Important Tools And Resources For Successful Project Based Learning

Last Updated on October 2, 2024 by Editorial Team

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Project Based Learning is a learning method that is used by many teachers, professionals as well as students to acquire knowledge and develop skills by working for a certain period of time to understand, analyze, solve and respond to a challenging set of situations or questions. It is basically a process in which the knowledge gained is applied in the required field of interest. 

This particular process encourages students to work on a specific project which is intended at giving them great insights into solving particular sets of problems or challenges which can occur in the actual arena of the world. This particular method of learning has also started becoming popular among various high schools and institutions of higher studies. 

This promotes students to learn about various topics and expand their horizons of knowledge in various ways. Project-based learning resources can help students to a great degree in learning about themselves, their personal interests, and their strengths. With various resources, students can tap into their hidden potential. Different creative resources are given below that can help teachers strengthen the learning environments. 

Important tools for project-based learning 

Project-based learning is an all-inclusive approach that focuses on creativity, brainstorming, and critical thinking. In such cases, certain tools can add more value to projects thereby increasing knowledge and skills in students. 

1. Mindmeister

Mindmeister

Students can use Mindmeister, a particular tool, to systematically arrange, produce, and preserve their ideas, plans, rough drafts, and insights on a digital platform. It includes excellent templates that may be used to create simpler mind maps that can assist in organizing the facts in a methodical way. 

It resembles a flowchart template that is only waiting for one’s creative input and thoughts to be added. The tool helps with a variety of activities, such as traveling, giving presentations in groups, exchanging concepts for group projects, and keeping an organized planner to proceed step by step. 

2. Pixton

 Pixton

Pixton is a great tool to make your various projects more personal, creative, and deeply awe-inspiring. Its tools, characters, avatars, and comical themes can add a lot of fun and healthy humor to the content of your project. 

This tool also adds to your creative output and fills you with a lot of ideas for a lot of things. It helps you develop your skills related to imagination, visual imagery, writing, and presenting. The inclusion of this tool in any project that you do will have the power in capturing the attention of the clients, peers, seniors, teachers, or whoever is the viewer.

3. TeachingHistory

TeachingHistory

As the name suggests, this whole website is aimed at making the subject of history more interesting and encapsulating. This particular website has the information related to this subject stored in an organized and systematic manner. It has various pictures, the website is designed well, and is organized in a very systematic manner. 

This site can be used by teachers as well as students to clear their doubts and enhance their knowledge regarding the subject which keeps piling up its information as every single day comes to an end.

4. Animoto

Animoto

An efficient and well-organized tool specifically calibrated to make the process of editing a video easy. Its vast collection of templates, music, and effects will give the user the luxury of making a choice and deciding what is the best fit for their video project. 

It encourages novice users to try their hand at video editing and learn the various fundamentals and intricacies of the same. It can be of great use to content creators, students, teachers as well as photographers, and freelancers. This tool will help in saving a lot of time and help you enhance your videos.

Helpful websites for project-based learning 

Certain websites are helpful in the project-based learning approach as they have important information in the form of presentations, courses, or study materials. Students and teachers may also find free courses to fill their knowledge buckets.

1. PBLWorks

PBLWorks

This website is specifically dedicated and organized around the theme of project-based learning. It is dedicated to encouraging and engaging students in the process of learning in such a manner that what they learn stays with them for a long time. It is also a great place for educators and teachers to enhance their knowledge and skills regarding various topics. 

They also offer a wide set of courses that are determined at creating a powerful impact on the masses who are curious to learn something. This website is a great tool and a boon for the ones who are new to the concept of project-based learning and are looking to explore this arena in detail.

2. Coursera 

 Coursera 

Coursera is one of the most well-renowned websites which is used by many institutes worldwide. Through this website, universities worldwide open doorways for students all across the globe. This website has a vast collection of highly reliable and credible courses from globally recognized universities. 

