Lesson 8: Thinking Skills Through IT-Based Projects

I.  Resource-based Project

In these projects, the teacher steps out of the traditional role of being a content expert and information provider, and instead lets the students find their own facts and information. Only when necessary for the active learning process does the teacher step in to supply data or information. The general flow of events in resource based projects are:

• The teacher determines the topic for the examination of the class.
• The teacher represents the problem to the class.
• The students find information on the problem or question.
• Students organize their information in response to the problem or question.

Traditional Learning Model	Resource-based Learning Model
Teacher is expert and information provider	Teacher is a guide and facilitator.
Textbook is key source of information	Sources are varied (print, video, internet, etc.)
Focus on facts Information is package. In neat parcels.	Focus on learning inquiry/ quest/ discovery
The product is the be all and end all of all learning.	Emphasis on process
Assessment is quantitative	Assessment is quantitative and qualitative

Webquest

• an inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of the information used by the learners are drawn from the web
• designed to use learners’ time well, focus on information rather than looking for
• supports the learners’ thinking at the level of analysis, synthesis and evaluation

II.  Simple Creations

      Students can also be assigned to create their software materials to supplement the need for relevant and effective materials.

       In developing software, creativity as an outcome should not be equated with ingenuity of high intelligence. Creating is more consonant with planning, making, assembling, designing, or building. Creativity is said to combine three kinds of skills/abilities, namely:

• Analyzing – distinguishing similarities and differences or seeing the project as a problem to be solved
• Synthesizing – making spontaneous connections among ideas, thus generating interesting or new ideas.
• Promoting – selling new ideas to allow the public to test the ideas themselves

The Five Key Tasks

1. Define the task – clarify the goal of the completed project to the students
2. Brainstorm – the students themselves will be allowed to generate their own ideas on the project. Rather than shoot down the ideas, the teacher encourages idea exchange.
3. Judge the idea – the students themselves make an appraisal for or against any idea. Only when students are completely off track should the teacher intervene.
4. Act – the students do their own work with the teacher as facilitator
5. Adopt flexibility – the students should allow to shift gears and not to follow an action path rigidly.

III.  Guided Hypermedia Projects

The production of self-made multimedia projects can be approached in two different ways:

• As an instructive tool, such as in the production by students of a powerpoint presentation of a selected topic.
• As a communication tool, such as when students do a multimedia presentation (with text, graphs, photos, audio narration, interviews, video clips, etc) to simulate a television news show.

IV.  Web-based Projects

     Students can be made to create and post webpages on a given topic. But creating webpages, even single page webpages, may be too sophisticated and time consuming for the average student.

          It should be said, however, that posting of webpages in the Internet allows the students a wider audience. They can also be linked with other related sites in the Internet.