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Project-based learning (PBL) provides a way of learning that seems to be particularly attractive to students who are struggling with conventional school assignments. This document proposes an approach to PBL in which the goal is to focus on thinking, making thinking processes visible to teacher and students.

I have spent considerable energy lately hunting for the latest research on the effectiveness of technology-enhanced project-based learning (PBL). I found very little research, but I did fi nd recent reports prepared by the U.S. government, commissions, professional organizations, and other groups on the state of technology use in schools. I would like to focus this month?s discussion on portions of three such reports: enGauge 21st Century Skills: Literacy in the Digital Age, published in 2003 by North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) and the Metiri Group; Connecting the Bits, published in 2000 by the NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE); Learning for the 21st Century, published in 2003 by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Recently I read the book Ghosts in the Machine: Women?s Voices in Research with Technology, and I was drawn into thinking about the well-known gender gap in the use of technology. I hadn?t looked at gender in technology use very closely in several years because in my own research, I had observed that girls like to use the new multimedia tools just as well as boys. However, I was reminded by Ghosts that technology is still a highly gendered field, and I began to think again about how we could set up learning environments to help encourage girls to explore these fields of study and work. I decided it was time to review the latest research about girls and technology in the classroom setting, particularly when they are involved in projectbased learning (PBL). This month, I focus my column on technology fluency and gender equity: how do girls fare when using technology in a PBL environment?

Collaborative work is the cornerstone of project-based learning, central to inquiry, research, organization, time and task management, design, reflection, feedback and revision, and public presentation. Some collaborations take place within a single classroom, some across classrooms in a district, some across the country or the globe. Within a project, collaborations occur between and among students, between teachers and students, and between experts and students. This article discusses technology tools that can help teachers and students with these cognitively difficult tasks of collaboratively carrying out research projects: organizing, visualizing, managing, and relating one idea to another. The discussion is divided into the following topics: The Usual Suspects (Designing; Communication within and between Groups; and Publication); and The More Unusual Tools (Research; Organization of Observations and Ideas; Visualization of Difficult Processes; Management of Project, Tasks, and People; and Reflection). A brief list of additional Web site and article resources is also included.

There are lots of ways you can learn more about technology-infused PBL without taking a traditional university course. Each of the resources suggested in this article provides more in-depth learning opportunities for teachers than this short column could hope to provide. The opportunities are divided into types of material: books and Web sites, multimedia, conferences, and coaching/tutoring. Each resource is annotated so that you will have some idea whether it is one you would like to pursue. In fact, because most of these resources are free, you can mix and match segments of the various opportunities to build your own course of self-study.

This document describes a language immersion environment, a summer camp for learning languages, and the technology-rich projects that these learners were involved in. Technology projects and what is thought to have been accomplished through them is examined. It is discussed that many of the same things in a more typical school environment could be accomplished. This article focuses on the French, but the activities could be adapted for any language.

Typically, high school is the hardest place to integrate a project-based learning approach. The issues for high school are many, including: (1) Students are available for only an hour a day (except in blockscheduled schools); (2) Teachers specialize in certain subject areas; (3) Teachers feel pressured to prepare students for tests and college. The hardest thing for high school teachers is the pressure they feel from end-of-course exams. They feel driven to "cover" the curriculum when they use traditional teaching methods, where instruction is often delivered through lecture with students taking notes and giving answers to questions. PBL changes this setting for instruction. Teachers assume a role of support, and students are led to discover information. Though it can seem time-consuming, it actually frees the teacher to work individually with students.

The Davidson County School District in Lexington, North Carolina, has jumped into project-based learning with both feet: they have committed to using PBL in all their schools and classrooms by 2006, and they have received a U.S. federal government Enhancing Education Through Technology grant to help provide the staff development and equipment needed to succeed. In this month's column, I work with Nancy Sands, the district?s technology coordinator, to tell you about the district?s experiences, successes, and challenges after nearly four years of commitment to PBL and during their second year of professional development provided by the grant. Next month, we focus in on one example of PBL at the high school level in that district.

