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Learning With Andy
AndyCamper helps kids move from the virtual world back to the real world. Children’s curiosity provides a natural starting point for exploration and learning. The learning methodology of AndyCamper is based on experience (“do it”), discovery and exploration that promotes active participation while providing opportunity to acquire and apply new knowledge.
Children’s learning should build on what they currently know and do. Leveraging the enormous popularity of the Internet, children and youth can prepare for and share about explorations online. Children also love to play and are innately curious. AndyCamper taps into these needs and interests fostering exploration and discovery.
AndyCamper Learning Methodology
The AndyCamper Learning Methodology blends online and offline experience with an overall purpose to:
· use the virtual world to foster a love for exploration of the real world
· cultivate exploration, discovery and wonder of nature and the world around us
· encourage imagination, creativity and outdoor activity
· promote a healthy and active lifestyle for children and families
· provide children an opportunity to influence and be responsible for their own learning
· inspire and rejuvenate the way children and their parents interact with the outdoors
Through technology and activities, learners are actively participating throughout their experience with AndyCamper. While online, choice is an embedded theme – children dictate where they will explore, what they will “do” and even vote on how the video adventures will unfold. Children are also encouraged to share and collaborate with each other through the website. The promotion of active participation leads to a more engaging and meaningful experience for users, offers the ability for personalized learning, accommodates different levels of student preparedness and provides opportunity for authentic learning. Interactive adventures are used at a catalyst for engagement and discovery.
Building on the understanding that children are innately inquisitive, AndyCamper provides a framework and experience to foster a passion for discovery. The more one learns about a topic, the more they want to learn. The AndyCamper environment offers a foundation to ignite discovery through inquiry-based exploration. Children explore, touch, draw, collect, create and build using activities and adventures available on the AndyCamper site.
AndyCamper employs multiple strategies, media and delivery options with a goal to engage children and provide rich and customizable learning opportunities. Every learner has a preference for how they best receive and process information. By offering background information, content, instructions and activities in text, audio and video formats, all learners can choose an option, or options, that are best for them.
Learning Phases
Andy Camper activities follow a consistent methodology allowing children and youth to learn and apply new knowledge in fun and exciting ways. Each topic (e.g. rocks) offers four activities that provide opportunity to discover, collect, create and build.
The activities can be completed independently, or as a group. For example, children who are artistic may choose create it activities across various topics. Or others may want to complete all four activities within one topic gaining a deeper and broader content understanding. The following explains each phase and its purpose in the model.
Our methodology integrates feeling, thinking, doing and watching – a range of experiential learning to meet various learning styles and types. Formally referred to as Kolb’s learning cycle the phases include; concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. [1] We understand how children learn and provide an environment that fosters exploration, growth and understanding.
Discover it In this phase children begin to explore and experience the topic. This activity leads the learner though background information that will encourage a deeper understanding, promote engagement and excite the child to discover more.
Collect it In this phase children will process by collecting, drawing and investigating. Here children get to feel, touch, gather, categorize and organize. This phase allows children to further engage, hands-on, with the topic at hand.
Create it In this phase, children are encouraged to create, be artistic and imaginative. Using knowledge that has been gained, children will write, draw, sing, paint or create to continue their exploration and discovery of a topic.
Build it The built it phase children apply their new knowledge and skills in an authentic and unique way. In this activity children combine and share what they have discovered, collected and created.
Instructions
Each activity type includes step-by-step, text, pictures and video. These instructions walk children through all elements of the activity. Instructional content will be available for print, download and/or online use from the AndyCamper site. Many activities will align to an AndyCamper adventure. Andy, with other cast members, will show kids and parents how to perform each of the activities themselves.
Accessibility
All activities will be available in PDF, HTML and video (in various formats including podcast). The diversification of methods for accessing content and instructions supports diverse learning styles and preferences, English as a Second Language (ESL) needs, users with special needs requiring adaptive technologies and enhanced accessibility features.
