Technology

Medway’s Burke-Memorial Elementary Holds STEM Saturday Event for Girls

⋅ Client News, School News ⋅ , , , , , , , , , , , , ⋅ 0 Comments

Medway Public Schools
Armand Pires, Superintendent
45 Holliston St.
Medway, MA 02053

 

For Immediate Release

Friday, April 5, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Medway’s Burke-Memorial Elementary Holds STEM Saturday Event for Girls

MEDWAY — Burke-Memorial Elementary School Principal Amanda Luizzi is pleased to share that female students recently had a chance to explore a variety of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields and topics.

On Saturday, March 23, approximately 150 girls in grades two through six attended the fourth annual STEM Saturday for Girls at Burke-Memorial Elementary School. The free event was sponsored by Exelon Generation.

At the beginning of the event, students were encouraged to explore an array of science projects completed by female middle school students before moving on to participate in a series of workshops. These included a coding activity using a “bee-bot” robot made to look like a cartoon bee, tide-pool adaptations, chemistry lab, “squishy circuits” activity where students learned the principles of open and closed circuits, and an overview of the anatomy of a flounder.

“The goal of this event to show girls from a young age that they can pursue careers and interests in these subject areas,” Principal Luizzi said. “It’s all about challenging the gender stereotypes that have kept women away from these fields for generations and introducing students to female role models in STEM fields.”

A group of local STEM professionals and educators in the field also spoke to students during a panel at the event. Panelists included Sinead Bergeron, a seventh grade student at Medway Middle School and member of the Sense and Sound robotics team; Ceramic Engineer Susan Rozak; Electrical Engineer Jenn Forsyth; Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science senior Marissa Langille; Medway High School junior and aspiring doctor Amanda Heafey; and Medway High School junior Olivia Dennehy, an officer of the school’s Women in STEM club and member of the Girls Who Code club.

Several middle and high school girls volunteered at the event, sharing their knowledge and acting as role models to younger students. Members of Women in STEM (WiSTEM) club at Medway High School conducted a workshop that included a series of five short hands-on experiments, the Sound and Sense Robotics team conducted a demonstration at the start of the event, and 10 middle school student volunteers helped set up the event and assisted younger students during workshops.

Approximately 24 faculty also volunteered to support the event. The event is organization annually by a STEM Saturday for Girls Committee, which is co-chaired by Annie Colamaria and Mary Evans.

“Each year, STEM Saturday is full of excitement, fun and exploration,” Principal Luizzi said. “Thank you to all of the faculty, students, parents and community volunteers who took time to celebrate women in STEM and support our students, and for Exelon Generation for supporting us in this initiative as well.”

 

###

Easton Public Schools Google Innovator Develops Teacher Technology Platform

⋅ Client News, School News ⋅ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ⋅ 0 Comments

Easton Public Schools
Dr. Lisha Cabral, Superintendent
50 Oliver St.
North Easton, MA 02356

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Suzana Somers, director of instructional technology at Easton Public Schools, presents a ‘spark’ pertaining to storytelling and data to the LAX18 Innovators cohorts. Somers was accepted into the Google for Education Certified Innovator program in May 2018. (Courtesy Photo Easton Public Schools)

Easton Public Schools Google Innovator Develops Teacher Technology Platform

EASTON — Superintendent Lisha Cabral is pleased to announce that Suzana Somers, director of instructional technology at Easton Public Schools, is developing a platform to connect teachers to useful technology through the Google for Education Certified Innovator program.

Somers was accepted into the Google Innovator program in May 2018.

The program annually accepts 175 educators from around the world who are put into five separate cohorts. Educators in the program attend a three day ‘Innovation Academy,’ and for the following year they develop solutions to a problem in education. Throughout the 12 months innovators work on their solutions, they are supported by mentors, training opportunities, and each other.

Somers applied to the program with the hope of finding an effective way to connect teachers to useful technology to enhance their lessons. She said teachers often feel bogged down by the expansive amount of technology available, and as the director of instructional technology, she wanted a way to make that technology more accessible and easy to distribute to teachers.

“Despite the huge potential of digital technology in the classroom, the impact on education has been slow moving,” Somers said. “So my problem was, how do we utilize the technology available to enhance great teaching?”

“I work with teachers to help them use technology in a purposeful way,” she added. “I’m not trying to increase screen time for the sake of putting a computer in front of a child. When we put technology in front of a student, it needs to drastically enhance something that wouldn’t be possible without it in the learning experience of the child.”

Somers has not officially named her platform and plans to have a soft launch of her project this spring. She currently calls the platform “Project Campfire.”

“I’m building a coaching platform that focuses on targeting support to teachers based on what they use and what their comfort level is,” Somers said. “Easton has over 300 teachers. I can’t meet with every teacher monthly, but if I could better send information to them on training videos or technology tips, I can make sure they’re getting the resources they need and that truly enhance their lessons.”

“Suzana has identified a problem that impacts many school districts, and she’s found a way to make the technology out there digestible and manageable for teachers,” Cabral said. “Her project will allow educators to pinpoint the right technology for their classes, and to strengthen their lessons as a result.”

This June, Somers will also present at a global International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Philadelphia along with Maura Richards, an Easton Middle School English teacher.

The two educators will give a presentation titled, “Extending Reality into ELA: Experimental Learning with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).”

“A lot of people use AR and VR for students to consume content,” Somers said. “We will be using it for kids to create content, and whenever they consume content, really making sure it is enhancing the lesson at hand and engaging students in a different way.”

For updates on project Campfire, visit ,www.campfireedu.com/. To learn more about the ISTE conference, see www.iste.org/.

