CREST
Bringing GIS/GPS, Ethnography
and Web Resources together
in our community.
St. George School in Tenants Harbor
Return Home

Outdoor Learning Center
About CREST, an Island Institute Project Initiative
Crest Year One  (2005-2006)

crestsummer1


Our CREST training team consisted of two 6th grade students, three 8th grade students and four teacheres.  During the summer we attended the Darling Marine Center site training and received intensive instruction in GPS/GIS, ethnography and web page development.  We came away with a good skill base and long and short term instructional and project goals for the next school year (see PPT).  We also came home with a movie about our training and ideas to present to our student body.  We also came home exhausted!  

With the completion of our training we had a plan for an integrated unit, called "Our Stories".  The unit would allow students to self-select a local history topic which could include historical events, life in the past, lighthouses, recreation, geographic locations/landmarks, family land, woodlands and trail and more!  We would require students to conduct an interview and combine information and resources about their topic to create a new and unique resource.  In a digital format, combining the technologies of GIS and ethnography/video formats and web design, these projects could become resources for others to use and expand!
Crest Year Two  (2006-2007)
"Our Stories" - An Integrated Unit

ourstories

Students were introduced to using the GPS units. Challenges were to work with small groups at a time.

Within an Oceanography Unit, student projects explored what the ocean meant to them.  This help set the stage for later ethnography and GIS work in the "Our Stories" unit.  (See Ocean Portraits)

Students also learned how to create layers of map data with AEGEE software.  Maps were made ready to print.  We had to solve some technical challenges along our learning curve.
          - map example

Students were involved in some early planning of our integrated unit "Our Stories", which will use our full range of CREST skills.
         -"Share Fair" (ethnography)
         - Practice Interviews

With our unit introduction underway, students self-selected topics of interest to further study.
         - Choosing a Topic/Process
         - See/read  our unit "Blog"

Our teaching team supported student technology learning by creating tutoring sessions aimed at PPT, iPhoto, iMovie applications; podcasting, GPS and web page design.
trail
 map

We invited community members to come tell their stories which became the project of several students to facilitate and archive.

We coordinated students with community members who had an expertise in their topic and could lend their life experiences to "flesh out" the stories being developed.  Here are a few excerpts!
lobstering
Lobstering		 planningTown Planning
waterManaging the Water District dep
Dept of Env. Protection

          
A visit by Don Carrigan of Channel 6 helped students understand the elements of a "great story".
doncarrigan

The town's recycling program became a focal point of 5th grade student learning.

Our Outdoor Learning Center (forest and nature trail)became a focal point for GIS and oral history work of the 6th grade students.

Seventh grade students sampled a variety of organisms in the Outdoor Learning Center by various methods.
sampling7 critter
Click on the insect to see
 some our our sample's organisms.
Eighth grade students established plots and investigated bioindicator species.  
lichen


Student topics produced a rich variety of topics and projects.  Link to their individual projects.

We celebrated the conclusion of our unit by inviting the public to a Fair at our school where student work was displayed.









     



 Crest Year Three (2007-2008)