General information

Name of the project
Learning About Leonardo and ArtiFAQ 2100

Name of the school, address, country -
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John F. Kennedy High School,
99 Terrace View Avenue
Bronx New York 10463
USA

Coach in charge of the project
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Steve Feld


Institutional Impact. Changes at the school level generated by the project. ---------------------------------------------------------

The number of classes who access the Internet improved by by 18%.
In additon students independent( of class/course time) logging on to the
site which included the Student Factory project was up by 34 %

Gender student scheduling changes: Since the project equitably
demonstrated male and female leadership, guidance counselors and grade
advisors scheduled females in that equitable distribution (50%) for
computer graphic classes which had never been their custom, despite
repeated instructor requests. For further information about gender equity issues please view.
/13681/data/links/cyber.htm#equity

Aspects of the institutional educational project that area fostered by participating in the project.
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This project focused on utilizing engaging and celebrating the English
Language Learner and Spanish speaking skills of over 90% of Kennedy
students. It offered them a chance to communicate using the Internet
with distanced multicultural peers and a chance to work together on site
collaboratively on a student centered authentic high interest endeavor

Accomplishments concerning the project
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As a result of the First Place Prize achieved in the Microsoft Challenge
the school won 9 microscopes, 5 color printers, a scanner and a digital
video camera which enhance computer lab capacities and immeasurably
enhance collabortive, outcomes based education and
international/national exchange possibilities.

It also affords students an arena for technology leadership training.
Several students were offered jobs and summer interships.

Critical success factors for implementing the project in this school
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The success of this project was paved by the already existing Why is the
Mona Lisa Smiling ThinkQuest project which had set in place the skills
and a viable, dynamic, ongoing model of a maintained evolving
internationally themed and utilized web site.
/13681/data/davin2.shtml

Learned Lessons from the project at the institutional level
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The skills that the students bring to the school which include their
multilingual, native language proficiencies can be used as tools for
tapping their interests, active participation and leadership capacities
without their acheiving grade level English Language mastery skills.

Thus the project offered equal access to excellence for ELL learners.

External interaction because of the project. Benefits? Problems?
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The project spontaneously generated a collaboration with the west coast
Spanish Language peer group project Amigos. Please see Mulcultural
Colaboration exchange with Amigos:
/13681/data/links/cyber.htm#multicultural

as well the article published in Culture Work.
http://aad.uoregon.edu/culturework/culturework14.html

The project was presented at a parents meeting and parents were so supportive of the leadership roles that one parent offered to chaperone
students at a workshop/presentation.
/13681/data/museum/aprpta.htm

Contextual support given to the project. Parent's knowledge, interest and opinion about the project.
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The Parents at our school comprise a majority of individuals with High
School diplomas or less formal education. 70% receive some form of
public assistance. 8% or fewer are on the Internet. 75 % are English
Language Learners themselves. Given these contextual factors, while
there is interest and enthusiastic and broadbased support for the
project, informed active knowledge are beyond the scope of these
parents' daily lives.

Internal organization for the project. Participant areas, levels, groups.
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40% of the Student Leaders were special needs students. They were paired
with mainstream students. All were in the 10th and 11th grades.


Strategies for giving continuity and sustainability to the project in the Institution
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The equipment which was awarded will assure sustainablity and continuity. The student leaders will be able to train and used as models in the upcoming school year.


Goals and strategies for expanding the project to other curricular areas/ grade levels.
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The project format and vehicle offered, plus the ongoing scientific and
history inquiry themes of it's inspiring web project, Learning About
Leonardo provides the ground work for expanding the prompt to the
Math:
/13681/data/links/math.htm

Science and History curricula area.

/13681/data/links/scihist.htm

Strategies to achieve the participation of teachers in the project (incentives, training, resources…)
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We received a grant from the Bronx superintency to provide training
workshops for the teachers from English, Mathematics Health Education,
Social Studies, Science and Special Education. They developed researching the web and web page design as a result of these workshops and and contributed these resources to our project originally created by students.
/13681/data/learn/rctprep.htm

Strategies for developing culture of using ICT by the teachers
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We worked closely with the music teacher to transcribe Leonardo's music,
the Special Needs teacher to contribute to our hearing impaired
resources and the foriegn language department gave us advanced placement student
to help us translate the Student Factory eWorksheets.


