This is the Edmunds Middle School entry for the
Verizon Innovative App Challenge. A classroom of eight ELL students used the Challenge Based Learning model over six weeks to develop concepts of community, empathy, problem solving, and solutions. They chose “teachers mispronouncing our names” as the problem they wanted to solve. They chose this app solution from four original ideas that smaller groups had created in the class; they felt that this app had the best chance for winning. Their app is called “Say My Name” and it allows teachers to record a student saying their own name. That recording can then be shared in the school community so that teachers can learn the names on their own, and avoid the problems associated with mispronouncing the students’ names. These students are all refugees, and they eloquently described how important it is for people to say their name correctly.
Video and Reflection by Amanda Gustafson, Storyteller at Edmunds Middle School
