Breaking Down Walls

 

     A fifth grade company which built a bridge.  A seventh grade partnership which developed intercontinental trade.  These project based learning assignments are still memorable for my college-aged daughters.  The results from these projects touched on many points of learning:  collaboration, coordination, independent research, and accountability.  And they had fun! Imagine being encouraged to do something different and to incorporate new tools in the learning process. 

    Technology is only now beginning to be tapped as a tool for project-based learning in my school district.  Several years ago, our then superintendent stated that he wanted us to be "the technology district."  What does a “technology district” look like?  What would the new technologies be, how would they be applied, and who would have access to them?  This is where his vision derailed.  Not only could the different schools within the district not coordinate their hardware needs,  but teachers within the same grade levels at the same schools fought over which classroom would benefit first from the technology.  Collaboration and coordination did not exist. 
 
     In "Reinventing Project-Based Learning," I have thus far been most intrigued with the emphasis on the collaborating and community building among educators.  While it can be understood that a district-wide approach to project based learning and the application of technology cannot always be specific, it can at least encourage the kind of grade level coordination that is necessary for it to be successful.  


     One example of this is a project that my son's ninth grade Spanish class completed last week.  How could Spanish be applied to a topic that all kids found exciting?  Vacation!  The assignment was for pairs of students to determine what their dream vacation would be.  Then, armed with an iPod Touch, students were told to create a travelogue for their destination.  Students utilized Google Images and recorded a detailed voice-over in Spanish highlighting their destination.  The instructor then synced all of their  podcasts onto her Mac.  Now she can not only assess her student's work, but this project will now be streamed in the classroom during Open House this week. This project was developed by a friend of mine in close collaboration with the Foreign Language department at our high school.  She told me that they could not rely on a cash-strapped district to take the lead on incorporating technology in the classroom; they had to do it as a department.  They applied for grants which allowed them to purchase iPods for their department.  These new tools were used for the first time this past fall, and the staff and students love the freedom, creativity, and effective learning which has taken place since they began utilizing this technology.  Waiting for a directive from an administrator or a principal was not an option.  Taking action as a coordinated department is what made this technology integration possible. 
 
   The empowerment that comes from the technology-based project-based learning has touched both staff and students.  Students are eager to apply the technologies that they are already familiar with, and in the case of my son, offer tech support for their teachers when needed.  It began with a small group of teachers within an often fractured district, and the results have been exciting for teachers, students, and parents.