Experienced teacher
Nancy Kendall has broad experience teaching at the high school level, in public and private settings, and in remote and face-to-face situations. During the 1990s, Nancy taught correspondence courses in composition, literature, and grammar through an independent studies program for high school students. Nancy returned to the traditional classroom three years ago, and now teaches English and social studies at North Eugene High School in Eugene, Oregon.

Combining resources
When she took the Intel® Teach Program course, Nancy focused her efforts on a “from-scratch” global studies unit she had started during a collaborative learning communities workshop she took several years before. She says, “It was a great chance to finish up something I’d wanted to complete for a long time, and with global studies, it made sense to use technology to help students step outside the classroom, into the global community. I wanted the lessons to be structured and rigorous, and help kids meet the state content standards for initial mastery of graduation requirements.”

In the "Virtual Ambassador" unit, students research global issues and develop “a call for action,” suggesting how government and volunteer resources would be best used to solve world problems.

More about teaching “Virtual Ambassador”
Nancy addressed the Oregon 10th-grade social studies standards when she planned the unit for her freshman class, and introduced the project at the beginning of the school year. She found incoming ninth-graders lacked necessary experience in research and speaking, however. Next time, she plans to introduce the unit mid-year, after she’s had time to teach the fundamental skills. She suggests that anyone interested in teaching the unit consider teaching the foundation skills of research, research writing, word processing, and oral presentation separate from the unit. Or, the unit could be adapted for older students who already have some experience in these areas.

Technology and project work--in measured doses
Nancy is aware that an over reliance on technology can be limiting. She recalls one student who often demurred when she asked him to produce work in class. “He always said, ‘I’ll do it at home’,” Nancy says, “and I know it’s because he wanted to use the tools he was comfortable with there. Being bound to a single technology just won’t be practical in the real world; people need to learn to be flexible and ready to work in any setting using the tools at hand, whether they’re pencil and paper or unfamiliar electronic devices.”

She takes a thoughtful approach to project-based learning, too. “Relying on project-based instruction to the exclusion of other kinds of learning would be a burden on kids. Sometimes an expert lecture, with students taking notes, is the best way of delivering instruction.” Furthermore, it’s hard to set clear, defined expectations for how individuals achieve their grades from the group effort. The "slackers" can coast while the "strivers" do most of the work. For that reason, group work isn’t dominant in Nancy’s projects; many of them require an individual, and independent, effort.

What convinces Nancy that students enjoy this kind of learning "is their attention to detail and collaborative effort. No one was off-task during "Virtual Ambassadors". Sometimes, she reflects, "I can even take a deep breath and relax, and then really turn my attention to the learning process rather than management." In addition, "Kids were eager to show what they’d accomplished. Using multimedia spreads out the audience’s focus, so shy kids get less stage struck. One student had tons of information, a really exemplary project, and the class had lots of oohs and ahhs—it was a good experience, really stepping up the rigor. Kids enjoyed presenting to one another this way."

Matching kids' lives
Technology is a natural fit for the classroom because it matches what kids do in their free time and life outside of school, Nancy points out. "It suits the ways they are used to gathering information and communicating for personal reasons. Anymore, students are used to some level of technology, and it’s become an expected way to work." Other factors come to mind, as well. "The input and output are more engaging, and communicating their learning has more appeal. It's motivating."

Finally, and maybe most importantly, Nancy believes at-risk kids get a needed edge when they use technology. “At-risk kids are saved from having to write multiple drafts by hand, and their work is more polished, which helps build confidence. I’m always looking for tools to help them produce, demonstrate, and be proud of their work.”

What's next? Nancy says, “When I get my next shot at it, I’ll develop a plan where kids do virtual time travel to another period and converse with authors of the time.”

< Return to Virtual Ambassador