iExplore
Component: Research and Enrichment Workshops for Students - Students will work closely with the media staff to choose technologies and topics about which they would like to learn more. An instructional technology and/or outside topic will be introduced each month, with sessions scheduled multiple times throughout the course of the month (during lunch periods and after school), allowing for as many students as is possible to participate in the sessions.
- Students who have expertise in a field (or who develop a particular interest after having attended a workshop) will be encouraged to help media coordinators lead sessions for their classmates and/or faculty.
- In addition to seeking input from students in order to determine workshop topics, media coordinators will collaborate with faculty so that they may align sessions with curricular goals and/or to supplement what students are learning in content areas.
- Some workshops may mirror those offered as professional development opportunities for faculty, allowing for cohesion among students and faculty in the following ways:
- Students and faculty may assist each other as they learn new technologies or explore topical areas
- Teachers may use lessons learned from professional development workshops in the classroom
- Faculty may encourage students to attend particular workshops that they have found to be beneficial
- Workshops will allow media coordinators the opportunity to emphasize to students the importance of Internet safety, as well as the ethical and social and responsibilities of research in a non-threatening, authentic way.
- Topics for workshops may include, but are certainly not limited to, the following:
- Podcasting
- Audio streaming
- Web design
- Video production and editing
- Digital photography
- Use of iPod and iTunes for educational and enrichment purposes
- Social networking (with attention paid to Internet safety)
- Political activism
- Environmental awareness
- Career counseling and searching
- College application process
- Creative writing
Ways in which iSearch Model Supports Student-Centered Workshops - Workshops are driven by students' interests: Students help to select topics, and students who demonstrate interest in a field are encouraged to help lead sessions.
- Workshops are collaborative: Students and media coordinators work together to manipulate new technologies and explore topics of interest. Students help media coordinators select topics for and lead workshops. Faculty and media coordinators work together to select topics that are aligned with curricular goals and that supplement classroom learning.
- Workshops support inquiry-based learning and research: Students are encouraged to wonder about areas in which they are interested and then explore technologies and fields of study in a hands-on, interactive environment.
- When appropriate, students are encouraged to employ the iSearch model in their exploration of topics, working closely with media coordinators to assess their success in the research process. Media coordinators will work to accommodate students' particular research needs and goals.
- As is the case in the iSearch model, workshops emphasize students' learning processes rather than the product that may result from students' work.
Students will explore new technologies and specialized topics of their choosing through monthly student-centered, interactive workshops.