Asher teachers make presentations in OKC

October 10, 2008 06:05 pm

— Asher teachers Whitney Allen and Steffanie Fleming were chosen to present at Encyclo-Media in Oklahoma City at the Cox Convention Center Sept. 19.
Encyclo-Media is sponsored by the State Department of Education for every teacher, librarian, principal and counselor in the state. Asher's presentation showcased the oral history project its students were involved with which dealt with the students interviewing World War II veterans and creating a digital story using the actual accounts of each veteran’s experiences.
This project was part of a state wide digitalstory telling project sponsored by a grant received by AT&T, OETA, UCO, and Oklahoma Heritage Association.
Teachers who attended a Celebrate Oklahoma Voices workshop learned the Ken Burn’s method of digital story creation using an audio editing software application called Audacity which is free; Switch and Wave which are audio conversion applications and free; and PhotoStory 3.
Approximately 80 teachers from around the state of Oklahoma attended the session as Allen and Fleming discussed the importance of project based learning and preparing students for the 21st century.
The WWII veterans who participated in the project at Asher School attended the presentation to share their experiences with the teachers in attendance. Toby Keith Restaurant honored the veterans and their wives with complimentary meals.
Allen received donations from the following Ada and Shawnee businesses: Ada Wal-mart; Shawnee Wal-mart; Brent Smith, Arrow Exterminating, Ada; Mr. and Mrs. Pogue, Arrow Pump, Ada; Starbucks, Ada; Ada Elks Lodge; and Pam Humphreys, Municipal Accounting, Shawnee.