Lower School is going High Tech!
Activ Boards
The Lower School has acquired Activ Boards
for classrooms. These interactive whiteboards are one of today's
cutting-edge educational tools. This technology allows teachers
to create presentations for students. Any image on the computer
screen can appear on the board, including pictures, video
clips and graphs.
 The
boards have a wide screen, connected to the teacher’s
computer and projector, which allows the teacher to surf the
Web in front of the whole class to illustrate a lesson --
play video clips of science experiments, for example, or find
a map to show exactly where a battle took place for a history
class. The students can drag pictures or text by tracing a
high-tech ''pen'' across the surface or write words and/or
numbers. The students are able to tap an image to hear a recording
of their teacher with additional explanations or pronunciations
of words.
Jim Schindler,
third grade teacher, finds lessons which incorporate the Activ
Board motivate students to be “active participants and
engaged learners.” “The students all enjoy coming
up to answer questions and to move objects around as part
of the lesson,” states Mr. Schindler. “I enjoy
using the program and technology myself-so my excitement easily
spills over into the classroom and the lesson -hopefully helping
students with various learning styles.”
It is an engaging and exciting experience
for the students. The interactive whiteboard meets the needs
of both visual and kinesthetic learners. Children are accustomed
to things being active, interactive, visual and responsive.
It really changes the environment of a classroom from the
teacher being the center and focus, to students participating
more actively in their instruction. What students and teachers
can do with this new technology is truly limitless.
Third graders’ are excited to use this
new technology. Below are some of their comments.
 Sarah
Hyman writes: “I love the Activ Board. I’ve
been doing better in math. It’s a fun way to learn.
The plain white board was dull. The Activ Board is fun!”
“We really thank you for our Activ
Board. It helps us visualize in any subject area,” says
Charles Bessen.
Murphy Van der
Velde writes, “The Activ Board is a lot of fun,
yet at the same time your brain is still doing active stuff.
I love Activ Boards and want them to stay because it helps
you learn more than a book could teach you.”
“It is easier for me to do work on.
I like it and makes me feel like I am a lot smarter. I love
the Activ Board,” says Barrett
Myers.
Lower School teachers have had workshops
to learn how to use both the Activ Boards and the Student
Response Systems described below. Students and teachers are
very excited to use this new technology in their classrooms.
Student Response Systems
The Lower School is also using student response
systems. They consist of wireless devices the students use
to answer questions which are projected on a screen.
A classroom response system (or “clicker
system") is a set of hardware and software which facilitates
teaching activities.
Sample of class projects:
- A teacher poses a multiple-choice question to his or
her students via a computer and projector,
- Each student submits his or her answer to the question
using a handheld transmitter (often called a “clicker”)
that beams an infrared or radio-frequency signal to a receiver
attached to the teacher’s computer.
- Software on the teacher’s computer collects the
students’ answers and produces a report showing
how many students chose each of the answer choices. Individual
responses and grades are exported to an excel document.
Why use a Student Response System
(SRS)?
A teacher can use clickers to...
- Maintain students’ attention during a lecture.
Studies show that most people’s attention lapses after
10 to 18 minutes of passive listening. Inserting a few SRS-facilitated
activities every so often during a lecture can help maintain
students’ attention.
- Encourage participation from every student in a class.
Asking a question verbally and calling on the first student
to raise his or her hand results in one student participating.
A student response system facilitated activity can involve
in the process not one, but all of the students in the class.
- Facilitate Peer Instruction: The teacher poses
a question to his or her students. The students ponder the
question silently and transmit their individual answers
using the clickers. The teacher checks the histogram of
student responses. If significant numbers of students choose
the wrong answer, the teacher instructs the students to
discuss the question with their neighbor. After a few minutes
of discussion, the students submit their answers again.
This technique often (but not always!) results in more students
choosing the correct answer as a result of the peer instruction
phase of the activity.
- Create a safe space for shy and unsure students to
participate in class. A SRS gives students a chance
to respond to a teacher’s question silently and privately,
enabling the student who might not typically speak up in
class to express their answers.
- Check for student understanding during class. By
asking SRS-facilitated questions, teachers can determine
if students understand important points or distinctions
raised in class. They need not wait until homework is turned
in or exams are completed to do so. Instead they can receive
immediate feedback on a lecture during the lecture.
Mrs. Martin,
Lower School science teacher, believes the clickers give the
teacher a quick and easy way to determine who has grasped
a concept and who has not done so. In this day of remote controls
students love to click away. It is a fun type of assessment
for the students!
Fourth graders love using the clickers. Below
are some of their comments:
Olivia MIllar
writes, “I felt like it was less pressure. It made me
feel a lot more confident.”
“I thought using the clickers was a
fun stress relieving experience,” says Michael
Webb.
Urooj Nasim
writes, “The clickers were great! They took out almost
all the pressure from the quiz.”
“The clickers made me feel more relaxed.
Like I was on a game show, without the crowd looking at me
or without screaming,” writes Wyatt
Hillerich.
Robotics
The 4th and 5th graders participated in an
interdisciplinary project where they built robots in science
class. In computer class the students programmed the robots
to go forwards, backwards, spin, and use touch and light sensors.
The students used their problem solving skills to determine
why programs created and downloaded didn’t necessarily
move their robots in intended ways.
 Creating
and downloading procedures and testing them promotes problem
solving, and logical thinking skills. The students enjoy using
Robotic’s technology to learn math, science, and engineering
skills. Robotic technology and robots can be used to inspire
young people and to help them discover the fun and excitement
of technology.
The Lower School has been fortunate to receive
grants from the Parents Association to purchase Roboticis
hardware and software. We now have enough Robotics for all
4th and 5th graders to build and program Robots. We
thank the Parents Association for these materials to help
prepare our students for jobs in the 21st century.
Written by Patsy Cohen, Lower School Technology Coordinator
Sources: www.vanderbilt.edu
- www.prometheanworld
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