A.  This video was about integrating technology with integrated learning at  Ferryway School near Boston.
B.  The school followed 5th grade students through a 6 week Ironworks Project  based on their fifth grade science, history, math, language arts, and art standards.  The project was designed around a number of hands-on, standards based activities and experiences  that allowed students to stamp their "passports" after completing.  When their passport was completed, they were ready for the learning they would encounter on the field trip.  Students used the computer as a research tool as well as a presentation tool.  The culminating experience was a field trip to a local museum where they learned about history through the experience.  They took photos with a digital camera and when they returned, they uploaded the photos onto a wiki and wrote captions for the photos.  Everything was done in cooperative groups.
C.  The useful information I learned was the key to successful technology integration is having the adults and students work together as learners.   Luckily, the school has a technology instructor who works with the classroom teachers to incorporate the technology.  The students are then able to help each other as needed.  The children were learning with and through the technology.
D.  I could see the power of designing a PBL unit around this type of passport activity.  The students were engaged and excited to complete the activities.  I could easily see letting the students take the pictures on the field trip, having them  download them, share them in a creative way.  They then own the experience!  There were other elements in the video that were powerful...the student used response systems to answer a question whole class, and then they were asked to justify and explain their reasoning.  Very powerful!  
Rating 5 out of 5



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