Makers @ Amherst Media recently hosted Ron Fortunato, president of Trillium Learning and a NASA Space Ambassador for the United States, in our studios. He gave a presentation on a teaching program he calls "A World Bridge" where teams of students take on team-based learning, flipped, service learning, problem-centered projects that involve "open science" and "making."
We are currently showing the video on channel 15 and it is available to stream on our website as part of the ongoing Makers @ Amherst Media series.
Here is the description of his approach:
“A World Bridge” Projects provide for the design and implementation of real-time, real-world projects for school districts. Projects are designed for local, statewide, national and international collaboration, and connect students as actual participants with responsibilities in ongoing research projects. Partner organizations include NASA, NOAA, U.S. Coast Guard, Intelesense Technologies, Centre for Earth Simulation, Global Merit Group, Open Source Geospatial and additional institutions.
A World Bridge is an international infrastructure for learning, technology, 21st Century Skills, and advanced pedagogy. The projects began in Alaska, USA as the “ America Bridge", where the process of developing initial models for the integration of International leadership, economic development and education occurred. This project will provide the design and implementation of real-time project-based learning into curriculum, and simultaneously develop courseware for distance learning, built from ongoing, dynamic project content for synchronous and asynchronous delivery. The planned projects utilize cooperation between state government offices, state education agencies, school boards associations including the Association of Alaska School Boards' Consortium for Digital Learning (CDL), the University of Alaska system, and business partners to develop a unique series of international models which integrate real-time economic, and educational systems, designed to accelerate both systems via international cooperation, collaboration and mutually beneficial projects.
