Last Friday I observed art classes in a PreK-8 private school. The fourth graders did a research assignment in the Mac lab in the library to prepare for a clay sculpture project. Some kids finished a few minutes early and started using a program called Comic Life, which I've never seen before. It looks really fun, and the kids seemed to love it. You can arrange pictures in pre-made templates that look like comic book panels, add quote bubbles and titles, etc. One boy got really into making funny faces and taking pictures of himself right within the program to make his comic strip--that cracked me up.
The school has a technology teacher, and students go to technology class twice a week. I could tell they were very comfortable with their research assignment (using Google Images to find and print photos of animals that possess or represent each student's three best qualities) and I noticed a few other ways the students used technology as I toured the school. They made pamphlets and posters for the Sierra Club that were displayed on the walls and I guessed they used some sort of layout program--probably something a little less complicated than InDesign. It made me think that setting aside time (and hiring a teacher) for technology class is one good way to make sure computers don't just sit in the corner of a school gathering dust, although I'm sure this might be challenging for a public school with stretched resources and a million standardized tests to worry about.
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16 years ago
I've come across this program a few times, and to be honest, I've seen as many adults get a kick out of it as kids, which seems like a sure indicator of an accessible and engaging piece of software.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty amazing what happens when kids are comfortable with technology beyond browsing some online games, etc. Sounds like these kids are the type we talked about in class, comfortable with technology as a tool and most likely had it incorporated from an early age in the classroom. Perhaps a technology teacher is the way to go in the classroom. Someone who teaches/engages software across disciplines?
I'll second what Ray (a.k.a. Cyberpedagogy) said! I especially love that they're being creative about what they want the kids to DO WITH the technology. That connection between the technology (in this case Google Images) and their research assignment is key -- the lesson was developed so that tech. was incorporated as an integral TOOL for their work and not just a chance to play with some gizmos. Same goes for using the Comic Life software as a planning step for the clay sculpture project. I think the smooth integration and application of the technology is infinitely more valuable than just learning how to operate software in a how-to sense. Yay for that school! -m.e.
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