“Webtanks: Tools for Learning by Design” by Gill
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Title:
- Webtanks: Tools for Learning by Design
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Abstract:
This paper describes a collaborative Web environment, or Webtank (think tank on the web) to support student learning by design. Targeted for high school students in a newly developed cross-disciplinary science and technology curriculum, it supports students in their design and invention projects. The paper describes results from a pilot test of the curriculum and additional student brainstorming sessions on “designing a Webtank to support design.” The Webtank serves three learning functions, as a:
• Series of prompts to help student designer and inventors generate innovative, integrated design concepts and new inventions. Webtank prompts the thinking of individual students on their projects.
• Framework to facilitate collaboration, where students interact with other students around issues that arise as they design their projects and integrate their individual projects into a larger, collaborative project plan.
• Way to structure archives and resources in order to retrace creative processes that have occurred in this environment. The Webtank provides a vehicle for researchers to observe design and collaborative problem-solving in action.
