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With the help of Track Star, a software program that teacher education students in this cohort designed, high school students can take an active role in learning about the Kansas Legislature. Track Star enables students to perform a guided Internet search on Kansas Legislature issues. Working directly with cohort members, the students can also inform legislators about their stance on an issue.
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The Kansas Government Legislative Tracking cohort is working to use technology to help high school students become more involved in local government. With the help of Track Star, a software program developed by the cohort, students can now follow issues before the Kansas Legislature. The cohort, led by Professor Joe O'Brien, brought together teacher education students enrolled in the Teaching Kansas Government course with students in a high school government course. With the use of Track Star, the cohort was able to emphasize the usefulness of technology in education while involving students in learning about issues that affect their community.
Track Star enabled the students to develop a guided search of the Internet to help them answer questions about legislative issues. After using the program to answer the questions, the teacher education students reviewed the answers and wrote a letter to a legislator in favor of the issue and wrote a letter to a legislator opposed to the issue. The letters were posted on the Track so that the high school students could choose which letter they agreed with and wanted to sign.
Working through the Track Star steps gave the high school participants the opportunity to become directly involved in learning about legislative issues that interest them. The cohort's work also provided SoE students with valuable experience in using technology while working with K-12 students. Overall, the Kansas Government Legislative Tracking cohort modeled how to use technology in way that is beneficial not only to SoE students, but to K-12 students as well.
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