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Sixth-grade students became community leaders during the Windsor Mill Middle School Night of Innovation. Students, parents, community members, and stakeholders gathered for an evening of learning and fun on December 3rd. Discovery Ed, partners in education with BCPS, sponsored the event. Teachers dipped into their trove of Learner-Centered Environment lessons, and student leaders took it from there, facilitating sessions on digital tools such as Nearpod, Plickers, MakeBeliefsComix, and guiding visitors through a virtual archaeological dig on the Aztec, Inca, and Maya; a tutorial in Business Entrepreneurship; and hands-on science experiments with Spaghetti Towers and Marshmallow Catapults. The historic evening was captured by a Tweetbeam and a livestream via Periscope. Participants in the WMMS NOI Community shared words that captured the evening for them on a Word Cloud. The final verdict? Joyful. Read more about the fall Night of Innovation by clicking here.
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6th grade Reading Teacher and Language Arts Department Chair at Windsor Mill Middle School, Sonja Jackson, reached out to the local Rolling Road Exxon Station to create a community-school partnership, and Exxon responded. Jackson asked the owners to support the WMMS Lighthouse conversion by donating earbuds for students. And support they did. Exxon owners gifted Jackson’s students with 100 pairs of earbuds for use in the classroom. Jackson infuses the use of technology daily in her classroom for collaborative, small group, and independent work. The earbuds allow students to expand their tools for learning beyond texts to videos and to work at their own pace without disturbing other students and activities in the classroom. “Students are now able to listen independently to audio and video,” said Jackson. “Today we studied about Japan, and students were able to listen to and actually hear the words of the Japanese national anthem. They can also use IReady, a reading intervention program that meets students where they are and increases reading skills. My students can personalize their learning and listen to oral instructions and have stories read to them.”
In order to keep parents informed, teachers at Rodgers Forge send out monthly newsletters to make parents aware of curriculum content, past and upcoming events, etc. In previous years, the fifth grade teachers created a document in either Microsoft Word or Publisher that was emailed as an attachment. This year, they wanted the option to include videos and photos in the monthly newsletter to share. At the suggestion of their S.T.A.T teacher, Jen Piet, the fifth grade teachers utilized Tackk for their October newsletter. Katie Lark, fifth grade teacher at Rodgers Forge, commented, “Tackk was easy to use, and it gave the teachers an opportunity to showcase student learning in a different way compared to our traditional newsletter format.” They received some very positive feedback from parents who were excited to get a clearer glimpse into their child’s classroom.
Check out the link to view their newsletter: https://tackk.com/xwnvtg! Submitted by Jen Piet S.T.A.T. Teacher, Rodgers Forge Elementary As a S.T.A.T. Teacher, I am able to work with students and teachers every single day and continue to be amazed at the work that our students and teachers engage in on a regular basis. Hosting the Night of Innovation at Rodgers Forge allowed for members of our community to see the how hard our teachers and kids work and gave them an opportunity to see what I get to see every day. They were able to witness how teaching and learning is transforming in order to better meet the needs of each individual child in our building. Almost 400 visitors walked through the hallways and interacted with students and staff members during the evening. Sixty-five of our incredible students volunteered their time to showcase digital products to show what S.T.A.T. is really all about. Students were able to communicate how they now have a choice in their learning and visitors explored student centered learning environments and learned more about how technology is used daily to enhance instruction in meaningful ways. The night was filled with so much positive energy and excitement as parents asked questions about digital tools and learned about digital citizenship from our Superheroes (see below)! The evening, co-hosted by Discovery Education, showcased the valuable partnership Discovery Education has had this year with Baltimore County Public Schools. It truly was an exciting night and one that I couldn't be more proud to be a part of! Listen as students at Rodgers Forge share their experiences as Digital Citizenship Superheroes for the Night of Innovation. Visit Nights of Innovation: May 2015 to learn more.
Submitted by Katie Schmidt
5th Grade Teacher, Rodgers Forge Elementary “I can’t believe Kindergarteners are learning THAT already!” and “Wow, things sure have changed since way back when I was in elementary school!” were comments heard throughout the building during Rodgers Forge’s annual Generations Day, held on Thursday, November 16th. Grandparents and other special family members were invited to visit the school to spend the morning with the students in their classrooms. Many visitors were shocked and amazed to see the extensive use of technology, especially with the younger students. The also got to see firsthand the engaging teaching techniques employed and the various learner-centered environments that teachers have created. A fun morning filled with learning was enjoyed by all! Submitted by Doug Elmendorf
Principal, Chase Elementary This post originally appeared in EdTechReview “We finally get to have a computer or device for ourselves” is what one of our third grade students said when interviewed by our school system’s TV station. It was not only the first day of school for students at Chase Elementary, it was also the first day of a 1:1 device environment for all students in grades 1-3. At the end of the 2013-2014 school year, our school was one of ten Lighthouse Schools selected to “pilot interactive and blended instruction as a model demonstration site” as part of the Students and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow (S.T.A.T.) initiative (www.bcps.org). While our primary foci in this initiative are curriculum and pedagogy, on day one, all eyes were on 6-8 year old children and the HP Revolves that each of them received a few hours after summer break came to an end. Despite the TV cameras, boom mics, and temps over 90 degrees in classrooms, our first day in a 1:1 environment was quite successful. Success, in this case, was demonstrated by students’ ability to log on to and manipulate their devices to participate in meaningful learning activities. This initial positive and rewarding experience was important as it propelled us forward in our effort to provide learner-centered instructional environments for ALL students in our schoolhouse. We attribute our success to three essential factors. Teachers understood WHY we are doing this – We have laid the groundwork and explored the “why” behind this initiative before it was ever introduced. At Chase, teachers understand that we aren’t going to help students prepare for jobs of tomorrow by teaching with methods of yesterday. High quality technical assistance was available – The school district’s leadership had the foresight to make sure high quality technical experts were in place to troubleshoot device concerns, when they came about, in a manner that was quick, effective and built the capacity of our staff to troubleshoot their own issues in the future. Our parents and community partners “get it” – Monthly “Coffee & Conversation” meetings with parents, ongoing communication via social media outlets, newsletters, and face-to-face meetings have helped parents to understand the “why” behind this initiative, much like our teachers have as described in #1. The following video, produced by BCPS-TV, shows how all of our stakeholders embraced this essential move forward in providing our students with the skills necessary to be successful in the 21st century. http://vimeo.com/105134212 Here are some of the glimpses: Join Chase Elementary Principal Doug Elmendorf on September 17 at 7:30pm as he moderates a Twitter chat on student-centered learning.
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