Field Day: Project-Based Learning Think & Do Tool

Editor's Note: Field Day: Project Based Learning Think and Do Tool is no longer available.

Field Day: Project Based Learning Think and Do Tool is designed as a one-stop tool for project-based learning, or PBL. Using the app, kids first name their project and give it an image, either from the device's camera roll or from a search of public-domain images. Next, in the Questions section, kids choose question prompts sorted into Bloom's Taxonomy headings (like Knowledge and Comprehension) to help them come up with driving questions; and in the Summary section, they can type, add images from the device's camera roll, draw pictures, and add "counts." Once kids have entered their data, it can be exported as a PDF and emailed.

Field Day's features for doing the investigation work of PBL are limited. The drawing tool only works in one color and has no eraser feature, and while the "counts" feature lets kids add a number to their summary page, it doesn't add much nuance. Some of the best PBL projects require significant research and reading, but there's no easy way to link to good primary-source resources or to input large amounts of text. The introductory tutorial is helpful, but users can't access it after their first login, leaving them to sort out the purpose and function of the features on their own. The resource page is similarly well-intentioned, but needs more support. Useful links are provided to websites, videos on PBL best practices, and states' standards pages, but they're offered without much context or guidance. While these are helpful, teachers new to PBL, who most need these resources, might feel overwhelmed about what PBL is and how the app can help them implement it in the classroom. 

Field Day was developed with great ideas in mind; adding better guidance and support as well as more consistent (not buggy) features and navigation could make it deliver on the ideas behind the design.