Principal Walder's Monday Memo
For the Week of December 3
Technology and Project-based learning: How do these concepts work together?
The above article came out this week via Teach Thought. It is short and links to many previous articles about the use of project-based learning in education. I know many of you already do projects and I'd like you to consider additional perspectives on projects as we now have more/ easier access to technology.
I want to point out a couple of sections in this list for project-based learning needs that are particularly relevant as our 3rd and 4th-grade teams soon will both have a device for every student, every-day and we start to add more apps to our K-2 iPads.
Although any project can still be completed with encyclopedias or textbooks for research while using technology applications that have creation abilities, technology can enhance or provide more opportunities for students to display their learning.
The information that is in italics is from the article above.
4. Research
This one’s not sexy or compelling–this is a big part of the “work” of any project.
Researching the history of an issue or problem. Understanding the subtleties of given demographic data. Analyzing the credibility of information. Seeing how technology can serve or distract you (or rather, them) from the meat of the issue. This kind of knowledge helps you turn a problem into an opportunity.
5. A Necessity For Creativity & Innovation
Among other themes, the 21st century is about niches, innovation, and scale–seeing an opportunity, and designing something that works on a given–and clear–scale.
Too often, however, creativity is encouraged without being required. Points are given and a column is added to the rubric and teachers ask for it explicitly but designing a project–or helping students design their own project–that fails without creativity is another thing altogether.
Lateral thinking, outside the box thinking, and taking the best from existing models are all part of 21st-century learning.
8. Elegant Curation
Crude curation is saving an email, favoriting a tweet, or pinning randomly to a board no one reads that students will never reference again in the future for anything.
Elegant curation is about saving a “thing” while honoring the thing itself. Showcasing it without losing its meaning or fullness. Somehow capturing both that which is being saved and its context as well–and doing so in a way that makes it accessible to yourself and others as technology continues to change. Not easy. The video below is a general overview of Project Based Learning if you have not had a chance to use it, yet. If you are interested in taking a unit and looking at a way to integrate technology and utilize some PBL strategies, please reach out as I think we could have fun thinking outside
Mrs. Walder's Schedule
Monday:
- 1:30 Individual Teacher Meeting
- 2:10 Individual Teacher Meeting
- 3:15 Reading Challenge Team Meet in Mrs. Knudson's Room
- 4:15 Instructional Leaders Meeting at DEC
Tuesday:
- 8:30 Behavior Team Meeting
Wednesday:
- No School
- Mrs. Walder in office normal hours.
Thursday:
- No School
Friday:
- No School
Contact Mrs. Walder
Email: Samantha.Walder@k12.sd.us
Website: https://www.teaschools.k12.sd.us/
Location: Tea, SD, USA
Phone: 6058817381
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeaAreaLegacy/