Technology Assistance for Successful Project-Based Learning

Implementation During Covid-19 Outbreaks

Ayu Fatmawati

, Bachrudin Musthafa

and Wawan Gunawan

Department of English Education, Faculty of Language and Literature Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia,

Dr. Setiabudi Street, Bandung, Indonesia

Keywords: Technology in Education, Technology Assistance, Project-Based Learning.

Abstract: Implementing project-based learning during the covid-19 pandemic is a challenge. Thus lecturers need

technical assistance to make it run well. This article describes how the lecturers used technology assistance

while implementing project-based learning. It was a qualitative method with a descriptive approach.

Observation, interview, and document analysis were used to gather the data. The result showed that;

technology assistance was found in each stage of project-based learning, such as preparation, planning,

creating a project, monitoring and revising, and evaluation. In addition, various technology was used during

the implementation of project-based learning, such as Google Search engine, Google Form, Zoom Meeting,

Instagram, and YouTube.

1 INTRODUCTION

In preparing students to face the challenges of the 21

century, teachers must equip students with basic skills

(hereafter is 4Cs) such as communication, critical

thinking, collaboration, and creativity (Partnership

for 21st Century Learning, 2015). However, the 4Cs

can only be obtained when students actively

participate in learning (Rahmawati, Suryani,

Muhammad, & Sukarmin, 2020). Furthermore, 21

century learning forces teachers to design their

learning in a way that will enable them to prepare

students for the twenty-first century's workplace (Jia,

Oh, Sibuma, LaBanca, & Lorentson, 2016).

One of the methods that can facilitate students to

actively engage in the learning process and bring the

workplace environment into the learning process is

Project-based Learning (hereafter PjBL). PjBL

allows the students to design, plan and carry out a

project that produces various outputs, such as a

product, publication, or presentation (Patton in

Riswandi, 2018). Language expertise emphasizes that

PjBL is a task with a planned outcome conducted in

and outside the classroom (Sultana, 2015).

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2044-359X

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7662-6825

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1792-8350

Nevertheless, implementing PjBL since the Covid-19

outbreaks is not easy.

During the Covid-19 outbreaks, most countries

apply community activities restrictions enforcement

(PPKM) to reduce the transmission rate of Covid-19.

Therefore, online learning is required to facilitate

teachers in delivering the material to students.

Implementing online learning forces teachers to use

technical assistance in the teaching-learning process.

Technology assistance in the teaching-learning

process raises a new term called educational

technology. The 2008 AECT defines educational

technology as the study and ethical practice of

facilitating learning and improving performance by

creating, using, and managing appropriate

technological processes and resources (Januszewski

& Molenda, 2008). In addition, technology learning

assistance is the effort to integrate the teaching-

learning process with educational technology.

Some studies focus on the investigation of

technical assistance in online learning. The first

study, "Experiencing technology integration in

Education: children’s Perceptions,” found that

students in this study were more independent when

they learned using computers (Baytak, Tarman, &

Fatmawati, A., Musthafa, B. and Gunawan, W.

Technology Assistance for Successful Project-Based Learning Implementation During Covid-19 Outbreaks.

DOI: 10.5220/0012196200003738

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Innovation in Education (ICoIE 4 2022) - Digital Era Education After the Pandemic, pages 34-37

ISBN: 978-989-758-669-9; ISSN: 2975-9676

Ayas, 2011). The second study, "Prospective

teachers’ perception of barriers to technology

integration in education,” revealed that for preservice

teachers, parents and security were barriers to

integrating technology in education (Dinc, 2019).

By recognizing the critical role of technology in

the successful teaching-learning process, the present

study aims to investigate the technical assistance in

implementing PjBL. Next, this research is guided by

the question: “How is technology-assisted learning

during the implementation of project-based

learning?”.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Project-Based Learning

Since there is no absolute definition of PjBL, experts

define PjBL by describing its characteristics and

activities. PjBL contains at least three constructivism-

related qualities: context-specific, student-centered,

and learning that involves sharing knowledge and

understanding (Coco in Kokotsaki, Menzies, &

Wiggins, 2016).

There are three main activities in PjBL coverage:

beginning in the classroom, moving out into the

world, and returning to the classroom (Fried-Booth in

Stoller, 2002). Furthermore, the other study

highlights six PjBL activities: preparation, planning,

research, conclusions, presentation, and evaluation

(Papandreu in Thuan, 2018). Then, the other research

study stresses the activities of PjBL, covering

essential questions, planning, scheduling, monitoring,

assessment, and evaluation (Mayasari, 2017).

Considering the explanation above, it can be

concluded that activities in PjBL implementation can

plausibly vary, and teachers can design classroom

activities tailored to the student’s learning needs.

2.2 Why Teacher Needs Technology

Assistance in the Implementation of

PjBL?

The reason for using technology in the classroom is

to help students develop the skills demanded by the

-century workforce (Rahmawati et al., 2020).

There are several ways that technology can be

incorporated into education. It should offer a rich

learning environment, help students gain a

multidimensional understanding of a complicated

phenomenon, encourage a flexible arrangement of

information for challenging learning materials, and

accommodate various demands based on individual

characteristics (Pilten, Pilten, & Sahinkaya, 2017).

The following reason is that online learning

cannot run optimally without the help of technology.

To slow the spread of Covid-19 during epidemics,

most nations implement PPKM. Therefore, online

education is necessary to help teachers provide

learning.

3 METHOD

3.1 Research Background and Setting

The study was carried out at the English Education

Study Program at a private university in East Java.

