Digital Learning Team

I am venturing into the realm of students teaching teachers. As a full IB (International Baccalaureate) school Qatar Academy offers the PYP, MYP and DP programmes. The MYP (Middle Years Programme) includes a Community and Service component where students are to find needs within the community and work towards helping and/or solving those needs. This is often problematic in cultures such as the Middle East where kids are not usually allowed out independently to interact with society. A school such as ours usually finds set programs and defines opportunities, such as Animal Shelter, where students can join and participate and help out thereby satisfying the 'hours' or 'projects' required for their C&S commitment for the year.

After requests from teachers for help with implementing Web 2.0 (and other) technologies I have instigated the 'Digital Learning Team'. This is a group of student volunteers who work towards C&S points by doing the following:

• Sign up with a sponsor (Head of E-Learning or other appropriate teacher) and fully participate in an orientation session to be aware of school-wide needed e-Learning skills for teaching and learning
• Find a need amongst the teaching faculty for e-Learning development and training
• Design 5 e-Learning lessons and produce a handout for each lesson
• Schedule sessions with interested teachers and deliver the 5 lessons (this can be done in groups, with a one-to-one ratio)
• Make a short journal entry for every lesson: 1 paragraph for EACH entry- homeroom teacher signs

• Choose one or more of the learner profile attributes (below), and discuss how you demonstrated that quality during this project (1 paragraph or more).

• Make a final journal entry clearly stating what you contributed and learned, as well as what others may have gotten out of the experience.(2 paragraphs or more)

I discussed this with my Grade 9 class today encouraging them to take an interest. I told them how I had deliberated over the title and didn't want it it include the term 'technology' as it sounded too 'nerdish'. They laughed at me and said, well digital learning team sounds just the same to them! OK, back to the drawing board.

Any advice as to what to call a student team of software savvy students who will go forth and multiply gratefully accepted!

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