iPad Bootcamp for Teachers

 
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Project Based Learning


Technology integration works most effectively when students have constant access to the tools, and the classroom design facilitates a more project-driven curriculum. The concept of project based learning has been around for many years, but only recently has the level of available technology supported its design. The iPad is an ideal tool to accompany a project based learning curriculum, most particularly in a 1:1 model.
Videos on Project Based Learning
Please view these short videos to get an understanding of project based learning. Additional resource links are available at the bottom of the page.

Project Based Learning: Explained, a Common Craft video from the Buck Institute for Education. 
This video is from Edutopia, an Introduction to Project Based Learning.
PBL: Success from Start to Finish, from Manor New Technology High School, Manor TX. See how one school shifted 100% to a Project Based Learning model
Watch this video on three teachers in Canada that talk about how they restructured their day to incorporate project based learning.
Assessing Projects
Great projects not only involve the learning of content, but require students to demonstrate of the kinds of skills we see in real life: the ability to communicate, to work well in a group, to think critically, to be creative. 

These skills are difficult to track in more traditional forms of assessment. Enter the rubric, a criteria-based tool to measure student performance on a number of different tasks or skills.

The video below, from the Pearson Foundation, gives a brief introduction to using rubrics to assess 21st century skills. 
Additional resources on PBL and 21st Century Learning:
  • Seven Essentials for PBL - from ASCD
  • An Inside Look at How Project-Based Learning Actually Works, by Edudemic
  • How Project Based Learning Builds 21st Skills, an Edutopia article
  • Edutopia's Project Based Learning resources, from the George Lucas Education Foundation
  • A Step-by-Step Guide to the Best Projects, a clear breakdown of the various components of a successful project
  • The Buck Institute, project based learning for the 21st century
  • Project Based Learning, the online resource for PBL, also from the Buck Institute
  • Exemplary projects, from WestEd
  • Free Project Based Learning Resources, a comprehensive blog post from Michael Gorman, which includes all of the above resources and more.
  • NAIS Guide to Becoming a School of the Future
  • What is a 21st Century School Supposed to Look Like?, from Fractus Learning
  • Apps for PBL, Tony Vincent

More resources and links for rubrics and authentic assessment

  • Criteria for Effective Assessment in Project Based Learning, by Andrew Miller
  • Feedback, Feed-forward, peer-assessment and PBL, from Bianca Hewes
  • Sample rubrics from the Buck Institute
  • Make your own rubric online with Rubistar.
  • iRubric is a rubric building tool, and part of a larger suite of tools from RCampus.
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