Edutopia

The Edible Schoolyard and A Night in the Global Village Podcasts offered by Edutopia are good examples of Hands on Education. This type of education gets kids involved and interested in learning. Schools like Rocky Mountain School in Denver, Colorado and Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Burkley, California have taken Education to a higher step by offering Hands on Education to their students.

A Night in the Global Village shows Rocky Mountain School students visiting Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas. They learned how life is in other countries like Guatemala, Thailand, and Zambia. The students were given some supplies, but they had to decide how to get other supplies from the countries who had what they needed. They spent the night in the same kind of housing that each country actually lives in. The students gained an understanding of how children live in other countries.

The Edible Schoolyard shows Martin Luther King Jr Middle School students learning Math, Science, Social Studies and life skills while working in a garden. They actually grow food and eat it. At the same time, they are using math skills, learning about topics such as condensation and growing processes, and learning how to work with others.

These podcasts are excellent tools for teachers to use in their classrooms. They can show students how other students are learning. This type of learning is a good way to motivate students who struggle in the classroom. Students also get to see how other students learn to work together and include each other in projects. This is a great resource and I enjoyed watching the programs.