NCCE sessions - Patricia Fitzgerald - Connecting Kids to Community through Technology

In this session Patricia shared some projects she had done as a tech teacher who meets with kids for short periods of time once or twice a week. She did a very cool intergenerational project to celebrate Valentine's Day with people in a retirement home. The kids made a slide show with old and current pictures of the residents, played old music, made comparisons with today and the 1920s, sang songs and recited poetry. They even had a dance. There were other projects, such as learning what your grandparent did at the age of 9. Students made PowerPoint presentations comparing their lives. The grandparents came in for a lunch and to see their projects. There were some good ideas. The one that occurred to me, which I'm embarrassed never to have thought of before, is to meet with old people in a retirement home and learn about a speicific time in history they've lived through. Interview them, do outside research, write about it, and ask for their input. Doesn't sound as good now that it's in text, but wouldn't that be cool? Studying the Depression? Do some research, take it some old folks, ask what they think about what you've got written. I bet that might get them talking. And it would teach students about using multiple resources, the value of primary resources vs. secondary resources. I'll have to try it.