Learning+Outcomes

Learning Outcomes:

 * Students will gain an appreciation for the dedication that Olympic athletes have in order to compete in the Olympic Games.
 * Students will have an understanding of the history of the Olympics, particularly the Winter Olympics.
 * Students will know what sports are in the Winter Olympics and choose a sport to profile.
 * Students will learn about the countries participating in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
 * Students will become familiar with Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia.
 * Students will gain skills to use new Web 2.0 tools including Wikispaces.
 * Students will collaborate and participate in group activities.
 * Students will connect and develop their own learning network through the use of blogs and Wikispaces.
 * Students will write blog posts, write comments and write paragraphs on their wikis.

Project Benefits:
http://www.iste.org/content/navigationmenu/research/reports/the_road_ahead_background_papers_1997_/project-based_learning.htm
 * **Increased motivation:** more student participation in class, improvement in willingness to put effort into their work. Increased or improved attendance.
 * **Increased problem-solving ability**: students will become actively and successfully engaged in posing and solving problems.
 * **Improved library research skills**: students will develop their "information literacy" skills as they realize they need more information, identify and find the information, evaluate and organize the information and use the information effectively. "Project-based learning can provide an authentic and motivating context in which to gain increased information literacy."
 * **Increased collaboration:** The necessity for group work in many of the weekly activities requires students to develop and practice communication skills (Johnson & Johnson, 1989). There are opportunities for peer teaching, student evaluation, online information sharing through the use of the discussion tabs along with blog posts, and cooperative learning groups within the classrooms.
 * **Increased resource-management skills**: Students will receive instruction and practice in organizing their weekly assignments in order to complete them in a timely fashion gaining independent work skills.