It is a great tool for students, freelancers, upcoming professionals, teachers, and enthusiasts to gain insights and develop their skills through the offered courses. There are also many certificate courses that are used to assign a certain number of credits to students across various institutions. This tool has enhanced connectivity worldwide and has brought the education community closer to a great extent.

3. ReadWorks

ReadWorks

ReadWorks website is particularly used to develop various skills related to language. A plethora of articles is organized as per the levels of learning of children. This website is used by many educators worldwide and has already a base of about 1.3 million teachers. 

This website encourages children to develop their literacy skills by reading, writing and listening to various forms of stories, essays and poems. This particular site aims to boost and enhance the overall language, speaking, and comprehension skills among young students.

Significant books for project-based learning 

Books offer diversity in any learning format and project-based learning books are of great help to teachers and students. These books are filled with much-needed strategies and suggestions from different perspectives of authors.

1. Project-Based Teaching

This book is written by Suzie Boss, a writer, and an educational consultant. The book about how to create a rigorous and engaging learning experience is one of the helpful books for project-based learning. It addresses the issue of complex world problems and how students can deal with them. 

The book offers a fundamental shift from traditional teaching methods to project-based learning. It is filled with various studies on building culture, standards, and managing different activities. The inclusion of practical strategies and suggestions makes it a relevant read for students and teachers.

2. Hacking Project-Based Learning

The above-mentioned book is written by Erin Murphy and Ross Cooper who throw light on different steps for project-based learning. This book highlights the importance of using simple hacks that guide the process of creating an effective learning environment. As teachers and educators find it difficult to have time to create an efficient learning environment, this book offers clear and concise instructions on implementing project-based learning successfully. 

Additionally, it has various instructional practices and hacks to create authentic learning opportunities for students. The 10 easy hacks are explained in an appropriate manner thereby making it easy to plan and execute this approach. Such a book promotes research-based learning and authentic practices.

3. Project Based Learning (PBL) Starter Kit

As the name suggests, the project-based learning starter kit offers various advice and tips for students as well as teachers. John Larmer and David Ross are the authors of this book. The authors throw light on various classroom advice and sample projects to conduct project-based learning successfully.

Additionally, it includes step-by-step guidance for the effective implementation of the approach. 

Moreover, students and teachers get authentic tips from experienced practitioners. The book also throws important guidelines for students willing to work on the projects and increase their quality. The starter kit is indeed one of the helpful ways for teachers and students in this learning methodology.

4. Transforming Schools Using Project-Based Learning, Performance Assessment, and Common Core Standards

“It’s not what students know, but what they do with what they know that is important”, a very powerful and deep meaning is hidden in the sentence weaved above by the authors of this book. Bob Lenz, Justin Wells, and Sally Kingston have written this book together and aim to deliver this powerful message through the medium of this book. 

This book contains information about how the concept of learning through experience can enhance cognitive processes. This book also has many examples of schools that have changed and recorded great results in the performance of their students because of the introduction of project-based learning.

5. Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning

This book is authored by John L, John M., and Suzie Boss; dedicated to addressing the increasing attention related to project-based learning. It gives insights into how projects really need to be. It teaches how to make projects more engaging, interesting, and relevant. It aims to create a positive influence on students. 

It talks about careful planning, and organization which should be considered before every project. The book is filled with examples from all grades. The impact of such projects enhances academic performance, hike in motivation, clarity related to academic strengths, and development of a positive approach related to career and college.

Conclusion

Project-based learning resources help students in learning to tap into their hidden potential by creating awareness and empowering them to solve real-world challenges and problems. Students gain knowledge through various mediums which can be based online or offline. At the same time, there can be various project-based learning ideas for different age groups, for example, middle schoolers’ learning ideas could differ from that of high schoolers.

As students learn differently in this approach, it is significant to help them with different resources as well. These resources ease the learning process while offering a competitive learning edge among others. Teachers and educators can also use different project-based learning activities, questions, and strategies for offering a fun learning platform.

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