Journal # 8

Laptops on Expedition: Embracing Expeditionary Learning. By Dianne Curtiss, from edutopia.

King middle school in Portland Maine is having great success with personalized, project based learning. The success is a direct result of the states decision to provide all seventh and eight grade students with an iBook laptop computer. The students stay with the same teacher for two years (looping) and participate in a four to twelve week interdisciplinary project. The projects have been varied and all have incorporated state curriculum standards. The projects have included an aquarium design judged by local architects; a CD narrative by Whitman’s O’Captain! My Captain! claymation explaining Newton’s law and many more. The students realize that their projects are to be seen by others and therefore work harder on the finished product. To present material in the various digital forms the student must reflect, look at the project, analyze and learn from their own representations. This type of process helps the students with deep learning of the subject matter. Another positive outcome is the students test scores. King middle school students have begun outscoring the state average in six out of seven subjects. This is even more impressive when taken into consideration that King middle school has 22 percent refugee students; 60 percent of the students are low income; and 28 different languages are spoken. Needless to say the combination of creativity; technology and project based learning is producing wonderful results at King middle school.

Questions
1. What would I do as a teacher at a school that did not have the resources for digital learning? If I was in a school that had very limited resources for the students I would call on experts for help. This would mean I would contact people that were in the know about federal and state grants. I would also contact tech firms that were willing to donate or have students get involved with their own services.
2. How would I encourage students that were not interested in technology and its applications for learning? As a teacher working with students who were timid or reluctant to use technology; I would group those students with friends in the classroom that were involved with a project that the subject matter was of interest to the student. I would have peers teach and encourage those students at a comfortable pace; making it fun.