A Teacher’s Thoughts

I spent a little time today checking out the Jason Project and their new mission, Monster Storms. My wife, who teaches 5th grade has used the Jason Project several times in the past but is coming back to it after three years and wanted some help visualizing how Jason and web 2.0 tools might fit together.
The Jason Project was founded by Robert Ballard as a way to connect students with real science and scientists. Each year there is a mission, with a special research focus. The curriculum includes a number of lesson plans for class activities, online lab activities, online journals and message boards. At the heart of the Jason Project is:

The power of great explorers and great events to fire students’ imaginations was the driving force behind JASON’s founding

http://www.jason.org

To this end the Jason Project brings together students and scientists through a themed mission of scientific research. Much of the action is contained in video, podcast, interactive demonstrations or web-based activities. Message boards with a variety of access levels allow students to communicate with each other about what they are learning, although these are not yet up and running. Students are put in the many roles of scientists and asked to discover, explore, predict and explain. As a culminating activity students are encouraged to upload video of a science project they conducted.

For the teacher, there are a variety of tools to choose from to assist in planning, assessment and monitoring of student computer use. These tools are easy to use, resembling a Moodle type environment. Teachers can communicate with students through online Journals and message boards while using the planning and assessment tools to build and modify the core Jason Curriculum. There are teacher-only message boards as well, allowing teachers to communicate with other teachers. I also noticed a tool for joining classes. I assume that this would allow for connecting with another class outside of one’s building and that would allow for a collaborative message board. It will be interesting to see if that component pans out.

The Jason Project is awesome science. This material will engage students in authentic and timely science while giving them a chance to use technology in their learning. For teachers the curriculum is well planned and modifiable. While teachers used to web 2.0 collaborative tools such as blogs and wikis will be disappointed by the lack of these types of tools, teachers who are new to technology and want additional support will be very well suited. And, those seeking more communication could always have their students blogging about the Jason Project.