Many is the parent that bemoans the ways that digital gadgets and electronic media distract and disconnect their kids from the world around them. And often for good reason. But on February 8, the Champlain Basin Education Initiative (CBEI) will sponsor a workshop at the St. Albans Museum that helps to turn this frustration on its head.
The Vermont Folklife Center will lead a Digital Storytelling & Place-based Learning workshop that helps educators put technology in the hands of students in a way that engages them and forges connections with their communities. Teachers will learn about ethnography, working with artifacts, interviewing community members, and practices for digital techniques.
“With ethnography and community interview projects, students experience learning in and with their community,” said Mary Rizos of the Vermont Folklife Center. These projects strengthen academic skills and connect students to the people, places, and events that define the history of the places in which they live.
“Our exhibits and archives provide a direct link to that common heritage, and those resources are readily available for both students and educators on a variety of topics,” said Alex Lehning of the St. Albans Museum. “We’re excited to be a part of this collaborative effort to develop ethnographic skills for use in the classroom and beyond.”
The Champlain Basin Education Initiative is a consortium of partner organizations that advances and facilitates watershed and place-based education in the Lake Champlain Basin. CBEI has provided professional development opportunities for more than 450 educators since 1991.
The fee for the workshop is $20 and includes lunch, refreshments, and materials. For further information, contact Colleen Hickey, LCBP, at (802) 372-3213, 54 West Shore Road, Grand Isle, Vermont or check the details on the WatershED Matters website: watershedmatters.lcbp.org/pd_cbei.html