Now it's time to use what I've learned...

Sturgis Central Commons, home of the Community Ed program.

The time has come to put all the things I learned in the Education Media Design Technology Masters program to work.  This year is a year of opportunity for our alternative high school program. We've been given a chance to design a completely different type of approach - at least for us.

There are three of us: the English teacher, the math/science teacher, and myself (social studies).  Using State of Michigan and National standards, we are collaborating to create an approach that incorporates problem based, project based, and blended instruction. 

We have been analyzing the standards and course content for each of the classes we will be teaching, and are collaborating on joint lessons that incorporate standards from all of our disciplines. Since we will also be using a blended approach, I have begun to revamp my Moodle courses to fit our new curriculum.  I am also incorporating the concepts I learned about game design in creating both live and online coursework.

Much of the research I've read over the last year underscored the efficacy of using digital storytelling to support literacy and address 21st century skills. Last year I looked at digital storytelling only in terms of student engagement. This year I want to explore whether we can increase our students' literacy skills through the use of digital storytelling as part of our instruction. 

I plan to use this blog to journal about our experience this year.  We are all well-qualified, but turning theory into reality is a great challenge.  It is going to take many hours of work and great teamwork to create the program we envision.  At the end of the year I want to be able to say our students mastered the knowledge and skills needed for their diplomas - but more than that, I want to see students who are empowered to manage their own learning beyond high school.