Presenter: Leslie Pralle Keehn, Erin Olson
Location: Blairsburg
Presentation Description: Out My Window was born from a quest to have students gain global perspective. OMW classrooms share their story with the world. Inspired by the 5 themes of geography, students reveal cultural awareness & understanding through poetry & photography.
Goals for the session:
To involve more classrooms in the quest to gain global perspective
To showcase the power of content and concept convergence
To provide an example of meaningful technology integration
To honor student voice and ability to create for an audience
Our perspective is shaped by our experiences. Those experiences are shaped by where we live. The themes of geography can be addressed through personal narrative, and when that happens an appreciation for all that is experienced and all that is seen is heightened. Stories are the thread connecting us all. Using geography, photography, and poetry participants can share and celebrate their story. Because the project is about sharing all of this, an audience can gain also connect to the creator’s story.
Out My Window transforms how we look at and teach geography by making it a cross-curricular tool to connect with a global community. Honoring student voice and perspective in the process of not just consuming, but creating content also honors the power of the human story. Traditionally, geography is not viewed as poetic. The emotion poetry can incite connected to geography’s theme is transformative. Imagine if more students globally gained an appreciation for people and their perspectives…imagine how that would influence empathy.
Link to presentation’s supporting documents: