Students in 7th and 8th grade on the Cedar Community at the Skowhegan Area Middle School have been researching local history extensively in preparation for developing a historic walking tour around town. They are examining primary resource photos and documents as they make decisions about which historic sites should be featured for signage. They are planning to create text, graphics for the signage and  audio files for podcasts. Tourists visiting the area will be able to access ipods at the Chamber of Commerce building located at the bus stop. They will be able to listen to student recordings of rich historical information as they visit areas of interest on the walking tour.

Students have been applying various literacy strategies as they interact with primary text and documents. Technology has been infused throughout this first stage as they are collaborating electronically with experts and with each other as they seek to understand their local history. They have been using their laptops for research, communication, word processing and analyzing research material. They will eventually publish their findings both on a website and through a informational brochure available for tourists. They will be creating their audio recordings and eventual podcasts in Garageband.