“P.LU.N.G.E into School” by Barrett-Hayes, Godwin and Young
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- P.LU.N.G.E into School
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Abstract:
P.L.U.N.G.E. (Practical Learning Utilizing New Gadgets in Education) is one part of a comprehensive research agenda at the K-12 developmental research school on the campus of Florida State University. The school’s mission includes research, dissemination, and service, in addition to meeting the educational needs of its 1,128 students.
P.L.U.N.G.E. began as an initiative to integrate technology into the middle- and high-school curricula. The idea was to introduce middle-school students to the skills required to produce multimedia projects so they could “show what they know.”1
In addition to senior projects, students were required to develop a portfolio of the works that best reflected what they learned. Traditional portfolios are increasingly cumbersome – difficult to manage and replicate. So the school developed electronic portfolio assessments.
When student work is saved on an electronic storage medium, portfolios are easier to manage. Objects can be added and deleted, stored and duplicated, very quickly and efficiently. When they apply for employment or admission to institutions of higher learning, students can copy their portfolios and send them as part of their application packets. Unlike “paper and pencil” applications, electronic portfolios allow students to send recorded sounds, images, and movies that provide reviewers more insight on the applicant. The key to P.L.U.N.G.E. is not the product, but the process. As they developed strategies for showing what they know, students became more familiar with the technology. More importantly, they increased their school-to-work skills: planning, problem solving, flexible thinking, working independently and collaboratively, and critical thinking.
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