Don’s 632 Blog

Part of the reading asssignment for today were “Stories for Advocacy’, short stories of why technology matters in education.  I have already read some of them and previously made blog entries about them.

I also read parts of ‘New Skills for a New Century” about project based learning (PBL). This article stated that project based learning teaches children the collaborative and critical thinking ability they will need to compete.  I wonder if success must mean that you can do something better than some one else.  It is true that students need to be able to think critically, solve problems and communicate effectively.  The article lists skills needed in the 21st century as “learning and thinking skills, information- and communication-technology skills, and life skills”.  So what is new about this?

Is project-based learning really new?  If the plains Indians of a few hundred years ago discovered that it was easier to kill a bison working in a group than going it alone, is this project-based learning?  I think that project-based learning is almost as old as mankind.  PBL is not a new concept for learning but it has not been used much in traditional schools.  I teach chemistry courses which all have a laboratory component.  The lab experiements are always done by groups of 3 or 4 students working cooperatively together sharing the work and the results with each other.  They are individually responsible for the answers on their own lab reports.  I find that many times working together in groups lessens the work load and makes the experiment get done quicker, but some times not much real learning takes place.

In class today we did an activity on Module 6.  We checked out a few collaboratie internet projects (CIP’s).  We then looked for a good CIP, virtual field trip, etc. to include as a recommended activity on our assignment page.  I found a virtual field trip to use.  I will share my chosen project with the class tomorrow.