Sunday, July 22, 2012

To Publish or Present?

For my Leadership Project, the main question is whether I should publish a paper or present my Challenge Based Research project at a conference.  Given how much I struggled with writing my Literature Review in month 1, I am going to opt to present.  I think this would give me an opportunity to open people's eyes about the situation at learning environments such as mine.  My students are incarcerated, so it makes for an interesting subject, and their plight (lack of funds and materials, lack of reform in the system itself) will make for an interesting topic.  People not only need to hear how technology did indeed boost motivation in this detention center, with my at-risk teen boys, but also how there was not one single conflict in the classroom while technology was being utilized (granted, there was only one actual conflict in the classroom all year, but I credit my interactive teaching style and calm demeanor for this success).  People need to hear how technology made learning fun for students who are not used to learning at all.  To see a total of about 45 adolescent boys not only become engaged with a task, but actually commit to finishing the task was extremely rewarding.  I cannot possibly keep their success a secret, and I do not want to rely on other educators reading about in a journal. 

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