Young people are surrounded by images, music, and video narratives all day long, but they rarely—if ever—can share their own ideas in similarly dynamic ways. The Mobile Learning Institute’s Middle-School Residency program delivers this opportunity right to their classroom, and in the process helps students to develop the problem-solving, analytic, and academic skills they need to take real advantage of image, voice, and video presentation features soon to be common on their mobile phones.

The Mobile Learning Institute’s Middle-School Residency delivers portable computer technology and a team of specially trained staff right to teachers and students. With this immediate support over a number of class sessions, participating students complete their own personally-developed digital films that connect directly with the coursework and extracurricular activities on which their school day is focused. In the process, teachers and students together have the opportunity to explore what happens when young people create dynamic presentations they can imagine being shared by mobile phone or on personal computers.

The Middle-School Residency includes introductory sessions for participating teachers and preparatory and planning sessions for students. With this work completed up-front, students typically design, develop, and complete their digital presentations over a five-day period. They work in small teams, using lap-top computers and digital video and audio equipment right in the classroom. Depending upon the scope of a school’s needs and resources, program support can also be extended outside the school day and/or school setting.

For middle-school students, this intensive, project-based focus provides an opportunity to explore new modes of expression, new ways of working independently and with peers, and new ways of seeing their own relationship to their academic goals and objectives. Just as often, students also see new ways of applying their natural interests and their own ideas to their classroom work.

For teachers, the Mobile Learning Institute’s Residency sessions are often equally beneficial. Working together with experienced Mobile Learning Institute staff, teachers have the rare opportunity to explore project-based lessons in their classrooms. They gain hands-on experience working with computers and get immediate answers to technical and pedagogical questions as they arise. In the process, they also begin to see concrete ways to use their school computers in a fashion that will allow their students to develop, present, and share their ideas. When the session concludes, they also have a real understanding of the ways that the immediate delivery of digital images and videos are already impacting their students’ interests and abilities.

Very often, these engagements end with detailed discussions of how teachers can continue to use digital arts projects to support the basic education-, employability-, and life-skills they need to teach in their curriculum.