September 2019

The best projects set out to make a dent in the universe. That dent might be big or small, but knowing their projects are making a difference can be great motivation for students to push themselves toward deeper learning. Open-ended projects can give students a venue for using their gifts and talents to solve complex problems or to tackle compelling challenges. Tony Vincent shares strategies for crafting intriguing projects that build upon learners’ passions, focus their intensity, and harness the capabilities of technology.

Let students own the task and put their personal spin on it.

Justin Bell's students created a comical version of Romeo and Juliet Act 3. See more of Justin's students' tech projects.

Want to make green screen videos? Check out DoInk Green Screen or Touchcast Studio for iOS.

Create explainer videos with MySimpleShow.com. Educators can contact them for a free account that they can use with up to 50 student accounts.

Ownership in empowering! Having psychological ownership over the project can increase feelings of responsibility, attachment, accountability, and confidence.  

The above video was made using Adobe Spark Video (web-based and iPad app). 

Psychological Ownership Causes

• control

• intimate knowledge

• time and energy

Psychological Ownership Positive Outcomes

• responsibility

• attachment

• accountability

• confidence

The Ikea Effect is the name for the psychological phenomenon that occurs when consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they partially created. Researchers found that when people use their own labor to construct a particular product, they value it more than if they didn’t put any effort into its creation.

Take advantage of the Ikea Effect, and let students create their own media as part of a project. Examples include a butterfly video by kindergarteners, The Respiratory System iBook by a fourth grader, and and one-pagers by middle-schoolers.

Increase ownership by giving students choices in the content of their projects, the process the use to create them, and their end productions' final forms. 

“When we choose for ourselves, we are far more committed to the outcome–by a factor of five to one.” Harvard Business Review

"If you assign a project and get back 30 of the exact same thing, that's not a project, that's a  recipe." Chris Lehmann

It's good to a have choices in the apps students use to create projects because they often disappear, become costly, or drastically change. Keep in mind Adam Bellow's saying: "Date the tool and marry and ability."

Steve Jobs had the mantra, “Let’s make a dent in the universe.” He was on a mission to change the world. Some of the best projects set out to make a dent. The dent might be big or small, but at least the project has made a difference in the universe, and given students purpose beyond doing the project as just another graded assignment.

Projects can make a difference by...

• educating others

• solving a problem

• calling people to action

• building something useful

• planning an event

• raising money for a purpose

• recognizing or inspiring others

• designing a better way to do something

Rushton Hurley makes the observation, “If students are sharing their work with the world, they want it to be good. It you’re just sharing it with you, they just want it to be good enough.” With websites and social media, students certainly have the ability to reach a potentially global audience. Knowing they can reach people worldwide with their projects, learners will want to make those productions W.O.W. (Worthy of the World).

Second graders at Willowdale Elementary School created an audio podcast about respect. It's one of dozens of episodes that seek to inform an audience on the web and in iTunes. The podcast's tagline is "Radio for Kids, by Kids." Radio WillowWeb used GarageBand for audio recording, but there are lots of alternatives like online-voice-recorder.com, soundation.com, soundtrap.com, and twistedwave.com.

Book and product reviews have an audience–other potential readers and buyers. Consider having students write reviews for Amazon.com.

Each day one student in Tony Vincent's fifth grade is designated at the roving reporter (or class scribe). His or her job is to write about the learning that happens that day. The reporter takes photos throughout the day and selects a few to include with the article. Reviewing photos can also help the reporter decide what to write about. Probably the best way to publish these article are on a blog. Tony didn't have a blog, but he did publish the articles on The Daily Planet.

Create elegant webpages for an audience using Adobe Spark Page or Office Sway (all platforms). Read about Shelli Thele's Revolutionary War project that uses Adobe Slate, and then read Tony's post about this awesome app. Check out this collection of Office Sway projects by students.

Check out Tony Vincent’s 5th grade Exhibition staging rooms on the Pixel Paws website.

Help your students find a place in this world by handing over ownership, finding an authentic audience, and making a difference.

Technology can be helpful throughout a project, whether students use iPads, Chromebooks, Android tablets, laptops, or desktops. Tony Vincent has written a primer for each of the three major components of project based learning. He shares useful websites and apps as he tells you about his take on project based learning. They are Crafting Questions That Drive Projects, Investigating Authentic Questions, and Creating Products to Show and Share Learning.

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH TONY

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• Email: tony@learninginhand.com