Claudia Fitzwater
Spanish/Robotics, Drew Charter School
Atlanta Public Schools
Claudia Fitzwater is an educator interested in co-creating learning experiences with students, fellow teachers, experts, and community partners at the intersection of foreign language, culture and Science Technology Engineering Art and Math (STEAM) disciplines. As a Spanish and Robotics teacher at Drew Charter School, she strives to develop authentic and interdisciplinary Project Based Learning units while engaging students in the design thinking process. Fitzwater describes her classroom as an open learning lab for inclusion, collaboration, co-discovery, and experimentation. Originally from Colombia, Claudia has a Bachelor’s Degree from Santiago de Cali University and a Masters of Educational Leadership from Kennesaw State University.
Project:
interactive fiction (IF) - gamification of storytelling
Interactive fiction is where literacy genres, Spanish, and video game development intersect with curriculum. Video games have become the perfect medium for storytelling and students consume them avidly. With this project, we can change the paradigm of students being passive consumers to active creators, by giving them the opportunity to manipulate media in order to construct meaning and approach the Spanish language. The IF project will allow students to develop digital narrative content in Spanish, based on the narrative stories that are used in the classroom. Students will create and design their unique video games using bloxels and ipads while expressing their personalities and leveraging their creativity. Students will be engaged in the design process with a focus on user experience.
The project will explore the following driving questions? Are video games an art form?, What is the relevance of video games in the classroom?, How can video games and storytelling act as a connector to promote interdisciplinary curriculum? How can video games serve as implementation and documentation of STEAM learning? This project aims for a seamless integration of technology, coding and digital art into existing projects, rather than a mere stand-alone technology curriculum. It will support core curricular areas and it will address technology access gaps at school.
The Interactive Literacy project will focus on creative inquiry, discovery, and experimentation on Media Design, Transmedia (Digital Storytelling, video games), Video Production, and Media Coverage.