Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning can be a valuable teaching tool and learning experience for all students. It has been proven repeatedly to have a positive impact on student achievement. In Project-Based Instruction: Creating Excitement for Learning, Jennifer Railsback describes some of the benefits of incorporating project-based learning in the classroom. These benefits include:


• Preparing children for the workplace

• Increasing motivation

• Connecting learning at school with reality

• Providing collaborative opportunities to construct knowledge

• Increasing social and communication skills

• Increasing problem-solving skills

• Enabling students to make and see connections among disciplines

• Providing opportunities to contribute to their school and society

• Increasing self-esteem

• Allowing children to use their individual learning strengths and diverse approaches to learning

• Providing a practical, real-world way to learn to use technology

This article was extremely helpful in promoting the advantages of project-based instruction. The author also provides a multitude of ideas for implementing PBL and identifying goals for students. Descriptions of common pitfalls, as well as methods for addressing them are also included.

Our team created a project-based learning initiative proposal to be implemented in fifth grade social studies classrooms at Calhoun Elementary School. Our group members worked extremely well together and the process was very smooth. Our biggest challenge was narrowing our focus. The projects involve incorporating writing, social studies, and technology, and address a variety of historical eras and events that are taught in fifth grade. The projects are also intended to help students understand different perspectives, and how they play a role in a person’s decisions.

• Jessica Clark - Can You Hear Me? Creating Voice in Writing
This PowerPoint and VoiceThread was created to support teachers in all content areas. The PowerPoint gives a general overview of a few ways voice can be developed in one's writing. The VoiceThread then gives students a chance to practice what is presented in the PowerPoint. In addition, in the VoiceThread students are also asked to pause and reflect on ways that developing one's voice has impact outside of the language arts classroom.

• Jessica Hewell - Stonewall's Story
This Digital Story presents a letter written by Stonewall Jackson to his wife Mary Anna shortly after he lost his arm at the Battle of Chancellorsville. This type of presentation will challenge students to practice their letter writing skills and summarizing skills. Students will include important facts about Stonewall Jackson, or whomever they choose, in the letter that shows their understanding of that person's personal and professional involvement in the Civil War.

• Barry Thibault - Scrapbook and Monologues from Immigrants Coming to America
In this particular lesson, children will write scenes for a class play about immigration based on the book, “What if your name was changed at Ellis Island” and write scripted monologues in the voices of their immigrant characters from their group selected countries. Each group of 4 will re-write a scene for the overall play of the story including each member of the group writing his/her own theater monologue about the reactions of coming to America based on the books characters. The goals are to allow the children to: exercise their Language Art skills, demonstrate their knowledge gained from a social studies unit on immigrants and Ellis Island, interpret the book, present what they had learned about theater monologues and developing characters in theater, while practicing working in groups to accomplish a final goal. The children will conclude the project by creating a Microsoft Movie Maker Scrapbook of their character displaying technology skills introduced through the class with scripted monologue created using Microsoft Word.

• Herb Washington – A Different Point of View
This will be a project that examines the view of Iraqi citizens in Iraq since the US led invasion that occurred in 2003. The students will create visual organizers using Wordles and Bubbl.us, related to their view of Iraq and their citizens. Students will view various multimedia presentations showing everyday life in Iraq and read blog entries by Iraqi citizens. By the end of the project, students will be able to see the views of the Iraqi citizens and understand the trials and tribulations they encounter on a daily basis. The project will culminate with students demonstrating their understandings in wikis.


• Deborah Wetherholt - A Nation Divided
A Nation Divided Comic Life presents the causes of unrest that split the North and the South, which eventually led to the Civil War. After examining both sides, students will be able to choose which side’s principles they agree with and would be willing to fight for.


Railsback, J. “Project-Based Instruction: Creating Excitement for Learning.” Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Aug. 2002. ERIC. Web. 2 Nov. 2009.
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1a/a6/24.pdf

TEAMWORK...TEAMWORK...TEAMWORK

What started out as random classmates in a group, led to collective collaboration, and ended up being a team working together to accomplish their goal. Motivating, enthusiastic, and dedicated describe the efforts put forth by all members of this group. It is a pleasure to be an “Integrator”.

Digital Storytelling Workshop

Digital Storytelling can be used in all aspects of Education. The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling, an article written by Bernard R. Robin of the University of Houston discusses what Digital Storytelling is and how it can be applied in the school setting. Robin defines Digital Storytelling as a story that takes traditional story elements, such as a common theme and point of view, and combines them with digitally enhanced images, audio, and graphics. Robin argues that a good Digital Story follows seven basic elements:

Point of View
A Dramatic Question
Emotional Content
The Gift of Your Voice
The Power of the Soundtrack
Economy
Pacing

A good Digital Story must encompass all of these elements. The first four elements are traditional story elements. All stories have a point of view, they answer a dramatic question in order to offer a resolution, they provide emotional content that engages the reader, and a voice that is appropriate for the intended audience. The last three elements are what make a Digital Story so unique. Creating a story electronically allows for a Soundtrack. Just like in a movie a Soundtrack can add emotion to a story. It is important to remember that the viewer will grow impatient, just as they would during a television show or movie, if the story is prolonged. This is why Economy and Pacing are so important. There has to be enough information to get the point across and it must be paced appropriately so as not to bore the viewer.

