Project Based Learning App Field Day

While we were at ISTE last week, we had a chance to check out a lot of great educational products and software. The sheer amount of educational products out there is pretty amazing. That said, the great majority of these products and software seem to offer the same experience and contain the same sort-of content and educational value, just repackaged with different logos and interfaces. However, there was one application at ISTE that really stood out for its unique approach: Field Day. We already had a chance to speak with the Field Day team before the conference – as part of our ISTE Preview – but seeing it in person really drove home the value of the app. Dr. Jenny Fremlin, one of the founders of the app, gave us a pretty good overview of Field Day:

The Field Day iPad app addresses the need for students to use technology for research, critical thinking, and collaboration in engaging, personalized Project Based Learning (PBL) activities. Having a mobile app to manage projects and collect data allows students to go out into the real world while working on a project rather than being tied to a desktop computer. The name, Field Day, represents this freedom to explore while learning in an enjoyable and active way supported by educational technology.

Rather than working on problems behind a keyboard, Field Day prompts students to be more active and explore the various biology topics in-depth:

Field Day helps you learn to develop questions and strategies to answer real-world challenges, assisted by starter text based on Bloom’s taxonomy. Use the tools to collect photos, notes, sketches, videos, and counts for each strategy.

After collecting data, the summary shows what you’ve discovered so you can put together a final presentation.¹

During ISTE, we had a chance to go by the Field Day booth and chat with the team. We learned a bit more about the app, and how it helps students: