Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Friday, March 04, 2011

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Booker T. Washington Academy and Russell Cave Elementary participated in the U.S. Regions Project along with schools in Maine, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Fourth-graders at two Fayette County schools didn’t have to travel the Eastern Seaboard to learn about different areas of the country. They have connected with fellow students in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maine through the online U.S. Regions Project.

“It’s really cool that we get to talk to people outside our state,” said 10-year-old Sade Hussein of Booker T. Washington Academy.

Children study features of Kentucky in fourth-grade social studies, so the project is a good fit.

“This way, they’re not only learning it themselves but also teaching it to someone else,” said Jamie Burch, an FCPS technology resource teacher.  

Each group shares information about their state, including landforms, water, climate, history, culture and the economy. For the culminating activity, all the classes connect in a videoconference to share their final project and see each other “in person.”

During the five-week project, students focused on a different topic each week and compiled highlights in iSchool, an interactive learning management system that runs on the Moodle platform. iSchool includes a number of Web 2.0 tools such as discussion forums, wikis, journals, assignments and a media center.

“They’ve done a really good job posting and sharing information and keeping up with each other,” Burch said.

For the videoconference, students can choose any medium to describe their region, such as a 3-D model showing mountains and bodies of water, an informative brochure, a PowerPoint presentation, a song or a movie. Then they will exchange questions and answers with their counterparts.

“It helps them see they’re in school every day and live their lives like we do, even though they live in another place. It’s good exposure to different parts of the United States,” said BTW teacher Hallie Piatt, whose kids filled in a travel guide on a U.S. map. “My students are very interested in the other regions where the schools are located. We have lots of questions, that’s for sure.”

They are anxious to ask other students about the climate where they live, their after-school activities and the size of their classes, among other things.

“We found it interesting that their school is on top of a mountain,” said Sade, recalling an iSchool exchange with kids in the Pocono Mountains.

“I want to know what they do at recess and what kinds of field trips they have been on,” added classmate Tyeler Hawkins.

Michelle Lee’s class at Russell Cave Elementary is also participating. One of her fourth-graders, Brooklyn Willhite, especially liked connecting with other cultures through iSchool’s threaded discussions.  

“We were able to hear it from the people that actually live in that region. We learned from the experts,” Brooklyn said.

Lee found the iSchool project heightened her students’ engagement as they completed Internet-based research and learned technology skills such as inserting photo links. In small groups, her students fleshed out reports on everything from Rupp Arena’s economic impact to native cuisine like Kentucky Fried Chicken and hot browns.

“Many of these kids don’t travel outside Lexington. So for them to do research on Mammoth Cave, it was amazing to them,” Lee said, adding, “You can definitely hear their voice in the posts.”

Her hope is that the students in all four states will stay connected via iSchool. “That’s the pen pal of tomorrow,” she said.  

Resources

U.S. Regions Project

Jamie Burch, a technology resource teacher with Fayette County Public Schools