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News Feature . . .

Curiosity Creek Children's Web Site Plays a Role in After-School Program

Curiosity Creek is a children's Web site designed to inspire inquiry, imagination and invention in children from kindergarten through grade 3 in the context of learning about nature and the environment. This past year, however, the designers for the Web site were 5th and 6th grade children from an underserved urban faith-based school who participated in Curiosity Creek: A Themed After-School Computer Club.

Incorporating the web-based learning environment with its fun characters and interactive activities designed for K-3 learners, researchers engaged older students in learning the inquiry, technical, and critical thinking skills to investigate and seek solutions to environmental problems so that they could design interesting materials for their younger counterparts [Photo above shows club member designing a story puzzle.]. They formed a design team to create new Curiosity Creek resources like storybook puzzles on endangered species and global warming. In addition to developing expertise on an environmental topic of their choice, after-school club members practiced information and digital literacy skills to help them explore their topics, learned design and development skills for creating technology-based products, gathered formative feedback from their peers and members of the target audience (they tested out their materials on the kindergarteners at the school - See photo on right), and revised and published their work on Curiosity Creek.

In the spring term, students learned video production skills and applied their topic knowledge to creating videos. They proudly showcased their work at the end of year Science Fair in May.

Current data on the program indicates that club members are already feeling more confident about their technology skills, information-seeking skills, and product creation abilities. Researchers and graduate students will offer the themed after-school club again in the fall, adding a new school to its study. 

Written by Dr. Tiffany A. Koszalka

Tiffany A. Koszalka [Photo at left] is an associate professor of instructional design, development, and evaluation at Syracuse University's School of Education. Her current research focuses on technology integration in K-12 science, math, and geography and technology learning environments. She also serves as co-director of the Center for Digital Literacy.

Winners of Final E*LIT Featuring Author Andrea Pinkney

On May 15, 2009, Scholastic, Inc. Executive Editor and award-winning author Andrea Davis Pinkney [Photo on left] captivated an audience of more than 500 elementary school students with a lively presentation that included a colorful mix of pictures, props, stories and song.  The performance marked the culmination of the 6th and final rendition of the popular Enriching Literacy through Information Technology (E*LIT) Competition and Event.

Pinkney was the featured author at this year’s E*LIT event, sponsored by the Syracuse University Center for Digital Literacy (CDL). The students researched the life and works of Pinkney and presented their findings creatively using various forms of technology.
A panel of seven judges—mostly librarians from public libraries and school districts in New York who didn’t participate in the competition—selected two first place winners:

• McKinley-Brighton in Syracuse, "How Character Traits Help Us Succeed in Life,” and  
• Grimshaw Elementary in Lafayette, "The Magic History Bus."
  

Other winners included:

• Second place (3-way tie): 
  
  • Huntington School in Syracuse, “People Who Changed the World, From a Child's Point of View"
  • Hughes Elementary, “Barack Obama, the Dream Comes True”
  • McKinley-Brighton, “The Life and Works of Andrea Davis Pinkney"
• Third place"
  • Frazer School, "Jazzing it Up With Duke Ellington"
    
• Fourth place:
  • Minoa Elementary in East Syracuse-Minoa, “Ella Fitzgerald, A Study In Virtuosity”
• Fifth place (tie):
  • F.E. Smith Elementary School in Cortland, “Dreams Have No Boundaries” and
    
  • Bellevue/McKinley-Brighton Collaborative Project, “McBell Meets Andrea Davis Pinkney” 

Honorable mention certificates were awarded to 5 schools.  These included Bellevue Elementary, Bellevue Middle, Donlin Drive Elementary, Lafayette Intermediate and Lemoyne Elementary.

The winners received autographed copies of Pinkney’s books and enjoyed lunch with the author. Both of the first-place winners also received a Flip video camera for their schools, while others received a range of technology gifts, including MP3 players, flash drives, and Skype headphones.

The day ended with Pinkney standing for group photos with each of the school groups.  “It was a day I’ll never forget”, remarked one student when recalling the day to her classmates. 

Reported by Jennifer L. Sullivan

ESD Call for Papers, Strategies, Tips, and Features

The Educators' Spotlight Digest is planning its publications for upcoming issues. The editors welcome articles on any topic related to information literacy, dispositions for learning, assessment, information responsibilities, information technologies, practical strategies for teaching specific IL skills, and successful programs, events, and units of study. Please refer to our publication submission guidelines or contact any one of the editors listed on the credits page.

Reported by Marilyn P. Arnone