we persevered, and now, as we have completed our project, I realize we have gained a lot of valuable experiences.

1. Selecting the Class to Apply Technology

To start implementing our plan, our team carefully reviewed the requirements provided by our teacher and held an initial meeting to agree on the plan. The first step was to select the experimental class and then decide on the technology to apply. In our team, three members are currently teaching. However, since Mrs. Nhung's classes are on summer break, we had to choose from the classes of Ms. Khanh Linh and Mr. Nam. Nam and Khanh Linh listed all the classes they are handling during the summer, and we ultimately decided on an IELTS Writing class taught by Nam. This class was the most suitable based on several criteria: the students did not have any upcoming English exams, and the learning progress was appropriate for integrating technology from the beginning. This decision ensured a smooth implementation without disrupting the students' learning plans.

With the class selected, Nam shared the current issues within the class, and we agreed to focus on using technology for providing feedback, as this was the most significant problem. Thus, in our first meeting, we did not finalize the technology to be used as planned. Instead, all members needed additional time to research and propose suitable technologies to the group the following day. At this point, the workload still seemed manageable, and there was no significant pressure.

2. Choosing the Technology to Apply

This stage marked the beginning of our first real challenges as a group. After conducting our initial research, we found ourselves overwhelmed by the sheer number of potential technologies and the limited time we had to explore them. In our frustration, we considered using familiar technologies. However, we understood that doing so would not meet the project's criteria.

After extensive discussion and feeling quite exhausted, we decided to focus on two technologies for in-depth research: Turnitin and Edmodo. We investigated their advantages, disadvantages, and key features through various articles. Feeling more organized, we assigned specific tasks to ensure we completed the report in time for our scheduled presentation to receive feedback from our teachers.

Two members were tasked with exploring the functionalities of these two technologies, and we initially planned to use both in the classroom. However, we encountered unexpected obstacles. The Edmodo website was no longer active, having been sold to a new organization, and was temporarily unavailable. Meanwhile, Turnitin required a paid subscription, with no free version available. This was a valuable lesson for us, highlighting the importance of anticipating potential problems.

In need of a replacement technology, one member recalled a tool called Seesaw that a colleague had recommended. Based on the information and experiences shared by her colleague, we decided to explore Seesaw as our final option. This direction proved promising, and ultimately, Seesaw became the sole technology we applied in the classroom. 

At this point, the work tasks became clearer, and we reassigned the work accordingly. This period prompted a lot of reflection for me. I learned an important lesson about task delegation. I realized that it is crucial to assign tasks specifically, with clear and unified criteria from the outset, to minimize unwanted issues during the implementation process.

3. Project Implementation and Process

After receiving feedback and suggestions from our teachers, we began making revisions and planned to start the project on July 9, 2024. While the process seemed to be quite smooth, we encountered a significant drawback: all the information was observed from Nam's perspective. All input had to be provided by Nam, based on his experience and observations in the classroom.

Nam supplied the information he deemed necessary and important for our group to discuss, approach, and adjust. During this process, each member asked additional questions to ensure he could provide more complete data. This step was arguably the most time-consuming and resulted in the most conflicting opinions.

One important lesson we learned was the necessity of designing a classroom observation form with clear criteria. This would allow Nam to observe and evaluate more effectively, ensuring that no useful or necessary information was missed during our assessment and intervention process.

4. Finalizing the Report

With the information obtained from the previous stages, the main challenge in the final stage was to synchronize and ensure consistency, effectively connecting the content of the report. To make sure all members' opinions were included, we first completed the tasks assigned to us individually. Then, each member read each other's sections, providing comments and making multiple rounds of edits.

This stage truly tested our patience, as we had to revise the report numerous times to ensure the content was as clear and cohesive as possible. The repeated editing process was essential to achieve a well-integrated and polished final report.

5. Reflection on Group Project Experience

The experience of doing a group project has been incredibly valuable. I must honestly admit that this process required us to use a multitude of skills and invest much more effort compared to an individual project. We had to coordinate our personal schedules to accommodate group discussions. We needed persuasive skills to effectively defend our viewpoints. We had to think from multiple perspectives and consider the project as a whole, not just our individual parts. There are many other small lessons that I cannot fully detail in this review.

Despite the many difficulties that left me feeling tired and frustrated, completing the project gave me a sense of having taken a significant step forward. I gained valuable experience in applying technology, and, more importantly, in managing and collaborating on group projects. While I have always enjoyed doing individual final assignments, I am genuinely grateful to the teacher for giving us the challenge of a group project like this.

Thank you to my teacher for all her enthusiastic support throughout the course.