"My great great grandfather signed the Declaration Of Independence!"

"I am related to Benedict Arnold! ... but which side was he on?"

Thus, our WebQuest began, with personal relevance, enthusiasm and excitement for a new adventure in learning. For our team of teachers the adventure was in the experimental design of a new learning environment. For the students the adventure was in the opportunity to investigate and select their own learning materials. Together we would navigate the Internet, search for and select significant information, and utilize our selections to publish a colonial newspaper to share with classmates.

I had written the WebQuest, "The Colonial Times", inspired by readings of Constructivists such as Brooks & Brooks (1993) and Eisner (1994). I was convinced that collaborative group projects, in which students actively seek information for a real world purpose, would result in increased knowledge building. I wanted to show that when students take responsibility for their own learning, the learning is richer in content and deeper in concept development. I was curious to see how this environment might encourage different learning styles and student strengths to become significant factors in learning. This would be the first time the students or teachers would attempt to function in such a "learning environment". The following is an account of the successes and failures of this plan.

Bernie Dodge, the creator of the WebQuest concept, defines a WebQuest as "an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet..." With this simple statement, Bernie Dodge has offered a revolutionary learning environment for our schools. The use of WebQuest as an educational tool has the potential of making several significant changes to the traditional classroom setting. First, it changes the role of the teacher from lecturer to guide. Second, it changes the role of the student from passive listener and absorber of information to active researcher and creator of knowledge. It places the student in charge of finding and selecting material to be studied, of determining how the materials will be used to express their own thoughts, and it makes students, not teachers, responsible for the learning process.

I. The Importance of Setting the Scene

Laura, the Classroom Teacher, Mary, the Librarian, and I, the Technology Resource Teacher, collaborated to schedule the student groups and classroom activities. I wrote the WebQuest to coordinate with the Social Studies unit being studied by the class. I used the SOLs and POS guidelines to design the content of the Quest. It would contain many previewed websites which students would visit looking for relevant information.

The class was randomly divided in half for participation in two separate WebQuest projects. Mary and I would take students to the Computer Lab each afternoon from 2:00pm to 2:45pm for four weeks. I would introduce the activity and guide students throughout the project. Mary would work with us and help students find resources either in the library or on the Internet as needed. Laura would continue classroom activities with the other half of the class. Scheduling was such that both groups received traditional Social Studies lessons in the classroom in the morning. Language Arts reading time was scheduled in the classroom during WebQuest time. At the end of the four weeks we would rotate groups. The first group would use the WebQuest to produce an 11"X 17" paper colonial newspaper while the second group would use the WebQuest to produce a Hyperstudio computerized hyperlinked presentation.

Thus, the purpose of this study was not to evaluate Constructivist learning versus Traditional teaching. The focus was rather to compare student responses and products when the emphasis of study was on searching and selecting information, (the newspaper) versus an emphasis upon creating and communicating information (the hyperlinked presentation). Evidence would be qualitative rather than quantitative. Findings would be based upon daily observation logs and student and teacher interviews.

A. Introducing Students to the WebQuest

On the first day of our project, Laura's students arrived full of excitement and questions. They represented half of her multiage fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students. They were a diverse group of students as might be expected in today's classrooms. Twelve students, including eight boys and four girls, entered the room. These students represented a mix of ESL(English as a Second language), GT (Gifted & Talented) and LD (Learning Disabled) among the classroom population. Sonia and Paula spoke little English and Pablo arrived from Brazil days before our project began. I introduced our WebQuest plan to the students and answered their questions. Then I took them to our school Intranet page and taught them to navigate to the WebQuest. I pointed out various sections of the WebQuest and told them that for that day, they needed only to investigate the information available. While they might find topics of interest, they did not need to select a topic yet. The class time was spent in small group investigation of the sites I had bookmarked for them. They were particularly interested in the primary documents which I had included as samples of early newspapers and writings. Their fascination with the first newspaper written in America, the first Almanac and the original copy of the Declaration of Independence, proved to be so significant that it influenced the entire course of our study. Pablo found the history of American flags site and played the patriotic music to everyone's delight. Students wanted to print everything they found. It was a pleasure to see their enthusiasm.