Robin goes on to discuss the different uses of Digital Stories in Education. Digital Stories can be utilized in all subjects and grade levels. They are great for re-telling historical events, creating informational How-To's, and personal narratives.


Robin, Bernard R. (2009). The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. University of Houston. Retrieved October 12 from http://fp.coe.uh.edu/brobin/homepage

Our team worked together to create a Digital Storytelling Workshop. All of our Digital Stories were created via Movie Maker. Throughout the process of creating our Digital Stories we faced some expected hurdles. The biggest challenge when creating Digital Stories is to ensure that all material used is copyright free. We found numerous resources that have copyright free materials. The next challenge when creating a Digital Story is to be certain that the technology is useful. As with anything in the classroom you don't want to spend hours creating something that could be taught and expressed in a few minutes. It was important to make sure that our videos would truly enhance a lesson and provide students with an increased knowledge on the standards.

As part of our workshop plan we created the following items in order to assist teachers in the development of their own Digital Stories:

• A Flyer to advertise our workshop


• A Workshop plan that detailed the steps involved in administering the workshop


• An Instructional PowerPoint that can serve as a resource when creating Digital Stories independently


• A Survey to assess the workshop


• Teacher-produced examples of Digital Stories

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: Historical Background by Jessica Clark
This video was created to use as an introduction to the novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor. There are a lot of historical events surrounding the setting of this novel. After viewing this video, students will be better prepared to dive into the novel.

The Fall of Czar Nicholas II. by Debbie Wetherholt
This movie tells the story of the Fall of Czar Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia. It describes events, including Bloody Sunday, which led to the execution of Nicholas II and his family. With the fall of the monarchy rose the power of communism.

Fala by Joy Renfro
This video was created to use as an introduction to a unit on WWII, specifically emphasizing Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency. It can also be used to teach point of view, as it is told from FDR's dog's perspective.


The Evolution of the Computer
This video is a timeline of the history of the computer. The movie shows how the computer has evolved over time and how it has changed our life and what we can do and accomplish with the computer. I also take a look at the pioneers of the technology age and their creations.

I Made it Through!!

I am in class now and blogs are normally blocked. I was trying to access my teams blog like I always do and to my surprise I was able to get through!! This is exciting and frustrating at the same time, my class is currently working on a collaborative project using Google Docs and a blog would be the icing on the cake. Ironically, the county has blocked all sites that have streaming media and all of the sudden I am able to access blogs, something seems strange. I will gladly take blog access over my streaming jazz stations I let my students listen to as they work. Ok, ok, I am the only one that likes the jazz, but to the victors go the spoils :-)

Blog about Blogs

Seeing as how we have been corresponding via blogs I thought it only appropriate to blog about blogging. This has been my first experience with Blogger as an Educational tool. I have found that it is a great communication device. It works really well for collaborative group projects. Blogging projects can take many shapes. Students can use blogs as a forum for discussion on a myriad of topics. The functionality of blogs and the accessibility of blogs makes them appropriate at all grade levels. Elementary School students can easily work along side a teacher to create blogs on class projects. Middle School students can begin to use Blogger as a presentation tool for book reviews and logs, a step by step guide of a Science Fair project, a timeline of historical events, etc. As students progress into High School and College they begin to utilize blogs as a place to express their thoughts and collaborate on ideas with peers. This is not to say that Blogger doesn't have its flaws. Sometimes navigation to and from other's blogs can be a bit tedious. However, a bit of navigation trouble is overshadowed by the vast array of uses for a blog in an educational setting.

Hitting the Technology Wall

So, this week, my school hit a sort of technology wall. Our quarter ended on Thursday, and each subject area gave a benchmark exam (like a final exam) that is mandated and created by the county. After giving said exam, we then drop them off in our computer lab to be scanned by one of our tech people. Sounds wonderful right? Well, it usually is. But this year, however, the county "tweaked" our exams and the exams are either not being scored correctly or not being scored at all. No one seems to know why. And our grades are due on Wednesday.

So this is a prime example of relying on technology for quick answers and needing a backup plan. So we have 1,000 answer documents floating around the school that all have to be scored and entered into gradebooks in two days, and there is no Plan B. So our quick fix is no longer quick. In this instance, scoring them by hand would have been simpler.

Midterm Exams

It is Midterm time and this has been a whirlwind of Web 2.0 tools, discussion questions, and time management skills. Our team is so focused and we have not had any issues of teammates not completing their required work. We are in the second half of the course and we have our team routine together, hopefully we are using the tools from the course in our classroom instruction, that has to be the ultimate goal.

Collaboration

I think this image sums up the process our team is going through and I have to say this has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in a class setting. Group projects are usually a mundane and tedious process but the collaboration and expertise exhibited by this group has been outstanding.

