"Day in Life of Hobo" podcast Tom's interdisciplinary creative writing/historical simulation activity calls on students to research the plight of homeless teenagers during the Great Depression and then create their own fictionalized account of a day in the life of a Hobo.
"Social Mobility" audio blogging Tom's group audio blogging activity calls on students to compare social mobility and social inequality in America today with the "Gilded Age" of the late 19th century.
"Cold War" student website Tom's students have created web sites on subjects such as the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement. Students have individual assignments and responsiblities during these projects, but ultimately they are contributing to a collective presentation, one that may be shared with a larger community.
"unit wrapup" cell podcasting Tom used his cell phone in class to record a unit-ending conversation that was immediately posted to the Web. Students were preparing to write an analytical essay and Tom wanted his students to listen to the classroom conversation later on and revisit the different points made in class before writing their essay.
"Interview a Boomer" with ipods Tom directed his students to find and interview a "likely but unsuspecting" Boomer -- a parent, teacher or family friend born between 1946 and 1964. Equipped with a mic-enabled iPod, each student asked their interviewee ten questions -- five required and five of their own design -- about their perceptions
iSearch literature reflection project Peter Raymond, an English teacher at the Noble and Greenough School, says that the I-Search project he undertakes with high school juniors “encourages a deep personal exploration” with literature within a public context. Student posts “become increasingly sophisticated, personal, and refined” as students develop a comfort with the blogging process and better understand the work in question.
