Project-based learning (PBL) is a relatively new concept that is still not incorporated in every school. It is a very collaborative process and is very difficult to manage on ones own; many times teachers need input from their colleagues in regards to a project that they want their class to partake in. Throughout the majority of the process, the teacher is often the spring-board for more questions regarding specific projects the students are putting together, as opposed to a teacher standing at the front of the class and dishing out facts to be memorized for a text only to be forgotten within two or three days.
PBL incorporates new technologies in schools and educates people in how to use these new technologies with efficiency. While technology is not the key point of PBL, the two are carefully intertwined with one another, as the use of technology does make the use of PBL as a teaching method much easier to navigate.
PBL allows students to work in the real world. They are encouraged to work cooperatively in teams, research concepts and new ideas that will assist with their projects, think critically, and use new technology as a tool to aid in that research. This is how it is set up in the "adult world" in which we all live. We all must learn to work collaboratively and use technology as effectively and efficiently as possible in order to just get through every day life. PBL starts this key aspect of the real world early when used as a teaching method in elementary schools.
PBL is not a perfect method, and it takes time to work out the kinks. A teacher must always consider if the project they have in mind is too difficult for the class, or even too easy. If the project is too difficult, it runs the risk of frustrating the students, which could end up in them disliking the use of PBL as a teaching method, or of school in general. If a project is too easy, the students might end up getting bored with the project, which may make them think the teacher is just slacking off and giving them projects to keep them occupied during class. The planning of the project takes a great deal of time and collaboration, with colleagues in the school the teacher works in, and even teachers from other countries (depending on the type of project). Even by the end of it, the teacher often asks input on his or her plan, and in the end, it still might have some major flaws that need to be worked out before it can be presented to the students for them to work on.
The New Technology model works best when implemented in a school with smaller class sizes, generally roughly 100 students per grade. This minimizes class sizes which means more one-on-one with the teacher for discussions regarding the project, which maximizes the students' opportunities to learn. It emphasizes on the fact that technology is everywhere, even in places we do not really think about anymore, because those objects have become so mundane to us, and teaches students how to use the technology efficiently. Often times the finished projects are put onto a website for the entire world to see. Which means that the project could be used again by a teacher in Singapore or Australia. And since a large majority of this is done via Internet, the teacher can easily track their students' progress and even provide feedback on the project at different points in the process.
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