Before embarking on this Latin American study there were many questions I, as the teacher, had to consider. Among these was just when and how to integrate technology. These questions may be helpful for anyone planning such a project. They are as follows:

How will I design a high interest unit with curriculum material?

At what point and to what extent will I involve students in the design process?

How will I introduce the unit?

What learning activities will I include that will adequately provide a sound knowledge base?

How will I integrate technology in the unit and at what point?

How will I differentiate the curriculum so that "gifted" and students with special needs are challenged at their individual levels?

How will I involve the Special Ed. staff?

How will I individualize materials, goals,expectations , reading levels etc.

How will I manage whole class instruction and station or small group set-up?

In what way will I provide learning experiences which will target different learning styles (multiple intelligences)

What will the time frame for the unit be?

How will I incorporate activities that will extend the knowledge base/

What problem solving activities will be offered?

What type of assessment will I use?(tests, portfolio etc.)

How will this unit be interdisciplinary?

How will I incorporate skills?

How will student folders be managed?

In what way will I communicate with parents?

What culminating event will evolve which will allow students to celebrate their learning?

How will I determine grouping in a heterogeneous classroom?

What cooperative learning techniques and strategies will I include?

How can I involve parent volunteers,student teachers and/or practicum students?

How can I provide a safe,caring and encouraging atmosphere for risk taking and comfort?

How can I help students develop positive attitudes about their learning abilities?

The physical layout of the room is critical in creating a workshop environment where a variety of activities can take place simultaneously . For,once students are empowered, active learning will occur which requires the free flow of movement between any number of activities. Workstations worked well for me . I have three computer stations and other areas for students to read, plan together, research, etc.

This project scenario describes the role that the students assume throughout the Latin American study:

Congratulations! Your group has been chosen to establish a cultural exchange program between your town and countries of Latin America. In order to recruit people for this program you must discover all that you can about the culture, the land, and the environment of your chosen country. Use your Internet stations wisely for you will not only conduct online research and explore many web sites, but will also be establishing local, state, national and international communication connections through e-mail. We look forward to viewing your team created web page which will include a Hyperstudio stack featuring your country with all it's connections. Good luck experts, you have been chosen because of your technology skills, your collaborative skills, your enthusiasm and your former commitment to excellence!

The integration of Internet technology opened the doors of my Middle School classroom to a wealth of connections from Skowhegan, Maine to Latin America . In my classroom, technology is viewed as an "essential" tool for learning, rather than merely an "extra." When designing this interdisciplinary project, the online resources utilized on a daily basis, were tools among others, to enhance learning and promote higher level thinking. Without access to online encyclopedias, web sites around the globe, e-mail, and file sharing, this geography project would not have been possible.

I limit my direct instruction and provide technology learning stations where students carry on authentic tasks as if they were themselves historians, geographers and politicians. They become active participants both guiding and directing their own learning. Not only are they engaging in activities that target the different intelligences, they are learning to communicate, work through disagreements, and respect one an others differences. They are no longer complacent passengers, but rather navigators, in charge of analyzing, hypothesizing, evaluating and ultimately creating something brand new . When their final Hyperstudio projects and web pages were assessed, the level of student learning was phenomenal. These products represented a synthesis of all the information gathered and connections established throughout this 8 week project.

The purpose was to provide an engaging opportunity for students to become geographically literate through the use of Internet Resources. In accordance with the local curriculum , the Maine State Learning Results, and National Geography standards, a geographically informed person is able to see the interdependence between people, places and environments. Technology as a learning tool is an integral part of this process. Through this collaborative Latin American Project, the students connected with local, state, national and international organizations and people in order to achieve this goal.

Expected outcomes:

To use internet resources in conducting research,(encyclopedias, web sites etc.)

