Making real world connections and making learning relevant to students seemed to be the 2 major themes of the video on internships and blogging. Students need to be active participants in the creation of their own futures and these two activities provide students with the opportunity to do just that.
Creating a school environment with multiple opportunities like the skateboarding & Google internships shown in the video clip from the Elmhurst School in Oakland, allow students, like Mikeal, to see the connection between learning and how that relates to their future. We have been learning about making learning relevant to the students in our classrooms - this includes using their interests as a launching pad to stretch their learning. Internships allow students a forum for asking questions that are meaningful to them. Mikeal was interested in what type of preparation was necessary to get a job at Google and was able to get an answer from someone that actually worked there.
The use of blogging can give students a voice in working through new experiences. Blogging allows a student to think out loud and document the process of learning a new skill or a new way of thinking.
Making sure students take an active role in their own education is an important part of preparing students for their future. Educators and the community can help foster this active participation by providing opportunities for students.
I love the idea of letting kids ask real world adults about the steps they had to take to get where they are. I know a lot of kids just think that adults 'have jobs' without really considering what it took to get there.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think would have happened to Mikeal if he had not had this opportunity? Could the teacher have used something else to excite him as much as blogging, and what was it about blogging that excited him so much? Could a hand-written journal have had the same effect?
ReplyDeleteOh, I don't think a handwritten article would have had the same effect at all. Writing by hand feels awkward and old-fashioned ever to me and I am much older than Makeal. No, the connection to the computer and communicating globally was the draw. Kids, and adults, are drawn to the power of computers and technology. The power of what technology can do and create is so amazing. Also, the power of connection that technology affords has an allure that a hand-written journal does not posses.
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