COQUITLAM, British Columbia, Canada—After 28 years of teaching, David Brear enjoys finding ways to make learning experiences feel new. "It keeps you healthy," he says. "I always try to add another layer."

A longtime advocate of using technology in the classroom, Brear teaches at Banting Middle School in scenic Coquitlam, British Columbia. He also teaches a distance-learning course offered by the University of British Columbia called "On Ramp to the Information Highway" (http://members.shaw.ca/dbrear/index.html*). Teaching the course has given him an incentive to stay current about Web sites of value; his online resource guide includes 3,000 sites he recommends to teachers.

With his eighth-grade students, Brear has developed a project that allows them to practice using a variety of software applications while exploring a favorite subject: themselves. Students build electronic portfolios about their own interests as one of the assignments in an explorations class called "Computer Science." Brear says the assignment gives students an opportunity to apply what they have learned in sixth and seventh grades about electronic presentation and multimedia authoring software, and Internet search engines.

Equally important, he says, is the opportunity for these young adolescents to "introduce themselves to me. The project gives students a chance to open up," he says. Some students take advantage of the chance to talk about their favorite bands and movies, but occasionally the subject turns more serious. One girl, for instance, had never talked with a teacher about her father's death until she did the portfolio assignment.

Using digital cameras and special effects, students might take photos of their friends or their special interests. "They get into talking about soccer or snowboarding, favorite music or Harry Potter books. Bottom line is, I can learn so much about the kids and their interests. It's a positive experience. That's exciting for me," Brear says. "I believe this gives me a chance to get to know my students better."

Students see the portfolio assignment as a chance to use technology to pursue their own interests. Other class assignments might include working on keyboarding skills or learning about the inside of a computer, using an Intel resource called The Journey Inside^SM (www.intel.com/education/
journey). "Those assignments are work they do for me. The portfolio is their reward," Brear adds. "It's a way for them to work on what interests them." As students prepare to head into high school, they start with what Brear calls "a good sense of themselves."

Next year, Brear plans to add another layer to the assignment by having students create video journals, using video editing software. He says he likes to make his students "think outside the box."