Teachers can use the Borderland site to pique learners‘ curiosity about the complex issues related to the U.S.-Mexico border specifically and/or to the topic of immigration in general. The colorful visuals, real-time statistics, podcast interviews, and personal stories will be much more effective at grabbing learners‘ interest than just reading about the topic in a textbook. All written content is short and accessible to different reading levels, and images provide context clues to support understanding for English Language Learners and struggling readers. The site’s information (maps, statistics, quotes, etc.) serves as a window into life at the U.S.-Mexico border that can and should be further explained and explored through additional classroom activities.
Website: http://apps.npr.org/borderland/
Overall User Consensus About the App
Student Engagement
The powerful images and personal stories will be of high interest to learners. The podcasts serve as a nice complement to the visual nature of the site, bringing this virtual visit to life.
Curriculum and Instruction
Although the site wasn’t created specifically for classroom use, its structure encourages meaningful exploration of complex issues. Some simple tools to help educators could make for more seamless classroom integration.
Customer Support
An introduction and links to additional stories are provided, though support for learners and educators isn’t available. However, navigation is intuitive, and the vivid design makes the content accessible for many types of learners.