This study documented the processes of knowledge construction and knowledge representation in high school students' hypermedia design projects. Analysis of knowledge construction in linking and structural building yielded distinct types and subtypes of hypermedia documents, which were characterized by four features of knowledge representation: (a) typography, (b) associativity, (c) nonlinearity, and (d) abstraction. Students were found to have diverse knowledge construction processes and considerable variation in their ability to use hypermedia for knowledge representation. Their perceptions of the design experience suggested that difficulty in using hypermedia for conceptual building was related to their lack of experience in intentionally constructing a structural representation. Designing hypermedia documents for content area learning allowed students to be authors of knowledge and thus provided opportunities to develop effective cognitive and knowledge representational skills. This study provided initial evidence of the nature of complex learning in constructing hypermedia documents. Some processes involved in the transformation of knowledge were discussed. However, further research is needed to provide full understanding of the nature of this transformation. (Contains 2 tables, 7 figures and 3 notes.)

Presents an overview of features central to conducting assessment in project-based learning (PBL). Focuses on critical assessment issues and discusses multiple assessments; assessment as a learning activity; student involvement in setting standards for assessment; and outside assessment of the final artifact. Describes technological tools that can help do the job. (AEF)

Examines features of an inquiry-based learning community. Discusses the five critical elements of a program developed to promote a community of inquiry, called Fostering a Community of Learners (FCL) (Brown, 1994, 1997). Discusses applying technology and describes two findings related to the development of communities of learning. (AEF)

Examines seven multimedia science projects in elementary and secondary schools. Discusses science attitudes and understanding, student responsibility for learning, gender equity, constructivism, multiple intelligences, learning and attitudes, and recommendations for teachers. (LRW)

Compares the performance of education undergraduates with high or low spatial-skill scores who learned how to calculate surface area using hypertext, computer-assisted instruction, conventional paper materials, or program control. Results are reported for misconceptions, correct problems, time on lesson, enjoyment rating, screens viewed, and nonsequential choices. (20 references) (LAE)

Reviews two programs: (1) "The Weather Machine" on understanding weather and weather forecasting and (2) "The Mystery of the Hotel Victoria" on problem solving in mathematics. Presents the descriptions, advantages, and weaknesses of the software. (YP)

Describes a methods course to prepare teachers of computer science for the secondary schools. Aspects of the course include goals and objectives, programing projects, assignments related to teaching methods, group projects, planned teaching experiences, and lesson planning assignments. Provides a list of 38 assigned readings. (MDH)

Discusses computer assisted instruction (CAI) from perspective of artificial intelligence researchers and describes program features of intelligent computer assisted instruction (ICAI) that researchers feel will improve on deficiencies of CAI. Program descriptions and sample interactions from several tutorial and expert system ICAI programs are provided. (MBR)

Three computer programs for the Apple II family are reviewed: (1) "Super Vocab Machine"--vocabulary self-tutorial; (2) "Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures: A Matter of Mystery"--database for the elements; and (3) "That's Life: Human Body Exploration"--information about the human body. (MVL)

Describes the ENLIST Micros program and manuals based on results of a national needs assessment. The program name came from the object of the program to ENcourage LIteracy of Science Teachers in the use of Microcomputers. Listed are 18 objectives for training materials and 12 appendices. (YP)

Reviews three computer software packages: "Mystery Objects," a science inquiry series for grades one-four; "Physics," covering physics content for high school and introductory college level; and a tutorial program "Sensei Geometry." Required hardware, price, and addresses for each software package are listed. (YP)

Describes study of high school students that was conducted to determine whether instruction in a second programing language helps produce transfer of problem solving skills. The six dependent variables used in the study are discussed; pretests and posttests are described; and suggestions are made for further research. (36 references) (Author/LRW)

Reviews two computer software programs: (1) "Conquering Ratios and Proportions" using a medieval theme for guided practice in identifying and forming ratios for grades 5-8, and (2) "Percent Word Problems" providing problems for finding a percentage of a number and a number from a percentage. (YP)

Reviewed are two computer software programs for Apple II computers on weather for upper elementary and middle school grades. "Weather" introduces the major factors (temperature, humidity, wind, and air pressure) affecting weather. "How Weather Works" uses simulation and auto-tutorial formats on sun, wind, fronts, clouds, and storms. (YP)

Provides reviews of courseware entitled: "Mystery Matter," which is a series that supplements the basic inquiry process; "Jumping Math Flash," which is an arcade-game program with arithmetic problems; and "Quest for Files: Science Rocks and Minerals The Upper Crust," which is a database program for earth science. Includes availability and costs. (RT)

Reviewed is a computer software package entitled "Audubon Wildlife Adventures: Grizzly Bears" for Apple II and IBM microcomputers. Included are availability, hardware requirements, cost, and a description of the program. The murder-mystery flavor of the program is stressed in this program that focuses on illegal hunting and game management. (CW)