Adobe Youth Voices and Problem Based Learning

Adobe has a set of curricula to help teachers connect with their students through problem based learning and the use of music, print, video, and animation. The site, Adobe Youth Voices, promises to be a great resource for teachers.

In addition to fully developed curricula, the site includes teacher stories centered around lessons educators have learned through embracing this approach.  Gregg Witkin, a teacher from Boynton High School in San Jose, California wrote about the importance of cultivating a connection with students as an essential element to becoming an effecting teacher.  This really jibes with the direction we have been trying to take with our high school students in the ACES program.

Over the past several weeks we have, unfortunately, had our attention drawn away from moving forward with developing a problem/project based approach to learning.  Essential administrative tasks swallowed up a lot of our time.  Now, I am hoping we are going to be able to start developing the problem/project based aspect of the program.

We are using a product - a Photo Story 3 slide show - as a means of allowing my Government students to display their understanding of the Bill of Rights.  This also gave me a chance to introduce dig.ccmixter.com as a site for downloadable music they can import into their slide show if they wish.  Students also learned how to create music within the free Photo Story 3 application.  One result of my experience in the Full Sail EMDT masters program has been an increased commitment to honoring the intellectual property of others - and to teaching my students to do the same.

This week I intend, finally, to get them journaling, by way of their blogs.  I will have to accelerate the rest of our course somewhat because of the things that hindered us at the start of the year.  However, I also discovered Blackboard offers a free version of their application online!  I started building an online version of my Government course using their Course Sites.  I was glad to find this, because Blackboard is so widely used, but I had only been able to use Moodle and Schoology up to this point.

At this point I need to make a couple of media assets - tutorials - to help my students through their Photo Story projects.  Then it is the downhill rush to the Christmas break!  Well, they say that a car has to be moving before you can steer it - so I'd say things are good.  We are certainly moving!  Now let's see if we can steer things in the right direction.