Project Based Learning & Technology

Recently in ECI 201 we learned about Project Based Learning (PBL) in the classroom and how technology has opened many doors for teachers to go beyond the traditional classroom design and accomplish amazing things with their students. Project Based Learning is a student-centered teaching technique where the students in the classroom choose a real-world issue that they want to research and explore so that they can have a stronger, more in-depth knowledge of the topic. My initial thought is that this style of teaching is AWESOME because it’s interactive, the students get a say in their learning so they’re going to be more interested in it, it’s relevant because it’s about a real-world issue, and the students will learn so many important real-life skills.

PBL in action: We read the article below and watched the video below on a fourth grade teacher whose students wanted to create a “Solar Powered Classroom” where their classroom would only be powered by solar panels.

The students wanted to tackle the real-world issue of the need for clean energy. They researched the different types of clean energy and decided that they wanted to focus on Solar Power because it was “the most clean form of energy”, and so they decided they wanted to build solar panels for their classroom. This is an expensive task — solar panel installation costs thousands of dollars and isn’t easy. Calculate how much it would cost you to install solar panels here:

This task would have been almost impossible for Mr. Sebens’s classroom to successfully complete, however, thanks to technology like Kickstarter, Mr. Sebens and his class were able to reach people around the world and raise enough money through donations to install solar panels. Also, access to computers and the internet gave the students the ability to research clean energy, learn more about solar panels, and figure out how to construct and install them. Thinking back to how the project began, internet and computers were also necessary for Mr. Sebens when he was researching to see if this was a project capable of being completed by his 4th Grade classroom.

Technology has helped made PBL projects much more affordable and feasible, so the possibilities for teachers are increasing tremendously!

What would I want to do for my future classroom?
I hope to eventually be working for a school that incorporates Project Based Learning into the classroom, and even if that’s not one of the core focuses of the school, I hope to incorporate it into my classroom anyway. I would want to let my kids help in the choosing of the topic; however, something I would love to do is a project that brings attention to the issue of homelessness and hunger and does something that benefits those who are homeless and/or going hungry in the local area.

I think it would be awesome to have my students create and manage a garden to help feed the homeless in our area. The project would include my students using computers and the internet to research statistics on homelessness in the country, in our state, and in our specific county, and compare them to other counties and even other states. I would also want them to research statistics on how many students in the school system experience homelessness. With this background information, I would then love for my students to be able to use Virtual Reality headsets and access a program (that would hopefully exist at this point–I’m dreaming here) where you could see through the eyes of a student experiencing homelessness and what each day after school is like for them. This would be a way of using technology that could help students have a deeper understanding of what it can be like to experience homelessness and develop empathy, yet at the same time not creating a divide or pity, as not to make any students who might be experiencing homelessness feel bad. Then, I would want my students to reflect on the experience and discuss how it made them feel with their classmates, and then brainstorm ways we could try to fix the issue of homelessness and hunger. I would want them to again research any solutions for homelessness that are working or have been proposed. If it became something my students would want to do, then we would start planning the garden and everything that goes with it to try and help the issue. If any help was needed with the cost, I would let my students help me research what the costs would be and then try to use a website like Kickstarter to fund raise for our garden.

This project would be beneficial to my students because it would help teach:

• Problem Solving Skills / Critical Thinking
• The importance of helping others
• How to reason through real-world issues
• Research Skills
• Note-Taking Skills
• Public Speaking Skills
• Classroom Discussion Skills
• Writing Skills
• Math Skills
• Social Studies Skills
• Science Skills
• Creativity, and many more!

*Images links are all embedded into the site