Inspiring
students at the YWCA After School Program
We
continue to be inspired by students, teachers, and the wonderful
things occurring in the classroom. Take for example, the YWCA of
Central Alabama's After School Enrichment Program (YASE), a program
designed for children who are homeless in grades K-8, and living
in area shelters. This program provides academic assistance, behavioral
guidance /counseling, and other enrichment activities.
During
spring break while most children were spending time with family,
the children participating in YASE spent their time in the computer
lab exploring FableVision’s Stationery Studio, playing games,
and creating art, short stories and poetry. A decision was made
to feature some of those creations by hosting an art show. The children
welcomed their guests, gave tours and one 6th Grade girl, Tavorya,
shared a reading of her poem, "Discrimination." (Tavorya
has been recognized by FableVision as a Shining Star Student. See
Shining Star)
Assistant
director, Rhonda McKay shares, “Stationary Studio has given
some of our students some guidance and encouragement to write and
express their thoughts and feelings. Many of our students have been
through traumatic and stressful situations. Some have even witnessed
or been direct victims of domestic violence. For those who are reluctant
to talk aloud about their fears and doubts, writing is an alternative
way to begin the healing. Many of the short stories that our students
have written on Stationery Studio were shared with our behavior
specialist. She has been able to reach out further with these kids
on issues that had not come up before.”
Many
students like Tavorya have had difficult choices to make during
the school year. According to McKay, “Many like to joke around
a lot and hide their true feelings and thoughts. We try to encourage
students to express themselves with their words. And Stationery
Studio has become a vital tool for student self expression".
Luckily,
the inspiration and self-expression didn’t have to stop with
the school year. This summer, in partnership with YouthServe, Inc,
an organization committed to promoting youth volunteerism and leadership,
high school students worked with students from YASE to create writing
pieces using Stationery Studio. Stationery Studio was purchased
by the Junior League of Birmingham as part of a Girl Scout Troop
YWCA project, and generously donated to the YWCA of Central Alabama’s
After School Enrichment Program. These are the stories we at FableVision
love hearing – they fuel us and inspire us to keep doing what
we do!
Real-time online learning with Peter H. Reynolds
Sponsored
by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, author/illustrator
Peter H. Reynolds, located in his Boston-based FableVision Studios,
was invited to participate in Dave Mendell's third grade class in
Pennsylvania via Elluminate Live. This new elearning tool enabled
Peter to talk over the Internet, listen to the whole class, interact
in an IM chat, use a whiteboard to share his art, and offer an interactive
drawing session (featuring JUDY MOODY!) with his third grade fans
at the Wallingford Elementary School in Wallingford, PA.
Teacher
Dave Mendell commented, "We had an author visit us in class
this year, and think the kids thought Peter's experience, even though
it wasn't in person, was equally (if not more) exciting! The webinar
format is a great opportunity for schools that can't afford to bring
in authors." Stay tuned for more of these Peter web visits
in the future.
The
first session was so successful that the Pennsylvania Department
of Education Technology Director Michael Golden and former lead
staff member Lance Rougeux organized a second author classroom visit
with Peter. However, this session was a bit bigger than the first
session. From his bookstore in Dedham, Massachusetts, The Blue Bunny,
Peter interacted with 82 classrooms and well over 2100 students
once again allowing him to share his books, his art, his story telling
and passion for creativity and learning.
Michael
Golden forwarded some exciting comments about the webinar with Peter
from teachers and technology specialists around the state:
“Two
of our reading classes participated in today's webinar with Peter
Reynolds. We thoroughly enjoyed the process of connecting with someone
"far away" and communicating as if he were in the next
room or our own cell phones!!!!!!! We also enjoyed the experience
of chatting with other schools within the state. There were so many
areas of exposure that occurred as a result of today's experience
that were valuable. As things unfolded, our students wrote questions
down in response to what Peter was saying as a way to make the interaction
more engaging. We see this as a stepping-stone for further communication
for our students.”
For
a third time in as many months, Peter interacted with another group
of fans, this time, over 100 teachers attending a The Keystone Summit
at St. Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania.
The Summit brought together an inspiring group of progressive educators
(also known as “Keystones”) to learn from a distinguished
group of administrators, speakers and facilitators. The Keystones
engaged in hands-on workshops with topics such as differentiating
instruction and teaching in the 21st Century.
Peter Reynolds was one of the keynote speakers last summer, and
was invited back once again to offer this forward thinking group
of teachers his thoughts on education and the importance of creativity.
Due to the demands on Peter’s time, he was unable to visit
‘live’, but using Elluminate, was once again able to
share his message via this wonderful technology.
After
his presentation was completed, he received a hearty round of applause
from his audience seated over 800 miles away. In an email sent by
L. Michael Golden, Deputy Secretary for the PDE Office of Information
and Technology, he says: “Great job by you, Peter and
your team this afternoon. Thanks, as always, for your willingness
to help us lead in PA. Everyone loved the session!”
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