Teachers use inquiry-based learning to combat the “dunno” -- a chronic problem in student engagement. Check out these four steps for creating inquiry-based curriculum.

 

For generating ideas about topics there are myriad strategies. One is to have students access multimodal digital libraries such as Learn 360, and Discovery Education as a way of exploring topics or getting ideas for topics. There is also more traditional online resources such as Britannica Online, which would be familiar to many teachers. For access to each of these, teachers need to create accounts. Some school districts in BC have district wide accounts so teachers and students can access these resources using the District access codes. See below for links.

 

For note taking or document creating there are many technologies to assist learners. Google Docs is the classic shared text medium. Recently more people are using Office 365. Office OneNote is a digital tool that is really useful as it allows a user to type, record audio, capture images, share to the cloud, edit and repurpose, categorize… If you haven’t used it, here is a short primer: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/video-what-is-onenote-be6cc6cc-3ca7-4f46-8876-5000f013c563

 

As for presenting learning, video is overwhelmingly becoming the medium for students to share their learning. An article in 'Presentation Guru' magazine recommends numerous digital presentation tools. The list includes Office Mix (part of the Office 365 suite) which allows users to create videos with PowerPoint. Camtasia is another powerful video creation, editing and video uploading tool. It is not free, but you can download a trial version! A more limited video creation tool is Snagit, which allows users to captures various screen shots in order to make demo videos. For more creative presentations there is PowToon or VideoScribe, which are animation type video creation applications. These tools use standard slide type formats and animation functions that are easy to learn.

 

Interestingly, Makerspaces are becoming popular in schools, particularly, in Learning Commons spaces and ways to both explore, physically create and share learning. Here is a link that explores this expression of IBL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n7aBQDubLU

 

These are just a few examples of digital resources and tools that one can draw on to support IBL experiences in schools.

 

Britannica Online at: https://school.eb.com/?target=%2Flevels

Camtasia at: https://camtasia-for-mac.en.softonic.com/mac

Discovery Education at: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/

Learn 360 at: https://learn360.infobase.com/p_Login.aspx

MindShareLearning at: http://mindsharelearning.ca/5-reasons-you-should-invest-in-a-learning-commons-for-your-school-2/, 

OfficeMix at: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/important-information-about-office-mix-preview-end-of-service-c1c04f84-a7bb-4602-9645-258017155258?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

OneNote at: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/video-what-is-onenote-be6cc6cc-3ca7-4f46-8876-5000f013c563

PowToon at: https://www.powtoon.com/examples/

Presentation Guru at: https://www.presentation-guru.com/create-the-best-video-presentations-with-these-innovative-tools/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226493136_Inquiry-based_learning_in_higher_education_Administrators%27_perspectives_on_integrating_inquiry_pedagogy_into_the_curriculum

-Harmeet Grewal