A Noble Endeavor

On Friday, December 5, I visited three more Hoosier schools and was glad to be joined by Andy Bosk, Director of Career Connections for Indiana University School of Education.  Also joining me was my good friend, colleague, and thinking partner on all things educational, Jeremy Moore of North Central High School.

Our first stop was Noblesville High School to see the U.S. History class of Eric Gundersen.  A senior named Lauren, who is the daughter of friends of ours, had recommended I visit one of his classes.  I was eager to see the teacher who had inspired this young lady to pursue a political science major with a possible career in government.

A student in Mr. Gundersen's class shows us his presentation.

We arrived on the day when students in several U.S. History classes were presenting a project they had worked on throughout the semester.  Their task was to create a virtual museum on their school-issued iPads.  Exhibits in these museums included text, pictures, and animation.  In some of the rooms, such as Mr. Gundersen's and Ms. Leslie Ringle's, the students presented their work in a gallery walk that not only allowed the students in a given class to see the work of their peers, but also provided an opportunity for the students of the other history classes to visit as well.

Student in Ms. Ringle's class uses Aurasma to bring a presentation to life

Andy Bosk joins in the gallery walk

At the end of the block-schedule period, Mr. Gundersen's class spent some time debriefing and discussing the project.  The students offered suggestions for next year, since this was the first time these teachers had run this particular project.

Debriefing with Mr. Gundersen

This project brought together so many great aspects of education.  Students worked in groups with few guidelines. They were free to explore aspects of American history that were of interest to them and they had the opportunity to present their findings in a tech-savvy way.  Incorporating the gallery walk enabled everyone both to serve as curator and visitor in these virtual museums.  I can see why my young friend said I should visit this Mr. Gundersen's class.  Thanks, Lauren!

Next to me, L to R:  Eric Gundersen, Andy Bosk, Jeremy Moore

For more pictures from our visit, see http://stevenrperkins.weebly.com/pictures.html.