Driver’s Education
Project URL:
http://teachersnetwork.org/teachnet-lab/meisler/thebleedingedge/
How it works:
In this program, students work individually or in small
groups to explore Web sites devoted to teen driving and safety. Suggested
sites include traffic school:
www.teendrivingsafety.com; tips by teens to help new teen
drivers: www.teendriving.com; and driver’s license central: governmentguide.com.
The students locate their own state’s
motor vehicle department’s Web site and learn about how to prepare for
their driving permit test at www.drivehomesafe.com/just_4_u_teens.htm
They study for their test and take a
practice quiz online at www.nydmv.state.ny.us/dmanual/default.html
Individually or in teams of two, the students pre-plan an
animation sequence on a storyboard to illustrate a driving safety tip.
They use digital media to draw their plans and animate them. The animated
driving safety tips are saved in .gif or .swf file format for publication
on the Internet.
Standards addressed:
Students understand and apply media,
techniques, and processes related to the visual arts and communicating
various ideas. They also use computer databases to locate sources for
research topics.
Materials
used:
Students do their
research on a networked iMac lab with Internet access. To create the
animations, they use Macromedia Flash or Adobe ImageReady
.
The
students:
The original
participants were heterogeneously grouped seventh through tenth grade
students in an elective animation class at the Institute for Collaborative
Education, a small New York City public school. The reading, artistic, and
technical skills of the students varied.
Overall value:
Driving can provide students with
feelings of maturity and independence. Students in big cities such as New
York are sometimes fearful of learning to drive. Driver’s
Education is a fun way for kids of all ages to learn how to drive
safely without ever getting behind a wheel.
Tips:
If
your state doesn’t have an online driver's permit manual and quiz, get a
copy of one from a motor vehicles department office and photocopy it. The
students really enjoy studying for the driver's permit test! Encourage
them to decide which driver's safety tip they feel is most important to
illustrate. Let them design their own vehicle. Let their imaginations go
wild while learning how to drive safely.
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About the teacher:
Meryl Meisler, digital art teacher at the Institute for
Collaborative Education, has taught art in the New York City public
schools since 1979. A recipient of a Disney American Teacher Award as well
as numerous Impact II grants and other awards, she serves on the Teachers
Network Board of Advisors.
E-mail:
mmeisle@schools.nyc.gov
Subject
Areas:
Art
Citizen
Education
Technology
Grade
Levels:
7-10
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