B. Individuals within the Group

It quickly became obvious that this group contained many levels of skill development and ability. The ESL students had little English and little background knowledge of American History. I knew that they would not understand my explanations. They would need to see what I was discussing. I introduced the National Geographic CD-ROMs, American Colonization and The American Revolution. These offered visuals and language which allowed the students to gain a baseline of information upon which to build their knowledge. The music and colorful action enticed all students to watch the CD-ROMs. I felt that this helped us all develop a perspective from which to proceed.

C. What is the Question?

After the initial introductions I explained our project in greater depth. Working in pairs, students would explore the websites offered, select topics of interest and write an article to be included in our newspaper. Students would be the roving colonial reporters urged by Ben Franklin to tell the American story to the colonists. We would need to agree upon the historical time of publication, and coordinate our efforts to make a coherent paper. We would assume roles of colonial citizens, express our opinions, talk about important events, and create a final product to share with classmates. At first students were concerned about what was expected of them; what did I want them to write about? They felt as if they had missed "the question". By our second day, students were beginning to recover from the shock of choice. They adjusted quickly and began thinking about possibilities. I was surprised to see how quickly personal choice became evident.

D. Student Reactions

The following excerpts from my log reflect initial student reactions:

1/6/99:Larry: "Do we write it like we are there? I am finished because I am just the mapmaker. I am really good at drawing maps."

(Larry is an excellent artist but a poor reader. He has a short attention span and poor decoding skills. He wants to draw maps for the newspaper.)

Anne: "Can I make an advertisement for a ladies dress? I know.... I own the shop. Ladies come to buy my dresses. I will run the advertisement and I can interview the people who come into my shop."

Charlie: "My great, great great... grandfather signed the Declaration of Independence. His name was Charles Carroll... see here it is at the bottom of the Declaration. My great... uncle signed the Constitution."

Teacher: Let's look for a biography of your great...grandfather. (We could not find a biography on our first attempt. ) Where else could you find out about him?

Charlie: My grandfather knows a lot about him. Maybe I could ask him? I could look in books too?

Jonathan & Thomas: We want to study the Declaration of Independence. Look, the Declaration of Independence was July 4th, but this says Pennsylvania Packet and it is dated July 8th. Wow, this was in the newspaper and it was probably the frst time the people saw the Declaration."

The boys were very excited about their newspaper find. We printed a copy for each and started a folder in which the group would keep their newspaper information. We gave each student ringed note cards to keep a record of websites and information. Note cards became an important way to organize information.

Peter: I want to write an Almanac. I know who wrote it, Ben Franklin. I want to make a cartoon too.

Teacher: Well, why did Ben Franklin write the Almanac? Can it be part of our paper?

1/7: You can feel the excitement building...Thomas brought in an authentic looking copy of the Declaration of Independence.He had traded possessions for it.

II. Building a Learning Environment

A routine quickly established itself. As students entered the room, we made a discussion circle in which we reviewed what we had discovered the day before. Each student was asked what they had found and thought they wanted to pursue. I made a large tag board chart of our progress. We all knew what the others were thinking about so that if one student found information which might be relevant to another, they could share the find. Several students remained quiet, studying the CDs and websites, but not saying much. Andrew motioned to me that he wanted me to write down websites so that he could visit them at home. He watched and listened. The concept of being a Colonial American had little meaning to him.

A. Learning to Choose Resources:

1/12: "Today seemed hard. Lots of kids went to the library to find "more" information. Students have a low tolerance level for frustration when they can't find information. They expect it to jump out at them. If they can't find what they want quickly, they become discouraged and frustrated. We need to analyze what the internet can and can not do!"

