Backpack Classroom Level 2

Tomorrow marks the second time that I will run the Backpack Classroom. This time I am taking my current class which is a Grade 4 class. They use Macbooks 1:1. Actually I will go with the whole year level. Our aim is to create 39 books.

What is the Backpack Classroom? 

This is a simple idea that I had at the end of last year. It is a way to help children with limited access to technology to create a digital book and to publish it. I originally took a backpack of iPads to a remote village in Sumatra to teach the children there to create digital books. It resulted in 9 books that to date have been downloaded over 20,000 times.

So what is different this time?

This time I am taking my current class from the International school that I currently teach at. My class has Macbooks as their 1:1 devices. We will keep it simple by using Keynote and Photo Booth to record the story. 

Where are you going?

We will go to the Santi Rama School in Jakarta. This is a school for deaf children. We have chosen to visit this school as our current topic is about how we can modify messages to suit a particular audience. The books will be tri-lingual. That means that there will be 3 languages included on each page. The children from the Santi Rama school understand Indonesian. They are all deaf children and use sign language to communicate. To make the books more accessible for an international audience we will translate the stories into English. My students will act as publishers and then promote the finished books to an international audience via their blogs and other online forums. 

Where did you get the idea to go to Santi Rama?

I have been visiting this school with different classes over the years. I have always gone to see them so that my students can make new friends and learn about communicating in sign language. This time the focus will be on to help each deaf student to create a digital book that we can publish to the world for other children to read. 

How will you make it work?

The idea is for each SWA student to have a Santi Rama student partner. The Santi Rama students have been preparing for tomorrow and have already written their stories on paper and made some illustrations. My students have been learning about how to create a digital book with embedded video on each page. They have also been learning how to create digital artwork to illustrate the book.

We are really looking forward to tomorrow. More information to come after our visit.