CFF+Capitol+Day+Application

=PROJECT INFORMATION=

Project title:
UM InfoTech Wikispace

A. Give a brief description of the project.
Ninth grade science students at the Upper Merion Area High School participated in a collaborative effort to reveal the inner workings of information technology devices. Each student took ownership of a wikipedia-like page to explain the scientific principles of their device and link to other devices in the project and to outside resources on the internet. In addition to this individual contribution, students participated in online discussion boards with other students, and created various navigational schemes to make sense of the 115-page site. Appropriate grade level(s): 9

B. How does this project promote 21st Century teaching and learning with the emphasis on higher-order thinking skills?
Although many students started with a Google-search, they quickly discovered that they would need to exercise higher-order thinking skills. Only by integrating their scientific background with their research discoveries could they make sense of the project. For example, it was often easy to find a list of materials that are used to make a device; it required more insight to understand why certain materials were ideally suited for an application. The project looked to demystify the device, and that required them to cut through technical details and advertising descriptions to get at the essential properties of the device. This required the ability to analyze and synthesize information in a deep way. Students were also faced with the constant challenge of evaluating the quality of the resources they used. Was this site constructed for commercial purposes? Did the explanations apply to their devices too? When Google returns more than a thousand hits, which of these are worth exploring? They were ultimately responsible for a creative presentation of their own understanding. Students also worked to create a web of interconnected information. In addition to describing their device, they were expected to make links with other devices that serve the same purpose as, work alongside of, and use the same scientific principles as their device. In this way, anti-shoplifting devices were linked to AM radios, which were linked to microwave ovens, which were linked to remote controls.

Students then created a variety of organizational tools to help people navigate through the site, focussing on any number of different themes. The project also forced them to communicate and collaborate effectively. They engaged in discussions with other space members, making suggestions, asking questions, and exploring possible connections. Students in different classes started online discussions about the similarities of their devices and shared their research findings with each other. They asked each other for feedback about their site and acted on that information to make the site better. They learned to link to external resources, and to create their own diagrams through their laptop's photo- and graphics-tools. They learned important lessons in encouraging the work of teammates, and making improvements in a collaborative project without "stepping on toes". The project also emphasized responsible digital citizenship. Students were told that they were welcome to link their work to other sites, giving credit where credit is due. They were also told NOT to appropriate the words and images of others to divert web-traffic from content authors to content "appropriators". They were given lessons in producing their own images and diagrams, and introduced to the tricky concepts of "fair use" and "transformative use" as applied to copyrighted work. They were expected to do more than scavenge the internet to catalogue all the best parts, and become active contributors to a growing body of interconnected knowledge on the World Wide Web.

Applicable PA Standard(s):

 * 3.2.10.B. Apply process knowledge and organize scientific and technological phenomena in varied ways.
 * 3.8.10.B. Analyze how human ingenuity and technological resources satisfy specific human needs and improve the quality of life.
 * 3.8.10.C. Evaluate possibilities consequences and impacts of scientific and technological solutions.

National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS*S) addressed?

 * Creativity and Innovation
 * Communication and Collaboration
 * Research and Information Fluency
 * Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
 * Digital Citizenship
 * Technology Operations and Concepts

21st Century skills addressed:

 * Digital-Age Literacy
 * Inventive Thinking
 * Effective Communication
 * High Productivity