Often students found a topic of interest on the internet but could not find additional detail or clarification. Mary would take these students to the library to follow up on their topics. We discovered that integrating the various resources worked well. There were times when students found what they wanted on the internet and times when books worked better. The internet often suggested topics for further study in the library. The flexibility to use either resource was important to our success. Anne found more information about colonial fashions in library books. Douglas found colonial clothing in a ThinkQuest site designed by students in Boston. He wanted to pursue the topic in the library. With the help of a parent volunteer, Paula found several websites with information about colonial food. The parent read the information and explained the background of Taverns in Williamsburg. Paula decided to write about foods.

B. Decisions Take Time

Douglas and Sonia decided to work together on colonial fashion. Douglas is bilingual so he could translate the information for Sonia. Anne would own a dress shop in Williamsburg. Larry and Antonio would study battles and maps. Thomas wanted to compare the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Peter wanted to create his own Almanac. Jonathan wanted to be a town crier and tell about many events taking place in the colonies. Charlie wanted to study his great grandfather Charles Carroll. Carolyn moved away before she could make her decision. Andrew wanted to draw American flags using KidPix software. I was not sure that the chosen topics would result in the type of learning I hoped to inspire, but I was committed to the experiment. I accepted what the students decided. Would the students see the "Big Picture" as a result of these small pieces? Perhaps Jonathan's Town crier would offer an overall picture which could tie all our topics together.

C. Student Inquiry

Thomas was excited to learn that the revisions to the Declaration of Independence were made on his birthday. He knew he was related to Benedict Arnold but was concerned about which side he was on. He was told to look it up.

Peter went to the library to research Almanacs. He found little on the first Almanac but found lots of information about others. He decided to create his own Almanac containing information similar to those of the time. He found cartoons, poetry, events, facts, weather and predictions. He would copy the style.

1/ 12: Laura reports great enthusiasm as the students return to the classroom. She tried to scribble it down as the kids talked.We found tons of information." Charlie

" The Almanac had poetry, events and fairs." Peter

"I have the first newspaper every made." Larry

"They made a draft of the Declaration of Independence on my birthday." Thomas

III. Building Personal Relevance

Students were excited about their findings. By exploring generally related information, students were finding topics with connections to their own lives. They were selecting topics of personal interest. The relevance was stimulating and encouraged them to delve deeper into the topics. Rather than being told what was important either by a text book or a teacher, they were making their own decisions. Perhaps their motivation was inspired by freedom of choice. Critical thinking skills were embedded in this exercise as students weighed and selected information, organized their findings and determined how findings could be used in a newspaper article or advertisement.

Students spent hours pouring over the information presented, talking about what they saw, writing notes of sites to revisit and topics to remember. They were actively deciding what knowledge to learn. I was concerned that their topics were narrow and might not result in acquisition of information required by the SOLs. On the other hand, these students were empowered. Their excitement might cause them to read the textbook with increased interest. The most remarkable event so far was the enthusiasm generated by American's first newspaper. We had downloaded it and made copies for everyone. Having something in hand increased excitement and made materials easier to read. When they left with paper in hand, they were excited about their find. They all planned to read it at home. Although not everyone tried to read it at home, it left a lasting impression. The final date selected for our paper was July 8, 1776. This was the date when the Pennsylvania Packet published the Declaration of Independence for the first time. The students were impressed by this event.

A. Teacher as Coach

I found it important to conduct group discussions at the beginning of each class. It helped students direct their activities and it helped students share with each other. This group worked very well together. Thomas complained at one point that he kept finding good materials for everyone else but couldn't find anything for himself. I could guide students in a productive direction, offer suggestions and useful tools without taking too much control of a topic. I kept the overview of the assignment in sight but was careful not to take direction away from students.

I was also the partner assigned to worrying. I worried that the process was taking too long and that we wouldn't finish in time. I worried that students weren't learning the core curriculum. I worried that there were too many interruptions and illnesses and snow days. I worried that I couldn't measure what students were learning. I was taking risks which were not comfortable. If this doesn't work, will the teachers let me commit the students for this length of time again?

This new learning environment definitely has some drawbacks. It would be much more efficient to follow a book and sequence prescribed facts to be learned. But then, students would be simply acquiring facts, not learning to utilize them. This distinction will be important in their future. If students don't learn to deal with overwhelming volumes of facts and select that which is important, how will they cope with their future? This exercise is important. Together the students and teachers will learn how to manage!