Establish E-Mail connections locally just one example. of each: local (Rotary Exchange), state (Gov.. Angus King), national and international (Ecuadorian student)

Collaboration was an absolutely essential part of this project. Initially I collaborated with individuals and organizations to set up particular contacts. I met with the Rotary scholarship recipient ,Marissa, to be placed in Ecuador. She agreed to e-mail observations, answer any questions and relate adventures regularly with the students.The students met with Marissa's mother who agreed to e-mail while on her trip to Latin America, to take photographs for the web page, and bring back artifacts to share with the class. The governor of Maine took a trip to Brazil and visited our class. He provided literature and answered questions through e-mail. I collaborated with my daughter, a graduate student at UT Austin completing a field study in Palenque, Chiapas Mexico.The students contacted her about her observations both about the Mayan ruins and the political situation in Chiapas. I met with our district technology coordinator to arrange for FTP connection so that the students could publish their web page and launch Hyperstudio stacks for other students around the world to view. The students collaborated both with these contacts and within their cooperative learning groups. In order to complete the mission, each individual had to plan, negotiate and work with the others in exploring the problem through their different perspectives or roles.

Most towns have a local Rotary group. If you do not have one in your town , there certainly will be one in a larger town nearest you. Check the phone book or get a listing from the Rotary web page (there is a direct link from our Red Team Project page).

You can get the names and places of students placed in other countries. I have had very good luck in contacting these students by e-mail.

Technology is a consideration equally as important as any other. It must not be viewed as an "extra" for it will be an essential part of this study. It is the language of the students, for they are perfectly comfortable in the multimedia world which they have been a part of since early childhood. I am in constant awe of their ability to quickly learn the functions of multimedia software. Software which will eventually serve as a means by which to communicate the knowledge they have acquired in an interesting and engaging format. But before jumping ahead to the culminating project work, technology first must be a part of the early stage of the unit.

The first phase of any unit study requires the building of a broad knowledge base. In addition to the textbook, non-fiction sources and primary sources of information, students need daily access to the internet . They must focus on various "threads" which make up the fabric of a cultural group. These "threads" include the economic, physical, international, historical, political and social/cultural. From the very beginning, it becomes obvious that they will need current information not provided in the standard textbook or the books available in the school library. For example, when searching for an international issue which affects the culture, there is no better source than the internet.

In addition to the traditional sources of information and the internet, I have student view C.D.Rom's designed specifically for the study of Latin America. Through various pieces of software, they are able to view slides, videos, text and sounds of the vast continent. The historical information is extensive and the multimedia format keeps them engaged as they acquire new knowledge pertaining to the various "threads".

After a number of weeks designated to this phase, it's time to move on to a word processing program in which they will create drafts and utilize writing tools in editing and finally complete finished pieces. These documents will later be imported into Hyperstudio, the multimedia program for presenting a complete informational package for their cultural Exchange Program. Hyperstudio is a program which consists of cards in a stack. The cards can be compared to pages and the stack a book. The viewer of a stack moves from card to card by clicking on buttons. Within each page, students integrate sound, graphics, animation and text.

My basic requirements include a cover page, table of contents, graphics, a finished text which will paint a complete picture of the particular topic which they chose to research , and a bibliography. Beyond this criteria, they are at liberty to create . And create, they do! The final products are both complex and interactive. In one particular stack, indigenous Latin American sounds accompany vivid photos of indigenous peoples and their artwork. As the reader moves from the cover page to the table of contents music accompanies animation. One page devoted to the geographical features of South America includes a colorful map drawn with the tools available on the palette. The area where the Maya live is highlighted and actually moves across the page. One can hear the students' voices as they narrate or describe for the reader, the manner in which the ancient Maya interacted with and adapted to their physical environment .

Imported into one stack is a video clip taken earlier while the students were exchanging information with a guest speaker from Peru . A parent volunteer had filmed them and later the students connected the V.C.R. to the computer and edited the film in a program called Movie player. From this program, the clip was placed in a page of the stack and activated by a button.

As students work collaboratively, they take into consideration the audience as they make decisions on graphics, motion, text and sound. All this analyzing and problem solving involves complex thought processes which both challenge and excite them to no end. They become the active participants both guiding and directing their own learning. Not only are they using higher level thinking skills, they are learning to communicate, work through disagreements, and respect each others differences.

I evaluated this project by establishing both a teacher and student rubric which highlighted the qualities of the final product to be assessed. This rubric included components of design and content . I also evaluate the social skills involved throughout the duration of the project. My evaluation measured the success of the student outcomes. The students evaluated their individual contribution, the group product and the success of the daily processing.

View my step by step instructions for using HyperStudio which can be accessed through our project web page.