Project-Based Learning PTP Community

This guest post is provided in partnership with Tract, a peer-to-peer online community for kids in grades 3-12.

Tract is FREE forever for teachers — but only if you sign up using access code MOMGINEER at teach.tract.app.

First up, what’s Tract?

In short, Tract is Project-based learning (PBL) made easy, where students in grades 3 – 12 can learn, create, share, and teach each other. Designed to spark creativity and empower learners to develop the critical thinking skills they need to succeed as successful young adults, Tract provides students ages 8+ with the opportunity to explore new interests and deepen existing passions through self-directed, project-based classes in a format kids love.

Tract is easy to set up! Get set up (code MOMGINEER) and start using Tract in your own classroom in less than 24 hours.

Why Tract?

Tract provides the structure and support for students of any age to harness their  passions and apply them toward something educationally valuable — teaching – by creating their own class on Tract.
What this means is that students can create their own learning paths (classes)! By developing their own learning path on Tract, students of every level have the opportunity to select a topic of interest and create a dynamic learning experience around that content through a series of project-based learning activities designed to help them become effective creators. The lessons your students create have the ability to live beyond the assignment, as students around the world can learn from it.

Learning Path Examples

Whether your students are curious about How to Make Pizza in a Mug, How to Make the WORLD RECORD Paper Airplane, or What in the world is a porpoise? (these are all learning paths!), there is something to spark curiosity for everyone…and if there isn’t, well your students can share their passion with the rest of the community!

Teacher Benefits of Tract

Tract has aspired to make learning fun and customized for students, while practical and useful for you.

• Tract is on a mission to make CCSS, NGSS, and all curriculum standards fun for students, while making it easier for teachers to implement them. 
• As a Tract member, you can enjoy the added benefit of sharing your lesson plans with the Tract team, and their incredible Creators (or even students in your own classroom!) can Tractify them into an engaging video lesson and project-based challenge on Tract.
• Tract works well with any Learning Management System (LMS) you may be using, and the most common ways teachers assign work includes assigning:
  • A general goal to reach by a given date
  • A specific learning path to complete by a given date
  • A specific challenge to complete by a given date
  • A collection of learning paths to choose from and complete by a given date
• Tract Teacher’s Lounge

Tract’s Stance on Safety and Moderation

From Tract: We think it’s incredibly important to create a safe, supportive learning environment for students to share their classes, projects, and comments. While we are trusting of all students, we also recognize the importance of taking the proper precautions to protect against any inappropriate content that violates our Community Guidelines.

Tract takes a three-tiered approach to moderation:

• Verified Adult Account Holders Only
• Technology Detection & Blocking
• Human Moderation

Learn more about our three-tiered approach to keeping Tract safe by visiting the Educator Hub.