What Does Learning Today Look Like? By: Cindy Dasbach, Dawn Uebersetzig, Mallory Marano, and Amy Ewens

Looking into... Project/Problem Based Learning Student Voices Essential Questions

Project/Problem Based Learning Problem, Project and Inquiry Based Learning site o Relevance to Shifting Ground and Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy site News Skills for a New Century-- Edutopia Article o Relevance to Socrates Article, Revolutionizing Education and video on Project Based Learning

Problem, Project and Inquiry Based Learning Site Project based learning is an approach to learning that focuses on the development of a product or a creation. It may be or may not be student centered, problem- based or inquiry- based. Problem-based learning is the approach which focuses on solving a problem and attaining knowledge. This approach is inquiry-based. It involves students creating the problem. Inquiry based learning is student centered. In this approach it focuses on questioning, critical thinking and problem solving.

Problem, Project and Inquiry Based Learning Site Continued These three approaches fit in with technology rich learning environments in which the focus is not the hardware or software. The focus is on the learning experience. In these approaches technology is the tool which assist learning. Students can use technology as a tool for getting ideas and inspiration from different documents and websites, search for current information from news papers, journals, or magazine articles, and use technology to present there information through a PowerPoint presentation. It is the learning being achieved that is the focus.

Problem, Project and Inquiry Based Learning Related to Shifting Ground and Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy site Shifting Ground is a great example of inquiry based learning, which is student centered. o According to Chris Lehmann, "Students have already embraced technology- now schools can empower them to use it for learning." o When the classroom, the teacher, and the library are not the end of gaining information, schools can become inquiry driven. Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy creates a learning environment in which teachers coach student thinking and guide student inquiry.

New Skills for a New Century--Edutopia Article (Relevance to Socrates Article) Socrates Article Integrate critical thinking methods in classrooms Students should debate and ask questions to one another Collective intelligence (teamwork) Blend traditional intellectual culture with current digital culture (21st century skills) Edutopia Article New Technology School in Napa, California o using a system that involves Project Based Learning and 21st Century Skills Blends critical thinking skills with 21st Century skills Students are engaged in the projects o critical thinking involved, collaborative work, and usage of technology involved in these projects

New Skills for a New Century--Edutopia Article (Relevance to Revolutionizing Education and video on Project Based Learning) Edutopia Article and Revolutionizing Education talked about increasing the use of technology in classroom o Students are immersed in technology--teachers need to apply technology into classroom--students will be more engaged in learning o Students will be more likely to use groups to solve problems or answer questions--this is important to increase collaboration skills Edutopia Article and video on Project Based Learning both showed how Project Based Learning is working in the classroom o Positive results o Students value hands-on activities because they are actively engaged o This process is tested and proven to be more valuable

Student Voices The Digital Disconnect Listening to Student Voices on Technology: Today's Tech-Savvy Students Are Stuck in Text-Dominated Schools Speak Up Reports from 2007, 2008, 2009

The Digital Disconnect The internet is used for 1. virtual textbook and reference library 2. virtual tutor and study shortcut 3. virtual study group 4. virtual guidance counselor 5. virtual locker, backpack, and notebook. Students are technologically savvy. We as teachers need to be just as savvy as they are to keep them motivated.

Listening to Student Voices on Technology: Today's Tech Savvy Students Are Stuck in Text- Dominated Schools The 15 Findings 1. Computer and internet use is growing 2. Students are sophisticated users 3. Technology is important to students' education 4. Technology is not an 'extra' 5. In-school use acess to technology is limited 6. Home use dominates 7. In-school use is not integrated 8. Computers and the internet are communications tools, first 9. Metaphors describe how students use the internet for school 10.Technology has caused students to approach life differently; but adults act as thought nothing has changed 11. Students desire increased in-school access 12. Students want to use technology to learn, and in a variety of ways 13. Students want challenging, technologically-oriented instructional activities 14. Students want adults to move beyond using the 'Internet for Internet's sake' 15. Students want to learn the basics, too

Speak Up Reports from 2007, 2008, Over 41% of students believe that online classes with have the greatest positive impact on their learning, a growth of over 20% from the 2006 date findings. 2. Over 26% of teachers chose online learning as their first choice for training % of students in grades 6-12 consider themselves "average" in their tech skills compared to their peers. 4. "Technology has changed the way I deliver content to students and the products I expect back from students. The use of technology is more consistent with how the students interact with the world and with what will be expected of them in the future." Learning in 21st Century: A Trends Update (Speak Up 2007)

Speak Up Reports from 2007, 2008, 2009 Learning in the 21st Century: 2008 Trends Update "More than 45% of middle and high school students surveyed say using technology as part of their regular school classes is the best way for them to acquire information and media literacy skills. And yet, while Web 2.0 tools are so prevelent in the student's life out of school, the opportunities for Web 2.0-infused learning are currently limited in the school day." "While high school student interest in taking an online class rose 21% from 2007 to 2008, the big increase was actually among middle school students - a 46% increase.... High school students report to us they want to take an online class to earn college credit (47%), to work at their own pace (43%) and to take a class not offered at their school (40%).... [However], Middle school students tell us their primary reason for taking an online class is to get extra help in a subject (44%) in which they struggle, thus viewing online learning as a tool for their own self- directed remediation."

Speak Up Reports from 2007, 2008, 2009 Learning in the 21st Century: 2009 Trends Update Annual online Speak Up surveys collected for the past six years as well as student and educator focus groups conducted across the nation have consistently shown that students, for the most part, more readily embrace the use of technology than their parents, teachers, or principals. (p 1) Speak Up also shows that teachers who have more experience with online learning- by taking or teaching an online class- are more likely to agree with students that self-directing the learning process is a key benefit to online learning. (p 1) Clayton Christensen makes a bold prediction in Disrupting Class, a national bestseller on the future of education, that 50% of all high school classes will be delivered online by (p 1) students want to "be in control of my learning" (p2) They do not expect courses to be easier online, but they do expect the online format to make it easier to succeed because they can review materials when they want and are more comfortable asking teachers for help. (p2) Barriers 1. funding and teacher preparation 2. students do not have access to internet connected computers 3. funding (p3) Online learning can 1. encourage students to be more self-directed 2. facilitated collaboration between students 3. facilitated student-centered learning (p 5)

Essential Questions The Great Question Press From Now On Educational Technology Technology Journal

The Great Question Press Teachers need: to equip their students to manage tough questions. teach young ones to question and probe. comprehension and problem-solving can only be achieved when students are urged to think, figure things out, and wrestle with tough questions.

The Great Question Press Together these functions make up the GREAT QUESTION PRESS that give students the practice they need to make sense of the complicated matters our society is made up of today. Understanding: the goal is to recognize the content that surrounds the question. Predicting: coming up with hypothesizes that will likely become the outcome. Dismissing: discharge what is and isn’t worth in terms of important information. Persuading: goes along with what you believe in terms of the questionnaire. Deciding: make a conclusion based on what you have compiled. Wondering: looking at different perspectives of the question. Figure Outing: problem solve and decipher what is correct and incorrect and make.

From Now On Educational Technology Journal Essential questions require students spend more time thinking of the meaning and importance of information. Essential questions probe at deep issues that confront us, they are compex matters: life, death, marriage, honor... Teachers should have their students be "infotectives". Encouraging their students to spend time finding meaning, creating meaning, extending mearning, reading between the lines, working with clues, and building theories. In addition most essential questions interdisciplinary in nature. They cut across the lines created by schools and scholars to mark the terrain of departments and disciplines.