Through this project, the PI will establish a learning community along the coastal region, including isolated islands, of Maine. The Island Institute has been active in Maine for more than 20 years, and has an established rapoire with the schools and school districts of the region. In addition, the program is working in collaboration with Bowdoin College and local fishery industries to prepare students and teachers in using Information Technology (IT), especially Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Further, as fisheries have played an important role in the history of these isolated communities, the placed-based context and ethnographic research by this group will entice students and teachers to learn these technologies. Moreover, the program targets grades 6-12, including 63 teachers and 700 students in the three years of its operation. Participating teachers will have more than 120 contact hours per year including 56 hours of contact during the summers of Years 1 and 2, and 32 hours during Year 3; whereas students will participate, with teachers, in one-week workshops that focus on technologies used in the fisheries industry.
