PBL and Social Networking

I am excited about using problem based learning ((PBL) projects with my classes when we start up in the fall. One of my original goals was to promote creative thinking and inventiveness and I think that PBL can be a great way to achieve this. Over the summer I will have some time to think of some more local problems that we can use to work on solutions.

I really like the collaborative piece in the problem based learning. I can start by having students work in groups to discuss and analyze a problem and then work together to develop potential solutions. I will be able to use technology tools to further allow students to then collaborate with other students from around the world. For example, once they develop their potential solutions to the problem they can get online to see if others have experienced similar problems in their communities and how they have solved their problems. Students can solicit feedback on their problem and solutions and gather information from different areas of the country and world. This will give the students not only information on the problem at hand, but also different perspectives of problems from different areas of the world. I am excited to try this out with my Internet Skills class this fall.

My next step is to familiarize myself with some of the social networking tools available to use and to start finding different groups that my class might be able to collaborate with. I have set up a Ning account and plan on checking it out this week.

Chris Lorenz-