OSU faculty help high school students story map their city
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Oklahoma State University faculty recently led high school students through a technology-driven story mapping project in their communities. More than 90 high school students from the Academy of Science, Technology and Engineering Charter (ASTEC) School in Oklahoma City participated in the two-week project.
Dr. Erin Dyke, assistant professor of curriculum studies in the OSU College of Education, Health and Aviation, and Kevin Dyke, assistant professor of maps and spatial data in the Edmon Low Library, teamed up with ASTEC technology teacher David Stringer to create the project curriculum. Students self-generated story themes through a series of reflective paper mapping activities. They collaborated in groups to learn about the intersections of their connections to place and develop co-authored stories.
“It has been really fun to see the students share stories about their families, their traditions and their home places with one another and to make connections across their experiences,” said Erin Dyke.
Smartphone cameras were used to record location data as students took photos in their neighborhoods and city. Developing their web-based cartographic skills, students utilized Esri’s Story Maps software to produce stories about places where they feel at home; places that illuminate the cultural, culinary and linguistic diversity of the city; and places that illuminate the community vibrancy of the Latinx southside, where many of the students call home.
“My favorite part so far is getting to share the places that represent the Hispanic community,” said Jocelyn, an ASTEC student and project participants. “This is the first project in which I get to explain the importance of a street [S. 29th St.] and the culture it holds within.”
Dyke plans to share students’ work in a professional development workshop with ASTEC teachers in order to support their efforts to develop culturally engaged and relevant curriculum across subject areas.
Media Contact: Rachel Potts | 405-744-8320 | rachel.potts@okstate.edu