What's new at Fordham PDRC (March 2023)Read our Featured Article by Marlon Lewis,Educational Technology Consultant. Join our virtual and in-person PD events, and more!
The religious and independent schools of Staten Island are enriching their instructional practice with a four-session workshop series in phenomena-based teaching and learning (PhBL). This learner-centered approach is based on student inquiry and problem-solving. As an expert facilitator, Chris Link explains, “Through PhBL, students make sense of the world around them by making observations, asking questions, constructing explanations, and applying their understanding to new situations.” Join this pioneer group!
This month’s article and the featured postcard celebrate the leadership of Ms. Kingsberry from Harlem Academy whose students used storyboarding and podcasting to learn and discuss complex topics including Roe vs Wade, Education policies, climate change, and the 1619 Curriculum. It is an inspiring example that you may want to emulate in your classroom.
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By Marlon Lewis, Educational Technology Consultant
Educators continuously explore and implement various means of educational technology, digital tools, and pedagogical frameworks to address the needs of the 21st-century learner. One exciting pairing of learning activity and technology use is the ability for students to create storyboards and podcasts using digital tools. By harnessing the power of these digital tools, institutions can create unique opportunities which allow for multidisciplinary and collaborative learning. For the digital learner, these tools present diverse learning opportunities that can be specifically tailored to the learning preferences of the modern student while allowing for the expression of the student’s voice. Reviewing the notes from the interview, the words ‘start with the end in mind’, ‘being intentional’, and ‘relationships’ stood out. Each of these words carries critical weight and meaning in creating a roadmap that motivates students to fulfill their aspirations and become success stories beyond high school.
Gwendolyn Kingsberry, Dean of Culture/6th Grade Advisor at Harlem Academy in NYC, has successfully integrated the use of digital storyboarding and podcasting with her 6th through 8th-grade middle school students. Inspired by a KQED Public Radio station’s youth podcasting competition, Ms. Kingsberry decided to champion her own storyboarding and podcast creation course at her institution. Kingsberry noted her program was designed around the station’s “Call for Change Youth Media Challenge”, which provides students the opportunity to share their ideas about the topics that impact them most.
Similarly to the station’s contest, Ms. Kingsberry sought to incorporate podcasting into her lessons. Students were tasked with choosing a poignant topic to ultimately use to create an engaging, thought-provoking, reflective, and impactful podcast. The topics discussed included Roe vs Wade, Education policies, climate change, the 1619 Curriculum, sports, and much more.
A theme emphasized by Ms. Kingsberry and the students throughout the process of podcasting was the message that “Although I’m young, I can do stuff now.”. Some of that, “stuff,” they spoke of included the writing of a 250-word essay, which became their initial student-created resource. This essay was then transformed/transcribed into a minute audio script. Using this script and various digital storyboarding templates the students were able to visually organize the overall configuration and presentation of their proposed podcast. Through the use of digital tools such as Adobe Spark and CapCut, students were then able to synthesize their thoughts & words, with recorded audio as well as visual representations into a digital podcast. This activity concluded with the digital sharing of links where these timely and impactful podcasts could be viewed.
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Similarly to the station’s contest, Ms. Kingsberry sought to incorporate podcasting into her lessons. Students were tasked with choosing a poignant topic to ultimately use to create an engaging, thought-provoking, reflective, and impactful podcast. The topics discussed included Roe vs Wade, Education policies, climate change, the 1619 Curriculum, sports, and much more.