Sharing the project and its results within the school. How is it done?
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Through the Teacher Newsletter and Student Newspaper results were
shared.


Sharing the project and its results with the parents and community. Is it done? How?
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We presented the results of this project at a PTA meeting and maintain
close contact with the President of the Parent Teachers Association

Curricula Articles:
ISTE March 1999 In the Dark Ages
http://206.58.233.20/L&L/archive/vol26/no6/body.html

SatLink Magazine
/13681/data/learn/satellit.htm

New York Times
/13681/data/links/times99.htm

Daily News Bronx Beat
/13681/data/drama/raphael.htm

http://www.nydailynews.com/1999-12-28/News_and_Views/City_Beat/a-51690.asp

Testimonies about the project (school principal, teachers, students)
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Our multi-generational guestbook which is an integral part of our
Leonardo project represents an ongoing living testimonial dialogue and
evaluation of our project, which in turn inspires new project
components. The guestbook has been continuously signed each and every
day since August 23 1997.
/13681/gather/guestboo.htm

Added value of the project to the classroom activities. Why is it worth participating.
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The project offers academic skills, personal development and community
service learning and infinite opportunities.

The following article publish by Technology & Learning magazine
testifies to its worth.
/13681/data/drama/techno.htm

Articulating the project with the group activities. How is it done?When? By who? Based on what?
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This project is a unique collaborative learning project which was
student centered and not teacher delivered, hence this question is not
pertinent.


Developing the project with the students. What the typical phases are?
What kind of activities does each phase include? How the students are organized to participate?
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The ArtiFAQ project was developed as as specific outcome of the
Microsoft Beyond 2000 Challenge. Students were given 45 days to complete
the task.

The first phase including organization of project, researching the
web for viable resources to include, and securing permission to use
copyrighted images.

The second phase included, coding the web site, creating template pages
and integrating the three main sections. (Past Present and Future
Visions)

The final phase included checking and re-checking coding integrity,
soliciting a small sample of viewer responses and and final check for
accessibility and browser compatibility.

Which use of ICT is done at each phase, by the students, by the teacher?
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Students utilize the Internet as a research, constructivist and
leadership tool at all phases. The teacher serves as a coach and overall web/oversite/mentor/editor.

Changes in the teaching and learning practices due to the project. Please describe them
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My teaching and learning practice shifted sharply towards using
cooperative learning, student leadership, and partnering special
education students working with mainstream education peers. I became far more student centered and coach directed

Changes in the learning environment due to the project. Please describe them.
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We were using 15 year old Tandy computers when we began the Leonardo
project. As a result of the attention of this project, our school was given four state of the art computer labs
/13681/data/learn/dell.htm


Changes in the student-student interaction (both local and global).Please describe them
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Our collaboration with Ovation TV ArtsZone our students were placed in
touch with their peers in Japan and had a multicultural dialogue about
the Miho Museum.
/13681/data/museum/trees.htm

On a snapshot note, one our our student team leaders email exchanged
with an Estonian student, who later translated pages of our project into
Russian.
/13681/data/rulink2.htm

/13681/data/rusci.htm

Changes in the student-ICT interaction. Please describe them.
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Students were involved in independently checking the ongoing
development, evolution and responses to their dynamic web resources as they initiated contacts,
project expansion ideas, and technical support/skills from the intructor, on their own.


Changes in the student-teacher interaction. Please describe them.
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The equation shifted through this project towards student centered,
truly independent think-tank collaboration.

Achievements by the students. Please describe them students (e.g.,knowledge, ICT domain, learning skills, interaction skills, attitudes,autonomy, self-steem.
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Knowlege: Art Histoy, Renaissance period background, (history, culture)

Literature (mystery genre, persuasive expository perspective).

ICT Domains: Use od search engines, java scripting, browser
compatibility, web design (frames/no frames versions), multimedia
capacities (animation and music integration)

Learning Skills: This fosters research, reading, writing, critical
thinking, scientific inquiry, and mathematical problem solving.

Interaction skills: Collaborative and cooperative learning and teaming.


Achievements by the participating teachers. Please describe them.
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I was the only teacher employed in the coaching of the team at Kennedy
High School.
I was recognized at the Microsoft awards ceremony at City Hall.
/13681/data/links/winners.htm