Project based work allow students to pursue their own particular interests. They can take place individually or in groups. Many online activities are project based already. Projects allow for students to receive feedback and different viewpoints from other students – not just the instructor. Students can then reformulate their project before final submission. Collaboration is key for peer evaluation-based projects.
Project based activities also enable students to gain a sense of accomplishment while participating in a practical application. Projects often-times start off small and lead to student continuation of the project after the course has ended.
There are tons of things you could do for project based activities. The online environment can accommodate through discussion boards, chats, instant messaging, and the vast resources available on the World Wide Web. Many of the project based activities that you have in your traditional class will also transfer over to the online environment.
Ideas for project-based activities:
- Create a website
- Perform an experiment
- Write a paper
- Interview an expert and report your findings
- Create something… etc.
To support project based activities and small group exercises, students will often communicate with each other using various forms of asynchronous and synchronous communication. Text messaging, cell phones, palm pilots, laptops, and wireless communications are continuing to become more and more sophisticated. Education follows these trends and many times leads the way. As these tools become more and more accessible, you can have students communicate in many different ways.
You might want to keep fairly up to date with what is available and what is trendy in technology. Often times, creative project ideas stem from new technologies that arise.