This past spring, the fourth graders of Mrs. Rachel Knapp at Myles Elementary School have been learning about the history of the Erie Canal as part of their regular Social Studies curriculum. However, this year the experience proved to be quite a bit more exciting through some creative uses of technology throughout the process. Collaborating with Mrs. Kathy Donovan, the school's Technology Teacher, and Myles' own Library Media Specialist Mrs. Mary Ann Pangburn, Mrs. Knapp was able to effectively blend traditional curriculum, online research skills, and digital creation concepts into her instruction. To guide the learning process, Mrs. Knapp, (pictured below working with a student) first worked with Mrs. Pangburn & Mrs. Donovan to create an online web hunt to gather information about the Erie Canal. Next, working with Mrs. Pangburn in the library, her students used the web hunt to gather facts and information about the Erie Canal beyond what they had learned in class. Finally, to synthesize their learning, students were then asked to create their own multimedia slideshows using KidPix, a kid-friendly multimedia application program. Working in the computer lab with Mrs. Donovan, the students then learned how to draw pictures about what they learned and how to stitch them together as a slideshow in the KidPix software. To finish off their projects, they then added transitions and sounds between their drawings and finalized their presentations by exporting them as QuickTime movies, like the example you can see here. These were then shared with Mrs. Knapp for grading. When asked what they liked about the project, Mrs. Knapp noted that students truly enjoyed the research aspect of this project. "They were excited when they discovered that what they had learned in the classroom was reiterated on the websites they were studying." In regards to multimedia projects they created, Donovan stated that the results were fantastic as she observed how the students were "very engaged in the process of illustrating their thoughts." Because it is so easy to use, Donovan pointed out that KidPix is a great tool for creating multimedia reports. "Not only did it let students create a unique project to solidify their learning, it also taught them a lot of digital technology concepts such as creating graphics, adding transitions & sounds, timing, and exporting files that will serve them well later with similar projects." To see how technology, research, and curriculum can be blended in your classroom, this project is a great model of what can be done! Excellent work Mrs. Knapp and team. If you have a similar idea on how to integrate technology in your classroom, please contact the district tech staff and see how they can help you and your team do the same!