• guided Internet research using a hotlist created in Microsoft Word


• digital story telling using Microsoft Movie Maker


• concept/mind mapping using Inspiration • collaboration using Blogger


• data collection and charting using Microsoft Excel


• writing technology integrated lesson plans using TaskStream


• podcasting using Audacity • websites using Google Sites.


At times, my students struggled with making a connection between the current assignment and the pending final project (their website). One of the concepts of project-based learning is that students “create” something, a project outcome; for example, a new after school cooking club. One of our assignments foc used on data collection using Microsoft Excel as the technology tool; we created charts from data tables built from student-gathered data. So how does that fit with an after school cooking club? The cooking club is deciding what to cook; the data collection activity might be a survey of students in a particular grade level asking what their favorite cookie is. The cooking club could use the survey data to determine what to cook. So you see, with the final project outcome in mind, it just takes a bit of creativity to correlate each


lesson to the project. (See Figure 1.)


Another foundation of PBL is collaboration and teamwork; this too, at times created challenges for my students. Having full schedules and differing program minors made it difficult for teams to meet and work on their projects outside of the course’s scheduled lab time. To address this issue, we used team blogs for anytime, anywhere communication allowing team members to keep in touch throughout the week. The blogs were a great tool for avoiding duplication of effort on individual assignments as each member posted their intended content to the blog.


Throughout the semester as my students completed lessons and practiced project- based learning principles, they began to see the correlation between PBL and authentic learning experiences. The consensus by the majority was that they considered PBL a superior method of delivery and would most likely incorporate project-based learning into their classroom practices.


For me, the entire experience gave me a unique insight into classroom practice, technology integration, and methods that really work. Project-based learning modules do require a bit more planning, but once the project is laid out it can easily be repeated or modified to cover additional topics. Based upon my experiences as an educator planning and facilitating the PBL activities,


and witnessing the undergraduate students’ enthusiasm while completing assignments that were real-world, and meaningful for their future classrooms, I now understand the hype pertaining to project-based learning!


1 Instructional team/course designers: Brian Horvitz, Assistant Professor of Educational Technology, Western Michigan University; Sharon Peterson, Assistant Professor of Educational Technology, Western Michigan University; and Kelsey Woodard, Ph.D. Candidate in Educational Leadership, Western


Michigan University.


References: Boss, B. and Krauss, J. (2007). Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age. Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education.


The George Lucas Educational Foundation. Edutopia. www.edutopia.org


Google Sites. www.google.com/sites


Student work samples: Jessica Allen, Kasey Fuller and Amy King, WMU EDT3470. Taskstream. www.taskstream.com


WMU EDT3470 course website www.wmich. edu/edtech/edt3470


Barbara Smalla is the Technology Support Specialist for Kalamazoo Public Schools in Kalamazoo, Michigan and holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology from Western Michigan University. She can be reached at bksmalla@gmail.com.


The Classroom Kitchen concept map (left) was created as an assignment using Inspiration. It is a


prime example of how each assignment correlates to the final product (the team website). Students referred back to their concept map as a tool for planning pages to be included in their websites.


MACULJOURNAL | Winter 2010/11 | 23


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