Obviously, planning is essential for a PBL to be successful at any level. In my first grade classroom, I have to be sure that I have activities planned that will reach all of my students, and engage and motivate them. Usually, with a project, my students and I meet together on the carpet whole group and discuss components of the project together. We then will break into collaborative groups to complete a hands-on/research activity. During the course of the project, we use a blog to publish our activities or findings of the day or week.
Students' small groups vary. Somestudents may be creating an illustration and writing to later add to a Voicethread or Blabberize. When the group is finished, I will upload the pictures to the Voicethread, and the students will individually add their voice to the picture. Other groups may be researching and recording information. Students may choose to record their findings using the iPod/tunetalk.
With PBL, it's great to have events planned and organized, and a Timeline to follow. However, I realize that in a primary classroom, flexibility is essential. Activities that I may prepare for my students sometimes need to be later modified to meet individual learning needs. Also, some activities may take longer than anticipated.I am always flexible with the activities that are planned. In a first grade classroom, schedules need to be flexible!
When my students work in collaborative groups, I circulate around the classroom, monitoring each groups progress. Expectations for behavior are set at the beginning of a project. Consequences are decided also. I must say though, I have not had any difficulty with behavior during a project. My first graders are generally engrossed in what they are doing.
I love PBL because my students are able to explore a concept and discover new things. It is an amazing learning experience for both myself and my students.

When students communicate and collaborate with others, they are participating in 21st Century learning. There are so many Web2.0 tools that provide this opportunity for students. Technology use in the classroom provides opportunities for creative thinking, higher level thinking, and problem solving. These are all components of the NETS-S. Teachers who provide opportunities for students to connect globally, use technology meaningfully, and communicate with a bigger audience are preparing their students to meet the standards set forth by the NETS-S. Modeling how to use technology in different ways will provide new learning opportunities for students.

Web2.0 tools can help students meet the NET-S in a variety of ways. Through individual and collective participation in activities, building relationships through social networking, and creative thinking, they are engaging in 21st Century learning.

We do so much in my classroom with Digital Storytelling. Students are creatively writing and illustrating their own stories and comics. However, this process doesn't stop at paper and pencil work. They go a step further to publish these stories using digital media such as Voicethread, Blabberize, Toondoo, and Photostory3 to make their writing "come alive".

Students research a topic area and use Glogster, Blogs, or Wikispaces to publish their findings through images, writing, and audio or video for a bigger audience. Blogger and Skype allow collaboration projects to occur between classrooms. It enables students to interact and communicate with each other globally.

~ Implementation ~

Communication Platform ~ Diigo

Diigo is a great resource social bookmarking site. With Diigo, users can share sites and content, and access the bookmarks from any computer. It is great for research projects in the classroom. One of my favorite features of Diigo is that WebSlides can be created. As a teacher, I could bookmark sites for a unit on Butterflies, and then have my students visit each site on my list. Another cool thing about Diigo, is that text can be highlighted. This is great for a primary classroom, because a lot of reading can be overwhelming. I am able to highlight the main ideas and details that I want my students to read. Students could also use the highlighter to mark key vocabulary words or sentences that they want to know more about. Diigo is great because it doesn't require students to have their own email accounts. Student accounts can be set up through the teacher. The accounts are private, and students within the classroom are all considered "friends" with each other. This site does not require parental consent forms either. Diigo offers a Help Center that has video tutorials, step by step guides, and a site tour. It is very easy to follow for individuals that are new to social bookmarking.

Collaboration Platforms ~ Wikis

Wikispaces are collaborative websites that are wonderful for classroom use. There is an ad-free education version that is free for K-12 teachers. Wikispaces are easy to set up and can be set to public, private or protected. When private wikis are set up, only members can view or edit it. When the site is set to protected, anyone can view it, but only members may make changes. As public, anyone can view and edit the space. Wikispaces are great, because students can easily add content such as images, videos, audio, links, and HTML codes. There is also a discussion tab that enables conversations to take place. Wikispaces also offers a great tutorial and help guide for new users.
Teachers can use wikis to showcase student work, post student assignments, collaborate with students anywhere, and communicate with parents. I use my own classroom wiki to bridge the gap between the home and school. My wiki shares important information with parents, as well as student work. I also have a professional wiki that I use for professional development purposes. Students can use wikis to ask questions, receive homework assignments, or even share resources. Students who enjoy writing have a 'blank slate' to share ideas on with a bigger audience.
There aren't many specific requirements with these sites. Obviously, only appropriate content is to be published. Content that is published should also follow copyright policies.

Publishing Platforms~ Glogster

Glogster is a wonderful Web2.0 tool that enables students to create an interactive online poster. It is a great way for students to tap into their creative mind and introduces students to visual literacy skills essential for 21st Century learning. Glogster has a new education site that is great for classroom use. Teachers can create up to 200 student accounts, and do so without student email addresses. Glogster is a secure, safe platform that can be easily monitored by teachers. It can be integrated with all subject areas to engage students and make learning fun. Videos, audio, and images can be uploaded to Glogs. Glogster also has an option to add links from the page.
Glogster offers many tutorials. Here is one that I have created and presented at various workshops. (It is also located on the Glogster/edu homepage)
There are many ways that Glogster can be incorporated into the curriculum. Students can use Glogster to demonstrate knowledge of a topic, create study guides or interactive quizzes or webquests, and much more. The possibilities are endless.
I use Glogster to create pages for my classroom wiki and professional wiki. I feel that for this purpose, it adds a more visual element to my sites.
One thing that can be a problem with Glogster/edu is that many districts have this site blocked. It is blocked because of the content on the regular Glogster site, and most district filters can not open one without the other. However, if districts are shown the value of Glogster/edu, and teachers are only accessing the education version, then students are participating in a safe, secure site.