B. The Learning Process

One day Thomas was distraught. He couldn't find the information he wanted. He had spent time investigating. Once he had decided on a topic and started to delve into his narrow interest, he became frustrated with the lack of evidence to support his point of view. The internet did not offer the detail which he needed. He left the room sulking and unhappy. I was not sure what to do about this turn of events. My most enthusiastic student was giving up. I was discouraged too.

The next day when Thomas returned he apologized for his poor behavior and told me that he had decided to be a Virginia farmer who lived near Thomas Jefferson. He would be working in his tobacco field when Jefferson came by in his carriage to chat. They would discuss the Declaration of Independence and the threat of war it would create. What a change! I was grateful for the positive attitude and the decisions he had made. As time went on, several of my most independent students had similar moments of discouragement. Sometimes they could not find information quickly or they forgot to save information found. Sometimes they had more information than they knew what to do with and felt overwhelmed. Sometimes they needed a new perspective to see what they were looking for. For example, Charlie could not find a biography of Charles Carroll. He needed help finding a different perspective from which to gather information. I suggested that he investigate the colonial community in which Carroll lived. What would he have done each day? What would he have thought about the English taxes? Could informed guesses lead to reasonable conclusions?

1/13: Jonathan: "I can't find anything about being a town crier."

Teacher; Maybe there isn't anything about being a crier, but if you know what a crier did, you can look for information he would use...

Jonathan went back to work and copied a timeline of events from 1775 to make into crier information. He was still confused. He understood the information but he couldn't see how to adapt it to use as his information. He didn't have a big picture. Suddenly he cried. "I know... I can interview Paul Revere and tell about his ride!" Jonathan had found a way to downsize his information into a unit which he could handle.

C. Learning with the Students

I was learning with the students. I saw each student as an individual with different strengths and different needs. I was concerned that I couldn't help everyone enough. I was fortunate to have a parent volunteer several days a week, and Mary was always there to help too. Even with this assistance, my students needed more guidance than we could give. The more capable students could help each other in peer conferences and in decision making. But the ESL students needed a great deal of modeling to see what was expected. Other students felt comfortable copying text directly from the resources. They could not read the information well and could not translate into their own words. Mary and I had our hands full teaching the skills needed to interpret and translate information into student work. We modeled and cajoled students into developing these skills. It was not the technology skills which required our time and attention. The skills of searching, selecting, interpreting, outlining, and creating appropriate information became our major focus. The use of technology as a tool stimulated the authentic reason for developing the study skills and writing skills which the students needed to complete this assignment. While peer conferencing worked for the more capable students, it did not help the less able students. Many students needed to learn the skills which would have made conferencing effective.

1/13: " I am worried. Kids need to begin writing but haven't found enough information. I hope we can work fast enough!"

1/14: A more positive day. Thomas brought in an inkwell and quill pen. Jonathan has decided to narrow his topic. The town crier will interview Paul Revere. He suggested to Larry that Larry could draw a map of Paul Revere's ride. Now they are both happily working on the project.

D. Challenges as History Comes to Life

Someone discovered that Benedict Arnold was an American hero in 1775 when he attacked Fort Ticondaroga and dragged the confiscated British cannons to Boston. Thomas is happy about that and Larry sees the need for another map.

Larry said, "This is really all coming together now!"

Peter was writing his Almanac but was confused by so many spellings of the same words. Jonathan was writing his interview with Paul Revere and using "f" for "s" because that was the way they wrote then. It made it hard for me to read, but he had a good point.

I am still searching to find information for students. What is most discouraging for them is not being able to find information quickly. They have little patience for searching. Those who have trouble reading will not spend much time trying to read difficult text. Mary and I read a lot of the text and ask them to interpret what they think it is talking about.

E. Students Take Responsibility for Learning:

1/19: The beginning of a new week. I told the students it was the last week of our project. They burst into the room excited. They had decided that we needed more time. They had asked Mrs. Newton if they could extend the project for a week. She said it was up to me. They were sure I would agree. They simply needed more time. I laughed at their enthusiasm, grateful that I had allowed the extension of one week in case we needed it. We needed it! The students had taken over the responsibility for this project. Now it was their project....not mine!

Thomas is writing a letter to the editor and an editorial response. He enjoys writing and writes well. Anne and Douglas are spending lots of time drawing dresses. I am pushing them to write too. When I ask questions they have good answers, but haven't written anything down yet. Anne told me the dresses had silk and lace from English. She bought the materials from a ship docked in the harbor.

F. Learning New Skills:

1/21: One day I think this is great and the next I am discouraged because there is too much to learn and not enough time in which to do it. Today was good... all the kids were writing and full of ideas they wanted to share. They were satisfied that they had found good material and were ready to write....but...They are really new to the concept of integrating information into a new perspective. They are catching on... they are beginning to write as the person of 1775. They are beginning to say :I am a tobacco farmer..." But , it is coming slowly.Antonio has copied the book about Ben Franklin's inventions. I need a lot more time and scaffolding....modeling...

1/22:"Tomorrow I will show them the first draft of our paper. We will start looking for areas which need more work. I hope to show them the big picture... to help them see the whole and its parts.Some students: Douglas, Larry, Antonio, who thought they could draw some pictures and get away with only that, are coming around. They are not inclined to search and read information. They want me to tell them what they need to know. They don't have the skills to sustain reading and find information of interest. The ESL students have done a good job of finding visually understandable topics. Pablo has drawn several flags in Kid Pix which are remarkably good.

1/26: The class and I sat down to design the paper layout. They selected 3 columns, a table of contents in the center of the first page. They decided that we needed more advertisements. Those who had finished started making advertisements.

I asked students to have peer conferences to edit and critique each others' work. They didn't have much experience doing this and had trouble being effective critics.

G. First Draft

I stayed late that night preparing the first draft.

1/27: The students were very excited to see their first draft. They wanted to sell it to visitors.

We discussed the value in colonial terms. They it should be offered for 2 cents which we could then donate to the playground fund.

The final product was an enormous success. Once the students saw their final product they forgot about all the trial and tribulations which we had survived. They saw only the success of their efforts. They proudly presented it to their class and answered questions about their design.

IV. The Second WebQuest Group Begins:

On February 1, Mary and I started our second Colonial Times WebQuest. We had learned a lot and looked forward to what we felt would be the easier of the two technology integration projects. We were in for a big surprise.

Laura observed the first two days of this project while Mary worked with the other half of her class. She too was curious about what we were doing and what had her students so excited. We acknowledged that one flaw in our plan was the fact that the classroom teacher could not observe this project in action. Next time, we must find a way to include the classroom teacher so that she may continue the practices which we introduced. Laura observed as I once again introduced the Intranet and the Colonial WebQuest. Our first day was a disaster because of the open door policy which invited other students who came to the computer lab to keyboard classroom assignments. I had thought I could work around them but I could not. The students in this half of the class were easily distracted and could not focus on the lesson. Laura was up set to see how easily this group lost focus. She said, "What was I thinking? This group is so needy...they are not at all like the first group. I am sorry I did this to you... this group will really be hard."

The next day other students were restricted from the lab and the activities were better received. We started by watching a sample Hyperstudio which students had made last year. They saw their friends dressed in colonial costumes. They saw the button links, the sounds, transitions and scrolling text and pictures. They were anxious to begin.

2/3: This group of students is definitely lower in ability level than the first. This group consists of thirteen students, eight boys and five girls. Two students are identified as Learning Disabled, two students are ESL students, and two are designated as Gifted and Talented. Again there is a great discrepancy in developmental skills and abilities

I began by introducing the National Geographic CD-ROMs to all the students. They listened intently to the CDs and several students listened to them repeatedly. This gave a common background of information to our group. The next day the students arrived full of wiggles and squirms. I had them sit on the carpet and listen as we discussed a plan for designing Hyperstudio. I told them we could not begin until we knew what information would be included on each page. We brainstormed topics of interest. We would work in teams looking for information but we needed a direction. One student suggested doing the causes of the American Revolution. We agreed these would be many.... everyone could present one. Stan said he wanted to do it all, all the war. We decided that would be too big! Stan didn't want to repeat anything the other group had done.

