• What was the motivation to create WISE?

“WISE is different because it was developed with the explicit goal of providing a technology-enhanced learning environment for a wide community of science teachers and educational researchers” (Slotta & Linn, p. 5). WISE is free and accessible to all teachers. The website is setup so it’s user-friendly, easy for students and teachers to register. Teachers can use existing projects, create their own projects or adapt an existing project to fit their students’ interests or needs. If technology is limited, the teacher could have students work in partners or groups or it could be shown to an entire class (the students could discuss the questions as a class or in small groups). If the students were really passionate about a topic they were studying, they could create their own WISE project that could be shared with other classes. This allows students to show their knowledge in creative ways. WISE creates opportunities for students to critically think about a topic, and it allows the teacher to be a guide (when needed) rather than a facilitator.

• How could you use a WISE project in your school or another learning environment?

In my classroom, we have limited access to technology so I would need to plan ahead as to when I would want to start a project and estimate how long it would take (there is a good time guideline for each project that will be helpful). I would have my students work in partners to help create opportunities for them to collaborate and share their ideas. Once my students, had completed a couple of the WISE projects, I would give them the opportunity to either create their own project or edit an existing one. This would give them another way to show their learning on a specific topic of choice. Many of my students like to take on a leadership role and thrive when given this responsibility.