The teaching-learning process was carried out online

during the research. The qualitative method was used

to investigate the integration of technology in the

implementation of PjBL. The case study approach is

chosen because it aims to understand complete and

in-depth cases (Hamied, 2017).

3.2 Participant

The research participant was an English lecturer in

one of the private universities in Kediri, East Java,

Indonesia. The participant was chosen because she

used technology assistance to implement PjBL in her

teaching-learning process.

3.3 Instrument, Data Collection, and

Data Analysis

Three instruments were used to gain data:

observational form, interview guide, and document.

Data were collected through the observational form,

interviews, and documentation. The observation was

carried out during one semester. While observing, the

researcher records the activities and takes some notes.

The interview was unstructured to clarify the data

obtained in the observation. In the end, the researcher

was asked for supporting documents such as lesson

plans, students’ project, and students’ scores.

The data from the document analysis were used as

secondary data in support of the primary data. The

collected data from the observation were then

analyzed by storing and classifying them into some

points. First, the researcher transcribes the

observation data. Then, it was continued by adding

pattern codes (categories or themes) to analyze the

data. These stages were needed to ascertain the

trustworthiness of the data analysis process.

Technology Assistance for Successful Project-Based Learning Implementation During Covid-19 Outbreaks

4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

This section presents the answer to the research

question: “How is technology-assisted learning

during the implementation of project-based

learning”?.

4.1 Findings

The result showed that technical assistance was found

in all stages of project-based learning: preparation,

planning, creating a project, monitoring and revising,

and evaluation. However, the technology used in all

stages was various. The choice of technology used in

each stage was based on the needs. A summary of

technology assistance learning is depicted in Table 1.

Table 1: Technology Assistance learning.

PjBL Stages Technology Assistance

Preparation Students had to send their reasons for

choosing one of the writing

rofessions through Google Forms.

Planning Students conducted their research

(using a search engine machine) on

the writing profession that they had

chosen. Then, students have to

compose an essay draft.

Creating

project

The lecturer showed an example of a

video essay carried out through a

Zoom meetin

Monitoring

and revising

Students had to report their progress

regularly through Google Forms.

Evaluation Students had to upload their products

on Instagram and YouTube.

The first technology assistance was found in the

preparation stage. In this stage, the lecturer sent a file

(through WhatsApp Group) entitled “20 jobs for the

writer,” including a task related to the final project,

and asked the students to read the file. After the

reading activity, the students had to do a task. The

task was to choose one writing job they were

interested in. Then, the students had to work on their

paper explaining the reasons for choosing the job and

send their work via the Google form to which the

lecturer provided the link. The second integration was

found in the planning stage. In this stage, the lecturer

instructed students to write a draft. However, before

the composition of the draft, the students were asked

to do mini-research related to the writer’s chosen job

using search for information with the help of search

engines (e.g., Google Search) for information

compilation.

The third integration was found in the creative

project stage. In this stage, the lecturer assigned

students to do a project in the form of a video essay

from the essay they had previously written. First, the

lecturer showed an example of a video essay and then

discussed what items had to be displayed in the video

essay. This activity was carried out through a Zoom

meeting. The fourth integration was found in the

monitoring and revising stage. The students had to

report their progress regularly through Google Forms

during the project completion. The lecturer would

read the report and give some notes to be revised. It

was to minimize errors before the project submission.

The last technology assistance was found in the

evaluation stage. There were two versions of the

video essay: the short version and the full version.

The short version was uploaded on Instagram, and the

full version was uploaded on YouTube.

In addition, the lecturer used different technology

in each activity of PjBL. There were five technologies

used in the implementation of PjBL, and are Google

form, Google search engine, Zoom meeting,

Youtube, and Instagram. The lecturer chose different

types of technology for each PjBL activity for utility

purposes.

4.2 Discussions

The study aimed to investigate the technical

assistance in online learning, especially during the

implementation of project-based learning. The

findings showed that technology assistance learning

was found in every stage of PjBL implementation.

First, in the preparation stage. It was found that the

lecturer integrated two technologies in the teaching-

learning process: delivering materials and collecting

the task. The lecturer

chose different technology

because of utility purposes. Second, in the planning

stage, the lecturer tried to simplify the mini-research

process using technology assistance, namely a search

engine machine. It was to help students save more

time and money rather than conducting mini research

in the library following the high risk of Covid-19

transmission. Thirdly, in creating the project stage,

the technology assistance optimized the lecturer in

facilitating the students through sharing the

information about the expected product of the project.

In this stage, the lecturer could also open or

accommodate the question-answer session so the

students understood their project well.

Fourthly, in the monitoring and revising stage, the

technology assistance enabled the lecturer to monitor

the students regularly. The lecturer had the

authorization to design the activities of PjBL in the

classroom but then allowed the students to complete

the project outside the class under supervision due to

ICoIE 4 2022 - The Fourth International Conference on Innovation in Education

the limited duration in the classroom (Sultana, 2015).

Finally, in the evaluation stage, uploading the final

project on Instagram and YouTube gave some

benefits for both lecturer and students, such as

helping the students collect the project without time

and spatial restrictions and helping the lecturer

evaluate the project everywhere. It enabled more

viewers to see or assess the result of the student’s

project.

5 CONCLUSIONS

It can be concluded that technology-assistance

learning can be implemented in all project-based

learning stages. Besides, the lecturer can utilize

various technology for learning and students’ needs.

All in all, technology assistance brings advantages for

lecturers and students as long as there is an

anticipation of the drawbacks or barriers and its utility

in teaching-learning.

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Technology Assistance for Successful Project-Based Learning Implementation During Covid-19 Outbreaks