What Will We Be Doing, You Ask?

Um... Well... We THINK that one thing we will have the opportunity to do will be to work with both kids and faculty on how to teach using their computer facilities. Just like we try to model here in Irving ISD, we've thought about how to walk through some sample lessons that encourage kids to think and that empower them through the use of technology. So, one hope is to use the digital cameras that we're taking to teach a PhotoStory lesson. Something like this:

Thinkfinity PhotoStory Lesson

Overview
Students are introduced to concepts of social justice, such as diversity, tolerance, equity, and equality, through a literary text, class discussions, and guided research. Students plan a service-learning project, then work in small groups using Photo Story software to produce a multimedia presentation designed to foster community support for the project. Students also use the ReadWriteThink.org Printing Press to create informational flyers about the project. The lesson concludes—and the service-learning project begins—with a showing of the Photo Story productions for parents and other community members.

Instructional Plan
Preparation

1. Download Photo Story 3. Familiarize yourself with the Instructions: Using Photo Story 3 to Create Persuasive Slide Shows handout, and practice the steps involved so you can demonstrate the process to students. You may also wish to refer to Create Your First Photo Story. Make a copy of these instructions for students.


2. Bookmark the Persuasion Map and the ReadWriteThink Printing Press on your classroom or lab computers. Familiarize yourself with these tools and be prepared to assist students, particularly if the class has not used them previously.


3. Decide how you will gather images for the Photo Story slide shows and make the necessary arrangements for these activities [e.g., an Internet search for appropriate images (Session 5) or a field trip to take original photos (Session 6)]. If you plan to have students conduct an Internet search, bookmark any search engines and Web directories you would like them to use on your classroom or lab computers (see Search Engines and Web Directories in the Resources section).

... The lesson goes on and on (you can see it on the main page) and it will require some quite obvious modifications. I chuckle thinking about showing these kids a video from street kids in San Diego - considering that they come from the streets of Nairobi. Maybe we could help them make their own video of themselves/their lives?

At any rate, this is really doable with what we'll have access to. I'm curious to see what they will come up with.