Someone suggested researching people...they all liked that idea except Fred who wanted to study battles. I suggested that Fred report on a soldier and tell about his battles. He said he had seen a soldier on the CD. He would find out who that was and report on him. He went back to the CDs and identified Henry Knox as the soldier he wanted to write about. So, it was decided right away... we would each select a famous person to investigate and write about. We thought about all the different kinds of people we could write about. We would include not just famous men, but women, slaves, children and Native Americans. We would try to represent their point of view about the Revolutionary War. Using the WebQuest links, the students began to search for colonial characters to write about. I was pleased that they had selected a more direct topic. They would have the ability to find information without having to interpret and change the perspectives found. It seemed a more doable task for students who had trouble staying on task and following through on a task.

Steven, one of the LD students, selected Thomas Jefferson. "Mine is the most important. He wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence." Jose', one of the ESL students said, "I picked Ben Franklin. He was really important. There will be lots of information about him." The students had about twenty minutes to search for information. They bookmarked sites and took notes on note cards. They left eager to return.

A. A Group of Individuals

When the group returned we gathered around the chart and reviewed decisions made last week. Several people wanted to change characters. We discussed opinion, and point of view. Then I introduced the concept of storyboards. Each student would have to plan a storyboard to sequence their Hyperstudio stack before they began to build the stack. We discussed a plan to include a graphic and text on each page of their stack. The graph could be downloaded from the internet, or imported by scanner. Students could draw their own picture or find pictures in books. My parent volunteer, Mary and I went to work helping the students as they paired up and started searching the internet for information. I taught them to create an image folder to save wanted downloaded images. They bookmarked sites and took notes. I was beginning to think I had learned how to streamline this process. I thought my innovations made it easier for the students to find information and to make decisions. What I was about to learn was that in this group were three students who could not read at a second grade level and who could not stay on task long enough to find and select information. This was a needy group and many of its members needed one-on-one support to complete this task.

As the students left this day, Fred was upset because he couldn't find information on Henry Knox. He pouted and left unhappy. Many students selected their character and took notes about them. Bill was happy looking at Native American pictures but could not read any of the materials. Brenda was happy looking at Betsy Ross pictures but could not focus on pieces of information and write them down. Ellen was searching aimlessly. Karen was finding information about colonial children.

I was again discouraged by the inability of students to conduct independent research on a topic of their choosing. Later that day Laura stopped me in the hall to tell me how pleased she was with Brenda's interest in the project. During an unrelated question and answer period in the classroom, Brenda had said, "I would like to know who was the most famous American during the colonial period." Laura exclaimed that Brenda was not usually in tune with this activity. This time, not only did she understand the point being made, she volunteered a question which was on task. Laura was amazed by this response. Brenda was responding to our project and was absorbing information.

B. Creating a Learning Environment

This group was less dynamic, less capable except for a few students. How could a classroom teacher adapt to these conditions? The individual attention needed by each student was enormous. It would be difficult to teach these students to peer conference and help each other. Again, it was not the technology which made this difficult. It was the lack of development in reading, writing and study skills which posed roadblocks to these students. How could a classroom teacher plan this lesson, teach the software programs and provide the individualized lessons needed by this group?

2/10: After a short review I let the students work in small groups. I worked with Bill. I read the material and we talked about what was important. Bill showed little spark of understanding. I basically did the talking and he listened. I wrote a simple statement for him and he will do the keyboarding.

