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Jade Ramos- 9th Grade Student, Owings Mills High School 

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​Jade Ramos is a 9th grade student at Owings Mills High School. She is a member of the OMHS Dance Team and was also a member of her middle school’s dance team for two years. She plays the viola in her school’s orchestra and has been playing for 5 years now. She is the middle child in her family and enjoys being with her friends. Her favorite subject is American Governments because she enjoys hearing different people’s viewpoints about the same problem. 

April 2017
It is officially 4th quarter! Now is the time I buckle down to ensure I finish out this freshman year strong. Even though it is the last quarter and we only have a little over 30 days left of the year, my teachers are not slowing down now. Tests, essays, and PBAs are all that I am working right about now. In my biology class, shout out to Mr. Gillum, we are currently learning about genetic mutations and how new and advanced technology is helping everyday people learn more about themselves. The topic may seem simple; however, confusion is practically inevitable when you must use resources, and arguments, and counterclaims. Therefore, I rely on my device every single day, morning and night so that I can keep up with all this no matter where I am. I can read the facts from the sources provided on my class’ lesson tiles in order to create an effective and persuasive essay on my standpoint of genetic testing. Then, when I am finished, with the click of a button it is on my teacher’s screen waiting for a grade. Easy and simple… unlike biology.

March 2017
I recently was introduced to a new rotation in my friendship seminar class. This rotation is centered on college and career readiness. Throughout the entire rotation my classmates and I would learn about how to set up appropriate goals that will prepare us for college and our future careers. Our devices were a key component in the research process. We had to use them to research what colleges we were interested in and what majors they offered that would comply with our career choice. We created our plans for college and our plans after college. College and career readiness is a major topic that is never too early to be discussed. There is so much information and planning that goes into it and my device made everything so easy. It was important that I stayed organized with my goals for my plans to be clear. We also had a portfolio that needed to be created for each of us individually to show what we have learned throughout the entire rotation. Each device comes with an application already installed in it called OneNote. This application allows for my notes to stay all in one, easy to find place. The great thing about OneNote is that you never have to save a thing. The application saves everything for you as you type. It made the process of creating my portfolio so fast! I could add new pages for new sections, color coat and underline key words, and add in pictures. The best part about it was that my teacher has complete access to my OneNote. I worked on my portfolio until the bell rang and when I was finished I simply closed OneNote, shut down my device, and let my teacher do the rest of the work. Simple, finished, and an A.

February 2017
It is now 3rd quarter and I have successfully gone through almost half of my school year with my device. I recently had to complete an assignment in my dance elective class. We had to perform a combination that we have been practicing for weeks now from two angles and then critique ourselves on how we did. At first I was unsure as to how in the world I would be able to record myself from two different angles. Then my dance teacher, Mrs. Collins, came up with a bright idea to have two people in our group grab our devices and set them on separate sides of the stage. We then recorded them both at the same time. Our device played a key role in my assignment today since I wouldn’t have been able to critique my own work without it. My group and I successfully performed our dance and recorded it from both angles just like we were told to. We critiqued our performance and also found some things that we can work on in order to perform our routine better. I am so glad that I had my device because now I am able to see myself as I dance and correct my mistakes.

December 2016
Second quarter with my device has been good. I recently have been absent from school and I was so nervous that I would be behind on my work. Thankfully, my teachers posted all of assignments to BCPS One. This made things so much easier. Now, instead of not having my work and being behind in my classes, I was on top of my school work and completed my assignments while I was absent. Once I got back to school I was able to jump right into my class without any problems! All of my work was completed and turned in and I was on the same pace as the rest of my classmates. This also reduced the stress of having to complete make-up work and my usual classwork at the same time. My device saved me from all of the negatives of being absent from school and I am so thankful to have the lighthouse program at my school.

November 2016
It is second quarter now at Owings Mills High School. I am enjoying my school year so far. My grades are nice and I owe a lot of it to my device. I usually save the classwork from my day to my computer. I do this so that I can go over the work that I have just learned that day while I am at home. This helps me so I can get a better understanding on the work. It also helps me because I have all of my resources in one organized place so there is only a small chance of losing it. By the time my teacher assigns a test, I can easily go on my device and study the work because I still have it saved to my device. Our teachers remind us every single day to charge our devices. In most of my classes it is imperative that you bring your device fully charged to class in order to complete the assignments. Most of my classmates and I bring our devices to school daily. Of course there are always a few students who don’t charge their device or maybe forget to bring it to school. Their mistake surely does affect them since they are not able to complete the classwork and get a grade. My school uses these devices  in order to teach all of the students a sense of responsibility. It is our responsibility to take care of our device, use it, and bring it to school in order to be successful in all of our classes.

October 2016​
My device has become much more utilized in my classes than ever before. In class, we use it to do our class work. I have trouble seeing from far away so when the lessons are uploaded to my lesson tiles I can easily go along with the class as we complete the assignment. I always ensure that I have my device completely charged the night before I come to school.
 
At my school the freshmen must all take a course called, "Freshmen Seminar" in order to ensure a smooth and successful transition from middle school to high school. In my class, we were recently assigned a project where we had to create an ad for our device that would appeal to teens. I completely breezed through the project since all I really had to do was look at how I use my device every day.
 
My device is light-weight, portable, and has extra applications on it that come in handy for anything. I like how my device creates a better way of communication between my teachers and me. There have been so many times when I have had a question while at home and got the answer instantly from my teacher through email because of this device. This makes things easier for me because now I can complete my homework confidently with all of my questions answered without having to wait a whole night until that class comes up. Overall, my experience with my device so far is going well and I cannot wait to see what other ways my device will help my school year go smoothly.
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