###

Somers gives a presentation to her peers in the LAX18 cohort of Google for Education Certified Innovators. (Courtesy Photo Easton Public Schools)
Easton Public School’s Director of Instructional Technology Suzana Somers is one of 35 members of the LAX18 cohort of Google for Education Certified Innovators. Somers attended a three day ‘Innovation Academy’ through the Google for Education Certified Innovator program in California in the summer of 2018. (Courtesy Photo Easton Public Schools)

Easton Public School District Pilot Wi-Fi Hot Spot Program a Success

⋅ Client News, School News ⋅ , , , , , , , , ⋅ 0 Comments

Easton Public Schools
Dr. Lisha Cabral, Superintendent
50 Oliver St.
North Easton, MA 02356

For Immediate Release

Friday, Jan. 25, 2019

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Easton Public School District Pilot Wi-Fi Hot Spot Program a Success

Easton Public School District launched a new program this fall that allows students to borrow Kajeet Wi-Fi hot spot devices and Google Chromebooks from the library at Oliver Ames High School. (Courtesy Photo Easton Public School District)

EASTON — Superintendent Lisha Cabral is pleased to announce that a new program that allows students to borrow Wi-Fi hot spot devices and Chromebooks from the district has been a success so far this school year.

This fall, the district launched a pilot program to provide students access to technology at home, and added 10 Kajeet Wi-Fi hot spot devices and 10 Google Chromebooks to the library at Oliver Ames High School. Students can borrow a Wi-Fi hot spot device, a Chromebook, or both for up to a month.

The devices are intended for any student that might not have access to Wi-Fi or a device that they can use for homework after school. A Wi-Fi hot spot device may be used by a student who does not have an internet connection at home, for example, or even by a student who wants to work on homework on a bus ride to an after school activity.

“We started this program because we wanted to make sure every one of our students has access to the technology they need to be successful after school,” Cabral said. “These devices are available for any student that may need them, and we’re glad to see students have been borrowing them from the library.”

It cost the district $2,000 to purchase the 10 Wi-Fi hot spots, and the district did not have to purchase any new Chromebooks for the program. Instead, the district used devices that had aged out of its technology replacement program but are still in working shape.

Students can only use the devices for homework, however. The Wi-Fi hot spot devices are programmed to block gaming websites and Netflix.

Due to the popularity of the program, some Wi-Fi hot spot devices are now also available at Richardson-Olmsted Elementary School.

###

1:1 Initiative Puts Laptops in Hands of Every Oyster River Middle School Student Starting in September

⋅ Client News, School News ⋅ , , , , , , ⋅ 0 Comments

Oyster River Cooperative School District
SAU No. 5
Superintendent James Morse
36 Coe Drive
Durham, NH 03824

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

1:1 Initiative Puts Laptops in Hands of Every Oyster River Middle School Student Starting in September

DURHAM — It’s with great excitement that Oyster River Middle School Principal Jay Richard and Technology Instructor Nikola Viens share news that the ORCSD School Board recently gave approval and support for all Oyster River Middle School students to each be provided a laptop in the upcoming 2018-2019 school year.

Under a technology initiative beginning this fall, all students will have access to their own school issued laptop. The philosophy behind the initiative is known as the One-to-One (or 1:1) educational technology model and differs from the district’s current model in which students are using a shared cart model for every team of four classrooms.

A group of ORMS teachers presented, on behalf of the middle school technology committee, a proposal for the technology initiative to the school board during the May 2 meeting. The presentation included a brief overview of the One-to-One initiative as well as examples of neighboring districts who have already implemented or are moving toward implementing a similar model in their schools. Each presenting teacher explained ways that a One-to-One technology initiative would satisfy a current need for more devices in the classroom due to an increased demand each year.

“Education and the potential it can reach did not exist as it does now thanks to a lot of the technology advances that have occurred in our society and definitely within public schools. If there is one thing our district does well, and any district can always do better, it’s push kids to their potential,” said ORMS fifth grade teacher Sunpreet Sadana. “The 1:1 initiative eliminates a lot of roadblocks to learning and allows educators and kids to enhance their learning and instruction and push kids to that potential.”

Equal access to technology has been emphasized during many recent board meeting discussions, along with ensuring that all students had the same access to instruction despite their individual needs and abilities. The best way to do that is to ensure that every student is using the same type of technology device in the classroom. Having a single type of device available to all students at ORMS ensures continuity across classrooms and grades at the same time it gives teachers the tools and flexibility they need to offer each student the highest level of instruction.

Fifth grade teacher Sara O’Brien explained how increased technology would affect her classroom when presenting to the board:

“All classrooms will look differently with increased technology,” she said. “When I imagine my classroom with more technology it would not mean more students are behind a screen five days a week, all day. It would mean integrating computers into portions of my lessons instead of having to use them the whole block that I have them. It would mean I would have time to teach my students about how to use a computer, not just ask them to complete assignments.”

The laptop initiative also aligns with the new competency-based approach the Middle School has adopted this school year.

“Competency-based education stresses the mastery of the skills needed for the 21st century and the philosophy embraces the idea that content is ever evolving and changing,” said seventh grade teacher Janet Martel. “At Oyster River, the teachers use new and emerging technologies to teach these skills.”

Information technology staff, ORMS administrators and members of the District Technology Committee will work diligently over the next four months to work out the details of this roll out.

Principal Richard expressed his enthusiasm about the initiative and the positive impact it will have on our teachers and students.

“We have seen published, empirical evidence that 1:1 laptop initiatives improve student performance and increase test scores,” Principal Richard said. “Putting a laptop in the hands of every student at Oyster River Middle School creates a level playing field and further reduces learning gaps for our students, resulting in improved student growth and development from the onset. I am very excited to implement this program, and I want to express my gratitude to our school board and technology staff for bringing the 1:1 initiative to fruition.”

###

< 1 2 3 4 5 >»