~ Global PBL Challenges ~

I feel that one of the challenges of global PBL are time issues. We realized this obstacle when my classroom video-conferenced with a former student in Russia. Being flexible and willing to use hours that are outside the normal school day is necessary. Hours outside of normal classroom time would definitely need to be utilized, because so much planning goes into a successful project. Also, challenges could arise with time differences that are wide-ranged, because being a day ahead of or behind another classroom could also impact the type of project chosen, and the learning activities shared.

Language issues could be a challenge with my classroom also. The translation sites are convenient and nice, but if my students in first grade are still learning how to read their own language, they would have trouble trying to translate another. This obstacle could be overcome by possibly having parent volunteers or older student buddies within the building help them to read and translate the language using the www.epals.com site.

District filters could also be a challenge. Many Web2.0 tools within districts are blocked, despite educational value. Acknowledging these issues beforehand would make this challenge easier to overcome. If there is value to a site being used with the project, teachers could ask their technology department to unblock it. Bandwidth within a district could also be an obstacle. It could require classrooms to find other means of communicating. For example, they may not have the means to video, so instead they'd have to chat... which would be feasible, but may not have the same impact on the learning experience.

Cultural differences may also be challenging, because students' expectations and behaviors differ with different cultures. Educational and personal values are different between countries. Understanding other cultures before the initial project starts is very important. Providing that background to students will make the project more meaningful and will enable them to realize commonalities and differences that may arise.

There are definitely many justifications for implementing PBL into the curriculum.
According to research, PBL lends itself to student achievement through engaging activities that provide collaborative learning skills and improved test scores. Constructivist learning drives PBL.
As Brooks stated:

"Students are given the freedom to think, question, reflect, and interact with ideas, objects and others."

Meaningful learning takes place and students are developing real life skills that are relevant. They are exploring deep into a topic of interest, actively acquiring knowledge. Being a primary teacher, I use PBL in my classroom all the time. Hands-on learning is modeled and encouraged in the primary grades. PBL is great because I am able to reach all of my students' learning styles, and students are motivated to learn.
PBL also has all of the qualities that are necessary to prepare students for 21st Century learning. Students are communicating, thinking critically and making connections.
Understandably, PBL entails a lot of planning by the teacher. Lessons must be developed to meet students needs and interests. Assessments occur through daily classroom projects or activities, and are varied. As teachers, our job is to prepare our students for the future. We should provide learning experiences that foster Pinks "six senses" in order to help our students succeed in an ever changing world. PBL can lend itself to this goal, and enable students to practice the 3C's: Collaborate, Communicate, and Construct knowledge.

~ Exemplars of Project Based Learning ~

After exploring these three articles...

“More Fun Than a Barrel of . . . Worms?!”
- Diane Curtis, Edutopia

“Geometry Students Angle into Architecture Through Project Learning” - Sara Armstrong, Edutopia

“March of the Monarchs: Students Follow the Butterflies' Migration”
- Diane Curtis, Edutopia

The circumstances and design principles that were common among these three examples were that each project contained real-life connections and was brain-based. Students were engaged in active learning and became efficient workers through demonstrating critical thinking, interpersonal, and problem solving skills. Transfer of learning occurred in each of these examples, because real-world connections were made. Different instructional methods were used to reach all students’ learning styles. All of the projects were developed based on an essential question and enabled students to engage in 21st Century learning skills.

The role of the teachers in the three examples was that of a facilitator. The teachers allowed students to experience the freedom, flexibility, and challenge of lifelong learning, and were not the sole source of knowledge for the students. Students were learning in ways that were meaningful to them and teachers guided the students to learn and seek information on their own. They seemed to encourage students to communicate, share ideas, make decisions and solve problems. In the “Worms” example, the teacher demonstrated a nice balance between teacher/facilitator roles. The teachers in all three examples essentially gave up some control in the classroom, and shared the opinion that knowing how to learn, problem solve, think and be flexible may be more important for students than specific disciplines and content material. The students’ role in the three examples was to explore, investigate the topic at hand, make decisions, work collaboratively, and communicate with others. Students learned to practice teamwork and gain respect for others through these projects.

These learning experiences all increased student engagement and knowledge because students were experiencing real understanding of content taught and were emotionally involved in their learning. The students were actively engaged in the learning process and were all experiencing learning instead of merely reading out of textbooks. The enthusiasm of each students learning experience was evident in the video examples. They were all emotionally attached to their projects and found meaning and value in them. I am certain that these projects will be something the students remember for many years to come. They took pride in their work because they were responsible for the content and final outcome.