C. Building Student Responsibility for Learning

I decided to let the students create a first page to keep up interest. After creating the first page they will need to storyboard the rest of their information before continuing on. Students were given a small booklet to help guide them through the making of the stack. Some students were making the independent efforts to find information and to use the information to create a stack. Fred returned with information about Henry Knox. He worked at home to find what he needed. Everyone is now showing interest in this project. Everyone except Bill is making buttons, importing text and graphics and feeling good about their efforts.

2/12 A new student has arrived. Fuad is from an English school in Egypt. His English is good. I let him partner with Jason. They were full of mischief and distractions so they have been separated already. Stan suggested that he might like to study Thomas Jefferson. He seemed happy to take Stan's suggestion and search the bookmarked websites.

D. Finding the Time

As usual the problem was time. I felt anxious because this group could not be rushed. They needed to move at their own rate through the materials. They were making progress but they worked slowly. Most of these students needed teacher supervision to proceed. They couldn't help their peers. They lacked confidence in their own ability to make selections or decisions. This group needed more opportunities to observe and practice what was being asked of them. Ellen took her materials home and forgot to bring them back for two days. The next day I told her to return to the classroom because there was no point in staying in the lab with nothing to do. The following day she remembered her materials and had a productive day.

Thank goodness for parent volunteers. I could not have completed this project without their help. Mrs. Powers worked with Brenda for two days. She read the materials, translated the information and keyboarded the document which Brenda approved. Brenda played with the mouse and caused the writing to be lost on several occasions. This project would not have been done without adult assistance.

This group finished their Hyperstudio newspaper and experienced the same pride in accomplishment that the first group had displayed. They too forgot their frustrations in their exuberance at sharing their final product with the class. Mrs. Newton was thrilled with the quality of their work and with the level of excitement which seemed to permeate all their academic efforts. She is anxious to continue such projects on her own.

This experiment introduced students to new skills necessary to research and utilize information through electronic media. Students saw history as a living content which they could shape and in which they could create relevance. This interaction seemed to initiate interest and excitement in academic endeavors. Mrs. Newton was excited to see her students so enthusiastic. She felt that less achieving students sustained interest for a longer than normal time and found new avenues of self-expression. More accomplished students showed enthusiasm for self-directed search and selection. With my support and vote of confidence, Mrs. Newton is ready to use this model of teaching in her next unit of study.

But, no one has learned more than I. I have seen the depth of change required in our instructional program before the necessary paradigm shift can be made from traditional acquisition of knowledge to student-centered utilization of knowledge. This change must be brought about by collaborative efforts of teachers who have a vision of new educational focus and opportunity. I believe that technology resource teachers must plan in concert with classroom teachers to affect such change. Classroom teachers must be a part of the hands-on activities; learning and exploring as the activities evolve. The true value of this study, which sought to observe student outcomes, is in the observation of teacher outcomes. My faculty and I have already redesigned our schedule to allow classroom teachers and students to learn together as we all use electronic media to explore and utilize overwhelming volumes of information. The following findings and implications will sharp the future of technology in our learning environment.

Findings and Applications of this Research

IV. Finding: In traditional classrooms students are told by textbooks and teachers what information is valuable and should be learned. In Project-Based Learning, students must learn to judge and utilize information for themselves.

I. Implications: Project-Based Learning requires development of students skills

which are different from those developed in the traditional classroom.

a. Students must learn to read in a variety of multimedia resources.

b. Students must learn the skills of research; sorting, evaluating and selecting

before they can use information offered through multiple resources.

c. Teachers must offer support and guidance as students refine their skills of research

and utilization of information.

d. Students need time and experience to learn the decision-making skills needed to

decide which information is important and useful.

II. Project-Based Learning requires a great amount of time.

a. Teachers need large amounts of time to plan and write Project-Based learning

activities such as WebQuests which match their SOLs and curriculum needs.

b. Teachers need time to collaborate with team members to develop the

coordination of Project-Based learning activities.

c. Students need time to develop the skills necessary for successful completion

of Project-Based Learning. Time and experience allow students to improve their skill development.II. Implications:

a. Teachers must be given time to plan and coordinate Project-Based Learning activities.

b. Students must be given time to learn the new skills required to successfully

explore and employ the