A team from Edgar Middle School in Metuchen has applied to the Follett Challenge, a program run by Follett Corp. to recognize and reward schools for applying technology, content and creativity in ways that engage students, foster literacy and promote critical thinking. Six winning schools will be awarded with products and services worth up to $200,000.
As part of the competition, Roseann Misrahi, a computer lab teacher, and Jane Brown, a library media specialist, created a short video about their “graphic biography” project. The video is now posted on the Follett Challenge website for the public to vote on. The number of votes the video receives determines 30 percent of the school’s total entry.
The project is a literacy-technology program for fifth graders at Edgar Middle School that asks students to explore the life of a famous person.
The purpose of the project is to teach students how to acquire new knowledge, even if they do not know anything about a particular topic. Along the way, they are taught how to ask good questions, refine their internet based searches and find extra bits of information without getting lost in a mound of noise.
Using Comic Life for Mac by Plasq, students start out as knowledge acquisitionists, later becoming storytellers by producing a biographical comic book.
While the overall test scores in language arts have been strong, this project addresses specific reading skills assessed on the NJ Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) test. The project has had a positive effect on student outcomes, contributing to a 7.8 percent increase in mean reading score for the total student population, according to a press release from Metuchen School District.
English Language Arts (ELA) standards drive this project, as it requires reading informational text and using research skills to build and present knowledge.
Even though the project is technology based, students would not be able to achieve the technology standards without a strong achievement level in the ELA standards.
The public vote for the school with the best video overview about their library program is open until March 15. Edgar’s submission is available under the “View Entries” tab on the contest website, www.follettchallenge.com /video.cfm?id=327. After registering, voters can go back to the site daily to cast their votes.
The Follett Challenge winners will be notified by April 5. To vote, or to learn more about the Follett Challenge, visit www.follettchallenge.com.