Resources

There are many factors that contribute to a good Project-Based Learning (PBL) environment. Some of the factors involved in CDAT include authentic tools and techniques, many of which are free. This page is just a portion, but we love to share, so email mreilly@lanierhs.org if you'd like more information on a specific topic.

Student Examples

Here are some links to some student work. We have seen great work, and we have seen not-so-great work, but some cool things are possible.

Tell us a story - this was a project where students were asked to use tech and 9th grade language arts skills, and use the elements of good storytelling. This student product is a movie done by 3 of our students. The project assignment is linked here.
Student Portfolio - All students are asked to create a portfolio in their first week as a CDAT student, and it will evolve as they go. This example is from Brooke, and shows her portfolio by the end of her 10th grade year. Here's another one from Casey, from his 9th grade year.
YouTube Channel - How do we study Social Studies in a STEM academy? We make a YouTube channel! Check out this channel called Forgot To Study, made by an 11th grade group of 25 students over one school year. PS - They crushed the State testing on US History after this!

STEM Georgia Presentation - click here to download

We were fortunate to be invited to present our program at the gathering of State and local leaders from STEMGeorgia.org. Click the link above to download that presentation.

Buck Institute - http://www.bie.org/

One of the leading organizations for PBL, the Buck Institute offer extensive, free resources on learning about PBL and getting it started. In particular, check out their video library to learn more: http://www.bie.org/videos/cat/what_is_pbl

Adobe - http://adobe.com

Adobe is the leading developer of many editing softwares. In CDAT we use Premier Pro for video editing, Audacity for audio, Photoshop for photo editing, and so many more. Gwinnett students currently have free access to the Creative Cloud!

Edutopia - http://edutopia.org

Edutopia was founded by George Lucas to share "what works in education". We have worked with them, and they offer extensive resources for differentiated yet rigorous learning.

Suzie Boss and Jane Krauss - http://reinventingpbl.blogspot.com/

GCPS has supported the CDAT effort every step of the way, and they have enabled us to work with some of the leaders in the PBL field, Suzie Boss and Jane Krauss. Their book "Reinventing Project-Based Learning" is a guide for anyone looking to get started, with a special focus on free technologies to integrate and utilize.

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