K12 Online Conference 2010

I recently listened to "The Life Practice Model: a real life example" on the 2010 K12 Online Conference. I found this particular presentation very interesting because it was made by a high school freshman named Colby Ratzlaff. In this session, Colby gives a first person account of a former student of Turning Point Learning Center which is a public charter in Emporia, Kansas. At Turning Point Learning Center, students are taught through the use of technology (each student is given a laptop for the year) and by being put in real life situations. For example, Colby says that one year the school received a grant for new furniture so the teachers divided the students into teams that were to come up with reasonable ways to spend the money and design their learning environment. The young presenter said he loved this project because it gave him the opportunity to design in three dimensions using Google Sketchup, free modeling software offered by Google. Other members of Colby's group were responsible for keeping track of funds, interior design, and documenting information. Some other projects he mentioned were a model cell that filled a room, a model skeleton, and a garden.

I found this presentation very interesting because Turning Point Learning Center actually puts many of the methods educators know to be effective into practice. The idea of learning through experience is far from new but few educators are able use it effectively because the often high number of students, time constraints, or other factors. One issue I have with Turning Point's method is the computer usage. I would like to know how they keep students on task and away from all the distractions that come with computers.