This presentation was given at the Ninth Annual Kids Who Know and Do Conference, March 30, 2001.
Selecting and customizing appropriate curricula is challenging given the diversity of learners and choices. How can we create technology-rich learning environments for supporting PBL? How can we build on the work of other innovators? At the Center for Innovative Learning Technologies (CILT), we explore ways to foster cumulativity within the field of learning technologies by encouraging collaborative synergies across different communities and institutional boundaries.
We use Synergy Partnerships as a promising approach for creating collaborative learning environments. We begin with a firm foundation of learning research and existing resources. By leveraging distributed community expertise, flexibly-adaptive technologies, and concurrent design studies, we can create robust learning opportunities and curricula that meet local educational needs.
We showcase examples from the CILT Synergy Partnership in water quality and other innovative technology projects. This synergy partnership draws upon visualization and modeling tools, local and global water quality data, inquiry-based activities, Palm-based technologies, and web-based assessment tools. CILT Synergy brings together teachers, disciplinary experts, researchers, technologists, industry partners, curriculum designers, professional development leaders, and students into a shared conversation about curriculum design to improve learning outcomes. This iterative and collaborative process is yielding a robust core curriculum for 5-12th graders "who know and do" through project-based learning and a process for efficient and effective customization of a diverse curriculum materials.
Synergy partnerships advocate a process of continuous improvement for leveraging and customizing learning technologies across distributed community partners. We invite you to learn about Synergy Partnerships and the rewards and challenges of this collaborative approach.