Afton-Lakeland Elementary School Connecting Schools

Teachers from both Afton-Lakeland and Highwood Hills are going to be using videoconferencing and other technologies such as podcasting, student blogs and video streaming on their websites to create a collaborative project on the science of water this spring. At the moment, in addition to using videoconferencing, Afton-Lakeland students are using video production tools to connect the senior high school with their own. Eleven sixth-graders, under the supervision of Craig Seath, were invited to videotape the Black History Celebration in the Stillwater Area High School auditorium on February 17th.

Prior to the taping, students were trained on how to use the "professional" cameras by Don Fixmer, a videographer from the Valley Access Cable Television station. Students rotated throughout the day using digital still cameras, digital video cameras, the professional "live" cameras and laptop computers. They conducted interviews with several other students, Nary Vang (a former Afton-Lakeland student and performer at the Celebration) and with members of the dance group Collective. The students had a lot of fun and are very thankful for the expertise of Don Fixmer, the cable station and the special opportunity to capture the Black History Celebration performance.

With curiosity, amazement and an energetic attitude as their fuel, the students at Afton-Lakeland Elementary, other Stillwater Area Public Schools, and other schools from around the nation and the world, will continue, under the guidance of their teachers, to make the connecting of schools, students, media, ideas and opportunities the way of the future in education.