Time to Debunk Those PBL Myths What are the myths you hear most often about project-based learning? Here are some PBL misconceptions I encounter with surprising regularity: "Projects may be fun, but they'll never prepare students for ____ [fill in high-stakes test of your choice]" "If kids work in teams on projects, one or two will do all the work and the others will coast" "PBL won't work with my students because they are ____ [fill in the challenge of your choice]" "I'll never have time to cover all my content if I spend time on projects" "Projects just aren't rigorous" "Parents will wind up doing most of the work" "We can't do PBL because we don't have ____ [fill in the technology of your choice]" Once you start listening for PBL myths, you'll hear them in the most surprising places. If we dispel the myths, we can concentrate on helping teachers and students achieve the meaningful learning that's possible through high-quality PBL. Projects versus PBL There's a reason why this misconception endures. Coverage vs.
top-tips-for-vine-in-the-classroom Vine, an app for smartphones and tablets, allows users to record and post short (six-second) video clips, which can be shared on Twitter (make good use of hashtags) and Facebook. It’s available for both Apple and Android devices. Record videos through the in-app camera—press the screen of your device to capture both video and audio. Many teachers have experimented with Vine in the classroom, and the following activities will help you use this tool to spice up lessons. 1. Doing something cool in science lab? 2. Hook up with another class using Vine and send daily greeting cards to one another. 3. Get your students’ creative juices flowing by having them make a stop-motion movie with puppets and/or toys. 4. Take students outside, where they can record the best of what the natural scenery around your school has to offer. 5. Begin this fun, improvised creative writing experience by assigning each student a number.
Five Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning Voiceover: How will today’s children function in a dangerous world? What means will they use to carve the future? Will they be equipped to find the answers to tomorrow’s problems? Teacher: When you think about traditional learning you think of a student sitting in a classroom and being talked at. Teacher: Now I imagine a lot of you are still thinking... Teacher: They are supposed to be a sponge. Peggy Ertmer: So there are a lot of different ways to approach PBL, a lot of different ways to implement it, but really it all boils down to five essential keys: real-world connection, core to learning, structured collaboration, student driven, and multifaceted assessment. Student: One of the problems in the ocean is that with the higher amount of CO2 calcifying organisms are decreasing and we’re testing to see how well life in the ocean lives without calcifying organisms. Student: --four by eight feet. Peggy Ertmer: So the second commonality is the PBL unit provides academic rigor. Student: Yes.
4 Ways Higher Education Institutions Can Use Vine This is a guest post by James Knight When Vine first came out (something we announced in Seriously Social News #7), the concept of six-second, looping videos seemed rather unassuming. However, this quirky social media app quickly blew up in popularity, acquiring 40 million registered users in less than a year, according to The Verge. Vine users range from individuals to international brands looking to stake their claim in this Twitter-backed enterprise. Twitter made its name by requiring users to become succinct with their words in 140 characters or less. Now, it’s doing the same thing with videos through Vine. #1 Break Your Message Down to the Bare Bones Six seconds goes by quickly, but it’s plenty of time for you to deliver a powerful message to your audience. The video doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive to produce. #2 Create a Unique Style Once you’ve determined the best way to reach your students, alumni or other audience, you want to stand out in their minds. James Knight
Project-Based Learning Research Review Editor's Note: This article was originally written by Vanessa Vega, with subsequent updates made by the Edutopia staff. Studies have proven that when implemented well, project-based learning (PBL) can increase retention of content and improve students' attitudes towards learning, among other benefits. Edutopia's PBL research review explores the vast body of research on the topic and helps make sense of the results. In this series of five articles, learn how researchers define project-based learning, review some of the possible learning outcomes, get our recommendations of evidence-based components for successful PBL, learn about best practices across disciplines, find tips for avoiding pitfalls when implementing PBL programs, and dig in to a comprehensive annotated bibliography with links to all the studies and reports cited in these pages. What is Project-Based Learning? Learning Outcomes Keys to Project-Based Learning Success
(Vine + Vimeo) X (Macbeth + Make-believe) X (Costumes + Cadence) = Engaging E... Shakespeare’s work is a tricky thing to teach to high school students. The main barrier is the difficult language. If you can get them past that, or used to that, or to understand that, or to accept that–you’ve made quite an accomplishment. When I was in high school, Shakespeare really wasn’t even on my radar (for the aforementioned reasons paired with my inherently distracted nature). In college, I TRIED to understand Shakespeare and had moments of clarity, but still … not much sank in for me. In my younger years of teaching *I* didn’t even *LIKE* Shakespeare’s work, which made it really hard to teach effectively. But the language … *whiny voice* … it’s sooooooo harrrrrd. We make baby steps. Very recently, I was turned on to an app called Vine, which is a simple iPhone video capturing service (which links and embeds nicely with Twitter) that also is compatible with the iPad. The assignment was as follows. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Kyle as Multiple Witches from Jodie Morgenson on Vimeo.
How to Get High-Quality Student Work in PBL “I thought the project was going well… but by the end, I felt that the work my students produced was not as good as I imagined it would be. I was a little embarrassed and almost wanted to dial back the audience’s expectations on the night of the presentations!” This is a common concern of teachers who are new to Project Based Learning. Things can appear to be going smoothly; students have been engaged by the project, they've been learning content and skills, they've been busy and meeting deadlines… but their thinking is not as in-depth and their final products not as polished as they should be. If this is your experience, it’s time to ask yourself some questions: 1. Simply telling students that you want them to do high-quality work is not enough, nor is giving them a checklist that tracks completion, not quality. To have students practice using a rubric, find some exemplars of the kind of work required in the project. 2. One of the 8 Essential Elements of PBL is “Critique and Revision.”
8 Ways You Can Use Vine to Teach Reading Comprehension By Guest Writer, Betsie Jonas (Reading Horizons Social Media Expert) As a social media junkie, I have used Vine in my personal life many times, and I have thought about how it could be used in education. Does it have a place in the classroom? The answer: Yes. Twitter and Vine (Twitter’s video sharing site) can be great resources in the classroom. If you don’t have a Twitter account, you should get one. If you haven’t heard of Vine, I will fill you in. Vine videos can also be put on Twitter or Facebook by just checking a box (or two) when you finish taking your video. Ready for the cool part about Vine? 8 ways you can use Vine to enhance your reading instruction: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. What do you think?
Viewpoint on PBL: What Students Say We are Miles, Gaby, Ethan, Lauren, Madison, and Aiden from Novi Community Schools District, in Michigan. What we do we have in common? We were really lucky to have Project Based Learning teachers. Individually, we answered a simple question “Why do you like PBL?” Shhh…It’s a secret! “Need to Know” Nibbles by Gaby, 6th grade In PBL we had “Need to Knows” that gave us a nibble of what we were going to discover in our projects. In a traditional classroom, I wasn’t motivated to talk about school past the classroom walls. PBL spells F-U-N! I felt like I learned more about the topic through a project than doing worksheets. In PBL, you get to work with new people and have collaboration. More-than-just-a-grade Production by Ethan, 6th grade PBL is hands on. It’s also more than just a grade. All in it TOGETHER by Aiden, 1st grade PBL is challenging because you have to work TOGETHER. PBL is a very REAL life way of bringing REAL learning into a classroom.
How To Use Vine In The Classroom Twitter continues to be a massive part of any connected learner’s education. For teachers, students, parents, and admins, it’s a simple way to quickly share and learn. Instagram is sort of a visual version of that – albeit not as robust. In case you haven’t heard of it or tried it out yet, Vine is a relatively new app by the folks at Twitter who hope to own the ‘video social networking’ space. In any case, Vine is a dead-simple app and could be a great way for students to become filmmakers on the go. Vine PROs It’s extremely simple to use. Vine CONs It’s a free app that the world uses. Using Vine In The Classroom I know most teachers have less than zero time to try out new apps and products in the classroom. Step 1: Try out Vine at home with your personal account. Now that you’re aware of what Vine is, if your students like making videos, and how much fun a simple app can be … share your videos!
Project-based learning done right With traditional learning, students memorize information for upcoming tests and don’t retain what is learned, said John Larmer, editor-in-chief of the Buck Institute for Education, a nonprofit that helps teachers use project-based learning. When students focus on projects, the learning “really sinks in” and it becomes easier to transfer their knowledge to new situations, Larmer said. Eight teachers from grades K-3 at Parkside participate in The Compass. Students often work together and collaborate on projects. Project-based learning emphasizes 21st century skills such as the ability to think critically, work in teams, and solve problems, Larmer said. Originally, “the school system was designed for the industrial economy. The Compass often partners with community members and organizations for projects. This year, learning expanded to regions of Florida and ultimately branched out to the United States.
Five-Minute Film Festival: Vine and Instagram Video in the Classroom Oh dear: our long-bemoaned short attention spans are dwindling into nothingness. That's exactly what I thought when I first heard about Vine, Twitter's app that allows users to make and share six-second videos. What can possibly be said in six seconds of video that's worth watching? On the heels of Vine's release, Facebook's photo-sharing app Instagram announced a video-capturing feature, and users there had all of fifteen seconds to play with. Video Playlist: Microvideo in the Classroom Watch the player below to see the whole playlist, or view it on YouTube. How Much Science Can You Fit Into 6 Seconds? Four Great Ideas Fresh Off the Vine Forgive the pun, but the trickiest part of compiling this list was that most of the good Vines are actually living only within Vine; most people don't take the time to upload to YouTube. Renegade Buffalo, New York, history teacher Keith Hughes encourages folks to check out his great HipHughes History YouTube channel with this Vine.
The Project-Based School: Transforming an Underperforming Campus - edWeb As a teacher, Todd Nesloney was active on Twitter and as a blogger. Based on his social media presence, which showcased his love of project-based learning, Navasota School District offered him a job as principal at an underperforming fourth- and fifth-grade campus, along with the rare opportunity to transform the school from the ground up. In this webinar, Nesloney, Principal at Navasota Intermediate School (TX), discussed how he hired his staff over social media, how his summer learning sessions intended for a handful of teachers reached a worldwide audience, and how he plans to use the flipped classroom and project-based learning to turn around his new school. Watch this edWeb.net EdTech Innovators webinar to learn more about these transformational effects of flipped learning and social media. Earn your CE Certificate for viewing this recording: Join the free EdTech Innovators community on edWeb.net and take a quiz to receive a CE Certificate for viewing this webinar.
Unfamiliar Landscapes | Media Arts Unfamiliar Landscapes We are surrounded by the landscapes of the natural world, the built environment, and even our bodies. These landscapes shape not only what we see, but also how we experience the world, ourselves and each other. In this project and exhibition, we used the key concept of “unfamiliar landscapes” to learn how we create or alter landscapes, and how, in turn, landscapes alter us as individuals and community members. This semester long project is a collaboration of 12th grade students’ Digital Art class with Instructor Margaret Noble and English class with Instructor Tania Jabour. HTHMA students were also supported to learn coding through the Practicum Program offered by UCSD’s Sixth College. KPBS TV Feature Story: KPBS Featured Student Projects: “Chloe Barefield, Brooklynn Bucky and DaShaun Lemelle picked the sensitive topic of police brutality and the Los Angeles riots. “Branden Sade made artwork that uses a camera attached to his computer. “Who owns your DNA?”