Classroom 2.0

What is our classroom going to look like in 10 years? Will technology be as prevalent as I hope or will the push-back be such a force that slows progress to a halt. Will new teachers have models or best practice to follow showing them how to integrate technology? Will administration see the benefits and cost-saving aspects of Web 2.0 applications or will they continue to focus on the possible "negative" consequences that may occur? Will we as educators be encouraged or discouraged in using these applications in the classroom? How do you see Web/Classroom/Education 2.0 in 10 years?

Comic Life Workshop

Comic Life is an exciting tool that can be used to engage and educate students. Comic Life allows teachers and/or students to build personalized comics that are tailored to a specific learning goal. Some have found that it's a way for students to streamline the main ideas, while still expressing thoughts creatively. For more information, visit www.comiclife.com.

Comic Life Workshop

Comic Life PowerPoint

Comic Life step-by-step Instructions

Comic Life Flier

Comic Life Survey

Each group member was able to work with Comic Life to provide an example of how one might use this program in the classroom:

Jessica Hewell “How to Use Comic Life to Create an Autobiography”

This Comic Life was created as an example to provide to my students prior to the completion of their autobiographies or biographies. Within this example students will see as many different customization tools as possible. The style of the background, text bubbles, layout, and picture framing is very different so that students are able to view the many different options available to them.

Joy Renfro “The Chickamauga Battlefield”

This Comic Life was created to show students how they can add interest to their presentations and projects. The student that is featured in the photos visited Chickamauga Battlefield and then presented what she learned to the class. I have uploaded her pictures into Comic Life as an example of how she can give her projects even more flair in the future.

Herb Washington “Emotions Teenagers Have”

This Comic Life presentation was used in conjunction with a Social Behavior lesson for Health class. The teacher will discuss various emotions experienced by humans with a major emphasis on emotions experienced by teenagers. The Comic Life presentation will show the non-verbal cues that help to identify the emotions an individual is experiencing. If you remove the name of the emotion from the slide it can be used in a vocabulary matching exercise.

Debbie Wetherholt “The Cold War”

This Comic Life presentation, The Cold War, was created for a sixth grade social studies class. It is being used to clarify the concept that no battles were fought in frigid temperatures during The Cold War.

Voice Thread Project

Our Voice Thread project was quite rewarding and helped to establish our roles and personalities. Our leader was Debbie Wetherholt and she went above and beyond the call of duty. Debbie is definitely a “hands on” leader and she dived right in and led by example. She set a pace that we had to follow and set clear deadlines with little ambiguity. Our team is very self-motivated and goal oriented which was on display in this two week period.

Our team used Google Docs quite effectively in collaborating and coordinating tasks and duties. We did not have to resort to conference calls or library meetings, we stuck to Google Docs and we were able to create a project that displayed workshops, flyers and 5 fantastic examples of Voice Thread in a classroom setting. I personally used Voice Thread the following week to great fanfare among my students. I demonstrated Voice Thread to a few of my colleagues and they were impressed with the minimal resources required to use this application. This project laid the blueprint on how following projects would be completed

VoiceThread Project

VoiceThread is an exciting forum for collaborating on images, documents, and videos using different formats, such as text, audio and video. Teachers will be pleased by the way it encourages students to be creative and contribute to an on-line collaboration. There are many applications and benefits for VoiceThread in the classroom. Because it is easy to use, everyone can join in the fun and learning. Please view the following VoiceThread Workshop with all the examples and resources provided.


Workshop

PowerPoint Presentation


Examples Presented By:

* Jessica Clark

This VoiceThread was created to give students an interactive place to further develop their writing skills. Students will work on showing what they are writing rather than just telling. Pictures are presented with a telling sentence written underneath. Students then record a brief paragraph, SHOWING what is happening in the photo.

VoiceThread Example
Blog With Related Information

* Jessica Hewell

This Voice Thread project was created with student illustrations. As the teacher, I used the student's illustrations to help reinforce the definitions of a variety of Literary Terms. Students will use the Voice Thread to comment on the example, make connections, and to ask questions about any of the terms that they are unsure about.

VoiceThread Example
Blog With Related Information


* Joy Renfro

This Voice Thread project was created to use as an activating strategy for a WWII unit in social studies. Students are presented with quotes from different WWII leaders and asked to make comments about the quotes and what they can tell about the person who said them.

VoiceThread Example
Blog With Related Information


* Herb Washington

This Voice Thread presentation was created using images showing the concept of “opposites.” Students are shown the images and asked to explain the differences in the images. This exercise gives visual representation to abstract concepts. The students will use Voice Thread to record their responses to the images.

VoiceThread Example
Blog With Related Information



Article:

7 Things You Should Know About Voice Thread

Article Summary and Commentary


Related Resources:

Handout - How to Create A VoiceThread

Rubric - VoiceThread Project

Wiki Site - Seventeen Interesting Ways to Use VoiceThread in the Classroom


Flyer


Reflection


On-Line Survey

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