Project Based Learning

Teaching has made a total change in the fourteen years since I graduated from high school. This change is in large part due to how the world has embraced technology. Every time I read a teacher's blog about how they are using technology in the classroom I learn something new. To hear that students as young as kindergarten are blogging and tweeting amazes me! After watching Anthony Capps' videos with Dr. Strange, I have some observations to present and questions that to ask about how to use technology as a teacher, specifically for project based learning.

From the Anthony Capps interview, Don't Teach Tech - Use It, I learned several benefits of and tips for using technology in the classroom for project based learning or PBL. The first benefit is that today's students have been around technology all their lives so they understand how to use it quickly and they enjoy using it. This answers the question of how will I teach students how to use technology when I am not very good at using it myself. Dr. Strange added that teachers should not worry about spending a lot of time to teach technology. The next benefit is to use technology for PBL. Project based learning is the concept of constructing a project while learning a concept, instead of the old way of using a project to assess whether a concept was learned. Teachers should give students the opportunity to use technology to learn about a subject and to construct a project on that subject. With this being said, Anthony Capps said to not expect perfection when using technology. He said from experience that students will make mistakes while researching but a teacher needs to build in time for the students to reflect on the project and learn from their mistakes. Lastly, Mr. Capps pointed out that using technology for PBL is a low cost, clean, and shareable way of learning.

While watching the Anthony Capps interviews, I had a few questions about what kind of technology to use for PBL. I wondered how do third-graders do research on the Internet in a safe way, and specifically, what websites does he use for PBL. He answered my questions with iCurio and Discovery Ed, which both are used in Baldwin County. iCurio is an online tool where students can safely search online media because it is filtered for educational use. Students have individual logins and they use it like a search engine. I especially liked the feature that Mr. Capps mentioned about organization. iCurio allows students to organize their research by topic in virtual folders. By doing this, they are learning valuable skills of digital/virtual organization. iCurio will also read the text aloud to students that may need help reading. Anthony Capps referred to Discovery Ed as bringing text to life visually. This allows students visually learn about a subject after they have read about it. He uses it for Science and Social Studies.

One of the main issues I wonder about when incorporating technology in the classroom for PBL, how much time does this involve for the teacher? Anthony Capps answered the question by giving some details about his first year as a teacher. He started the year by working sixteen hours a day for the first three months and then cut it down to ten hours a day. This tells me that he is a hard worker! This also tells me that using technology in PBL requires a hard working teacher. Hard work is one the tips that Dr. Strange gave in the videos for being a good teacher. He also included being a learner, being flexible and creative, and having the ability to reflect. The role of the teacher has changed with the change in technology. They are no longer the main source for knowledge in the classroom, but they are more of the director of a child's education.

In conclusion, I will definitely use PBL in my classroom. Students often times have a negative attitude towards math because they feel that it doesn't have application in their lives. I hope to use PBL to show them that math is in their everyday lives they just have to look for it.