Posted:
05/11/2007
Announcement
Afterschool Training Toolkit for Technology Teaches More Than Just Computer Skills
t’s not uncommon for a teenager to dream of becoming a pop star. Although we can’t all win American Idol, an afterschool program in New York is helping students pursue their passion for music while using technology to develop career skills. Focusing on technology, instructors at the program teach students to write, record, and produce their own albums.
Using technology to develop professional skills is just one of the practices featured in the Afterschool Training Toolkit for Technology. This free online staff development tool is developed around evidence-based promising practices that are shown to boost student success. The toolkit was created by the National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning, which is housed at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) in Austin, Texas.
“Technology can be used for activities as basic as researching and completing school assignments or reinforcing learning,” says Marilyn Heath, a SEDL program associate who led the development of the technology toolkit. “Those are great places to start, but there’s so much more you can do with technology—especially in an afterschool setting.”
Lessons on developing self-expression and creativity have students writing, performing, and filming their own movies—complete with special effects. Some of the activities in the finding and solving problems section of the technology toolkit take students outside for a treasure hunt using handheld GPS devises for a geocaching activity. “Afterschool professionals always tell us that their students love to use computers. Maybe the computer starts out as a great ‘hook’ to get their attention, but these activities help students develop critical thinking and leadership skills that they can use in other areas of their lives,” explains Heath.
The toolkit is available at www.sedl.org/afterschool/toolkits/technology/. In addition to video clips of exemplary afterschool technology programs, the toolkit includes lesson plans, research on and resources for embedding academic content in afterschool activities, and suggestions for discussion and interdisciplinary connections.
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