Learning and Leading - September/October 2011

It’s in the Bag

Build your own self-contained toolkits for your problem- and project-based learning experiences, complete with appropriate technology that works for every learning style. Digital Backpacks for Project-Based Learning

W hen it comes to technology, many schools know what hey want. They want targeted and scalable solutions that enhance learning and meet the NETS•S. And the teachers in those schools want simple, strategic instructional frameworks for developing their students’ basic and digital age skills while meeting diverse learning needs. But as many technology integration specialists know, satisfying all those wants in every lesson is no easy task.

Undaunted, the University of Cincinnati FUSION Center set out to build a solution that fulfills all of those reqirements. We partnered with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and Apple to develop a toolkit that is simple, scalable, effective, and even portable. We call it the digital backpack.

A digital backpack is just what it sounds like: an actual knapsack that contains an array of digital and hardware tools, resources, and instructional materials handpicked to engage learners in project- or problem-based learning (PBL) experiences. We have designed digital backpacks for specific projects and challenges as well as for projects in particular curriculum areas.

Designed to Support All Learners
Our design is grounded in the Universal
Design for Learning (UDL) framework.
Based on neuroscience, UDL purpose-
fully combines the use of technology
with instructional pedagogy to support
students with a range of academic
abilities, disabilities, and cultural and
language backgrounds. Our digital
backpack design strives to align its
core components with UDL prin-
ciples. Each backpack provides:

Modular technology. This set of tools includes hardware, software, and devices chosen to meet specific instructional goals and desired outcomes. The modular technologies that we tested included digital camcorders, iPod touches with preloaded apps, digital sound recorders, digital science probes, measuring tape, and Pasco’s Sparkvue (data-gathering and analyzing software). Other ideas include microphones and digital still cameras.

Teachers choose their technologies based on their capacity to support the individual PBL experience, and, as suggested by the term modular, they can add or remove a given technology from a digital backpack depending on the specific learning objectives.