Two Project Based Experiences

I looked at one site for project based learning http://www.globalschoolnet.org/gsh/pr/
This is actually a very kind of a cool site where you can sort projects by student’s age. You could look at projects that are currently going on, or projects that are scheduled for a future date. You could also look for a project for a specific curriculum. If you are interested in finding a project that involves a specific type of technology or information type, you can search that way. You are also able to search by collaboration type. I looked at two of the projects in the site, for students who are a little older.

Weather outside their window
One of the projects I looked at was called weather outside their window. In this project, everyone who participates will look out their window at 12:00 on Oct 15, January 15 March 15 and May 15. Each participant will report on four weather features, cloud cover, precipitation, wind and temperature. They will all take pictures and then all the data will be linked to a map and compiled on an online spreadsheet. The curriculum that this will fit would include community interest, as well as science and social students. The different technologies used would include e-mail, a list serve, web published graphics and photos. Students will collaborate through electronic publishing; information exchange; and global classroom. The objectives would be to compare the weather conditions around the world, and this would be made relevant by associating in with particular classes.
Weaknesses, I am not sure that students will feel a compelling interest (at least at the beginning) to look out their window at clouds.

Strength, I think that after they start working on this project, they will develop relationships with other students in other classrooms and that will make this project more interesting

Homes where we live

Another project I looked into and thought might be very interesting for students was called Homes Where we live. Even though I am directing it at student, really all age levels would be appropriate. This is a very simple concept, but could prove enlightening to students. It would be a social studies Curriculum fit. The idea behind the project is to see the way geography will affect the way families live in other places. Participants will take pictures of the typical home where they live. The photos will be linked to a map and posted online.

Additional information could be gathered that includes building material, climate and physical features. Although the original project did not discuss this, I think it would be appropriate to also target different types of clothing as well as food. That would all revolve around the different life styles. The different types of technology that that will be used are e-mail, graphics, photos, as well as web based publishing. This would be a great time for students to experience global collaboration and information exchange.

There was one other sight that caught my eye http://www.4teachers.org. In this web site, student and teachers discuss technology in the classroom and the difference it has made in the lives of the students. Although most of the sight deals with technology, I can easily see how the concepts can be applied to Project based learning