Technology, Citizenship, Learning

Several highlights from a recent board visit to Houserville Elementary School.

First, an example of the impact that technology is having on education:

Because the 5th grade class was reading “No Talking” by Andrew Clements, the school’s librarian thought it would be worthwhile to arrange for a visit by the author. Although that proved impractical due to weather and distance, Mardi persevered, and eventually arranged for a “Skype call” between the students and the author in the school library, with Mr. Clements projected onto the overhead screen. (Only a few years ago, this kind of video-conferencing was very expensive.) The students were thrilled, and the entire event took only an hour of everyone’s time (except, of course, Mardi’s).

A good example of student engagement/citizenship/leadership from a trio of 5th-grade students, who saw a big need for improvement in one of the community’s track facilities. They documented the problems with the track, complete with visuals, and presented their findings to the school’s PTO. Money was raised, the township was approached, and within a few months, repairs were completed.

And then there was the Math class...