Student Voice


Many students are often left out of exciting learning opportunities in the design and function of their education.

I've collaborated with many schools on how to shift this practice over the years and am happy to do so anytime. Just drop me a line.

Here are (just) four ideas...

1

Create a robust Help Desk and PD program with students at it's core.

I've created and mentored many student internship programs that integrate students into IT support and Professional Development with adults since 1995. Many folks have asked what strategies I've used along the way.


Two guidelines:


  • Student Help Desk and PD programs shouldn't be centered around busy work and basic tasks
  • Keep students learning: Explore Instructional Design, Hardware and software skills, customer service skills, collaboration, peer training, and personal specialization choice is key to success.

To help explore ideas on integrating students into PD I wrote up an outline called T3: Technology, Training and Troubleshooting. It's written in Understanding by Design (UbD) format, and here it is, free for you to look at, modify and use. Your welcome to download it for better viewing.

Some ideas on how it could be used:
  • A framework for a course to help students build IT and AT / Instructional Design skills.
  • A course that trains students to work with exisisting Tech Departments, IT Integrationists, and Tech Directors in PD.
  • Training material / resources for existing support and PD departments to pick ideas from.
  • A course that uses real service tickets as learning models (highly recommended, and conjures real work for students)
  • Or... all of the above.

The appendices have some tips on how to use the doc to work with students to build projects.

Here's a basic website format that you can grab from too. This site includes some great info on the 'Tools' and 'AT Support' pages. 

2

Student for a Day Project (story and video)

What happens when teachers become students for a day?

What does the 'school schedule' look like from a student perspective?

Student designed, organized, produced, republished nationally in Ed blogs, journals, and featured at conferences!

3

Here's a sketch of work from 2005 - 2013 where students researched and proposed positive educational changes at their school. This link goes to the class website where I used to teach... but there's a link there to come back here as well.

4

Interested in building an interdisciplinary makerspace at your school? Here's some ideas to draw on from the award winning proposal I designed and authored for the CTE Makeover Challenge grant from the US Dept of Education.