This is going to be a handy resource when planning rich tasks. We have seen done of these before but is great to have them all in the one app. Worth a look.
This looks very interesting. The potential is huge for students to develop apps for the Android platform. How can apple beat this one if they have locked down their apps store? The great thing about App inventor is that it looks like it has been modelled on Scratch 'Blocks' of building scripts. My Grade 5 and 6's (some whiz kids lower) would love to get their hands on this. The potential for them to develop their own apps for perhaps an Android tablet or smart phone is enormous. Rich and authentic possibilities for learning. Have DEECD made a wrong choice in going with the ipad?
Can making wind and rain machines improve the reading comprehension and writing scores of elementary students on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test?
Do students really learn math by learning to clog dance?
When students spend after-school time participating in a microsociety that reflects the roles of real life, will their test scores in math and reading improve?
Lee's students have shown more than 100 percent gains in comprehension and writing on the FCAT.
Its sad that we even have to ask these questions, what about increased levels of creative thought, or deeper understanding of social interactions etc etc etc
Lee claims that when she teaches science concepts she also teaches students to think and write in the structured, coherent ways required on standardized tests
What exactly is integrated curriculum? In its simplest conception, it is about making connections. What kind of connections? Across disciplines? To real life? Are the connections skill-based or knowledge-based?
we defined three approaches to integration—multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary
Multidisciplinary approaches focus primarily on the disciplines.
When teachers integrate the subdisciplines within a subject area, they are using an intradisciplinary approach
Through this integration, teachers expect students to understand the connections between the different subdisciplines and their relationship to the real world.
In this approach to integration, teachers organize the curriculum around common learnings across disciplines. T
ey chunk together the common learnings embedded in the disciplines to emphasize interdisciplinary skills and concepts.
They are learning the interdisciplinary skill of communication (thinking and writing in a structured and coherent way).
In the transdisciplinary approach to integration, teachers organize curriculum around student questions and concerns (see Figure 1.3). Students develop life skills as they apply interdisciplinary and disciplinary skills in a real-life context. Two routes lead to transdisciplinary integration: project-based learning and negotiating the curriculum
Project-Based Learning. In project-based learning, students tackle a local problem. Some schools call this problem-based learning or place-based learning. According to Chard (1998), planning project-based curriculum involves three steps:
Teachers and students select a topic of study based on student interests, curriculum standards, and local resources.
The teacher finds out what the students already know and helps them generate questions to explore. The teacher also provides resources for students and opportunities to work in the field.
Students share their work with others in a culminating activity. Students display the results of their exploration and review and evaluate the project.
Negotiating the Curriculum. In this version of the transdisciplinary approach, student questions form the basis for curriculum.
Studies of project-based programs show that students go far beyond the minimum effort, make connections among different subject areas to answer open-ended questions, retain what they have learned, apply learning to real-life problems, have fewer discipline problems, and have lower absenteeism
The boundaries of the disciplines seemed to dissolve abruptly.
The essential difference between the three approaches was the perceived degree of separation that existed between subject areas. Given our experiences at the time, both of us believed that the three approaches fit on an evolutionary continuum.