The 2010–11 fifth grade students
ranged from a small group identified
as talented-and-gifted learners
to about a quarter of the students
with moderate to severe learning
disabilities. The students were in
full-inclusion classrooms. Involving
students in project-based learning
experiences was key to meeting
their diverse learning needs.
other students on the project as well as
in the use of the iPad was an integral
part of the proposal.
We decided to focus our project
on cutting-edge inventions and used
Time magazine’s 2010 issue describ-
ing the 50 best inventions of the year
as the inspiration for the unit. The
overaching question that framed the
unit and aligned to Arizona fifth grade
science, language arts, and technology
standards as well as digital age skills
was: What cutting-edge technologies
are being invented, and how will they
influence society? The primary sci-
ence and technology standard that the
project addressed was identifying and
explaining the impact of inventions on
society. Using entrepreneurial skills
to enhance workplace productivity
and career options was one of four 21st
century skills aligned to this unit.
Stretching Individual Devices
The teachers involved in the project
primarily had experience using only
desktop and laptop computers. There-
fore, they had to figure out what was
possible with an iPad and to weigh
the benefits when the process of re-
trieving work from individual devices
was tedious or time consuming. The
teachers agreed that daily access to the
iPads proved to be a significant advan-
tage over the computer lab for fully
integrating technology into all aspects
of the fifth grade core curricula.
