Hartland Comes Alive

A Warm Welcome

Summers in Hartland, Wisconsin are full of juicy brats from the Piggly Wiggly, backyard cookouts with friends and family, nature hiking along the Ice Age Trail, and taking classes at school. Taking classes you ask? In the summer of 2009, thirty Hartland-Lakeside staff members gathered together to participate in a rich learning experience with the community members of Hartland.

Technology is not native to education, but it has become an integral part of teaching, learning and in the greater picture, the world we live.

However, our teachers were not learning technology skills to teach our students. They were transforming their instructional practice to learn how technology can be used to engage children in a digital learning environment full of rigor, relevance and relationships that cultivates a passion for learning.

This community service project not only represents the rich history of Hartland, its valuable resources, expertise and natural beauty; it’s a true testament to the collaborative commitment the Hartland community and the Hartland-Lakeside School District place on delivering the highest quality of education for their children.

Watch our multi-media projects called docu-dramas. We were fortunate to have Bernajean Porter, a national consultant in the art of telling digital stories, guide us through the process. She defines a docu-dramas as “non-fiction, personal narrative stories bringing ALIVE a highly fact-based, insightful experience woven into illuminated understandings AS IF you lived in the time or experience using an abundance of primary source materials.”

The docu-dramas demonstrate our teachers as learners. The focus was on the use of high level questioning and deep learning. We hope you enjoy our experience as much as we enjoy our passion for learning.